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General elections in Sierra Leone will be held mid-2023. However, there still exists deep gender imbalances in the country’s political context. From prejudices against women’s leadership to political and traditional barriers that continue to threaten women’s political participation and inclusion.
If election management bodies do not have a plan for effective, multi-year strategic communications, credible election processes risk being undermined by disinformation.
Between 2019 and 2022, WFD implemented a programme in Lebanon that provided institutional and legal guidance and support to parliamentary committees. WFD’s role centred on supporting the Lebanese Parliament’s efforts to engage citizens in decision-making processes in the face of economic and political crises.
Think of the biggest global contest, complete with high profile sponsors, defending champions, resurgent challengers, and breakthrough countries carrying the hopes of whole regions. And we’re in extra time, praying that the match doesn’t end with a penalty shoot out. It’s not the World Cup, but that’s what the struggle between democrats and autocrats as 2022 becomes 2023 and we prepare for the year ahead.
On December 5-6, 2022, the League of Arab States (LAS) launched the Arab Declaration on Combating all Forms of Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a two-day high-level event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
No matter the analytical tools and methodologies, the evidence is clear: patriarchy, masculinity, and biased gender norms underpin violence across all times, phases or conditions. At the core are unequal relations between women and men and the concept that men should power over women and girls.
In December WFD co-hosted the 5th Bali Civil Society & Media Forum and participated in the 15th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF). During a panel discussion focused on democracyat the heart of ensuring fair and equitable access to global public goods, WFD’s Environmental Democracy Adviser Rafael Jiménez-Aybar shared his thoughts on the intersection of democracy and climate change.
Gender-based violence and environmental protection are linked. Transforming gender roles is indispensable for effective environmental democracy – which requires inclusion in decision-making on environmental governance – and better environmental outcomes.
In collaboration with UN Women and the Women's Parliamentary Caucus of the Republic of Indonesia, WFD organised an event to mark the #16Days of activism against gender-based violence at the Indonesian Parliament complex in Jakarta (29/11) where representatives of all political parties in the parliament signed a declaration to condemn violence against women in politics, especially ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections.
Impact assessments of laws after their enactment have become a key tool in the fight against gender-based violence. In a growing number of countries, parliamentarians have taken a leading role in initiating legislation against GBV as well as in monitoring its implementation.
Only a broad alliance, built between parliament, election management bodies, political parties, civil society, media outlets and online platforms, can successfully address violence against women in elections.
Addressing conflict-related violence against women and girls requires intersectional gender and conflict analysis to tackle harmful gender norms, patriarchal culture, and structural inequalities between women and men that predate conflict.
Democracy support actors like WFD need to respond to violence against women in politics as radically as the women who challenge these societal limitations. We need to set a goal of elimination through the transformation of gendered power relations.
After the two years of implementation, the Kenya Inclusive Political Parties (KIPP) programme has registered good buy in and goodwill from its partners. This has led to achievements in the promotion of persons with disability inclusion in Kenyan politics.
WFD hosted a Finnish delegation on a 4-day visit to Kenya informed by the progress and success of the implementation of a disability inclusion programme in the country.
