Africa lags on gender parity in politics
NITA BHALLA AFRICA has increased the number of women in parliament but still looks set to miss a global goal of gender parity in politics by 2030, according to an European think tank. The study by Sweden's International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) found that women occupied 24% of Africa's 12,113 parliamentary seats in the upper and lower houses in 2020 - up from 9% in 2000. But progress was slow, it said, with women facing a barrage of challenges underpinned by entrenched sexism, be it a dearth of opportunity, lack of economic support or outright prejudice.…