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  • Pakistan: PML-N Leader Calls for Women’s Quota for General Seats

    PML-N Vice President Senator Syed Zafar Ali Shah has called for quotas for tickets for general election for women in national/provincial elections in addition to seats already reserved for women. 

  • ‘Future Women Mayors’ Academy Kicks Off in Mexico

    Mexico’s gender quota system has made a significant difference for women seeking election to the Mexican Congress. In the last 15 years, the percentage of seats occupied by women has increased from 10 to 26 percent.   But at the municipal level, women have not had such success. The number of women mayors in the country averages 5.5 percent, and in some areas the percentages are smaller. An example is the Mexican state of Michoacán, on the central western coast, which elected just three women mayors in its 113 municipalities.

  • Albanian Women Finish Political Leadership School with Chance to Test New Skills in May Elections

    Local elections on May 8 in Albania are an opportunity to put more women in public office in a country with one of the lowest percentages of elected women in Europe. That was the message delivered by Jozefina Topalli, Albania's speaker of parliament, to women who had just completed a 10-month program on campaign management, messaging and advocacy organized by NDI.

  • New NDI Publication Evaluates Strategies for Women's Participation in Political Parties

    Advancement within political parties – which are the gateway to political leadership – remains both essential to women’s political success and the most difficult political door for women to enter.

  • Multi-Party Women's Conference Held in Iraq

    Over 150 women active in local, regional and national politics participated in the National Multi-Party Women’s Conference hosted by NDI. The conference, held Nov. 12 to 15 at Dokan Lake, Iraq, included representatives of 33 political parties and 16 of 18 governorates.  Training sessions were conducted on budget development and review, legislative drafting, and committee process.

  • Nepal: Training Women to Engage in the Constitution-Drafting Process through the Nepali Women’s Leadership Academy

    As Nepal strives to move beyond years of armed conflict and political turmoil and build a stable and peaceful democracy, the foundation of such a democracy will depend largely on ensuring that the drafting process for the country’s new constitution is inclusive and representative. Women in Nepal face severe discrimination and have historically been marginalized and underrepresented in government.

  • Afghan Women Take Seats in Parliament, Prepare for Road Ahead

    After several months of controversy and delays in the certification of election results, 249 members have now taken their seats in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament. Among them are Farida Hamidi and Frishta Amini, two women who make up the entire delegation from Nimroz province in the far southwest corner of the country.

  • Women in Zambia, Lesotho Seek Greater Leadership Opportunities

    The 15 countries that make up the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been working since 2008 to achieve parity in women's political participation by 2015. It's a goal from the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, which sets out ways to achieve gender equality through legislation and affirmative action. Some countries have made great strides toward achieving equal numbers of elected men and women, one measure of parity, but Zambia and Lesotho are lagging far behind.

  • Women Make Strides in Jordan Election

    Women candidates enjoyed record levels of success in Jordan's Nov. 9 parliamentary elections. The country's new election law doubled the women's quota from six to 12 seats, and for the first time, a woman candidate from Amman won her seat outside of the quota system by amassing the largest number of votes in her district. There were other firsts as well. Six of Jordan's 12 governorates elected the first women representatives from their region, and Myassar Sardiyah became the first Bedouin woman ever to be elected to parliament in Jordan.

  • Middle Eastern Women Gain Political Inspiration in Wisconsin

    The Young Women Leaders Academy (YWLA), a year-long program that aims to inspire and empower young Middle Eastern women to pursue political careers in their home countries, culminated in a two-week retreat in Madison, Wisconsin, last month, where participants met with elected women leaders from across the state and honed their leadership skills and political aspirations. The participants are now back in their home countries, where they are pursuing a range of options, from starting their own advocacy organizations to running for elective office.

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