Tripoli, 20 July 2013:
Last week
Canada announced its contribution to two
projects that will encourage the participation of women in the political
process in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including
Libya.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird stated that, “When women
play an active role in society, so many other problems are resolved,
and the things we hope to achieve become possible.”
“Women’s participation in decision-making processes is essential to
ensure that democracies are truly representative of their populations,”
said Canadian Minister of State Lynne Yelich. “Canada will continue to
support the development of women’s leadership skills and increase their
active participation in elections so that more qualified women will be
elected. These activities will strengthen the voice of women in emerging
democracies at all levels of government.”
“As the Middle East moves to a new era of political development,
women have a great responsibility to shape the debate on how their
societies will be run,” added Tami Longaberger, Chair of the Arab
Women’s Leadership Institute. “The Arab Women’s Leadership Institute is
proud to partner with the Canadian government to increase the number of
female elected officials who will contribute to this debate in Lebanon,
Libya and Tunisia.”
The Canadian projects in Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen
will support the development of women candidates’ electoral campaigning
skills and help to expand recognition of women’s rights as these
countries continue to undergo political transitions.
While women are present in national assemblies and congresses
throughout the Middle East and North Africa, women’s rights and
interests are often inadequately addressed. As governments in this
region undertake the difficult process of enacting democratic reforms,
the unequal status of women presents a significant challenge, given
women’s important role in the success of conflict prevention and
resolution.
The two projects supported by Canada aim to increase the political involvement of women.
One project, to be implemented by the Forum of Federations in Jordan,
Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, is called Empowering Women for Participation
in the Political Process of Building Devolved and Decentralized
Democracies. The project’s activities include:
- providing regional capacity-building training for women’s networks and coalitions dedicated to decentralization;
- enabling regional dialogue on common platforms and challenges among
women, such as activists, parliamentarians, aspiring candidates and
businesswomen, already engaged in politics or leadership roles;
- developing gender-specific and gender-sensitive training materials,
including audiovisual and virtual tools, on local governance and women.
The second project, to be implemented by the International Republican
Institute, covers Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia. It is called the Arab
Women’s Leadership Institute Candidate Preparation School and will build
the capacity of female candidates in those countries. Project
activities include:
- training six individuals—two from each country—in campaign management;
- coaching the same individuals on strategic communications with the electorate;
- providing “campaign school” training and mentoring to hundreds of other participants from the three countries.
Both projects contribute to Canada’s efforts toward and interest in
promoting democratic transition and increasing the participation of
women in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The combined cost of these two projects is C$971,200. Canada’s
support will be provided through the Global Peace and Security Fund,
which was launched in April 2005 to further the Government of Canada’s
goal of creating the conditions for safe and secure environments in
crisis and post-conflict situations.
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