Professional Documents
Culture Documents
POLICY
RECOMMENDATIONS
12-13
November,
2009
Abidjan,
Cote
dIvoire
Rapportuer: Omolara Balogun
Introduction
The
West
Africa
Civil
Society
Institute
(WACSI)
and
Women
Peace
and
Security
Network,
Africa
(WIPSEN-Africa)
conveyed
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
themed
Our
Politics
is
NOW:
Moving
Beyond
the
Rhetoric
of
Womens
Political
Participation
from
November
12-13
2009
in
Abidjan,
Cote
DIvoire
with
support
from
the
African
Womens
Development
Fund
(AWDF),
the
International
Womens
Programme
of
the
Open
Society
Institute
(IWP-OSI),
the
Open
Society
Initiative
for
West
Africa
(OSIWA),
Daphne
Foundation
and
with
local
support
from
the
Forum
International
des
Femmes
pour
la
Paix
lEgalit
et
le
Dveloppent
(FIFEM).
The
2-days
forum
was
organised
with
the
overarching
goal
to
review
womens
participation
in
politics
in
post
independence
West
Africa
and
assess
the
gains
thus
far
in
terms
of
womens
involvement
in
political
parties;
active
participation
in
political
processes;
and
ascension
to
appointed
or
elected
positions.
The
gathering
also
examined
amongst
others,
the
contributions
and
support
of
civil
society
towards
women
seeking
political
careers
and
how
this
has
bolster
or
falter
womens
opportunities
in
different
instances.
Building
on
the
fundamental
objectives
behind
the
institutionalization
of
the
forum
in
2008,
the
2nd
West
African
Womens
Forum
further
provided
a
reflection
space
for
cross-section
of
women
from
different
fields
to
debate
and
reach
consensus
on
topical
issues
confronting
womens
political
participation
and
increased
visibility
in
West
Africa.
Specifically,
the
delegates
at
the
2009
forum
reacted
to
the
recommendations
that
emanated
from
the
premier
forum
which
held
in
Accra
in
December
2008
under
the
theme:
Assessing
the
Gains,
Advancing
the
Agenda.
The
forum
reinstated
the
assertion
to
enhance
the
strategic
involvement
of
women
at
all
levels
of
governance
and
decision
making
through
increasing
their
active
involvement
and
visibility
in
political
processes
including
electoral
processes.
The
Abidjan
meeting
convened
strategic
women
in
civil
society
and
government
across
the
sub-region.
Amongst
key
delegates
in
attendance
were
the
Electoral
Commissioners
for
Ghana
and
Liberia,
(both
women),
the
only
female
Presidential
Aspirant
in
Cote
divoire
upcoming
elections,
the
First
Lady
of
Cote
dIvoire,
who
is
also
the
Vice-President
of
the
ruling
political
party
Front
Populaire
Ivoirien
(FPI),
women
heads
of
political
parties,
Parliamentarians
and
the
academia.
The
forum
platform
was
utilized
to
deliberate,
re-strategize
and
re-design
method
of
ensuring
an
increase
in
womens
ascension
to
elected
political,
leadership
and
decision
making
positions
in
their
countries.
The
evidence
that
more
than
eight1
of
the
fifteen
countries
in
West
Africa
will
be
holding
general
election
between
2010
and
2012
further
impelled
practical
recommendations
which
aimed
to
augment
womens
old
style
of
political
participation
such
as
carrying
placard
for
men
during
election
campaign
rallies;
waiting
to
be
nominated
for
political
positions
after
men
had
won
power
1
The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org
democratically;
playing
the
subordinate
role
as
Vice
and
Deputies
amongst
many
other
auxiliary
positions.
During
the
deliberation,
prevailing
impediments
limiting
womens
efforts
and
success
in
all
level
of
political
participation
were
recalled.
Politicians
at
the
forum
re
affirmed
the
depth
of
inexperience,
dearth
of
political
skills,
inaccessibility
to
information
and
lack
of
financial
and
material
resources
to
embark
on
successful
campaigns
as
major
enemies
faltering
womens
interest
and
endeavors
in
political
activities.
The
incessant
politics
of
exclusion
and
disqualification
of
women
from
emerging
as
political
party
choice
in
primaries,
due
to
huge
candidature
fee,
violence-prone
political
environments
coupled
with
physical/psychological
insults
and
abuses
often
rained
on
women
in
active
politics
amongst
many
others
inhibiting
factor
were
discussed
and
proffered
recommendations.
The
Forum
conveyed
over
60
participants
from
West
Africa
including
representatives
of
womens
groups
and
political
networks,
political
parties,
electoral
commissioners,
members
of
parliament,
government
officials,
gender
machineries,
and
regional
institutions
(ECOWAS),
and
academia.
Women
from
other
parts
of
the
African
continent
and
beyond
were
also
represented.
The objectives of the meeting are: To design strategies for enhancing cross nationally support for womens involvement in politics; To identify potential entry points for womens political participation; To learn from the experiences of countries that have successfully increased womens participation in politics
Politics
in
West
Africa;
Examining
post
independence
political
structures;
A
feminist
analysis
of
Political
Parties
in
West
Africa
and
possibilities
for
womens
visibility;
Reviewing
50+
years
of
womens
participation
in
Ghanaian
politics
Staging
the
winning
campaign:
Building
skills
and
techniques
for
political
campaigning;
Making
politics
work
for
women:
Beating
men
at
their
game;
Access
financial
support
for
womens
political
participation;
and
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
Policy Recommendations
The
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
held
in
Abidjan,
Cote
dIviore
on
12
and
13
November
2009
offered
twenty-eight
(28)
key
policy
recommendations
to
enhance
and
increase
womens
active
participation,
visibility,
and
involvement
in
political
processes
especially
in
elections
across
the
sub-region.
The
recommendations
outlined
below
are
directed
at
National
governments,
Political
parties,
Civil
society,
Electoral
commissions
and
ECOWAS.
ECOWAS
The
regional
body
(ECOWAS)
should
integrate
the
30
women
representatives
(Regional
Womens
Electoral
Observers)
into
the
ECOWAS
elections
observation
team
and
shall
be
deployed
across
the
sub-region
during
general
elections
across
the
sub-region;
ECOWAS
Gender
and
Development
Centre
(EDGC)
should
spearhead
the
integration
process
of
the
Womens
regional
electoral
observer
teams,
and
ensure
their
engagement
in
all
general
elections
holding
from
2009
to
2010;
and
The
leadership
of
the
regional
body
should
institute
a
process
that
will
facilitate
womens
ascension
into
key
leadership
position
within
the
commission
and
increase
the
gender
balance
component
of
all
units.
National governments:
Government
should
revisit
obsolete
electoral
laws,
constitutions
that
discriminate
on
the
basis
of
gender
be
abolished
in
national
architecture
and
gender
mainstreaming
laws
that
is
cognizance
of
womens
advancement
be
established
within
different
government
structure
across
the
sub-region;
Government
should
create
a
threshold
for
political
parties
candidature
fee
to
enable
women
compete
with
their
male
counterpart
in
party
primary
elections,
thus
increasing
womens
chances
of
emerging
as
party
candidates
to
via
for
a
political
position;
Government
should
ensure
that
affirmative
action
strategies
are
implemented
in
areas
lacking
information,
particularly
comparative
information,
regarding
effects
of
quotas
and
electoral
systems,
particularly
in
the
developing
countries
of
the
world;
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
Governments should make special provision for and allocate adequate financial resources to support women in politics; Policies should be put in place to urge government machineries set aside a budget to support women political participation; and Governments should create laws, and spearhead the processes of engendering national electoral commissions to include 50 percent women representatives.
Political Parties:
Womens
wing
of
all
political
parties
across
West
Africa
should
come
together
and
develop
a
mechanism
to
achieve
the
UN
approved
30
percent
representation
in
decision
making
and
the
implementation
of
affirmative
action
in
all
national
levels;
Political
parties
should
put
in
a
place
a
more
transparent
system,
open
to
women
and
more
receptive
to
their
demands;
Political
parties
should
institute
strategies
to
ensure
that
women
are
well
placed
on
electoral
lists
in
a
way
to
project
their
candidature
and
participation
rather
than
inhibit
their
chances;
and
All
political
parties
should
create
measures
to
facilitate
equal
participation
of
both
men
and
women,
especially
in
stipulating
affordable
costs
for
party
tickets
to
participate
and
compete
in
party
primaries;
Electoral commissions:
National
Electoral
Commissions
(NEC)
should
assume
the
responsibility
of
ensuring
that
women
are
aware,
informed
and
involved
in
all
pre-electoral
activities
such
as
voters
registration
including
access
to
adequate
electoral
knowledge;
The
commission
should
ensure
that
rules,
code
of
conducts
governing
the
commissions,
Electoral
Monitoring
Bodies
(EMBs)
are
well
disseminated
in
its
simplest
form
with
clarity
of
language
to
citizens,
particularly
to
female
political
aspirants,
women
groups
and
networks;
National
Electoral
commissions
should
be
empowered
and
mandated
to
sanction
political
parties
who
err
to
conform
to
party
laws,
constitutions
and
code
of
conduct.
Parties
without
adequate
women
representation
should
be
reprimanded;
and
National
election
commission
should
intensify
public
advertisement
on
all
processes
and
events
that
precede
actual
election
dates.
It
should
be
ensured
that
women
are
aware,
5
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
informed and involved in all these processes e.g. voters registration, civic educations, laws, rules and principles governing the operations of the electoral commissions.
Civil Society:
Women
groups
and
networks
should
make
it
a
mandate
to
support
female
candidates
in
capacity
building
strategies
required
for
successful
election
campaign
with
the
constituting;
International
and
local
funding
agencies
should
design
special
grant
scheme
to
support
womens
candidature
in
politics;
Women
should
incorporate
into
their
campaigns
important
but
often
neglected
sections
of
the
society
such
as
the
prisons,
hospitals
etc.
prior,
during
and
in
post
election
activities;
Civil
society,
specially
womens
networks,
coalitions
and
movements
should
adopt
BPfA
as
an
important
tool
to
call
for
the
enhancement
of
womens
political
participation.
The
stated
injunctions
should
be
continuously
followed
and
used
as
a
reference
point
of
action;
Research
should
be
conducted
on
the
effect
of
electoral
systems
on
womens
participation
in
politics
in
West
Africa;
the
result
should
be
disseminated
different
stakeholder
including
womens
group,
networks
and
movements;
and
There
should
be
commitment
from
national,
regional
and
international
training
institutes
such
as
WACSI
to
create
more
training
opportunities
for
women,
with
focus
on
womens
engagement
and
participation
in
political
processes;
civic
education
and
the
importance
of
fulfilling
electoral
commitments;
effective
public
speaking;
and
building
self-confidence.
Joint Recommendations:
Women
unanimous
called
for
the
formation
of
a
Regional
Women
Election
Observers,
consisting
of
two
representatives
of
each
of
the
fifteen
ECOWAS
member
state
(women
in
government
and
civil
society
respectively).
This
team
of
women
should
be
deployed
to
complement
the
work
of
ECOWAS
Election
Observation
Team
in
every
general
election
across
the
sub-region;
Government
and
National
Electoral
commissions
should
revisit
and
redraft
anti-women
laws
debarring
women
from
contesting
for
certain
positions
within
political
parties
and
selected
for
certain
leadership
position
within
the
commission;
Governments,
international
organisations,
civil
society
and
others
should
exert
more
effort
at
observing
the
injunctions
of
the
Beijing
Platform
for
Action
after
fifteen-years
and
CEDAW
after
thirty-years;
6
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
Government, electoral commissions and political parties to reach a consensus on how to provide for affirmation, particularly when proportional representation system are more favourable to womens participation in electoral processes and eventual elections to political positions; and Political parties, national governments, local foundations and international financial institutions should allocate specific sums of money solely for womens political campaigns.
7
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
Vision:
To
strengthen
civil
society
organisations
as
strategic
partners
for
the
promotion
of
democracy,
good
governance
and
national
development
in
the
sub-region.
Website: www.wacsi.org
WIPSEN-Africa
The
Women
Peace
and
Security
Network
Africa
(WIPSEN-Africa)
is
a
Pan-African
Non- Governmental
Peacebuilding
Organisation
with
a
focus
on
women,
peace
and
security
broadly
defined.
WIPSEN-Africa
seeks
to
promote
womens
strategic
participation
and
leadership
in
peace
and
security
governance
in
Africa.
WIPSEN-Africas
mission
is
to
institutionalise
and
mainstream
women,
peace
and
security
by
enhan-cing
womens
leadership
capacities
and
promoting
constructive,
innovative
and
collaborative
approach-hes
to
non-violent
transformation
of
conflicts,
peacebuilding
and
human
security
in
Africa.
Website:
www.wipsen-africa.org
The
OSI
International
Womens
Programme
was
established
by
the
Open
Society
Initiatives
(OSI)
as
one
of
its
inspiration
to
shape
public
policy
to
promote
democratic
governance,
free
and
open
societies,
human
rights
and
economic,
legal
and
social
reform.
Mission:
The
mission
of
OSI
IWP
is
to
use
grant-making
and
programmatic
efforts
to
promote
and
protect
the
rights
of
women
and
girls
around
the
globe
where
the
principles
of
good
governance
and
respect
for
the
rule
of
law
are
absent
because
of
conflict.
Website: www.soros.org/initiatives/women/about
OSIWA
The
Open
Society
Initiative
for
West
Africa
(OSIWA)
was
created
in
December
2000
as
part
of
the
world
network
of
32
autonomous
foundations
founded
and
supported
by
George
Soros.
OSIWA
share
in
the
commitment
to
work
for
an
open
society.
Based
on
the
principle
that
no
one
has
monopoly
of
the
truth,
an
open
society
recognises
the
different
points
of
view
and
always
remains
open
to
improvements.
In
practice,
open
societies
are
characterised
by
the
priority
of
law,
democracy,
respect
of
diversity
and
human
rights,
liberalisation
of
markets,
information
to
the
people
and
the
dynamism
of
civil
society.
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
Website: www.osiwa.org
AWDF
African
Womens
Development
Fund
(AWDF)
is
a
grant-making
foundation
which
supports
local,
national
and
regional
organisations
in
Africa
working
towards
womens
empowerment.
AWDF
through
institutional
capacity
building
and
programme
development
seeks
to
build
a
culture
of
learning
and
partnerships
within
the
African
womens
movement.
Website: www.awdf.org
Daphne Foundation
The
Daphne
Foundation
supports
programs
that
confront
the
causes
and
consequences
of
poverty
in
the
five
boroughs
of
New
York
City
and
in
Western
Africa,
with
a
specific
focus
on
Liberia.
The
foundation
has
particular
interest
in
grassroots
and
emerging
organizations
engaging
their
members
in
the
creation
and
implementation
of
long-term
solutions
to
intractable
social
problems.
9
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org
Government Officials
1 0
The
full
report
of
the
2nd
Annual
West
African
Womens
Policy
Forum
will
soon
be
available
at
WACSI
Secretariat.
For
more
information
contact
info@wacsi.org
or
the
Policy
Advocacy
officer
on
obalogun@wacsi.org