A seemingly innocuous election rule in India has a gendered side-effect, finds study, and other stories
#WomenLead (Issue 102): Your weekly round-up on women in politics
Hello, and welcome to Issue 102!
A very warm and sincere welcome to all new readers and subscribers! So many of you have signed up in recent days - we are thrilled to have you on board, and we hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter.
In this week’s edition, we bring you news from France, Malaysia and the USA, while the spotlight is on India. In case you missed last week’s edition, you can read it here.
Quick Updates
🗳️ POLL DAY TRACKER: France is holding the first round of its Parliamentary polls today, and the second round will be held next weekend. Forty four percent of those contesting are women. The French law requires parties to put forth gender-balanced candidate lists - parties that fail to do so have to face financial penalties. This year, parties have been denied €2.25 million in public funding in total for their failure to include an equal share of women, The Local has reported. The outgoing Parliament has 39.5 percent women. Will the country improve its record this time? We will be on the lookout!
⏫ A STEP UP: In Malaysia, MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, who was till recently the country’s Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, is all set to lead a political party. Zuraida recently moved from the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia party, which is a part of the ruling coalition, to Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), a newly formed party. PBM has designated her as the ‘President Designate’. Welcoming her, PBM chair Alan Oh said, “Zuraida was the ideal leader to bring the party to a stronger and better platform based on the principles of racial diversity, raising the dignity of women and featuring a stronger youth in resetting the economy of the country.” For those working on women’s rights in the country, this move is being hailed as “a feather in the cap” for women of the country. That sounds like a cause for celebration, doesn’t it?