Skip to main content

Advocacy & Lobbying

The German government in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, Hope for Family Development Initiative (HFDI) is set to train 300 women in three Southwest states on campaign strategies, leadership skills, and political engagement.

The project, tagged ‘Advancing Women’s Political Participation through Female Elected Candidates in South West Nigeria’, would be held in Osun, Oyo, and Ekiti states.

Speaking during a media parley held at NUJ Press Center, Osogbo, HFDI Program Manager, Adeola Falana, said the region still faces significant disparities in political representation despite the increase in the number of women holding political positions in the country.

Falana said the NGO would be implementing capacity-building training for women aspirants, town halls meeting with community stakeholders, consultative meetings with stakeholders, and sensitization workshops for young girls on the importance of women’s involvement in politics.

She called on stakeholders to work collectively to support women’s leadership and ensure women have an equal voice in shaping the future of our communities and nation.

Read here the full article published by the Nigerian Tribune on 12 March 2024.

Image source: Nigerian Tribune

Mali, a landlocked country in West Africa, has one of the world’s fastest growing populations. The country houses more than nine million women, yet the state of women’s health remains a critical issue. Women in Mali face significant challenges. A lack of awareness and respect for human rights, especially for women and children, continues to drive disparities in education, governance, economic independence, and security. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranks Mali in a low human development category, placing it 186th out of 191 countries and territories globally.

Gender-based violence and female genital mutilation persist as major issues for women in Mali, further undermining women’s health and well-being. Legal avenues for justice are often inaccessible to women due to social pressures and a lack of awareness of their rights. Moreover, Mali’s political landscape has become very unstable in recent years, leading to a humanitarian crisis and the displacement of more than 470,000 people in the country.

Click here to read the full article published by The Borgen Project on 19 February 2024.

Image source: the Borgen Project 

With Victorian council elections to be held in October, the state government’s target of reaching 50-50 gender representation at the local level is under threat.

While the state achieved a record 43.8% of women elected to councils in 2020, outperforming most federal and state parliaments, and succeeded in achieving gender parity in 47 out of 76 councils, the overall 50-50 gender representation target by 2025 will still be difficult to reach.

Globally, gender quotas have been a tried and tested way of lifting women’s political representation. But research also shows quotas can divide public opinion, and they work better in some contexts than others. With this in mind, we wanted to test alternative measures to support women in politics, which also attract public support.

Click here to read the full article published by The Conversation on 8 February 2024.

Image source: The Conversation

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today reviewed the eighth periodic report of Italy, with Committee Experts commending the State on its robust gender architecture, while asking questions about human trafficking and gender parity in politics. 

A Committee Expert commended Italy on its gender architecture, which was in accordance with the Convention.  The gender architecture was composed of the Ministry of Equal Opportunities, the Department on Equal Opportunities directly linked to the Prime Minister, and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights.  The political and institutional structure was robust but complex.

Another Committee Expert said Italy was at the forefront of the reception of refugees.  Many women were trafficked during several parts of their journey.  How did the State party guarantee these women’s access to protection in all circumstances?  Were non-governmental organizations permitted to run interviews with trafficked persons to assist them?  How was individualised risk assessment conducted before forced removals?  How would the State party implement a referral and identification process throughout Italy and strengthen the capacity of the reception system? 

One Expert regretted the slow progress made by Italy regarding political representation.  The 2017 electoral law imposed a 40 per cent quota on electoral lists. However, these rules were not respected. There were fewer female members of parliament in this term, compared to the previous one.  Why was there not a fifty-fifty parity?  What measures did the State party plan to take to encourage parity at all levels?  How many standing committees in parliament were chaired by women?

Click here to read the full article published by the United Nations Geneva on 1 February 2024.

Australian government, political and defence force leaders came together at Parliament House this morning to officially launch the Australian celebrations of International Women’s Day – ahead of the UN Global Day of Observance on 8 March.

Co-hosted by the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia, and the Hon. Peter Dutton MP, Leader of the Opposition, the annual UN Women Australia event brings together the leaders and decision makers of our nation to celebrate the progress made and the commitment required to achieving gender equality and SDG 5.

The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Minister for Foreign Affairs each addressed the event, speaking to the importance of International Women’s Day, which this year centres on the need for economic inclusion and investment to accelerate progress for women and girls everywhere.

Click here to read the full article published by The National Tribune on 7 February 2024.

Image source: The National Tribune

Over 60 percent of Americans support abortion rights—but last year Roe was overturned and 14 states now ban abortions in most circumstances. A president who lost the popular vote by millions appointed three staunch opponents of abortion to the Supreme Court, who joined two right-wing members of the Court to overturn a half-century-old constitutional right to abortion. Then politicians in states with high levels of gerrymandering and voter suppression—such as Texas, Louisiana and West Virginia—banned abortion.

One reason women are losing the right to abortion is that men who do not support women’s rights have supermajority control of most state legislatures and Congress.

In states banning abortion, women’s political representation is remarkably low.

Click here to read the full article published by Ms Magazine on 3 January 2024.

With Victorian council elections to be held in October, the state government’s target of reaching 50-50 gender representation at the local level is under threat.

While the state achieved a record 43.8% of women elected to councils in 2020, outperforming most federal and state parliaments, and succeeded in achieving gender parity in 47 out of 76 councils, the overall 50-50 gender representation target by 2025 will still be difficult to reach.

Globally, gender quotas have been a tried and tested way of lifting women’s political representation. But research also shows quotas can divide public opinion, and they work better in some contexts than others. With this in mind, we wanted to test alternative measures to support women in politics, which also attract public support.

Click here to read the full article published by The Conversation on 8 February 2024.

Image source: The Conversation

Abstract

Violence against women politicians is increasingly recognized as an issue that undermines women's presence in politics. Latin America has been at the vanguard of this global discussion. In 2012, Bolivia became the only country in the world to criminalize “political violence and harassment against women.” Several other countries have similar legislation in the works. What explains the emergence of these bill proposals? This article argues that the creation of these bills is the result of three processes: activism at the local level used international norms to propose an innovative solution to a problem; women politicians and “femocrats” worked within the state apparatus to overcome resistance; and international actors worked to foster connections among activists and politicians across the region. In this process, international norms have been transformed, with important implications for women's political representation.

Click here to read the full article published by the Cambridge University Press on 27 July 2020.

Today, we announced the release of our new report, The State of Women: 2023 Multiplier Report and Roadmap, a comprehensive report drawing on insights from extensive data gathered from a wide-ranging network of women nationwide. Utilizing data collected from She Should Run participants and research conducted between 2020 and 2023, we found that most women—across demographics and ideologies—need multiple points and types of encouragement over several years in order to consider running for office.

Click here to read the full report published by She Should Run on 6 November 2023.

The 2023 edition of the global Women Peace and Security Index (WPS Index) scores and ranks 177 countries in terms of women’s inclusion, justice, and security.

No country performs perfectly on the WPS Index and the results reveal wide disparities across countries, regions, and indicators. The WPS Index offers a tool for identifying where resources and accountability are needed most to advance women’s status - which benefits us all.

The WPS Index is published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Click here to read the full report published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security on 26 October 2023.

Nearly a quarter of a century after the adoption by the Security Council of its resolution 1325 (2000), women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in building peace should be the norm, not an aspiration or an afterthought, but the data show that this is far from being a reality. In peace processes, negotiating parties continue to regularly exclude women, and impunity for atrocities against women and girls is still prevalent. Women continue to face entrenched barriers to direct participation in peace and political processes, and women’s organizations struggle to find resources, while military spending continues to grow every year. This remains the case even though there is ample evidence that women’s participation contributes to more robust democracies and longer-lasting peace.

Click here to read the full report published by Relief Web on 24 October 2023.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the combined seventh to tenth periodic report of Nicaragua in the absence of a delegation.

Committee Experts raised questions on the treatment of women human rights defenders in Nicaragua, and the lack of sufficient health services for women, among other issues.

Click here to read the full report published by the United Nations News on 23 October 2023.