Background

At the beginning of the 21st century, over 95 per cent of the world’s countries have granted women the two most fundamental democratic rights: the right to vote and the right to stand for election. However, universal suffrage has not guaranteed equal access to, or participation in political and decision-making processes.

Alongside these developments, a large number of countries are undergoing various processes of transition, including countries in Sub-Saharan and North Africa. New futures are being defined while internal processes of political, governmental and system change are taking place. During these processes of unrest and turmoil, women tend to be left out of the political and democratic space, where future governance structures are negotiated. Their participation is often hindered in multiple ways. Obstacles include discriminatory legislation, restrictive patriarchal attitudes towards female participation in governance issues, and political violence.

This conference will focus on the challenges related to developing an enabling and democratic political culture for women in such transitional periods.

Leading civil society activists from Zimbabwe and Tunisia will present case studies and engage in discussions with international practitioners and researchers on barriers to women's political participation and inclusion in democratic processes.

The conference will be a platform for the development of recommendations and action points for civil society, donors, governments and the international community.

The purpose of the conference is to:

• Identify challenges facing women, such as politically motivated violence and exclusion from decision-making processes.
• Discus best practices of how to develop an enabling political culture and strategies for mobilising women to seek influence.
• Give recommendations to donors, civil society and human rights activists.

The outcome of the conference will be:

• A conference brief with recommendation for how civil society and policy makers in Denmark and internationally can address political violence against women.
• Establishment of a working group to further the agenda.