Asia: Supporting Women Political Leaders in Muslim South Asia
Overview
NDI is initiating a program, Supporting Women Political Leaders in Muslim South Asia, which seeks to increase women’s political participation in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This 15-month project aims to enhance the capacity of women candidates to campaign for office, and to strengthen the ability of women at the local level to serve the public as elected officials. The Institute will also work with political party activists to develop sustainable local capacity to train women party members and elected officials.
NDI launched this program by organizing a four-day regional workshop in Pakistan beginning on August 30, 2004, bringing together women from leading parties from each of the participating countries to collaborate with regional and international expert women trainers. The delegates elected a steering committee at the workshop to ensure the integration and coordination of country-specific activities for the duration of the program. Subsequently, NDI is conducting program activities tailored to the specific political needs and interests of women in each of the three participating countries, while encouraging participants to leverage experiences and best practices shared through the newly formed regional network.
Delegates from Afghanistan conducted candidate trainings in advance of their parliamentary elections in April 2005. Bangladeshi and Pakistani delegates conducted elected representative trainings for women already in government at the local level. To further consolidate the regional network of women leaders and promote the sustainability of future party trainings, the program concluded with a second regional conference on “lessons learned” from candidate and elected representative experiences and training.
Between August 2004 and December 2005, NDI organized three regional workshops for Master Trainers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan which allowed the trainers to share lessons learned, review the program, develop new areas of training competency, and network with counterparts from host countries. NDI also provided additional training to Master and Second Level Trainers on advanced political, leadership, and facilitation skills during conferences and training-of-trainers workshops in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. In return, the Master and Second Level Trainers in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan conducted training workshops for a total of 3,567 women party activists, candidates, and elected representatives.
The Supporting Women Political Leaders program was successful in assisting women in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to become more self confident and to strengthen their political skills, including their ability to campaign for office, take on greater leadership roles within their parties, and serve the public in elected office. In Afghanistan, nine of the 30 Master and Provincial Trainers from Afghanistan ran for parliamentary and provincial council elections in September of 2005; three of these women won seats, and a number of other trainers were involved in supporting campaigns. A number of women trained in Pakistan are now serving as local councilors, Members of the National Assembly (MNA), or Members of a Provincial Assembly (MPA), and have noted that taking part in NDI’s trainings has helped them carry out their official duties by improving skills such as advocacy and public speaking. In March of 2006, five Pakistani Master and Provincial Trainers lobbied their parties for reserved seats for women within the Senate; one woman was elected to represent her party in the province of Balochistan. In September of 2005, four Divisional Trainers in Bangladesh were elected to reserved seats for women in the Parliament. Participants also indicated that NDI’s support has helped them organize successful advocacy efforts on behalf of women and improve relationships with party leaders.
This project builds on the Global Action Plan (GAP) which was adopted in December 2003 at a conference in Washington, DC by an international working-group of women political party leaders from 27 countries. Because women’s role in democratic processes is vital to the reform, renewal and modernization of political parties and governance, this working group was convened to identify international best-practices for increasing opportunities for women in political parties around the globe. GAP encourages political parties to take genuine reform steps to increase women’s leadership opportunities.
Contact Information
For further information on this program, please contact:
Allison Lince-Bentley, Program Assistant
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Updated August 2007
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