Women-led Nonviolent Elections Campaign

Democratic elections are increasingly becoming the norm for African societies and a central aspect of peacebuilding in post-conflict societies. This emphasis on elections acknowledges that popularly elected/legitimate institutions are vital to lasting solutions to conflicts, as democratic governments tend to be more representative of all groups. Central to this is the recognition of women's strategic role in peacebuilding and democracy; as well as of the opportunities which elections present in increasing women's political participation and advancing equality in access to decision-making and leadership e.g. as the Liberian, Ugandan and Rwandan experiences have shown. Elections can provide the best possible opportunity to ensure women's voices are heard, concerns are addressed and potential contributions to peace and democracy maximized.

However, although the general principles of women's full participation in elections and peacebuilding are broadly accepted, their implementation is often inadequate. This is largely because many obstacles to women's equal participation in elections continue to exist and these may include psychological and traditional barriers, as well as inequalities in education, training and resources. Furthermore, political parties' leadership is usually male dominated, and a number of other barriers exist within political structures such as the type of electoral system, or restrictions on candidacies based on education or other factors. Post-conflict societies often present additional obstacles for women's equal participation in elections due to the existence of entrenched military groups, volatile security situations, disproportionately large number of refugee and displaced women, inadequate institutions to protect and enforce political rights for women, and the failure to include women in the peace negotiations which determine the type of electoral process to be adopted.

While acknowledging these realities, WIPSEN-Africa recognizes that elections, in particularly post-conflict situations, may provide special opportunities to advance women's participation in democratic elections, as well as in peace and security. From our experience, what is achievable depends to a great extent on the situation on the ground and on the abilities of women's groups to effectively organize themselves as a major force to ensure increased women's political participation, e.g. as was recently evident in Liberia.

Thus through its Women-led Non-violent Elections campaign WIPSEN-Africa is committed to mobilizing women around elections to:

1. Lobby and advocate for women-friendly policy changes to included in new constitutions, electoral laws or political parties' act --including special measures to increase the political participation of women.
2. Build/strengthen the capacities of women to engage in electoral processes.  
3. Prevent the (re)occurrence of electoral violence through targeted campaigns.

 

Programs > Core Programs > Women in Leadership & Decision-making on Peace and Human Security