Women organisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) are advocating reforms to their party constitutions to allow for more women to seek political office.

Such reforms, according to the women organisers, must also include the amendment of their constitutions to ensure that more women contested in their parties’ strongholds.

The WANA programme was launched in 2011 after the revolutions that swept many countries in the region.  Since that time 10 countries in the region have amended, replaced or reconsidered their constitutional frameworks.  In these countries, some progress has been made in the struggle for democratization, however significant challenges remain.   International IDEA continues to support constitution building across the region through the provision of support to constituent assemblies, members of the legal community, academics and others.

The Women in Politics 2015 Map launched by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women today shows that although the numbers of women in executive government and in parliament continue to inch forward, the slow rate of progress will severely check global development plans due to be adopted later this year.

Map 2015.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance — International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes. International IDEA acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing knowledge resources, policy proposals and supporting democratic reforms in response to specific national requests. It works together with policy makers, governments, UN organizations and agencies and regional organizations engaged in the field of democracy building. 

Today is International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate all that women have achieved while recognizing the barriers that still stand in the way of gender equality.

This year’s theme is “Make It Happen.” Since its founding in 1983, NDI has sought to live those words by helping to give women the tools to participate, compete and lead as equal and active partners in democratic change. Here are some examples: