Le recours aux This paper attempts to explore the embedded relationship between dynamics of gendered power and their political participation, with a particular focus on the Global South. The Global South is a concept representing nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America which share a common history of colonialism and are gripped in the shackles of economic inequality and poverty. These nations working through the South-South Cooperation help to exchange their resources, technologies and knowledge to minimize their dependency on the the historical dominant powers, the Global North. This study reflects that gender-based power imbalance is a crucial factor in determining how women and men participate in politics in the Global South which is mainly driven by the traditional patriarchal systems, past political and social systems and the intersectional identities that creates unique forms of discrimination. To explore this, the paper employs a qualitative methodology based on a comprehensive review of existing theoretical literature, historical analyses, and varied case studies from Global South experiences. The findings reveal that women in the Global South face complex barriers to political inclusion which has its roots in patriarchal norms and past injustices. Political exclusion remains a blunt reality often worsened by the intersection of gender with other identities viz. class, race and disability despite stupendous efforts in this direction. Various strategies for political empowerment of women, drawing crucial lessons from successful and challenging experiences across the Global South have been identified in the present paper. It can be concluded that achieving gender equality in political participation in the Global South is a complex, ongoing struggle. A structural transformation is required to build an equitable political future of the existing political systems, societal norms and economic structures that gives privilege to men and marginalize the women (especially those with intersectional identities). As the study is limited to secondary data, it may not capture the complete picture of local contexts and the generalizations made through broader scope of Global South may also overlook specific dynamics. Future researches may focus on localized studies and longitudinal analyses of impacts of the policies undertaken.
