User login
 
Arab States

Women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face many of the same challenges as women around the world, including unequal citizenship and a lack of basic resources such as time and money. Exacerbating such challenges is the conservative nature of the region, making it particularly difficult for women to make the decision to openly participate in formal politics and to obtain the necessary public support to win.

More

From the Library

She and elections

Nazra for Feminist Studies (Nazra) released a report about mentoring* women candidates in the 2011-12 People’s Assembly Elections based on its observations of the electoral process and the experience of several women candidates.

Nazra reached these findings by supporting (16) women candidates for the People’s Assembly, either nominated on political party  lists or running as individual candidates, in eight governorates in Upper and Lower Egypt.

Nazra’s report, “She and Elections”, presents an overview of the general electoral climate and documents the experience of candidates in various phases of the elections, as well as the difficulties and challenges posed by the legal and political contexts.

Nazra for Feminist Studies will issue the final report after the conclusion of parliamentary elections, including elections for the Shura Council (Upper House of Parliament), which is still underway. Nazra will host a roundtable with successful women candidates, where they will discuss the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. The event will also witness the  screening of the documentary, “She and Elections,” which presents the women candidtes’  experiences of the elections.

Women, Revolution, Politics and Power

During the Arab uprisings, an unprecedented number of women took to the streets, paving the way for a more important role in politics. However, in the transitional period that follows, they now have to fight against their exclusion from the political arena.

The extent of their participation in the new political process, the author argues, will depend on three main factors: their contribution to the democratic culture established, the nature and role of political Islam, as well as gender representation in the news media. As her research in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria suggests, the fight to carry the women‘s newly found political status through the transitional period will blur the conflict lines between the „traditional-religious“ and the „urban-modern-non-religious“ blocs. Arab women are finding new forms of political participation, distinct from the Western models.

Gender and ICT

This e-Primer looks at information and communications technology (ICT) for development through a gender lens. It provides a gender perspectives to issues of ICT policies; access and control; education, training and skill development; and content development, and introduces a framework to integrate gender in ICT for development and empower women.

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.

The Arab Quota Report: Selected Case Studies

Debates on women’s issues and gender relations in the Arab region have been going on for some time now. Such matters are often the most difficult to resolve and, in this age of economic and cultural globalization, they continue to create the same paradoxical situations as they did during the colonial era more than a century ago. To complicate things further, these debates frequently lead to accusations and counteraccusations about cultural authenticity and the degree to which attempts to improve the status of women are indigenous or foreign. Within this environment, Arab women, sometimes assisted by their governments and leaderships, have been trying to pave the way for their political participation.

This paper first summarizes the socio-political and economic situation in the region. It then moves on to a discussion of the political status of Arab women, highlighting their representation in legislatures. The third section looks at the key challenges that confront Arab women who wish to enter the political domain, and the final section focuses on some of the opportunities on offer and the mechanisms that have been employed successfully to enhance women’s political participation.

Pathways for Women in Democratic Transitions – International Experiences and Lessons Learned

This is the keynote address by Vidar Helgesen, Secretary-General, International IDEA, at the Roundtable in Cairo on June 2, 2011.

Voices of a Revolution: Conversations with Tunisia’s Youth

Based on a series of ten focus groups conducted in March 2011, this report explores young Tunisians‘opinions of the recent events that led to the overthrow of the Ben Ali regime and of the political transition underway. Main findings include the following: Tunisian youth are eager to participate in their country’s democratic transition, but skeptical about available channels.

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.

Democracy and the Challenge of Change: A Guide to Increasing Women's Political Participation

Democracy and the Challenge of Change: A Guide to Increasing Women’s Political Participation was created to be used by National Democratic Institute staff and other practitioners to develop, implement, monitor and eval­uate women’s political participation programs across a variety of technical areas. With separate chapters on Citizen Participation, Elections and Electoral Processes, Political Parties and Governance, the guide pro­vides a rationale for focusing on increasing women’s par­ticipation in each technical area, as well as program­matic frameworks, examples of best practices and case studies, and strategies to be used throughout the lifecy­cle of a program or project.

*The Guide will also be available in French and Spanish in the coming weeks.

Gender, Citizenship and Governance

The information portal on Gender, citizenship and governance is an interdepartmental initiative. It is developed and managed by KIT Information and Library Services with support from KIT Development, Policy & Practice, area Social Development and Gender Equity. The target audience is formed by the global community of professionals (researchers, practitioners) involved in gender, citizenship and governance.

The information portal on Gender, citizenship and governance provides a unique entry point to free, full-text electronic publications, e-journals, e-newsletters, e-discussion groups and forums, websites, bibliographic databases, and directories of organizations and projects.

The portal brings together theoretical and practical perspectives on the interrelationships between gender, citizenship and governance. The information resources offered deal with the theory and practice of gender justice and citizenship, the responsiveness and accountability of governmental institutions to citizens, women in particular, and women’s capacity / ability to claim their rights. Themes addressed include political participation & representation, including quota's, decentralization & local government, women's rights, gender institutional mainstreaming, and gender-responsive budgeting.