German Left leader quits, calls out sexism in her own party, and other stories
#WomenLead (Issue 95): Your weekly round-up on women in politics
Hello, and welcome to Issue 95!
Please note that this edition contains mentions of sexual violence and could be triggering for some readers, so please read only if you are in the right mindspace for the same.
We bring you updates from the Gambia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and the spotlight is on Germany. In case you missed last week’s edition, you can read it here.
Quick Updates
🚫 A DISMAL SHOW: Gambia held Parliamentary elections earlier this month. Nineteen women contested the polls, making up just 7.7 percent of all candidates. Only three women were elected, and two others were nominated, which means there will be five women among the 58 members of the National Assembly. Women’s groups in the country are justifiably dissatisfied and have said that the “results of the election do not align with the important calls for equitable representation in our decision-making spaces, but instead widen the gap for minority representation, especially in the National Assembly”.
⚠️ A SERIAL OFFENDER: In Thailand, Prinn Panitchpakdi, Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party and seen as a “rising star” in the country’s politics, has been accused by 15 women of sexual assault. They include an 18-year-old student and a Bangkok Council candidate. This is not the first time Prinn has been accused of sexual crimes - he had reportedly faced rape and false imprisonment charges when he was living in London in 2003, a Vice report said. Prinn has resigned from the party, and the party’s leader and the country’s deputy PM, Jurin Laksanawisit, has issued a formal apology, and has said that he would look into the party's vetting process.