Woman Runs for President in Islamic Mauritania

<p class="desc">A woman has put forward a rare bid for the presidency of Mauritania, a west African nation run under strict Islamic law, the country's Constitutional Council said Wednesday.</p><p class="desc">"Lalla Mariem Mint Moulaye Idriss dropped off a file at the Constitutional Council containing her candidacy for the June 21 presidential elections," the body said in a statement.</p><p class="desc">Idriss, 57, an independent candidate, is only the second woman to ever seek election in a presidential poll in Mauritania, following the candidacy of Aicha Mint Jedeine who ran in 2003.</p><p class="desc">Women are weakly represented in the Islamic country, occupying only 20 percent of elected posts, and calls for equality in politics have grown.</p>
Read the full article here: Nahar Net