With critical elections scheduled in April, women in South Sudan are rallying for an increased role in the rebuilding of government infrastructure and civil institutions, reports IPS News. A nation severely weakened by conflict and violence, Sudan and its citizens are in desperate need of reform and development –a process that has many women campaigning for full and fair participation in political life. Hannah Dario, a social worker in Lakeside State, says that it is time for change in Sudan:

“We believe this change will come through an engendered decision-making process, as well as in implementation of these decisions…No one should gamble with the peace for which we have paid such a high price to enjoy.”

Members of grassroots women’s organizations say that the future of their nation should be shaped by an equal partnership between men and women. Sudanese women are gathering to discuss and debate important issues surrounding political, social, and economic life, preparing to offer a unified and representative platform as election season gains way. According to IPS, “the meetings also serve to collect and articulate women’s grievances and issues to be passed on to those women who occupy elected and appointed seats in government.”

Deborah Tito, a housewife and member of the Women’s Union organization, which branches across all states in northern and southern Sudan, says that women must be regarded as equal stakeholders in the political future of the state. Tito goes on to say that women’s leadership must be engaged and recognized in its many forms:

“It’s very unfortunate that the debate about women and leadership has degenerated into the number of seats we can or should have.”

Tito insists that the women’s movement in Sudan be focused on the quality, as opposed to quantity, of leadership as it affects women. The path to equality, she argues, will take more than a high percentage of female representation in government. As Sudan rebuilds, and many women are uniting to join in the effort, still others are struggling to secure basic needs of survival. One government representative says:

“For most women, even with the end of the war, survival precedes all else. As long as they can put something together to feed the family, then all else is luxury, including a more balanced gender make-up in government.”

As elections near, women’s organizations continue to mobilize citizens in an effort to communicate their needs and ideas as a community.

SOUTH SUDAN: Women’s Eyes on the Political Prize -IPS News

Bulgarian Education Minister Yordanka Fandukova was elected the first female mayor of the capital city of Sofia in what was described as a “landslide victory” by the Southeast Europe Times. Winning 66 percent of the vote, Fandukova handily defeated her fellow candidates in the mid-November contest.

Sofia elects first woman mayor-SETimes.com

For women in South Sudan, nationwide elections scheduled for April 2010 will mean voting for the first time.

Although 25 percent of seats will be reserved for female candidates, women will face many obstacles in both voter participation and in candidacy.

Women suffer from low literacy rates, which compounds the problem of voter education. All together, voters will have to submit 12 separate paper ballots, a process that some estimate will take between 36 and 72 minutes.

Compounding the problems for women are the fees that candidates need to pay to election commission in order to run for office. For example, the fee to run for parliament is equivalent to about $50 USD, while the fee to run for president is equivalent to about $5,000 USD. To facilitate fundraising, some women are requesting parties to set aside a budget to support women candidates and their campaigns.

In addition, with newly established political parties, some believe that party bosses will use female candidates to promote their interests over the interests of the candidate herself and of women in general.

Voter registration, which began in August, will close on November 30.

SOUTH SUDAN: Complicating the Vote for Women- IPS

A record of 54 women have won seats in Japan’s Parliament after the election on August 30. This number is an increase from the 2005 elections, which reached the previous record high with 43 seats secured.

With women currently holding only 11% of the seats in Parliament, Japan still maintains the lowest female representation of any developed nation.

The gain is attributed to the opposition Democratic Party, which gained several seats over the Liberal Democratic Party.

Record 54 women elected in Japan – News Digital Media, Australia

Zimbabwean Vongai Chikwanda participated in the April 2008 ‘Women’s Leadership in Public Life’ Vital Voices political training, where representatives from 13 African countries joined to engage in political campaign and public leadership training. Vongai is a researcher and program assistant with the Women in Politics Support Unit, an organization working for the equal participation and inclusion of women in political processes.

Vongai Chikwanda of Zimbabwe, after participating in a Vital Voices political training, has initiated a project to involve young women in the constitutional reform process currently underway in her nation. The disputed elections of June 2008 in Zimbabwe led to the formation of the Government of National Unity, a coalition government that includes President Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front), Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (Movement for Democratic Change) and Deputy Prime Ministers Thokozani Khuphe and Arthur Mutambara (Movement for Democratic Change-Mutambara). The administration came together after the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in September 2008. In accordance with one of the stipulations of the GPA, parties must draft a new constitution for Zimbabwe through a democratic, inclusive and citizen-driven process.

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The Associated Press (AP) reports on August 24 that early surveys “suggest that voter turnout fell more sharply for women than for men” during the August 20 national election in Afghanistan. Election monitors and observers have cited Taliban attacks and threats, a lack of female election workers and closed female voting sites as causes for the low turnout. The 2009 estimated overall turnout is 40-50 percent, standing in stark contrast with a 70 percent turnout in the 2004 elections.

Afghan women were at a marked disadvantage on the recent election day. Required to vote at separate polling stations, women were met with at least 650 closed stations, as the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan reports. In a certain southern province, only 6 of 36 women’s stations were reported open. The relatively safe north of Afghanistan did experience a “solid female turnout,” as AP describes.

Many women braved the threats and intimidation of their surroundings and chose to run for elected office, with two women included among the 36 presidential candidates. An additional 333 women campaigned for seats in provincial council elections. AP reports that official results in the presidential and provincial council elections are not expected for weeks.

Afghan elections seen as a setback for women-Associated Press

Intimidation and Fraud Observed in Afghan Election-The New York Times

Women in Afghanistan will face many hurdles this Thursday August 20 as they attempt to vote in the presidential and provincial elections.

With gender segregated voting facilities, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) is believed to require between 13,000 and 42,000 additional female election officials to operate women-only polling sites.

Officials have proposed hiring elderly men to fulfill some responsibilities at polling facilities, which include frisking and searching, prompting many to forbid female family members from attending “mixed” sites.

In addition to foreseen logistic issues, the Telegraph reports that the Taliban has threatened to cut off the fingers of anyone found to possess the telltale ink-marked fingers that indicate voter participation. The Taliban has described the presidential election as a sham, controlled by western governments.

Others fear that since a woman’s voter registration card does not require a photo identification on cultural grounds the ballots will be sold.

However, with two female presidential candidates and dozens of provincial candidates, women continue to fight for representative equality.

Farida Bayat, a provincial council candidate facing threats on her life told NPR:

I’m determined to see future generations of girls like my daughter gain confidence by seeing me and other women taking these steps. Women are half the population of this country and should be taking part in politics and everything else.

Sources: NPR, NZ Herald, Telegraph

Related Blog Articles:
Women Candidates in Afghanistan Face Opposition
Outline of the Afghan Presidential Election and Women’s Rights

In the run-up to the August 20 presidential election in Afghanistan, there is a record number of women candidates vying for political positions. NPR lends perspective in reminding that “the participation is a major change in a country where women weren’t even allowed to attend school eight years ago.” These trailblazing women candidates and voters have been met with challenges, “facing oppression, threats of violence and fraud,” as NPR reports.

Taliban control in certain provinces severely inhibits women’s political participation, with female candidates in a certain region not being permitted to run their campaigns in public, according to NPR. In the capital of Kabul, women have easier access to polls. One candidate for a provincial council seat, Farida Bayat, commented on the significance of the election and women’s participation for her daughters:

“I’m determined to see future generations of girls like my daughter gain confidence by seeing me and other women taking these steps. Women are half the population of this country and should be taking part in politics and everything else.”

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Laura Alonso while attending Annual Leadership Summit for Latin America and the Caribbeanin in Miami - 2007

Laura Alonso, well known civil society activist and 2008 Vital Voices Global Leadership Award winner, has been elected as a national representative in Congress in Argentina.

Laura writes about her path to the election and her plans as a representative in the post below:

I was the Executive Director of Poder Ciudadano, one of the largest NGOs in Argentina for many years. While there, I worked very hard to promote transparency in public administration and politics.

Last May I accepted the offer of a political party and was nominated to be a national representative candidate for Buenos Aires.

Ideally, I would like to work in an open and diverse political environment, where dialogue and debate are encouraged and customary in the decision-making process.

I was recently elected as a national representative and will be in office starting on December 10, 2009. I plan to work on promoting positive reforms, and enhancing transparency in government, Congress and the Judiciary. I believe that national representatives to Congress have a two-fold challenge before us: to legislate and to regain the confidence of citizens.

I believe that technology is working in favor of re-engaging people in politics, and I look forward to using new tools to create a mass collaborative movement around my four-year term in Congress.

In her first election before parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva became the first female speaker elected in Bulgaria with a 226-0 vote, as EurActiv reports. The 51-year-old lawyer is from northern Bulgaria, and has served previously in the municipal council. The Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria party, to which Tsacheva belongs, recently won 40 percent of the vote in national elections earlier in July. During her first address to parliament, Tsacheva spoke of the work ahead: “What people expect from us is more work and, most of all, self-discipline.”

Minority government set to lead Bulgaria -EurActiv

Bulgaria Elects First Female Speaker-Ms.Magazine