Numerous declarations have addressed the need to advance women’s rights and status in Africa. In August 2007, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Declaration on Gender and Development reaffirmed a minimum goal of 50 percent women’s representation in parliament. Despite ongoing public support for these sorts of measures, however, only a few Southern African countries are on track to meet the new SADC benchmarks in the near future. It is clear that women still face substantial obstacles to their political and civic participation, particularly in countries where women have historically had low levels of involvement in political decision-making, such as in Botswana, Angola and Lesotho where women represent only 11.1, 15, and 23 percent of parliamentarians respectively.

This problem persists primarily because political parties, which play a central role in identifying and training political leaders, do not yet see the value in women assuming party leadership positions or running for elected office. As a result, many political parties have been slow to include women on party lists and candidate rosters. However, because political parties play a central role in recruiting and serving as training grounds for political leaders, they are uniquely placed to offer women the opportunities and the skills development they need to play more permanent and prominent roles in the political life of their countries. Women’s inclusion in activities would facilitate working partnerships between men and women within political parties, helping predominately male leaders to see women’s valuable contributions to the political process

In order to address these challenges, NDI is working with the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF) to conduct a program that supports political parties in developing and implementing recommendations for improving women’s political participation, and strengthens the capacity of women to compete for leadership positions within parties. In particular, NDI seeks to assist political parties in Angola, Botswana, and Lesotho to identify challenges affecting women’s participation and design a practical tool for measuring their progress toward advancing women’s representation.

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