The campaign to increase the number of women in Papua New Guinea's Parliament is once again on in earnest. PNG's only female parliamentarian Dame Carol Kidu will signal the start of the campaign next week. Then, if all things go to plan, the prime minister will put a motion to the vote later this month. Attempts to have a number of women nominated to parliament without facing the electorate failed in March when it was first put up.

Contending that the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form will benefit only those from affluent sections, Dalit and Muslim bodies demanded a sub-quota for women from weaker sections to ensure fair representation.

According to the United Nations, women are estimated to do 75 per cent of the world's work. And yet, they only own one per cent of the world's assets.

In Malaysia, women only represent 10 per cent of the members of parliament, even though they make up half the population.

In our schools, universities and other learning establishments, girls outperform boys. Universities have more girls reading technological, scientific and engineering courses. The boys tend to opt for subjects like media, religious studies and business.

Although women constitute a large student movement and a formidable workforce, they are still poorly represented in the decision-making process. This includes personal, family, community and national levels.

As the country prepares to elect its new president next week, Indonesian activists are trying to push gender issues onto the political agenda.

Three candidates will contest the presidential election on Jul. 8. The incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is a strong favourite to win, but neither Yudhoyono nor his challengers - current Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri - have presented a platform for dealing with women-specific problems.

At a workshop in Akosombo, political parties with representation in Parliament called for the establishment of a voluntary quota of 30 per cent positions for women in the administration of political parties, the selection of parliamentary candidates and the appointment of district chief executives. The call for the implementation is part of the affirmative action to address the imbalances in representation at the different levels of the political spectrum.

Mozambique believes that women's emancipation is of key importance, but it must be handled in such a way that it empowers women, rather than simply making the statistics look good, said the country's First Lady, Maria da Luz Guebuza, in Brussels on Saturday.

When it comes to female participation in politics, Japan lags far behind other nations.

If Japan is going to catch up with the countries that boast a high percentage of female politicians, women must create a nationwide movement, according to panelists at a symposium advocating more women in politics.

"It's something that has to be fought for and refashioned by each generation," Kari Hirth, an official at the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo, said at a symposium held Saturday in the capital sponsored by the Tokyo-based Alliance of Feminist Representatives.

Even as the nation debates the women's reservation bill, women in Tripura are getting ready to stand up and be counted in elections to local self-government bodies next month.Political parties across the board are positive about nominating women candidates for the three-tier panchayat polls on July 20.

AS the world marks International Women’s Day tomorrow, a new guide aimed at providing policy-makers and advocates with ideas on how to promote more women in Pacific legislatures was launched in the Pacific.
The Guide was launched by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme Pacific Centre. Secretary-General of the Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, said in the Guide’s Foreword that “in the long-term, it is important that we continue to work with our Pacific communities to build greater recognition of the role that women can and should play as national leaders, including as members of our Pacific legislatures”.

Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the 3rd session of Arab Women's Organisation (AWO), Chairwoman of the UAE General Women's Union (GWU) and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), paid a glowing tribute to the UAE woman movement, which receives sustained support to empower women in all fields. Sheikha Fatima's efforts exceeded the UAE's borders to the Arab world through the AWO activities and programmes

Having more women in politics should be more than an aspiration – their presence must be backed up by law, a Dáil sub-committee was told yesterday. Former Fine Gael minister for education Gemma Hussey told the Dáil sub-committee on Women’s Participation in Politics she was “not starry-eyed” about voluntary quotas for women.

Ms. Akua Dansua, Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, said incorporating gender perspectives in the national development budget at all levels, should not be misconstrued to mean women were calling for more money. Rather, she said, the call aimed at apportioning scarce resources to meet the strategic gender needs of society.

Though the 25 percent representation of women at all levels of government as laid out in the CPA is generally being respected in numerical terms, not all states in South Sudan have achieved the threshold. But even in the six states where the quota has been achieved, many argue that the 25 percent is being used as a smoke screen where pliable women are put into positions of power, while more independent-minded women continue to be marginalised from leadership positions.

Turkish origin Mahinur Ozcelik swore in at Belgium's parliament in Brussels with her headscarf without any crisis, Turkish media reported. Ozdemir, 28-year-old, became first headscarved lawmaker in Europe. She became on Tuesday secretary member as the youngest MP in parliament alongside the oldest lawmaker.

Labour State Minister Emmanuel Otaala on Friday clashed with legislators over accusations that the government was trying to hijack a private members' Bill which seeks to outlaw female genital mutilation.