Caribbean | Haiti | Politics

No women in new Haitian parliament

As the Haitian Senate prepared to induct its newest lawmakers last week, outgoing Senate President Andris Riché couldn’t help but notice a disturbing trend inside the chamber’s wooden walls. Not one female sat among the 14 newly elected black-suited senators or among the 10 existing ones. “Despite all of the years of existence of our nation,” Riché said, “we are incapable of electing women in the Senate. We will be 30 guys deciding on the future of this country, while 53 percent of the population are women and they assume all of the economic responsibilities.” Next door

Caribbean | Haiti | Security

Meet One Of The World’s Only All-Women Peacekeeping Units

Source: Refinery29

In 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Death toll estimates vary widely but at least 100,000 people lost their lives, much of the infrastructure in the capital of Port-au-Prince was leveled. This ultimately left the government and economy of the region's poorest country severely incapacitated. Among the thousands who flew to the island to provide assistance was a rare but inspiring group: a unit of United Nations Peacekeepers comprised entirely of Muslim women from Bangladesh — one of just three all-female crews in the UN's more than 100,000-person peacekeeping force. Peacekeeper