Women in Politics Gender, Power and Development

Women the world over are being prevented from engaging in politics. Women's political leadership of any sort is a rarity and a career in politics rarer still. We have, however, begun to understand what it takes to create an enabling environment for women's political participation.

In this exciting and pioneering collection, writers from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are brought together for the first time to talk explicitly about women's participation in the political scene across the global South.

Answering such questions as how women can get political apprenticeship opportunities, how these opportunities translate into the pursuit of a political career, and how these pursuits then influence the kind of political platform women advocate once in power, Women in Politics is essential reading for anyone interested in what it means to engage politically.

Mariz Tadros is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK. She was formerly a professor of political science at the American University in Cairo and worked for almost ten years as a journalist for Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper. Her most recent publications are The Muslim Brotherhood in Contemporary Egypt: Democracy Redefined or Confined? (Routledge 2012) and Copts at the Crossroads The struggle for inclusive democracy in Egypt (Oxford University Press of America 2013) and the editor of The Pulse of Egypt's Revolt (IDS Bulletin 43.1. January 2012) and Religion, gender and rights at the crossroads (IDS Bulletin 42.1. January 2011). She works on democratization in the Middle East, religion and development, the politics of gender and development and Islamist political movements in the Middle East. Her work has featured in the Guardian, Opendemocracy and Middle East Report.

Introduction; Islah Jad And Mariz Tadros
1. Palestinian Women Negotiating The Politics Of Power, And The Power Of Politics; Islah Jad
2. Woman-Coating Authoritarianism: The Politics Of Affirmative Action In Sudan; Sarah Abbas
3. The Rise And Fall Of The Quota And Beyond : Egyptian Women's Stalled Pathways To Political Power; Mariz Tadros
4. Running Solo: Women Independent Candidates In Sierra Leone; Hussainatu Abdallah
5. The Rise Of Women In The Assemblies Of Ghana: The Inside Stories; Takiyywa Many
6. Decentralization Of Whose Powers? Women In Local Government In Pakistan; Saba Khattak
7. Women's Empowerment Through Local Government: Rethinking The Relationship Between Governance And Gender Politics At A Microlevel; Zarina Rahman And Amena Mohsin
8. The Winding Paths Of Power For Women Engaging Politically In Brazil; Analice Costa
Conclusions; Islah Jad And Mariz Tadros