Gender, Women and Democracy

February 1, 2023

Sierra Leone: A groundbreaking gender equality bill passes

"By unanimous votes, the ayes have it," Dr. Abass Bundu, the speaker of the Parliament of Sierra Leone, declared as his gavel hit the large wooden desk. Finally, after 13 months of deliberations, negotiations, and suspense, the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill, 2021 was passed by parliament on November 15, 2022. Two months later, President Julius Maada Bio signed the bill into law, surrounded by women activists and civil society, including NDI’s Senior Resident Director for Sierra Leone, Mohamed Konneh.

January 24, 2023

#LetHerLearn - Progress will follow

When Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters crooned, “We don't need no education, We don't need no thought control” to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, performing in what used to be the “no man’s lot” between the two Germanys - authoritarian communist East and democratic West - a crowd of 350,00 present and hundreds of millions watching live in 52 countries, joined in unison “Hey, teacher, leave us kids alone!

December 8, 2022

Violence is #NottheCost of Women’s Engagement in Salvadoran Politics

In February 2021, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador modified the Comprehensive Special Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women (Ley Especial Integral para una Vida Libre de Violencia para las Mujeres, LEIV) to codify violence against women in politics (VAW-P).

November 30, 2022

Different Sectors, Same Story

One of the most critical barriers to inclusive democracies and institutions is violence or threats of violence that directly impact women’s ability to participate in politics and in the media. While the two sectors have distinct challenges, violence against women in politics and in the media (VAW-PM) exhibits many of the same traits: individuals, institutions, and sociocultural norms mitigating against women working safely and equitably in male-dominated fields. Often, however, women in both fields are pitted against each other and encouraged to distrust each other.

November 28, 2022

Women leaders call for reform in Papua New Guinea

The remarkable achievement of two women—Hon. Kessy Sawang and Hon. Rufina Peter—being elected to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Parliament after an all-male term (2017 - 2022) demonstrates that, despite tremendous barriers, there are openings in the political environment that can be leveraged to consolidate women’s representation in the country’s political institutions.

They Come Clean, They Contribute, and Yet They Don’t Get In

In PNG, individual, socio-cultural, and institutional factors continue to hinder women’s political participation and their representation in legislative bodies. Cultural and institutional barriers reinforce each other and impact the extent to which women compete and are successful in the political arena. In the 2022 National General Elections, an uneven playing field—especially when it comes to campaign finance and election security—the traditional patriarchal gender stereotypes converged to prevent women from fulfilling their political rights in the democratic process.

Interventions to End Online Violence Against Women in Politics

NDI releases “Interventions to End Online Violence Against Women in Politics” Report

Ahead of World Internet Day on October 29th, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) released today a new report on “Interventions to End Online Violence Against Women in Politics.” The report details a list of 26 interventions that technology platforms, governments, civil society organizations and the media can take to make meaningful progress towards ending online violence against women in politics.