Women’s Political Leadership programme - Phase I

Across the world, women are under-represented at all levels of formal politics. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia – the three countries covered by Phase I of the programme – are no different. In Indonesia, women hold 121 of 575 seats in the lower house of parliament, just 21%. In Thailand and Malaysia, just 15% and 14% of seats are held by women. WFD supported politically active women and their allies to participate in local, regional and national politics

31 August 2023

Funders

Global Affairs Canada

Location

Indonesia

Malaysia

Thailand

Theme

Women's political leadership

This programme has been working to advance equality in politics and wider society across the ASEAN region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) by making it easier for politically active women to participate in local, regional and national politics and to become political leaders. We want to enable an environment where there are more women in politics, where women in politics are better protected from violence, and where women’s issues are better addressed in law and policy.

Aims and activities (Phase I)

Research and evidence

We wanted to evidence our understanding of the obstacles that hinder women's political participation and leadership in ASEAN. We conducted research in collaboration with regional research institutes and the findings and evidence generated have played an important role in reinforcing the case for equality among local and regional decision-makers, civil society actors, and international donors. Moreover, they have significantly increased the motivation to take action.

Country-level change

WFD worked with politically active women and their allies to address barriers to women’s political participation and leadership. We supported stakeholders with:

Skills development and learning opportunities
Mentoring schemes and exchanges
Interactive workshops to support strategies and action plans to promote changes in legal and policy frameworks
Support to advance the implementation of existing regulations to support equality and inclusion
Tools to address the vulnerabilities of operating online

By building connections and relationships, we were also able to bring politically active women and their allies together to establish a regional coalition for change, supporting both its short-term planning and long-term vision.

Helping end violence against women in politics

Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) targets women for their political activity and is motivated by desires to restrict their political participation. VAWP can have a chilling effect on the political ambitions of young women and can have inter-generational consequences for the full realisation of women's political rights. VAWP is also under-reported because women fear for their safety, fear backlash from their political counterparts, and may not have formal legal avenues for redress. The programme sought to raise awareness of VAWP and inform formal policy responses.

Key achievements (Phase I)

The programme:

Implemented 23 activities at country level, focused on capacity building and advocacy, as well as 11 regional activities involving 145 stakeholders. In total, the programme directly engaged with over 200 stakeholders.
Successfully connected and supported politically active women, including MPs, candidates, party leaders, women caucus members, and male allies from five ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, and the Philippines/Bangsamoro. It also supported CSOs and the media community to increase awareness of their roles in contributing to gender equality.
Produced a regional report – Women’s political participation in the ASEAN region – which provided an evidence base to support policy interventions. This was informed by a range of activities including: peer-to-peer learning and capacity-building sessions, discussions around legal barriers and gender-sensitive workplaces, and engagement with media and journalists on their role in building an enabling environment.
Implemented a regional ‘coalition for change.’ Women political leaders were able to connect, collaborate and benefit from peer support.
Advocated for ending VAWP and promoted women's representation at the ASEAN level via the regional bodies of AIPA and WAIPA. Additionally, increased collaboration with UNWomen and UNDP was observed as part of efforts to highlight the importance of international cooperation.