Women’s political and socio-economic status improves when women become more involved in decision making and policy development at all levels of governance.  Through their active involvement in community work and women’s movements, local women politicians are fully aware of issues faced by women in their communities and are uniquely positioned to address them. The role of women in decision making has been addressed by various international agreements and conventions, CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), to name a few.

Money is essential for the operations of political parties, and particularly affects candidates in electoral processes. Political financing regulations can effect women’s access to run as candidates, be elected, campaign and reach out to the population. Regulations on political funding are used to level the playing field in electoral competition. They can also work to ensure that women are able to compete on a more equal footing with men. This in turn may result in women’s increased political participation; a key feature of democracy.

IKAT US Component 1 lead by Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia (Kemitraan) and in partnership with the NDI for International Affairs along with regional partners: Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI), Persatuan Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) from Malaysia, Women's Caucus from Timor Leste, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), the Center for Popular Empowerment from the Philippines work together to strengthen representative democracy and the political rights of women by advocating the promoti

The priority theme of the 57th UN Commission of the Status of Women will be the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.

Inequalities in women's lives are complex and intersected and violence against women and girls can be tackled from many angles by different stakeholders.