NDI Programs Supporting Women's Political Participation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Working in Groups at a Women’s Round Table in Kisangani.
The National Democratic Institute's (NDI)'s program in the DRC aims to enhance prospects for an inclusive and viable democratic transition by strengthening political and legislative processes and democratic institutions. As the DRC moves toward democratic governance after years of dictatorship and civil war, it is essential that Congolese women have the opportunity to participate fully in the processes that will shape the future of their country.
In response to this need, NDI's program in the DRC aims to strengthen women's roles as decision-makers and to assist political parties to become more inclusive and thus, more representative of their constituencies. Since the program's inception in 2001, the Institute has conducted a series of activities to empower Congolese women to exercise leadership within parties and transitional institutions, and to compete effectively as candidates for public office. The program also provides technical assistance to parties to support the development of organizational structures that are more inclusive of women and other traditionally marginalized groups. Moreover, NDI creates space for women to work together across party lines to identify and address common challenges in a spirit of solidarity.
In 2005, a coalition of Congolese women leaders from across the political spectrum, who received technical support from NDI, succeeded in their campaign to have language included in the DRC's new constitution committing the government to promote equal representation of women and men in all institutions of the state. Early this year, despite months of the tireless work by members this coalition, the Transitional Assembly decided not to adopt an electoral system that would have assured women 50% of the seats in the new legislature. Subsequently, NDI organized a series of high level roundtable meetings where parliamentarians and political party leaders developed strategies to increase women's involvement in the electoral process. During one of these meetings, women parliamentarians suggested the addition of a provision to the electoral law stating that women and people with disabilities should be represented on political party lists. In the weeks following the discussion, NDI assisted this group in their successful campaign to add this provision, known as Article 13, to the Electoral Law. On February 21, President Kabila signed an amended version of the Electoral Law, which included Article 13.
Group photo of participants in the Women’s Round Table in Lumbumbashi.
Recognizing the importance of media in a large country like the DRC, NDI collaborated with the Gender Unit of the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUC) to produce a television broadcast entitled "Women and the Electoral Law." NDI arranged for gender and electoral law experts to appear on five television channels to explain the electoral law and its impact on opportunities for women's political participation.
During the lead-up to the campaign, NDI focused on skill building seminars to increase women candidates' capacity to get listed on the ballot and to campaign effectively. Seminars focus on practical topics such as communication strategies, platform development, coalition building and key issues likely to be raised during the campaign. These activities have taken place throughout the DRC at NDI's Democracy Resource Centers in the cities of Kinshasa, Kikwit, Kissangani, Lubumbashi, Mbuji Mayi and Goma.
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