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Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties

How women participate in political parties – and how those parties encourage and nurture women’s involvement and incorporate gender-equality issues – are key determinants of women’s political empowerment. They are also key to ensuring gender-equality issues are addressed in the wider society. If strategies to promote women’s involvement in the political process are to be effective, they should be linked to steps parties can take across the specific phases of the electoral cycle – the preelectoral, electoral and post-electoral phases – and to the organization and financing of the parties themselves. 
 
The most effective strategies to increase women’s participation in political parties combine reforms to political institutions with targeted support to women party activists within and outside party structures, women candidates and elected officials. These strategies require the cooperation of a variety of actors and political parties from across the political spectrum.
 
The Guide identifies targeted interventions that political parties can take to empower women. It is structured according to four phases, following an electoral cycle approach.

Morocco: vote puts women's gains to crucial test

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Tue, 2011-11-22 08:04

Summary: 

Morocco's Nov. 25 parliamentary elections are expected to decide if the country's new constitutional provisions for women can go beyond paper gains.

"People are tired of promises," said Fatima Sadiqi, a lecturer at the University of Fes in Morocco and Harvard University. "They want to see things happening on the ground. In order to apply them you need the infrastructure, schools in rural areas. That's not easy. There should be a serious thought about these issues, and this is the moment. Elections are close."

Judges' decisions in Morocco are driven more by laws than constitutional rights. That means the next parliament has the chance, through legislation, to decide the real reach of constitutional reforms approved by a landslide popular vote in July.

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Read more on UPI, published 21 Nov


Morocco: Electoral List Quotas Draw Criticism

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Fri, 2011-09-16 07:17

Summary: 

The representation of women and youth in Morocco’s next parliament will increase three-fold, the interior ministry and political parties recently agreed.

Sixty seats have been reserved for women and thirty for candidates under the age of forty, according to the bill passed by the Council of Ministers on Friday (September 9th).

The decision, however, triggered a flurry of negative reactions from activists. Some see it as a violation of the principle of equal opportunity, while others say the bill does not go far enough.

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Read more in Erasiareview, published 16. Sept


Women & the New Media in the Mediterranean Region

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Fri, 2011-06-17 08:39
2011-06-24
2011-06-27
US/Eastern
Click here
City & Province/State: 
Fez
Country: 
Morocco
Venue: 

Palais des Congrès

Description: 

With the growing dominance of the Internet, blog, chat and mobile telephony, the great big bang; of the new media has begun, and consequently, communication is rapidly changing and becoming mobile, interactive, personalized and multi-channel. This extraordinary revolution is affecting the basic structure of Mediterranean societies, especially those in the south, and is raising discussions and debates that are profoundly related to women: the rapid transformation of the boundaries between the public and the private spaces, the relationship between the new media and womens activism, the relationship between new technology and womens oral literature, changes in the relationship between written and oral languages, the (problematic) increase in the use of mother tongues (mainly oral) in the field of education, and the challenges of new transmissions of womens versatile knowledge.

 

For more information, visit ISIS Center For Women and Development (I.C.W.A.D)


Democracy With Women, For Women

This publication presents an overview and brief analysis of the first round of grants issued
by the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) in partnership with the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Both organizations are engaged in advancing gender equality and democratic governance around the world. The following pages probe, in a concise fashion, what was achieved through seven grants to improve women’s political participation in a diverse set of countries and regions.

A series of project profiles, drawn from reports and independent evaluations, summarizes objectives and activities, results, challenges, lessons and ideas for future work. Collectively and individually, the profiles shed light on effective strategies in implementing gender and governance programmes. This information may be useful for people carrying out or funding similar initiatives, or for gender advocates, governance specialists and researchers interested in a concise overview of recent experiences illustrating advancements in women’s political participation.

Since 2006, UNDEF has provided grants to strengthen democratic governance in over 100 countries. UNIFEM works with about 10 percent of UNDEF projects to inject its long-standing expertise in gender equality and governance. While all UNDEF projects contribute to realizing gender equality goals, UNIFEM puts deliberate emphasis on ensuring that women have an equal voice in all aspects of governance, peace and security and public decision-making. Globally, progress towards a gender balance in politics is being made, but the pace of change is slow, and the number of women in political offices remains low.

In 2006, the first round of UNDEF proposals awarded $36 million to 125 projects. Grant awards ranged from $50,000 to $500,000. UNIFEM assisted 10 projects in Argentina, Cambodia, Ecuador, Haiti, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania participated in a Great Lakes regional project, while Inter Press Service International implemented an Africa regional project in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Swaziland.

North Africa: Women’s political participation in North Africa enhanced under UN-backed project

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2009-12-21 23:00

Summary: 

The use of new information and communication technologies such as videos, podcasts, key statistics, SMS (messaging), and interactive spaces such as quizzes, polls, social networking sites such as Facebook and discussion forums, will promote sharing of information and active participation in updating and expanding website content and in compiling good practices,” UN-INSTRAW said in a news release. The project’s new website www.womenpoliticalparticipation.org has been created with a participatory vision and is available in Arabic, English and French.

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For more informations, please visit UN.org

Local Elections and National Democracy Opportunities in Morocco

Submitted by anitavandenbeld on Tue, 2009-07-07 04:24

anitavandenbeld's picture
Summary: 

Morocco has just been through the last phases of its local elections. The reforms that were put in place for the occasion have indeed led to “technical” progress in the management of local communes, such as the voting of young people and women. A financial fund for parties that was established for promoting female candidacies has been the greatest success of the new 2009 communal charter. The 12% minimum quota of female representation decreed was even exceeded and 3,406 women were elected (out of 20,458 candidates) against just 127 in 2003.

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To read further please see the Morocco Board New Service

Consolidated Response on the Prevention of Family Voting

This consolidated response includes descriptions of family and proxy voting and provides recommendations on how to eliminate family voting through holding trainings and public awareness campaigns, strengthening legislative frameworks, and sensitizing election commissioners and observers on issues faced by women.

Morocco: Moroccan Female Politicians Confront Lingering Gender Inequality

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Wed, 2009-06-10 18:21

Summary: 

Figures published by the Ministry of the Interior show that percentage of female candidates on supplemental lists has risen from 4.8% in 2003 to 15.7% this year. Yet, only 3.4% of candidates on the regular lists are women.

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To read the full article, please visit Maghrebia's Website.

Morocco:Morocco's Progress in Gender Equality, 'Example in Arab World,' German MP

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Wed, 2009-05-13 00:22

Summary: 

The progress made by Morocco in the field of gender equality is an example in the Arab world, visiting MP Lale Akgün from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the German federal parliament (Bundestag) said Tuesday.

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To read the full article please visit the Maghreb Arabe Presse website.