Resources

Danish political parties work internationally for more gender equality. The message is clear: More women should take a seat at the political table in countries around the world during the upcoming local elections, including in Denmark.

Colombia has held its local elections, and volunteers from the Red-Green Alliance served as international election observers. The volunteers spoke with several female candidates about their motivation for running for office as well as the challenges they face as women in an unstable democratic system.

August 15, 2023, marks the two-year date for the hastily withdrawal of international troops and diplomats from Afghanistan. The Taliban takeover has erased 20 years of equality rights development in just two years, as women and girls are increasingly being excluded from civic life. Nargis Nehan, former Minister in Afghanistan, provides her perspectives on the last two years and hopes for her country’s future.

Women and LGBTIQ+ people in Colombia are exposed to gender and political violence, including in the social movements that work towards development and inclusion. Says the organisation La Manada Feminista. The Danish Party, the Red-Green Alliance started a new partnership with La Manada Feminista to strengthen their feminist work in the country.

Nepalese youth have taken up important positions in the political parties as they have been trained in news skills, democratic collaboration, and leadership.

Traditionally, Kenyan political culture has been mostly top-down and based on one-way communication. Changes for a more inclusive political culture is seeing light in Kenya.

What will 2022 bring? In terms of democracy, well, it’s hard to say but I think we can agree that 2022 will be another year where we will see democracies struggle. Struggle with autocrats and autocratic regimes, who increasingly have been able to build their power and influence, and crack down on independent media, civil society, activists, and political opponents. Actions that fragment and weaken the democratic fabric and the future aspirations of any society.

Learning from DIPD's work through the past ten years shows that sustainable results are obtained with common ideological referencepoints and without the presence of classical donor/recepient relations.

Achieving gender equality in politics takes commitment. Parliamentarians in Bhutan came together on a workshop organized by the DIPD partner BNEW, committed to act. They agreed on an action plan to encourage women participation in politics and leadership. The plan includes legislative, policy and budgetary measures.

Securing women a place towards the top of ballots and mentoring aspiring female politicians. A gender workshop in Bhutan explores how to increase gender equality in politics. Inspiration and specific tools from Denmark focus on the responsibilities of political parties. For both countries, the bottom line is still that women have to work harder than men to claim their space.

Social media is feared by many female politicians for harsh, snide comments and often even sexual harassment. This counts for Bhutan as well as Denmark. But social media can also be a tool to break out of the often male-dominated arena of traditional media and enter politics standing on one’s own feet.

With immense power to inspire, four women leaders from national parliaments to community activism got together to share their stories of why and how they fight for what they think is right. Participants from all five continents joined in this celebration of International Women's Day 2021, stressing how important it is to promote the career and successes of women leaders and change makers.

While the pandemic has created difficult conditions for many of DIPD's partners around the world, new opportunities have also emerged in its wake. In Bhutan, digital meetings help a network of women in politics intensify their reach and engagement

This has dire democratic consequences globally. Legislation, dialogue and cultural nudging are among tools to counter the effects. Apps for online campaigning, bots responding to negativity and sms-reporting systems are also among the tools to fight violence against women in politics

Mentoring is an exciting tool to inspire women to take active part in politics and transfer skills, knowledge and experience from one generation of women political leaders to the next. For this reason, mentorship is a key component our work with women in politics in Malawi.

Tanzania Centre for Democracy (TCD), Centre for Multiparty Democracy, Malawi (CMD) and the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD) have jointly embarked on a new approach to enhancing women’s participation in political parties and in politics.

Women's under-representation in Politics - A Report