Women in Political Participation- is a Pan-African gender project on the different facets of Women and Politics in Africa. Funded by Sida and implemented by International IDEA, its aim is to contribute to advancing the goal of gender equality in politics and governance, in line with the Maputo Protocol of 2003; various associated sub-regional protocols and standards, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Inclusive of International IDEA as leading partner, the Project brings together a consortium of seven partner organisations:The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), Gender Links, Universite Cheikh Anta Diop’s Gender Laboratory (IFAN), Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum on Gender and Women and Law Southern Africa (WLSA). The project will be expanded across Africa once funds permit.
The Project impact Objectives are:
1. To contribute to an increase in the voice and presence of women in political processes
and institutions in Africa.
2. To step up advocacy for, and expand awareness towards increased demands for the
inclusion of women at all levels of political participation and decision-making.
3. To build and strengthen enabling platforms that allow for women’s inclusion in all levels
of political participation.
The project is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Ethiopia.
The provision for support for gender equality and women empowerment is a key foreign policy objective of Sweden, and a key initiative under the Swedish funding strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. The current project will be implemented over a period of three years.
The WPP project is implemented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1995, with member states across all continents, which aims to support sustainable democracy world-wide and assist in the development of institutions and the culture of democracy. At the interface between research, fieldwork and the donor community, IDEA provides a forum for dialogue, builds networks of experts, develops training materials and provides strategic advice at the international, regional and national level, cooperating with a range of organizations. International Idea develops comparative knowledge, assist in democratic reform, and influence policies and politics, focusing in three main impact areas: electoral processes, constitution-building, political participation and representation. The WPP project links to International Idea focus areas on gender, diversity, and conflict and security.
Pinkie Mekgwe is International IDEA’s Senior Regional Adviser for Africa and West Asia and her work focuses on strengthening programmatic and administrative coherence and performance.
Before joining International IDEA in 2018, Mekgwe was Executive Director of Internationalism at the University of Johannesburg for the past six years. She also previously served as Deputy Director at the Office of International Education and Partnerships of the University of Botswana and as Programme Officer for the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
Previously she was a lecturer at the University of Botswana, visiting researcher at the Witwatersrand Institute of Social and Economic Research, and a visiting lecturer at Malmö University in Sweden.
Dr Pinkie Mekgwe
Senior Regional Advisor
Yafika Chitanda
Communications Assistant
Vacant
Administrative Assistant
Sifisosami Dube is a Programme Officer in Maputo Office, Mozambique. Her focus areas are contributing to the design, planning and implementation of project activities, coordinating the WPP Consortium partners, monitoring implementation and identifying opportunities for project growth. Prior to joining International Idea, Dube was the Head of Policy and Movement Building at Gender Links. She has previously worked on gender mainstreaming work with local authorities as well as building a movement of gender equality networks across the Southern African Development Community. Dube has worked with CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation as a Gender and Diversity Officer, the Secretary General’s office as well as the coordinator for the Legitimacy, Accountability and Transparency Programme. Dube has co-authored and co-edited the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, a publication of Gender Links since 2013.
Sifisosami Dube
Programme Officer
Rebecca Yoseph Zewdie
Finance Officer