Debunking social gender norms though the Young Women’s Empowerment Academies
Source: International IDEA
The recently concluded pilot young women’s empowerment academies on political participation convened by International IDEA through the European Union (EU) funded Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) Women’s Leadership Initiative provided a space to debunk social gender norms that are barriers to political participation and identifying areas for transformation. The academies are an opportunity for learning, sharing and questioning existing social gender norms whilst providing practical solutions to inclusive democracy.
Young women politicians face a quagmire when they aspire to be politicians. The multilayered barriers they face are a result of how patriarchy is used as a resource in politics to silence women and keep them out of politics.
The framework of Access = Participation + Representation = Transformative has been key in dismantling patriarchy within politics, it is evident that a lot of hurdles still need to be overcome as we celebrate IWD2025. Shockingly, the pilot academies reveal how young women face abuse which is often inclusive of economic abuse as they vie for political positions. The godfather syndrome in politics continues to gnaw its way to power through minimising the role of young women in politics contrary to the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa has a youthful population.
While some male political actors are agents provocateurs in perpetuating patriarchy, there is a growing pool of male advocates who promote young women’s political participation. It was evident from the Southern and Eastern African pilot academies held in February 2025, that political leadership from the party structures needs to be inclusive. The role of the media especially in this digital age is important in transforming social gender norms in politics through increasing women sources in political news, guarding against meritocracy targeted at only women politicians, preventing online violence against women politicians that is technology facilitated and providing a space of solidarity for women politicians.
Acknowledging the contextual background and political environment of young women politicians is important when debunking social gender norms in politics. These social gender norms have ripple effects on how they manifest throughout the ecological model – from individuals, to community, to society and institutions. Whilst the academies acknowledged that transforming social gender norms takes time as it involves changing the mindsets and behaviours of individuals within political institutions, the role of political will accelerates this transformation. Hence, whilst patriarchy is questioning the role of gender quotas in politics, these are a demonstration of political will to correct historic imbalances of power in politics and guard against future inequalities.
The academies pointed out that the state of a country’s politics reflects the existing social gender norms. This is evident in the high levels of violence against women politicians which is a continuum of gender-based violence in a society – a demonstration of power by one gender over another. The young women politicians shared heart wrenching experiences of violence they have faced and continue to face in politics. The intersectionality of this violence with age, disability, socio-economic status, marital status and education amongst others is worrying. With only under five years to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Five (SDG5), many countries require a radical embrace of transformative female leadership.
Read here the full article published by International IDEA on 7 March 2025.
The recently concluded pilot young women’s empowerment academies on political participation convened by International IDEA through the European Union (EU) funded Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) Women’s Leadership Initiative provided a space to debunk social gender norms that are barriers to political participation and identifying areas for transformation. The academies are an opportunity for learning, sharing and questioning existing social gender norms whilst providing practical solutions to inclusive democracy.
Young women politicians face a quagmire when they aspire to be politicians. The multilayered barriers they face are a result of how patriarchy is used as a resource in politics to silence women and keep them out of politics.
The framework of Access = Participation + Representation = Transformative has been key in dismantling patriarchy within politics, it is evident that a lot of hurdles still need to be overcome as we celebrate IWD2025. Shockingly, the pilot academies reveal how young women face abuse which is often inclusive of economic abuse as they vie for political positions. The godfather syndrome in politics continues to gnaw its way to power through minimising the role of young women in politics contrary to the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa has a youthful population.
While some male political actors are agents provocateurs in perpetuating patriarchy, there is a growing pool of male advocates who promote young women’s political participation. It was evident from the Southern and Eastern African pilot academies held in February 2025, that political leadership from the party structures needs to be inclusive. The role of the media especially in this digital age is important in transforming social gender norms in politics through increasing women sources in political news, guarding against meritocracy targeted at only women politicians, preventing online violence against women politicians that is technology facilitated and providing a space of solidarity for women politicians.
Acknowledging the contextual background and political environment of young women politicians is important when debunking social gender norms in politics. These social gender norms have ripple effects on how they manifest throughout the ecological model – from individuals, to community, to society and institutions. Whilst the academies acknowledged that transforming social gender norms takes time as it involves changing the mindsets and behaviours of individuals within political institutions, the role of political will accelerates this transformation. Hence, whilst patriarchy is questioning the role of gender quotas in politics, these are a demonstration of political will to correct historic imbalances of power in politics and guard against future inequalities.
The academies pointed out that the state of a country’s politics reflects the existing social gender norms. This is evident in the high levels of violence against women politicians which is a continuum of gender-based violence in a society – a demonstration of power by one gender over another. The young women politicians shared heart wrenching experiences of violence they have faced and continue to face in politics. The intersectionality of this violence with age, disability, socio-economic status, marital status and education amongst others is worrying. With only under five years to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Five (SDG5), many countries require a radical embrace of transformative female leadership.
Read here the full article published by International IDEA on 7 March 2025.