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August 11, 2017

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Pros and Cons of the Three Women Running for South Africa’s Presidency

By: Amanda Gouws, Stellenbosch University South Africa celebrated Women’s Day on August 9th to mark the day in 1956 when 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to insist on their rights. Women’s Day provides an opportune moment to reflect on what it would mean for South Africa to be governed by a woman president after the 2019 elections. Three women from the governing African National Congress are running as candidates – Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Baleka Mbete and Lindiwe Sisulu. Because voters vote for a party, the President is elected by the members of parliament. The ANC holds the majority vote, which means that the president will most likely be an ANC candidate. All three women are ANC stalwarts who can be considered as part of the exile generation. They were all active in the liberation struggle, and all have contributed to the country since the…

Iran Names Three Women to Government Posts after Criticism

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently has brought three women into the government, one day after being criticized on social media for submitting an all-male list of cabinet members to parliament for approval. Massoumeh Ebtekar, head of Iran’s Department of Environment in Rouhani’s first term, was appointed vice president for women and family affairs. Laya Joneidi was named vice president for legal affairs while Shahindokht Molaverdi was made the president’s assistant for civil rights. Rouhani had mentioned the importance of women’s rights in campaign speeches before the presidential election in May when he was re-elected. The appointments are likely to tamp down some of the criticism that Rouhani faced from supporters on Tuesday when he failed to announce any female ministers in his cabinet. One widely-circulated post on social media showed Rouhani with his new all-male cabinet cast in a photo in front of a government building – with a huge…

YouTube CEO Speaks On Gender Disparity

By: Miracle Nwankwo In the light of several statements on the need for gender parity across regions, the CEO of YouTube Susan Wojcicki, has lent her voice while dispelling the notion that the tech job is not befitting for women. She said this in a column while reacting to a contentious discussion written in a memo on how the tech job is not befitting for a woman and how women are more unstable than men. This statement is a bigger blow to the womanhood, even with the increased rate of women participation in the tech world. In the column sent to Fortune, Susan started by quoting her daughters questions during a conversation they had after she saw the news. “Mom, is it true that there are biological reasons why there are fewer women in tech and leadership?” She continued by sharing her experiences and the difficulties she has been facing…

Thai Opens “Women Only” Counter

Recognizing women are high-spend travelers in their own right, Thai Airways International has recently launched an initiative to support the Women’s Journey Thailand campaign 2017. THAI is backing the month-long campaign to emphasize female travel with a special counter decked out in a ‘pink lady’ theme. The Tourism Authority of Thailand re-launched the campaign following the success of its 2016 campaign that offered special privileges for female travelers. THAI participated in the event by opening check-in counter row B09, decked out in a “Pink Lady Theme” to serve women customers traveling in all cabin classes and for every flight departing SWB, 0500 to 2000, for the month of August. The airline also offering women exclusive discounted fares for travel bookings made this month. Thailand celebrates the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit, 12 August, which is also Mother’s Day. Source: TTR

RESCUING THE COMMON WOMAN

Chetna Sinha, Founder of the Mann Deshi Bank and Foundation, was born in Mumbai India. She is the farmer, economist, and activist. She is a rural diamond who has dedicated her life to shining the light in rural communities in India. The Mann Deshi bank is India’s first rural financial institution which is run for and by women. Ideas for the bank and foundation came up just after Chetna got married and decided to relocate to Mhaswad, a small town in Maharashtra. On getting to Mhaswad, there was a new amendment in the Panchayat Raj Bill; a foundation of India’s political system initiated by Mahatma Gandhi to decentralize the form of government in a way that each village would be responsible for its own affairs. In 1986-87, the Panchayat Raj Bill was passed with a new improvement that reserves 30 per cent of the Panchayat for women. At the…