On February 8, Laura Chinchilla was declared winner in the presidential election in Costa Rica, becoming the first female president of the nation and the fifth in Latin America. Winning 47 percent of the votes counted, Chinchilla avoids a potential run-off. In her acceptance speech, Chinchilla said to the gathered crowd:

“Thank you, Costa Rica. It’s certainly a moment of happiness, but above all of humility.”

Chinchilla, a former vice president, follows in the footsteps of female presidents in Chile, Argentina, Panama and Nicaragua. Her victory comes after various efforts in recent years to promote change and increase women’s political representation in the region.

Laura Chinchilla voted first female president of Costa Rica -TimesOnline

Laura Chinchilla to be Costa Rica’s first female leader -BBC

President Evo Morales begun his second term by swearing in Bolivia’s first cabinet to be comprised of an equal number of men and women. Bolivia now joins Chile as the second country in Latin America to have a cabinet with gender parity, reports IPS News. Monica Novillo, head of advocacy and lobbying for the Coordinadora de la Mujer, a Bolivian coalition of more than 200 women’s organizations, told IPS that the swearing in represents the fulfillment of a promise made by Morales following the adoption of a new constitution in February of 2009. The 10 women in the 20-member cabinet include “singers, lawyers, activists and social leaders, economists, doctors and workers.” In his remarks, Morales also noted that Bolivia now has its first female Minister of Labor.

This development is a testament to the effort and “long-time demand[s]” of the women’s movement in Bolivia, says Novillo. The proportion of women representatives in parliament is also far improved, doubling in percentage share from 14 to 28 percent (46 out of 166) of all seats from the previous Congress. When he announced his new cabinet, Morales said “that Bolivian women’s social conscience, patriotism and dedication to defending national interests, as well as the respect he feels for his mother, sister and daughter, were factors in his decision to break with a long history of discrimination against women.”

Bolivia: Unprecedented Gender Parity in Cabinet -IPS News

Elizabeth Kumba Torto is challenging tradition in the eastern part of Sierra Leone, looking to leave a male-dominated political custom behind in her bid for the position of paramount chief in the local chieftaincy election. In Kono, where many believe the nation’s civil war over “blood diamonds” began, Torto is contesting a decision that has found her candidacy invalid because of a recently-passed Chieftaincy Act, which states “a person is qualified to stand as a candidate in a paramount chieftaincy election where tradition so specifies,” as IPS News reports. It is this “tradition,” which excludes women from holding high-level political positions like the paramount chief, the “highest traditional head who rules over 11 districts in the country.”

Torto and her supporters are taking her case, which has evolved into an issue of women’s civil rights, to the Sierra Leone High Court. Veronica Dauda, president of Kono Women’s Group, said of the situation:

“Madame Torto’s fight is a woman’s fight. If we are able to (allow) her to contest the election then we would have broken a strong barrier to [women’s] equal participation in politics.”

Sierra Leone: Woman Breaking Traditional Walls in Chieftaincy Elections -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

On November 6, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the “No Limits” public policy conference where she spoke of her dedication to the promotion of women’s rights around the world. Clinton also honored the work of Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and Vital Voices Co-Founder and former CEO.

Speaking on the efforts of the State Department to support women’s progress around the world, below is an excerpt from her keynote address. Clinton said:

There is nothing that has been more important to me over the course of my lifetime than advancing the rights of women and girls. It’s been a cause of my public life. And it is now a cornerstone of American foreign policy.

We have appointed the first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. Some of you know Melanne Verveer, who was my chief of staff at the White House, went on to run Vital Voices, which some of you have become involved in, which I am delighted about because everywhere I go in the world, the Vital Voices women come to meet me.

And they wear their little pins, the kind of V’s that look like wings taking flight that give them a better future.

And we want to do more in partnerships like that, so we’re opening up on the State Department website that we will notify everybody about, a way for you to be part of supporting some of these projects and supporting individual women; individual women and their own needs, whether it’s a small microloan or a program to help rape survivors or victims.

Full speech

Malaysia’s largest political coalition is calling for an increase in female leadership. The Barisan Nasional (BN) contains three component parties each representing of one of Malaysia’s three main ethnic groups. The coalition’s goal is to use these new leaders to successfully raise women’s issues to the forefront.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development and BN member, stated, “We feel that [women’s] issues are political issues as the people prefer political leaders who fight for such issues. The positive outcome will help raise their quality of life and protect their rights.”

One issue in particular that the coalition hopes to tackle is creating more family-friendly work environments since Malaysian women comprise half of the total workforce.

Wanita BN Wants More Women Leaders In Each Party’s Main Body- Malaysian National News Agency

From November 2-6, representatives from India’s 40 constituencies are set to meet in New Delhi to discuss gender equality and equal representation in the Parliament and legislature.

The conference is organized by an anti-trafficking and women’s rights non-governmental organization called Sanlaap.

Women to discuss their rights at Delhi meet- Times of India

Bolivia will be holding a general election in December under a new constitution which requires that half of all candidates for political office are female. For women that make it into politics, especially at the municipal level, there is a constant threat of violence which causes many to either leave office or not run at all.

Several organizations, including the Bolivian Association of Women Town Councilors (ACOBOL) have pressured Congress to pass a bill to protect female officials, but so far the government has not responded.

When IPS asked María Eugenia Rojas of ACOBOL to recount cases of gender-based discrimination toward elected officials she considered many. “Which is worse? The case of the councilwoman who was attacked and suffered a miscarriage? Or the one that was beaten within an inch of her life? Or the municipal official who was raped?” she said.

Of those accused of beating or humiliating elected female officials, none have been prosecuted. From 2000 to 2005 ACOBOL recorded two hundred complaints which is unusually high for a country that currently only has 25 percent of its town council seats held by women.

“A law is not sufficient in and of itself, but it will be a key step in the right direction and a major achievement because it will be taken as a reference point for further action, especially as it sets specific penalties and identifies certain behaviors as punishable offenses,” elected official Patricia Flores told IPS.

Bolivia: Politics, a Risky Business for Women - IPS

This November the Ugandan parliament will consider three critical measures to enhance women’s rights: the Marriage and Divorce Bill, the Domestic Violence Bill and the Female Genital Mutilation Bill.

Chris Baryomunsi, a Member of Parliament and champion of women’s rights, told IPS that one the biggest challenges is in messaging. Traditional thinking follows that any gains in women’s rights will result in a loss of power for men.

One key strategy, therefore, is the involvement of men. Baryomunsi said, “Once male legislators are on board, it becomes easy for them to communicate to the rest of the men in the country. When we present this law (as one that is) good for us the leaders, then men in the community will definitely accept and know that it is good for them.”

In order to facilitate the passage of these measures, the Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) recently partnered with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender and the United Nations Development Fund to host a two-day workshop. Proponents of these initiatives hope to empower women’s rights advocates in their pursuit to win the support of male lawmakers.

Q&A: Women’s Empowerment: ‘Men Are Interested’- IPS

In the remote villages of India, women are finding strength and empowerment by leading communities as heads of local government. In the state of Uttarakhand, an amendment to the constitution in 1993 “bestowed constitutional status upon the institutions of local self-governance,” representing a “watershed in the history of modern India” by recognizing community-level leaders in a formal manner, as IPS News describes. This amendment further mandated the reservation of 33 percent of seats for women, and though this mandate has not become a reality practice, women are overcoming odds and serving their localities as elected leaders.

Illiteracy, cultural prejudice and a lack of financial independence are among the obstacles to women’s political participation. In an effort to create an environment that encourages women to pursue political office, Sri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA), a local NGO, has initiated a program to develop the capacity of women interested in politics through peer training and the support of a network of elected female representatives. Establishing a sense of camaraderie among the women, SBMA encourages participating women to recruit others who may be interested in the forum to “help broaden the pool of active women and future leaders,” said coordinator Shashi Uniyal.

A perceptible shift has been marked along with women’s greater involvement as elected leaders, notes Uniyal, who explains that prior to women’s engagement the focus of local institutions was largely on road and water tank construction, whereas presently issues of social justice and child development feature as central components as well.

INDIA: Women Beat the Odds to Leave a Mark as Village Leaders-IPS News