Teresa de Jesús Chocoyo definitely stood out in the crowd when she was sworn in recently as one of 22 departmental governors in Guatemala, where non-indigenous men dominate politics. A petite indigenous woman in colorful, traditional Mayan dress, her long black hair pulled back in a braid, she was the only indigenous woman governor, one of only three women and three indigenous governors.

Women of all ages, regions and walks of life took to the streets last year during the uprising that led to the ouster of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. They participated as candidates and campaigners during the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) elections that followed, encouraged by the country’s new electoral law that required a “zipper system” that alternated men and women on candidate lists. As the political transition continues, Tunisian women are playing active roles in civil society and political parties.

As a young Kosovar Albanian subjected to Slobodan Milosevic’s dictatorship, Aferdita Syla, like tens of thousands of other young people, faced discrimination in education and virtually every other aspect of her young life.  Her fundamental rights of citizenship were wholly denied.  She had little in the way of realizing her dreams to live a normal life in a normal country.