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Women in Governance (WING) - n/a Empowerment & Civic Engagement Mali 2003 - 2005 USAID |
Women's Participation in Local Governance in Mali
RATIONALESince local elections in 1999, the Government of the Republic of Mali has made strides to devolve power and decision-making to rural areas. This political decentralization offers new opportunities for the development of locally responsive and effective institutions; however, women and women's contributions remain underrepresented in formal political structures and public decision-making.
OBJECTIVES
Increase women's participation in communal governance by reducing gender-based barriers and capitalizing on women's contributions.
ACTIVITIES
Implementing partner institutions in each of the four geographic regions conduct community development activities and training related to women in local governance and leadership. Three training sessions focus on civic education, leadership, public speaking, advocacy and lobbying, conflict resolution and negotiation. Community radio and audio-visual media communicate issues related to women's participation in local governance. Women's political and advocacy networks are formed and trained to mobilize other women and girls. Female political candidates and political parties are provided with technical assistance on organizing election campaigns for women. Local community leaders and women's groups gain skills to develop local activity plans to better incorporate women's interests and potentially decrease women's labor and/or increase their income. A framework for monitoring and evaluation is integrated throughout the project.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Training on the three WING training modules (I. Civic Education; II. Conflict Resolution, Negotiation and Lobbying; III. Leadership for Change) was completed. Four implementing partners conducted 202 "Civic Education" sessions for 9,371 people (84.25% women) in the sixteen target communes. The partners reached 1,383 people (85.7% women) through the "Conflict Resolution, Negotiation and Lobbying" training. Over 500 women leaders and their allies attended "Leadership for Change Training." The project distributed 500 solar-powered radios to groups of women in the target communes to promote dissemination of public awareness campaigns (radio magazines, roundtables, songs, drama, and game shows) related to women's participation in communal leadership. Regional women's networking forums were held in each of the four regions. Women political candidates were trained in conducting campaigns in preparation for communal elections.
Forty-six women candidates were elected to the communal council in the May 2004 elections (an increase from 8.66% to 18.11% of total seats from 1999 to 2004). The WING project used innovative technologies to collect and analyze data for project monitoring and evaluation. The data from baseline survey interviews with local elected leadership and 122 women's groups was collected using Palm Pilot survey tools and GPS/GIS technologies.