Women in Politics: Are Women’s Rights Possible to Debate in the Political Sphere?

Women’s rights activists, feminists and politicians examined together alternatives and meanings of gender equality politics and produced Conclusions and Recommendations.The general conclusions and the way ahead from the previous Seminar can be summarized as follows:

To improve networking and coordination between civil society organizations, between civil society and political parties and feminists

To change discriminatory legislation as a precondition for social change

To lobby, educate and raise awareness of women’s rights on all levels of society

These are only some of the questions that have been on the agenda of both female politicians and civil actors for sometime. Through exchange of experiences from women MPs and female politicians from local self government from Mashrek, Maghreb, European Union and The Balkans, as well as with women from the civil society who work to for increase of women’s political participation globally and locally, we hope to inspire for action and set feasible goals for changing of a situation where women are grossly underrepresented in political decision-making.

The objectives of the seminar this year are:

To continue providing a safe space for empowerment discussions on the opportunities and obstacles for women in politics through exchange of experiences and knowledge regionally and internationally

To debate critically content of politics supportive of women’s rights and the role of politicians and civil society activists; to elaborate possible strategies for provoking such debates in the public and political space from the perspectives of both politicians and civil scene 

To strengthen the co-operation between female politicians on both local, national and international level and women’s rights activists from the civil society for a meaningful common engagement towards change

To identify practical steps for a successful implementation

 

Related Links:

Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)