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2 nd ANNUAL WEST AFRICAN WOMENS POLICY FORUM

Our Politics is NOW! : Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of Womens Political Participation

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

12-13 November, 2009 Abidjan, Cote dIvoire Rapportuer: Omolara Balogun

Introduction
The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) and Women Peace and Security Network, Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) conveyed the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum themed Our Politics is NOW: Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of Womens Political Participation from November 12-13 2009 in Abidjan, Cote DIvoire with support from the African Womens Development Fund (AWDF), the International Womens Programme of the Open Society Institute (IWP-OSI), the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Daphne Foundation and with local support from the Forum International des Femmes pour la Paix lEgalit et le Dveloppent (FIFEM).

The 2-days forum was organised with the overarching goal to review womens participation in politics in post independence West Africa and assess the gains thus far in terms of womens involvement in political parties; active participation in political processes; and ascension to appointed or elected positions. The gathering also examined amongst others, the contributions and support of civil society towards women seeking political careers and how this has bolster or falter womens opportunities in different instances.

Building on the fundamental objectives behind the institutionalization of the forum in 2008, the 2nd West African Womens Forum further provided a reflection space for cross-section of women from different fields to debate and reach consensus on topical issues confronting womens political participation and increased visibility in West Africa.

Specifically, the delegates at the 2009 forum reacted to the recommendations that emanated from the premier forum which held in Accra in December 2008 under the theme: Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda. The forum reinstated the assertion to enhance the strategic involvement of women at all levels of governance and decision making through increasing their active involvement and visibility in political processes including electoral processes. The Abidjan meeting convened strategic women in civil society and government across the sub-region. Amongst key delegates in attendance were the Electoral Commissioners for Ghana and Liberia, (both women), the only female Presidential Aspirant in Cote divoire upcoming elections, the First Lady of Cote dIvoire, who is also the Vice-President of the ruling political party Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), women heads of political parties, Parliamentarians and the academia. The forum platform was utilized to deliberate, re-strategize and re-design method of ensuring an increase in womens ascension to elected political, leadership and decision making positions in their countries.

The evidence that more than eight1 of the fifteen countries in West Africa will be holding general election between 2010 and 2012 further impelled practical recommendations which aimed to augment womens old style of political participation such as carrying placard for men during election campaign rallies; waiting to be nominated for political positions after men had won power

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Available at http://ochaonline.un.org/OchaLinkClick.aspx?link=ocha&docId=1112362 accessed 12:12:09

The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

democratically; playing the subordinate role as Vice and Deputies amongst many other auxiliary positions.

During the deliberation, prevailing impediments limiting womens efforts and success in all level of political participation were recalled. Politicians at the forum re affirmed the depth of inexperience, dearth of political skills, inaccessibility to information and lack of financial and material resources to embark on successful campaigns as major enemies faltering womens interest and endeavors in political activities. The incessant politics of exclusion and disqualification of women from emerging as political party choice in primaries, due to huge candidature fee, violence-prone political environments coupled with physical/psychological insults and abuses often rained on women in active politics amongst many others inhibiting factor were discussed and proffered recommendations.

The Forum conveyed over 60 participants from West Africa including representatives of womens groups and political networks, political parties, electoral commissioners, members of parliament, government officials, gender machineries, and regional institutions (ECOWAS), and academia. Women from other parts of the African continent and beyond were also represented.

Aim and Objectives of the Forum

The overarching goal for instituting this years policy reflection platform is to review womens participation in politics in post independence West Africa and take stock of gains made in terms of womens involvement in political parties; participation in political processes; and ascension to appointed or elected positions. The forum in addition sought to examine and develop strategies to amplify women visibility, involvement and candidacy in upcoming electoral processes across West Africa.

The objectives of the meeting are: To design strategies for enhancing cross nationally support for womens involvement in politics; To identify potential entry points for womens political participation; To learn from the experiences of countries that have successfully increased womens participation in politics

Themes of the Forum

The Forum format will consist of a series of presentations followed by panel discussions. Key themes of the seminar will address:

Politics in West Africa; Examining post independence political structures; A feminist analysis of Political Parties in West Africa and possibilities for womens visibility; Reviewing 50+ years of womens participation in Ghanaian politics

Staging the winning campaign: Building skills and techniques for political campaigning; Making politics work for women: Beating men at their game; Access financial support for womens political participation; and
The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

Engendering electoral commissions

Policy Recommendations
The 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum held in Abidjan, Cote dIviore on 12 and 13 November 2009 offered twenty-eight (28) key policy recommendations to enhance and increase womens active participation, visibility, and involvement in political processes especially in elections across the sub-region. The recommendations outlined below are directed at National governments, Political parties, Civil society, Electoral commissions and ECOWAS.

ECOWAS
The regional body (ECOWAS) should integrate the 30 women representatives (Regional Womens Electoral Observers) into the ECOWAS elections observation team and shall be deployed across the sub-region during general elections across the sub-region; ECOWAS Gender and Development Centre (EDGC) should spearhead the integration process of the Womens regional electoral observer teams, and ensure their engagement in all general elections holding from 2009 to 2010; and The leadership of the regional body should institute a process that will facilitate womens ascension into key leadership position within the commission and increase the gender balance component of all units.

National governments:
Government should revisit obsolete electoral laws, constitutions that discriminate on the basis of gender be abolished in national architecture and gender mainstreaming laws that is cognizance of womens advancement be established within different government structure across the sub-region; Government should create a threshold for political parties candidature fee to enable women compete with their male counterpart in party primary elections, thus increasing womens chances of emerging as party candidates to via for a political position; Government should ensure that affirmative action strategies are implemented in areas lacking information, particularly comparative information, regarding effects of quotas and electoral systems, particularly in the developing countries of the world;
The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

Governments should make special provision for and allocate adequate financial resources to support women in politics; Policies should be put in place to urge government machineries set aside a budget to support women political participation; and Governments should create laws, and spearhead the processes of engendering national electoral commissions to include 50 percent women representatives.

Political Parties:
Womens wing of all political parties across West Africa should come together and develop a mechanism to achieve the UN approved 30 percent representation in decision making and the implementation of affirmative action in all national levels; Political parties should put in a place a more transparent system, open to women and more receptive to their demands; Political parties should institute strategies to ensure that women are well placed on electoral lists in a way to project their candidature and participation rather than inhibit their chances; and All political parties should create measures to facilitate equal participation of both men and women, especially in stipulating affordable costs for party tickets to participate and compete in party primaries;

Electoral commissions:
National Electoral Commissions (NEC) should assume the responsibility of ensuring that women are aware, informed and involved in all pre-electoral activities such as voters registration including access to adequate electoral knowledge; The commission should ensure that rules, code of conducts governing the commissions, Electoral Monitoring Bodies (EMBs) are well disseminated in its simplest form with clarity of language to citizens, particularly to female political aspirants, women groups and networks; National Electoral commissions should be empowered and mandated to sanction political parties who err to conform to party laws, constitutions and code of conduct. Parties without adequate women representation should be reprimanded; and National election commission should intensify public advertisement on all processes and events that precede actual election dates. It should be ensured that women are aware,

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The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

informed and involved in all these processes e.g. voters registration, civic educations, laws, rules and principles governing the operations of the electoral commissions.

Civil Society:
Women groups and networks should make it a mandate to support female candidates in capacity building strategies required for successful election campaign with the constituting; International and local funding agencies should design special grant scheme to support womens candidature in politics; Women should incorporate into their campaigns important but often neglected sections of the society such as the prisons, hospitals etc. prior, during and in post election activities; Civil society, specially womens networks, coalitions and movements should adopt BPfA as an important tool to call for the enhancement of womens political participation. The stated injunctions should be continuously followed and used as a reference point of action; Research should be conducted on the effect of electoral systems on womens participation in politics in West Africa; the result should be disseminated different stakeholder including womens group, networks and movements; and There should be commitment from national, regional and international training institutes such as WACSI to create more training opportunities for women, with focus on womens engagement and participation in political processes; civic education and the importance of fulfilling electoral commitments; effective public speaking; and building self-confidence.

Joint Recommendations:
Women unanimous called for the formation of a Regional Women Election Observers, consisting of two representatives of each of the fifteen ECOWAS member state (women in government and civil society respectively). This team of women should be deployed to complement the work of ECOWAS Election Observation Team in every general election across the sub-region; Government and National Electoral commissions should revisit and redraft anti-women laws debarring women from contesting for certain positions within political parties and selected for certain leadership position within the commission; Governments, international organisations, civil society and others should exert more effort at observing the injunctions of the Beijing Platform for Action after fifteen-years and CEDAW after thirty-years;

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The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

 Government, electoral commissions and political parties to reach a consensus on how to provide for affirmation, particularly when proportional representation system are more favourable to womens participation in electoral processes and eventual elections to political positions; and Political parties, national governments, local foundations and international financial institutions should allocate specific sums of money solely for womens political campaigns.

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The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

APPENDIX 1 About the organisers

WACSI
The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) was created by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) to reinforce the capacities of civil society in the region. The Institute was established to bridge the institutional and operational gaps within civil society.

Vision: To strengthen civil society organisations as strategic partners for the promotion of democracy, good governance and national development in the sub-region.

Website: www.wacsi.org

WIPSEN-Africa

The Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) is a Pan-African Non- Governmental Peacebuilding Organisation with a focus on women, peace and security broadly defined. WIPSEN-Africa seeks to promote womens strategic participation and leadership in peace and security governance in Africa. WIPSEN-Africas mission is to institutionalise and mainstream women, peace and security by enhan-cing womens leadership capacities and promoting constructive, innovative and collaborative approach-hes to non-violent transformation of conflicts, peacebuilding and human security in Africa.

Website: www.wipsen-africa.org

OSI International Womens Programme

The OSI International Womens Programme was established by the Open Society Initiatives (OSI) as one of its inspiration to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, free and open societies, human rights and economic, legal and social reform. Mission: The mission of OSI IWP is to use grant-making and programmatic efforts to promote and protect the rights of women and girls around the globe where the principles of good governance and respect for the rule of law are absent because of conflict.

Website: www.soros.org/initiatives/women/about

OSIWA

The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) was created in December 2000 as part of the world network of 32 autonomous foundations founded and supported by George Soros. OSIWA share in the commitment to work for an open society. Based on the principle that no one has monopoly of the truth, an open society recognises the different points of view and always remains open to improvements. In practice, open societies are characterised by the priority of law, democracy, respect of diversity and human rights, liberalisation of markets, information to the people and the dynamism of civil society.
The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

Website: www.osiwa.org

AWDF

African Womens Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards womens empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and programme development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African womens movement.

Website: www.awdf.org

Daphne Foundation
The Daphne Foundation supports programs that confront the causes and consequences of poverty in the five boroughs of New York City and in Western Africa, with a specific focus on Liberia. The foundation has particular interest in grassroots and emerging organizations engaging their members in the creation and implementation of long-term solutions to intractable social problems.

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The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org

APPENDIX 2 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

1. Her Excellency, Mme Simone Ehivet GBAGBO, First Lady of the Republic of Cote DIvoire 2. Comm. Unice Akoele Robert, Commissioner, Electoral Commission, Ghana 3. Councilor Elizabeth Nelson, Commissioner Liberia Election Commission 4. Honourable Gloria Scott, Senator, Maryland County 5. Ms. Deweh Gray, Associations Of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) 6. Honourable Bernadette Lahai, Sierra Leone Parliament 7. Honourable Bamba Massany, Cote Divoire Parliament 8. Honourable Ukachi Ekenulo, Imo State House of Assembly, Nigeria 9. Honourable Ago Marthe, 1st Female Vice President of National Assembly Cote Divoire 10. Honourable Haouadia Thiam , Ancienne Ministre, Ancienneparlementairesenegal Et A La Cedeao 11. Honourable Lohoues-Oble Jacqueline (Indpendante), Cote D Ivoire 12. Honourable Aka Anghui Hortens, Ex Ministre, Parlementaire-Maire, Cote D Ivoire 13. Honourable Boka Angle (Pit), Parlementaire, Cote D Ivoire 14. Honourable Ndiore Aya Alphonsine, Parlementaire, Cote D Ivoire 15. Honourable Lorougnon Marie Odette (Fpi), Parlementaire, Cote D Ivoire. 16. Mme. Salimata Thiam, Ecowas (EDGC), Dakar, Senegal

Government Officials

Civil Society Actors

1. Ms. Thelma Ekiyor, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) 2. Ms. Leymah Gbowee, Women in Peace Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa), Ghana 3. Ms. Hamida Harrison, Abantu For Development, Ghana 4. Ms. Yvonne Moore, Daphne Foundation, USA 5. Ms. Celine Justice Program Director: Peace Is Loud, New York. 6. Ms. Rissi Assani Alabi, African Womens Development Fund (AWDF) 7. Dr. Lehlohonolo Tlou, Centre For Regional Integration In Africa (CRIA) 8. Cllr. Ruth Jappah, Association Of Female Lawyers In Liberia, (AFELL) 9. Dr. Ruth G. Caesar, West African Women Association, Monrovia, Liberia 10. Ms. Sandra Zerbo, Trust Africa, Senegal 11. Ms. Iheoma Obibi, Alliances For Africa (AfA), Nigeria 12. Honourable Salimata Porquet, (FEFEEDES CI) & FIFEM & ECOSOCC /Ex Parlementaire 13. Mme. Gnonsoa Angle (Pit Ex Ministre) 14. Mme. Ndri Yoman Thrse, Professeurs Agrge De Mdecine Vice Prsidente Fifem 15. Mme. Camara Kandia (Rdr), Ex Prsidente Des Femmes, Du Rdr Enseignante 16. Coffie Goudou Raymonde (Pdci Pharmacienne) 17. Mme. Kodjo Marie Paule, Docteur Prsidente Du , COFEMCI-REPC 18. Mme. Sarassino Jeanne, Ex Ministre 19. Mme. Botti Rosalie, Femme Rurale / Opratrice conomique 20. Mme Michle Ddvi Ekue, Conseil Consultatif Des Femmes Du Togo (Ccoft), Ancienne Ministre 21. Olufunmilayo A. Balogun, International Planned Parent - Hood Federation (IPPF), Kenya 22. Ms. Eva Maina Ayiera, Urgent Action Fund, Kenya. 23. Omolara Balogun West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) 24. Adama Sira Bah, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) 25. Omolara Tay Oyelakun, Women in Peace Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa), Ghana 26. Blanche Selmah, Women in Peace Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa), Ghana

1 0 The full report of the 2nd Annual West African Womens Policy Forum will soon be available at WACSI Secretariat. For more information
contact info@wacsi.org or the Policy Advocacy officer on obalogun@wacsi.org