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News & Updates
Feature
Ending Harmful Practices: Voices from the Field
On July 18, IFES and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) co-hosted a briefing to discuss harmful practices endured by women and girls globally, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Sustainable development goal 5 has identified the need to end practices that are considered harmful by international human rights standards because they violate the rights of women and girls.
News & Updates
Feature
Bangladeshi Advocate Promotes Inclusion of Women with Disabilities
IFES is working to support disability rights advocates’ efforts toward the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in public life. One such advocate is Nazma Ara Begum Popy, general secretary of the Bangladesh Visually Impaired People’s Society.
News & Updates
Feature
IFES Signs Global Disability Summit Charter for Change
On July 24, the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the International Disability Alliance and the Government of Kenya will host the first-ever Global Disability Summit. IFES, represented by IFES President Bill Sweeney, will participate and has signed the Charter for Change, the summit’s principal legacy document outlining actions that must be taken to ensure the rights, freedoms, dignity and inclusion for all persons with disabilities.
Publication
Electoral Assessment
Violence Against Women in Elections and the Representation of Women in Haitian Politics
The reasons for women's weak representation in Haitian politics are deeply rooted in social norms and the widespread incidence of violence against women in elections (VAWE), which the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) defines as "any harm or threat of harm committed against women with the intent and/or impact of interfering with their free and equal participation in the electoral process during the electoral period." Oftentimes, VAWE is subtle and more indirect than physical attacks against voters and candidates, but it nonetheless impacts women's interest and willingness to get involved in political processes and structures of governance. The threats and social stigmas they face are associated not only with the act of voting, but with many other activities that are a common part of a free and fair democratic experience. To document the nature and impact of VAWE in Haiti, IFES has produced Violence Against Women in Elections in Haiti: An IFES Assessment.
July 05, 2018
News & Updates
Feature
She Leads Program: Q&A with Katie Ryan
She Leads, a flagship program of IFES, works to empower women with the skills and knowledge to participate and take on leadership roles in political and electoral processes through a series of beginner, intermediate and advanced trainings. In this Q&A, Katie Ryan, lead author of She Leads, discusses the origins and impact of the program, which has trained over 2,600 women in four countries and continues to expand.
News & Updates
Feature
Addressing Violence Against Women in Politics
On Wednesday, May 16, IFES and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) co-hosted a briefing to discuss global legislation that specifically addresses violence against women in politics (VAWIP), personal experiences from women that have been impacted by VAWIP, existing legislation to address VAWIP and recommendations for future legislation. The U.S. Civil Society Working Group’s new policy brief on VAWIP – co-authored by IFES Senior Gender Specialist Dr. Gabrielle Bardall and Alliance for Peacebuilding Research Associate Emily Myers – was launched at this event.
Publication
Report/Paper
Violence Against Women in Politics: A Barrier to Peace and Security
A policy brief co-authored by IFES Senior Gender Specialist Dr. Gabrielle Bardall and Alliance for Peacebuilding Research Associate Emily Myers was featured in the 2018 U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security Policy Brief Series.
May 17, 2018
News & Updates
Feature
Learning About Violence Against Women in Politics in Leaps and Bounds: Surprising Findings from the Maldives
In 2011, IFES' Electoral Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) methodology found that women were rarely the subjects of political violence in the Maldives – less than 2 percent of violent incidents specifically targeted women, compared to 46 percent targeting men. Four years later, using a new, survey-based methodology, data collected by Professor Elin Bjarnegård from Sweden's Uppsala University in collaboration with IFES suggested a very different situation.
News & Updates
Feature
Commemorating International Women’s Day in Indonesia
To commemorate International Women’s Day in Indonesia, IFES, the International Republican Institute and the Association for Elections and Democracy hosted “Women’s Challenges in a Political Year” – a public discussion aiming to motivate and unite leaders and communities to think, act and be gender inclusive. With the next general election scheduled for April 2019, it is a crucial time for Indonesia to seriously consider the unique challenges and barriers that women currently face in participating in elections.
News & Updates
Feature
She Leads: Empowering Female Candidates Ahead of Local Elections in Sri Lanka
Ahead of Sri Lanka's February 2018 local government election, IFES carried out a women’s leadership program, She Leads SL, that equipped 458 Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim women with practical campaign skills including fundraising, networking and coalition building, campaign messaging, social media use, public speaking, and development of personal campaign action plans. As a result of the She Leads SL training, nearly 43 percent of alumnae participated as candidates in the 2018 local government elections, utilizing skills gained from the training to elevate their campaigns.