NDI and the Mano River Union Secretariat are working with a group of 32 young women political activists from Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to chart a course towards a new politics -- a politics in which women have a strong voice. The Network of Emerging Women in Politics (NEW Politics) program is designed to help women develop confidence, networks, and other skills needed to more fully engage in the political arena and achieve greater representation.

The passing of the 20th anniversary of the Kosovo conflict has provoked an outpouring of personal reflection on wartime experiences. Every night, news channels broadcast stirring images of citizens bringing flowers to grave sites and monuments, commemorating executed and disappeared family members, telling stories, and giving speeches on heroism and hardship.

This International Women’s Day, Ukrainian women marched in Kyiv to demand gender equality. They marched at a time of rapid progress for Ukrainian women.

Following the 2019 parliamentary elections, the percentage of women elected increased from 12 to 21 percent. And despite barriers to women’s candidacy -- such as limited resources and violence against women in politics -- women now make up 30 percent of nominees for local elections.