Gender, Women and Democracy

NDI honored Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman to lead an African nation, with the 2007 W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award for her courageous leadership in Liberia and distinguished role in encouraging women’s participation in the democratic process. A tireless campaigner for reconciliation, justice and democratic rule, President Johnson Sirleaf has set her country on the road to political and economic recovery.

NDI Launches its Campaign Aiming to Fight Revenge Killing | May 19, 2008

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The National Democratic Institute (NDI) in collaboration with the Supreme National Committee for Fighting Revenge Killing (SNCFRK) launched the first national campaign aiming to fight revenge killing through three private societies in Mareb, Al-Jawf and Shabwa.

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Albanian Prime Minister Berisha Pledges Support for More Women in Elective Positions

At an NDI workshop for politically active women in Tirana, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha pledged to support a proposed gender quota law that would result in significant increases to the number of women holding elective office.

In Albania, a country with one of the lowest levels of women’s political participation in Europe, the law would more than quadruple the number of women members of parliament, from the current 10 to a required 42.

The year 2007 marked significant achievements for women in Jordanian politics, with seven women elected to the Lower House of Parliament and a record number of women elected to municipal councils across the country.

While women’s political participation has increased in Burkina Faso since the decentralization process began in 1998, there are still major cultural and structural barriers that must be overcome to ensure women’s effective participation in public life. Since 2005, NDI has supported women’s increased political participation in Burkina Faso through a Sida-funded program that has contributed to the election of 6,400 women local councilors (about one-third of the approximately 18,000 total local councilors) and enhanced the management skills of women councilors and mayors.

On October 24, 2007, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) presented its third annual Madeleine K. Albright Grant to the 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone. Founded in 2000 to promote greater participation of women in politics, the 50/50 Group has grown from a handful of women meeting in borrowed space in Freetown to a nationally recognized organization actively engaged in building a new post-war Sierra Leone in which women can share equally with men in the political decisions that affect their lives.

The 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone: Electing and Empowering Women

NDI has honored the 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone with the 2007 Madeleine K. Albright Award. Founded in 2000 to promote greater participation of women in politics, the 50/50 Group has grown from a handful of women meeting in borrowed space in Freetown to a nationally recognized organization actively engaged in building a new post-war Sierra Leone. Its efforts in advance of the country’s 2002 elections contributed to a dramatic increase in opportunities for women to run as candidates and play more meaningful roles in their political parties.

Women in the war-torn city of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina have come together to build an advocacy network that is one of the few examples of multiethnic political cooperation in a country fractured by seemingly insurmountable ethnic divides.

The Women’s Political Caucus of Indonesia (Kaukus Perempuan Politik Indonesia or KPPI) is at the forefront of the nation's transition to democracy by leading the effort to increase women’s political participation.

A multi-party organization, KPPI includes women from political parties, civic organizations, government, trade unions, academia and the media.

It has been instrumental in establishing laws to increase women’s representation and leadership in political parties. KPPI is a young and growing organization with no funding source beyond nominal membership fees.