Dakar, 1is Oct (APS) – Several actors from the National Parity Observatory (ONP) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are participating, in Dakar, in a two-day workshop whose objective is to explore in depth the role and impact of women in the recent electoral process.
”This workshop aims to assess the political leadership of women during the legislative elections of 2022 and presidential elections of 2024,” said the representative of the Minister of Family and Solidarity, Ms. Astou Fall, during the ceremony. opening.
According to her, this workshop will ”identify the specific obstacles encountered by women candidates, document the lessons learned from their experiences and identify the good practices implemented”.
The president of the ONP, Awa Ndiaye, indicated that the concrete recommendations resulting from this meeting “will be formulated to strengthen the participation of women, particularly during the legislative elections scheduled for November 17, 2024, with a view to improving efficiency of the intervention of the ONP and its partners”.
Present at the meeting, the director of the USAID mission in Senegal, Alyssa Leggoe, for her part, stressed that this forum “provides the opportunity to collectively focus on the urgent need to improve the representation of women in political life, particularly in the run-up to the next legislative elections which will take place on November 17, 2024.
”Women bring unique perspectives, experiences and solutions, and their inclusion is essential to develop policies that meet the needs of all citizens,” she appreciated.
Ms Leggoe noted that ”the low representation of women on the political spectrum and their under-representation in decision-making bodies are very worrying”.
The resident director of the NDI, Alain Ayadokoum, welcomed the holding of the workshop, recalling that “USAID and NDI have always positioned themselves as promoters of the affirmation of women’s political leadership in Senegal.” ‘.
”In the early 2000s, NDI trained several women elected as part of the program to promote female candidates in local elections in Senegal with funding from USAID,” he reported.
In addition, he indicated that between August and September 2002, more than 1,281 elected women, or 81% of all elected women in local authorities, benefited from capacity building on the management of local authorities. ”.
Mr. Ayadokoum indicated that during the same period, nearly 200 women from civil society also benefited from the training.
”In general, we can affirm that in relation to political parties, 1,500 to 2,000 potential or invested women candidates benefited at the time from training on the appropriate techniques to successfully lead and win an electoral campaign” , he said.
The organizers of the workshop indicated that ”the territorial, legislative and presidential elections of recent years have revealed persistent challenges such as sexist discourses and practices which continue to hinder women’s access to decision-making positions”.
They recalled that “out of nine women candidates initially, only one was able to participate, highlighting an alarming situation in terms of representativeness and equality within the political sphere.”
Opened Tuesday in Dakar, this workshop on the role and impact of women in the electoral process under the theme: ”Women’s political leadership: lessons and perspectives in the aftermath of the elections”, ends on Wednesday.
CS/AB/ABB/OID
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