Partner News

Approximately 2.1 million Liberians have registered to vote in the upcoming October 2017 presidential and legislative elections, according to provisional results. Almost half of those registered are women.

Voter registration was conducted between 1 February and 14 March 2017. Incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has reached the two-term limit for presidential office, which means a new president will be elected, as well as members of the House of Representatives by the end of 2017.

“That 48 percent of registered voters in Liberia are women is a good sign of progress,” said Pa Lamin Beyai, Country Director at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Liberia.

“The role of women is crucial in post-conflict situations. They make a huge difference as leaders, voters and administrators. Too often they face obstacles in participating in public life and we need to remain committed to breaking down those barriers.”  

As part of its partnership with the Liberian people, UNDP is supporting the National Elections Commission (NEC) to help deliver peaceful and democratic elections, in coordination with other UN agencies.

The Support to the 2015-2018 Liberia Elections Cycle project provides advisory, technical and financial assistance to the NEC through a USD 14.7 million pooled basket fund that has contributions from the European Union, Sweden and UNDP. 

The European Union and Sweden’s support has been particularly instrumental in building the NEC’s capacity, and in voter registration, civic education and in expanding the space for women’s participation in the electoral process.

In advance of the voter registration exercise, 1,350 voter registration kits with cameras were supplied to the NEC. Voter identity cards issued included individuals’ photographs helping increase security of the electoral process. The kits were also supported with environmentally-friendly solar power energy sources.

Voter registration staff also received 9,000 copies of voter registration manuals designed with UNDP support. The manuals include NEC guidelines on how to register voters and how to run polling centres.

Analyses on boundary demarcation, voting rights of prisoners, candidate nomination and residency requirements helped increase legal certainty, and 19 magistrates were trained to improve their skills in dealing with electoral complaints.

Civic and voter education activities through door-to-door canvassing, town hall meetings and theatre performances reached nearly 700,000 people - 54 percent women and 46 percent men – nationally. 13 percent were first time voters. Radio stations that aired civic education content produced by the outreach campaign reached more than half a million listeners.

In addition, the NEC Board of Commissioners recently endorsed a gender mainstreaming policy that aims to promote women in its administration, in political parties and as voters. The policy, for instance, calls on political parties to ensure 30 percent of candidates they put forward are female.

UNDP also provided advisory support to the Inter-Party Consultative Committee, which includes all 22 political parties and the NEC, to develop a memorandum of understanding to promote dialogue and agree how to address any upcoming issues.

At the request of the political parties, UNDP also provided expertise to help craft a resolution that all 22 parties signed, committing them to promote peaceful elections.

Source: UNDP

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

By Karen Cirillo and Jodi Hilton

In the small village of Getik, Arpine Gyulumyan runs a bed and breakfast with her family. But she is also an engineer, a social worker, and a community council member.

While few residents venture far from their farming and cattle breeding traditions, Arpine left to study electrochemical technology in Yerevan. But she returned to Getik after graduation, where there were no jobs in engineering.

In Armenia, women are more likely than men to hold higher education degrees, yet they have a much lower presence in government, both locally and nationally. There is a new quota system, currently implemented in the three biggest cities, which is a positive effort to change this.

One organic way of getting women into politics is by starting at the local level. When women are elected to serve their communities, they must tackle issues familiar to them, which allows them to demonstrate strong leadership.

Arpine is one such example. Her experience as a social worker — knowing the issues that concern her community — helps her work as a councilor.

At 33 years old, she became the first woman community council member elected in her village. Her main goal is to raise the living standards in her community and the region.

Arpine also wants to make women’s issues more important and strengthen the role of women in the public life of the community.

She teaches an early child development class and she plans to create a women’s club as a safe space to discuss issues of importance to local women. Many women in the region, for instance, don’t realize they are victims of domestic violence or that they can work.

At 22, Ani Asatryan has a five-year plan to become mayor of Spitak, a town of 3,000.

Officially Spitak has a population of 13,000 but like many areas in Armenia, a number of its residents have left to find work elsewhere. Improving her town, Ani believes, begins with the younger generation.

“My aim is not just solving small problems, but mentoring other active youth on how local governance works.”

Ani has been a political activist for years. She wants to see more women in government, but wants those women to represent a platform of gender equality.

Even as members of parliament or ministers, women often can’t act independently, having to follow party platforms which are often inherently blind to gender equality. And locally-elected women often feel they must conform with the agenda of their men counterparts, neglecting issues important to women.

“I aim to bring women’s issues into politics. Today, there are women in politics, even ministers, but the glass ceiling is still a problem in Armenia — there are social limits.”

In such a patriarchal society, there need to be new mechanisms for women to get into politics — ways of nurturing existing women politicians while identifying new candidates. Trainings and workshops can introduce and strengthen women politicians, but there also needs to be support from men in the parties, a shift in culture, and a way to fight discrimination.

Anna Begunts is a high school teacher, a deputy principal, and a local councilor in her village of Sis — one of two women on a council of eleven. Anna has been in local politics for six years, twice elected as a village councilor.

Many problems contribute to Sis’ poverty — a climate too dry for successful agriculture, unreliable transportation, outward migration for jobs, poor integration of refugees, and the effects of toxic waste dumps. Anna’s work is focused on improving infrastructure in the village and fighting to reduce air pollution from a nearby waste facility.

“As an Armenian citizen, I want my country to be strong. We don’t have good living conditions here.”

Getting involved in her community was a conscious choice, and one she hopes will be replicated by the next generation. She works hard at being a role model for the next generation. “I’m trying to get my students to achieve the things I couldn’t achieve in my life.” Anna’s biggest battle has been over the local trash dump, where city trash is burned in the summer. Without a trash-processing factory, the air is filled with dangerous gases and the water becomes contaminated, increasing the risk of disease.

She has been working on this since her first day as councillor. They twice wrote letters to appeal to the government, but thus far there has been no solution.

Anna, of course, will continue to fight until she sees a solution.

UNDP’s Women in Local Democracy programme has been working since 2012 to promote equality between women and men, including equal representation of women in decision-making processes. Both Arpine and Anna got involved in politics after attending local trainings and conferences organised by the programme.

UNDP assisted the country to draft the Law on Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, which was adopted in 2013. Armenia’s new quota system aims for women achieving 25% participation in parliament and big cities’ government.

In the fall of 2016, 702 women ran for local elections from all ten regions of Armenia, and 500 women were elected as heads of community and local councilors. Since 2012, the number of women candidates and elected women increased by 17% and 24% respectively.

The outlook is promising. There is an emerging cadre of capable and motivated women willing to take the lead. In many communities, women are shifting the borders of their traditional roles and breaking stereotypes, and young leaders are emerging as community mobilisers. In this time of change, women and youth are important players in designing creative solutions for new policies, services, and programmes for more cohesive and democratic communities.

Source: UNDP Eurasia

Forum organized by African Union Commission and UN Women, with the support of Germany, outlines roadmap for women in governance, peace and security.

(New York, 2 June)—UN Women, the African Union Commission, and the Permanent Mission of Germany today launched the African Women Leaders Network, a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability. The Network was launched following the three-day High-Level Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 31 May to 2 June.

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Through panel discussions and high-level events, the Forum brought together approximately 80 participants from across Africa, including eminent women leaders from the political and public sectors, as well as those in business, civil society and the media. The meeting saw the participation of the leadership of the African Union Commission, including Commissioner for Political Affairs, Minata Samate Cessouma, the Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, the Director of Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD), Mahawa Kaba Wheeler and senior UN officials, including the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, as well as the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. 

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“The message being sent by this Network is that Africa needs to act now to implement the decisions that we have taken in our different deliberations,” said Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “These can fundamentally change the lives of women and girls and of Africans in general to prevent conflict and drive inclusive economic growth and development. We must do all of this to achieve clear impact at a local level. This Network is being led by women who are distinguished leaders; we emphasize that this is an open-ended network that can only succeed if it works hand in hand with current existing networks. Above all, we need action, accountability and visible solidarity at both global and local levels,” she added. 

The meeting served as a platform and space to garner the leadership experiences of the speakers, make critical linkages between Africa’s political, peace and security context, and women’s effective leadership and participation for the continent’s transformation. 

The Forum concluded today with a strong roadmap and launch of the African Women Leaders Network. The Network aims to harness the wealth of African women’s experiences of leadership, build on other existing and emerging networks of women leaders, as well as develop new partnerships to strengthen the capacity of women. It intends to support the advancement of more women leaders on the continent, through peer learning and mentoring, to enhance their contributions to building and sustaining peace, security and political processes for sustainable economic and social transformation, towards the realization of Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

“My commitment to the Network, as the commissioner of political affairs is non-negotiable, and it is also the stand of the AU leadership to fully support the Network,” said Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission. “I will mobilize other women commissioners and high-level officials of the Commission to stand behind this initiative.” She added, “We are doing this for ourselves, as we need a functioning network to belong to.” 

“Germany is proud to be a part of this important initiative. By bringing together a diverse group of women leaders, the Network will provide a platform for an exchange of experiences and ideas,” said Ambassador Patricia Flor, Director-General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. “The current meeting in New York is just the starting point for this debate. Sustainable peace and stability cannot be achieved without the equal and full participation of women.” 

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African women have always played critical leadership roles in their families, communities and civil society. Over time, women on the continent have been increasingly more visible as politicians and senior civil servants, in a context of greater public acceptance of women as political leaders. In Liberia, for example, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected President of an African nation in 2006. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world at 61 percent, while seven African countries are listed in the top 20 countries in terms of women’s representation in Parliament. 

At the grassroots level, women have been at the forefront of community peacebuilding in post-conflict countries including Liberia, Rwanda and more recently in Burundi. They have also led efforts to counter the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, that swept several countries across West Africa. Yet, the continent still presents a mixed picture, as the political participation of women has not translated into consistent and lasting influence of women in decision-making. In several countries, recent elections saw a regression in the number of women elected to parliament, especially in countries where there were no temporary special measures like quotas. 

Evidence shows that women play an important role as drivers of change in achieving sustainable peace and development. The Sustaining Peace Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa 2063 Agenda, all identify women’s contributions and leadership as central to finding solutions to poverty, climate change, food insecurity, improving healthcare, reaching vulnerable and marginalized communities and mitigating global economic crises, all of which have a disproportional impact on women. In particular, women’s leadership is a key ingredient of transformative and sustainable peace in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts. 

The Network aims to reconvene in February 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Until then, a task force will work on the details of the Network and fine-tune a roadmap, including the purpose, structure and activities, as well as draft strategies for sustainability, funding and intergenerational partnerships.

Source: UN Women

Forum organized by African Union Commission and UN Women, with the support of Germany, outlines roadmap for women in governance, peace and security.

(New York, 2 June)—UN Women, the African Union Commission, and the Permanent Mission of Germany today launched the African Women Leaders Network, a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability. The Network was launched following the three-day High-Level Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 31 May to 2 June.

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Through panel discussions and high-level events, the Forum brought together approximately 80 participants from across Africa, including eminent women leaders from the political and public sectors, as well as those in business, civil society and the media. The meeting saw the participation of the leadership of the African Union Commission, including Commissioner for Political Affairs, Minata Samate Cessouma, the Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, the Director of Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD), Mahawa Kaba Wheeler and senior UN officials, including the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, as well as the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. 

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“The message being sent by this Network is that Africa needs to act now to implement the decisions that we have taken in our different deliberations,” said Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “These can fundamentally change the lives of women and girls and of Africans in general to prevent conflict and drive inclusive economic growth and development. We must do all of this to achieve clear impact at a local level. This Network is being led by women who are distinguished leaders; we emphasize that this is an open-ended network that can only succeed if it works hand in hand with current existing networks. Above all, we need action, accountability and visible solidarity at both global and local levels,” she added. 

The meeting served as a platform and space to garner the leadership experiences of the speakers, make critical linkages between Africa’s political, peace and security context, and women’s effective leadership and participation for the continent’s transformation. 

The Forum concluded today with a strong roadmap and launch of the African Women Leaders Network. The Network aims to harness the wealth of African women’s experiences of leadership, build on other existing and emerging networks of women leaders, as well as develop new partnerships to strengthen the capacity of women. It intends to support the advancement of more women leaders on the continent, through peer learning and mentoring, to enhance their contributions to building and sustaining peace, security and political processes for sustainable economic and social transformation, towards the realization of Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

“My commitment to the Network, as the commissioner of political affairs is non-negotiable, and it is also the stand of the AU leadership to fully support the Network,” said Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission. “I will mobilize other women commissioners and high-level officials of the Commission to stand behind this initiative.” She added, “We are doing this for ourselves, as we need a functioning network to belong to.” 

“Germany is proud to be a part of this important initiative. By bringing together a diverse group of women leaders, the Network will provide a platform for an exchange of experiences and ideas,” said Ambassador Patricia Flor, Director-General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. “The current meeting in New York is just the starting point for this debate. Sustainable peace and stability cannot be achieved without the equal and full participation of women.” 

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African women have always played critical leadership roles in their families, communities and civil society. Over time, women on the continent have been increasingly more visible as politicians and senior civil servants, in a context of greater public acceptance of women as political leaders. In Liberia, for example, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected President of an African nation in 2006. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world at 61 percent, while seven African countries are listed in the top 20 countries in terms of women’s representation in Parliament. 

At the grassroots level, women have been at the forefront of community peacebuilding in post-conflict countries including Liberia, Rwanda and more recently in Burundi. They have also led efforts to counter the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, that swept several countries across West Africa. Yet, the continent still presents a mixed picture, as the political participation of women has not translated into consistent and lasting influence of women in decision-making. In several countries, recent elections saw a regression in the number of women elected to parliament, especially in countries where there were no temporary special measures like quotas. 

Evidence shows that women play an important role as drivers of change in achieving sustainable peace and development. The Sustaining Peace Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa 2063 Agenda, all identify women’s contributions and leadership as central to finding solutions to poverty, climate change, food insecurity, improving healthcare, reaching vulnerable and marginalized communities and mitigating global economic crises, all of which have a disproportional impact on women. In particular, women’s leadership is a key ingredient of transformative and sustainable peace in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts. 

The Network aims to reconvene in February 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Until then, a task force will work on the details of the Network and fine-tune a roadmap, including the purpose, structure and activities, as well as draft strategies for sustainability, funding and intergenerational partnerships.

Source: UN Women

Forum organized by African Union Commission and UN Women, with the support of Germany, outlines roadmap for women in governance, peace and security.

(New York, 2 June)—UN Women, the African Union Commission, and the Permanent Mission of Germany today launched the African Women Leaders Network, a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability. The Network was launched following the three-day High-Level Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 31 May to 2 June.

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Through panel discussions and high-level events, the Forum brought together approximately 80 participants from across Africa, including eminent women leaders from the political and public sectors, as well as those in business, civil society and the media. The meeting saw the participation of the leadership of the African Union Commission, including Commissioner for Political Affairs, Minata Samate Cessouma, the Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, the Director of Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD), Mahawa Kaba Wheeler and senior UN officials, including the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, as well as the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. 

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“The message being sent by this Network is that Africa needs to act now to implement the decisions that we have taken in our different deliberations,” said Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “These can fundamentally change the lives of women and girls and of Africans in general to prevent conflict and drive inclusive economic growth and development. We must do all of this to achieve clear impact at a local level. This Network is being led by women who are distinguished leaders; we emphasize that this is an open-ended network that can only succeed if it works hand in hand with current existing networks. Above all, we need action, accountability and visible solidarity at both global and local levels,” she added. 

The meeting served as a platform and space to garner the leadership experiences of the speakers, make critical linkages between Africa’s political, peace and security context, and women’s effective leadership and participation for the continent’s transformation. 

The Forum concluded today with a strong roadmap and launch of the African Women Leaders Network. The Network aims to harness the wealth of African women’s experiences of leadership, build on other existing and emerging networks of women leaders, as well as develop new partnerships to strengthen the capacity of women. It intends to support the advancement of more women leaders on the continent, through peer learning and mentoring, to enhance their contributions to building and sustaining peace, security and political processes for sustainable economic and social transformation, towards the realization of Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

“My commitment to the Network, as the commissioner of political affairs is non-negotiable, and it is also the stand of the AU leadership to fully support the Network,” said Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission. “I will mobilize other women commissioners and high-level officials of the Commission to stand behind this initiative.” She added, “We are doing this for ourselves, as we need a functioning network to belong to.” 

“Germany is proud to be a part of this important initiative. By bringing together a diverse group of women leaders, the Network will provide a platform for an exchange of experiences and ideas,” said Ambassador Patricia Flor, Director-General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. “The current meeting in New York is just the starting point for this debate. Sustainable peace and stability cannot be achieved without the equal and full participation of women.” 

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African women have always played critical leadership roles in their families, communities and civil society. Over time, women on the continent have been increasingly more visible as politicians and senior civil servants, in a context of greater public acceptance of women as political leaders. In Liberia, for example, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected President of an African nation in 2006. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world at 61 percent, while seven African countries are listed in the top 20 countries in terms of women’s representation in Parliament. 

At the grassroots level, women have been at the forefront of community peacebuilding in post-conflict countries including Liberia, Rwanda and more recently in Burundi. They have also led efforts to counter the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, that swept several countries across West Africa. Yet, the continent still presents a mixed picture, as the political participation of women has not translated into consistent and lasting influence of women in decision-making. In several countries, recent elections saw a regression in the number of women elected to parliament, especially in countries where there were no temporary special measures like quotas. 

Evidence shows that women play an important role as drivers of change in achieving sustainable peace and development. The Sustaining Peace Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa 2063 Agenda, all identify women’s contributions and leadership as central to finding solutions to poverty, climate change, food insecurity, improving healthcare, reaching vulnerable and marginalized communities and mitigating global economic crises, all of which have a disproportional impact on women. In particular, women’s leadership is a key ingredient of transformative and sustainable peace in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts. 

The Network aims to reconvene in February 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Until then, a task force will work on the details of the Network and fine-tune a roadmap, including the purpose, structure and activities, as well as draft strategies for sustainability, funding and intergenerational partnerships.

Source: UN Women

Forum organized by African Union Commission and UN Women, with the support of Germany, outlines roadmap for women in governance, peace and security.

(New York, 2 June)—UN Women, the African Union Commission, and the Permanent Mission of Germany today launched the African Women Leaders Network, a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa with a focus on governance, peace and stability. The Network was launched following the three-day High-Level Women Leaders Forum for Africa’s Transformation, which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 31 May to 2 June.

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Through panel discussions and high-level events, the Forum brought together approximately 80 participants from across Africa, including eminent women leaders from the political and public sectors, as well as those in business, civil society and the media. The meeting saw the participation of the leadership of the African Union Commission, including Commissioner for Political Affairs, Minata Samate Cessouma, the Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, the Director of Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD), Mahawa Kaba Wheeler and senior UN officials, including the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, as well as the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. 

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“The message being sent by this Network is that Africa needs to act now to implement the decisions that we have taken in our different deliberations,” said Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “These can fundamentally change the lives of women and girls and of Africans in general to prevent conflict and drive inclusive economic growth and development. We must do all of this to achieve clear impact at a local level. This Network is being led by women who are distinguished leaders; we emphasize that this is an open-ended network that can only succeed if it works hand in hand with current existing networks. Above all, we need action, accountability and visible solidarity at both global and local levels,” she added. 

The meeting served as a platform and space to garner the leadership experiences of the speakers, make critical linkages between Africa’s political, peace and security context, and women’s effective leadership and participation for the continent’s transformation. 

The Forum concluded today with a strong roadmap and launch of the African Women Leaders Network. The Network aims to harness the wealth of African women’s experiences of leadership, build on other existing and emerging networks of women leaders, as well as develop new partnerships to strengthen the capacity of women. It intends to support the advancement of more women leaders on the continent, through peer learning and mentoring, to enhance their contributions to building and sustaining peace, security and political processes for sustainable economic and social transformation, towards the realization of Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

“My commitment to the Network, as the commissioner of political affairs is non-negotiable, and it is also the stand of the AU leadership to fully support the Network,” said Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission. “I will mobilize other women commissioners and high-level officials of the Commission to stand behind this initiative.” She added, “We are doing this for ourselves, as we need a functioning network to belong to.” 

“Germany is proud to be a part of this important initiative. By bringing together a diverse group of women leaders, the Network will provide a platform for an exchange of experiences and ideas,” said Ambassador Patricia Flor, Director-General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. “The current meeting in New York is just the starting point for this debate. Sustainable peace and stability cannot be achieved without the equal and full participation of women.” 

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African women have always played critical leadership roles in their families, communities and civil society. Over time, women on the continent have been increasingly more visible as politicians and senior civil servants, in a context of greater public acceptance of women as political leaders. In Liberia, for example, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected President of an African nation in 2006. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians in the world at 61 percent, while seven African countries are listed in the top 20 countries in terms of women’s representation in Parliament. 

At the grassroots level, women have been at the forefront of community peacebuilding in post-conflict countries including Liberia, Rwanda and more recently in Burundi. They have also led efforts to counter the Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, that swept several countries across West Africa. Yet, the continent still presents a mixed picture, as the political participation of women has not translated into consistent and lasting influence of women in decision-making. In several countries, recent elections saw a regression in the number of women elected to parliament, especially in countries where there were no temporary special measures like quotas. 

Evidence shows that women play an important role as drivers of change in achieving sustainable peace and development. The Sustaining Peace Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa 2063 Agenda, all identify women’s contributions and leadership as central to finding solutions to poverty, climate change, food insecurity, improving healthcare, reaching vulnerable and marginalized communities and mitigating global economic crises, all of which have a disproportional impact on women. In particular, women’s leadership is a key ingredient of transformative and sustainable peace in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts. 

The Network aims to reconvene in February 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Until then, a task force will work on the details of the Network and fine-tune a roadmap, including the purpose, structure and activities, as well as draft strategies for sustainability, funding and intergenerational partnerships.

Source: UN Women