Women This Week: María Corina Machado Leads Protests in Venezuela

Levels Charge of Election Fraud Against Maduro  

María Corina Machado has become the face of the opposition and a voice of hope and resilience for millions in Venezuela. Massive protests erupted in Venezuela after Sunday’s presidential election. The National Election Commission of Venezuela announced that President Nicolas Maduro secured more than 51 percent of the vote, giving him another six-year term. But the opposition, led by Machado and the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, disputed this result, pointing to a parallel counting system set up by Machado and her team showing calculations that Gonzalez, in fact, won with over 70 percent of the vote. Machado, who was barred from running for office after winning over 90 percent of the opposition primary vote last year, is often referred to as Venezuela’s “iron lady.” In an interview with CNN, Machado said, “The regime will try to steal the election. But I have trust, full confidence in what the Venezuelan people voted for. We have built a platform to defend our votes; it’s unprecedented.” 

South Africa Appoints First Woman Chief Justice 

Mandisa Maya of South Africa has become the first woman to be appointed chief justice of the country’s Constitutional Court. Maya was appointed by Cyril Ramaphosa, who was recently elected President of South Africa. Maya previously served as the judge president of the Supreme Court of Appeal—the second-highest court in South Africa—where she was the first Black woman and first woman to be appointed deputy president and ultimately president of that court. Throughout her career, Maya has advocated for the rights of women and children and has pushed for better handling of cases related to gender-based violence and femicide. “The fate of these victims should not be left to the off-chance that the individual judges hearing their cases will be attuned to the sensitivities,” she has said. 

Parliament of Ghana Expands Opportunities for Women 

This week, Ghana’s parliament passed the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Bill 2024 to increase female participation in governance and decision-making to a minimum of 30 percent by 2030. According to Alban Bagbin, the speaker of the parliament, this will provide more opportunities to women at the national level and will meet the specifications of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which mandates gender equality and equity. Currently, less than 15 percent of Ghana’s 275-member parliament is comprised of women, well below the 30 percent target set out by the United Nations for all countries. Political Activist Shamima Muslim shared that the passage is “a welcome decision that demands further consistent action to achieve the noble ideal of building a just and equitable country.” 

Imaan Mirza is the intern for the Women and Foreign Policy Program.