1st West African Womens Policy Forum

Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Policy Forum Report

1st West African Womens Policy Forum

Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Policy Forums Report

December 2-3, 2008 Holiday Inn Hotel, Accra-Ghana.

Rapporteur: Ms. Omolara T. Balogun1

Omolara T. Balogun is a Next Generation Intern at WACSI. st

1 West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Table of Contents
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations About the Partners Executive Summary 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.0 3.0 ..........................................................5 ..................................................................................................................................6 ............................................................................................................................................8

Introduction .........................................................................................................................11 Aims and Objectives of the Forum ...........................................................................................11 emes of the Forum ..............................................................................................11 A Review of the Status of Womens Leadership in West Africa ................................................................. 11 Tracking Progress and Challenges in Womens Policy In uencing ...................................................................15 3.1 3.2 3.3 Drug Tra cking ........................................................................................................................... 15 Sub-regional Integration, Migration and Free movement of people ..................................................16 Peace and Security ...............................................................................................................................17 .........................................21

4.0 5.0 6.0

e Prospects of linking policy and practice in West Africa .....................................................19 Revisiting Womens Networking and Collaboration in West Africa 6.1 6.2 Succession Planning in Womens Leadership ............................................................................................. 22 A case study of the Liberian Young Girls transformative Leaders Project .....................................22 Enhancing Young Girls Leadership in Nigeria: KINDs Experience ..............................................23

7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

Establishing regional and international linkages ..........................................................................24 Designing Regional Strategy for Womens Policy in uencing .................................................................25 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................25 Policy Recommendations ............................................................................................................................26

APPENDICES Appendix 1: List of Participants Appendix 2: Agenda ....................................................................................................................29 ........................................................................................................................31

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

AWDF CBOs CSOs CEDAW ECOWAS ECPF FAS FGM African Womens Development Fund Community Based Organisations Civil Society Organisations Convention for the Elimination of all form of Discrimination Against Women Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS Con ict Prevention Framework Femme Afrique Solidarite Female Genital Mutilation

HIV/AIDS IGAD KIND MDG MoU MRU ISIS WICCE

Human Immunode ciency Virus / Acquired Immune De ciency Syndrome Intergovernmental Authority for Development Kudirat Initiative for Democracy Memorandum of Understanding Mano River Union ISIS Womens International Cross Cultural Exchange Millennium Developmental Goals

NGOs REC

OSIWA SADC SIHA UAF SWEP UNIFEM UNSCR WACSI

Non-Governmental Organisations Regional Economic Community

Open Society Initiative for West Africa Southern African Development Community Sudanese Women Empowerment for Peace Urgent Action Fund

Strategic Initiative for Horn of Africa Women

United Nations Development Fund for Women United Nations Security Council Resolution West Africa Civil Society Institute Women Peace and Security Network-Africa

WIPSEN-A

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

About Partners
About WACSI e West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) was created by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) to reinforce the capacities of civil society in the region. e Institute was established to bridge the institutional and operational gaps within civil society. Vision: To strengthen civil society organisations as strategic partners for the promotion of democracy, good governance and national development in the sub-region. Mission: e objective of the Institute is to strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of CSOs in the formulation of policies, the implementation and promotion of democratic values and principles in West Africa. e role of WACSI is to serve as a resource centre for training, research, experience sharing and political dialogue for CSOs in West Africa. e Institute makes its plea through policy dialogue to discuss current issues a ecting West African States. Reference documents are regularly published by the Institute and disseminated to political leaders/policy makers. Website: www.wacsi.org About WIPSEN-Africa e Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) was established on 8th May, 2006 under the laws of the Republic of Ghana as a Pan-African Non-Governmental Peacebuilding Organisation with a focus on women, peace and security broadly de ned. WIPSEN-Africa is women-focused, women-led organisation that seeks to promote womens strategic participation and leadership in peace and security governance. Vision: WIPSEN-Africa envisions a violence free, non-discriminatory continent that fosters peaceful coexistence, equality, collective ownership and full participation of all, particularly women, in decisionmaking on peace and security. Mission: WIPSEN-Africas mission is to institutionalise and mainstream women, peace and security by enhancing womens leadership capacities and promoting constructive, innovative and collaborative approaches to non-violent transformation of con icts, peacebuilding and human security in Africa. Website: www.wipsen-africa.org About OSI International Womens Programme e OSI International Womens Programme was established by the Open Society Initiatives (OSI) as one of its inspiration to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, free and open societies, human rights and economic, legal and social reform. Mission: e mission of OSI IWP is to use grant-making and programmatic e orts to promote and protect the rights of women and girls around the globe where the principles of good governance and respect for the rule of law are absent or destroyed because of con ict.

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Goal: e goal of OSI IWP is to be a catalyst for creating conditions in which women can take the lead in their own political, economic and social development and strengthening institutions that are responsive to and inclusive of women. IWP seeks to promote the advancement of womens rights and gender equality in law and practice, and the empowerment of women to ensure participation in the democratic process as the foundations for achieving this goal. IWPs work is guided by legal and normative frameworks and the realisation of these is the entry point for promoting gender equality, the advancement of womens rights and womens inclusion. IWP focuses its support around three main objectives: 1) Reducing discrimination and violence against women, 2) Strengthening womens access to justice, 3) Increasing womens role as decision-makers and leaders. Website: www.soros.org/initiatives/women/about About OSIWA e Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) was created in December 2000 as part of the world network of 32 autonomous foundations founded and supported by George Soros. ese non-pro t-making foundations share in the commitment to work for an open society. Based on the principle that no one has monopoly of the truth, an open society recognises the di erent points of view and always remains open to improvements. In practice, open societies are characterised by the priority of law, democracy, respect of diversity and human rights, liberalisation of markets, information to the people and the dynamism of civil society. Website: www.osiwa.org About AWDF African Womens Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards womens empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and programme development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African womens movement. e vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for womens human rights. To this end, its mission is to mobilise nancial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision. e objective of AWDF are fundraising within and outside Africa, grant-making on an African-wide basis, communicating the work and achievements of African womens organisations, providing technical assistance to grantees. AWDF has funded over 600 women organisations in 41 African countries. Website: www.awdf.org

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Executive Summary
est African women have gained relative visibility through their activism in the civil society sector on issues of governance, democracy, development, peace and security. However, the extent to which this activism in uences or shapes policies across the region has not been measured and therefore di cult to ascertain. Furthermore, in comparison to their share of the population, women remain underrepresented in political spaces and very little is known about the causal e ect of those women who enter into political spaces. ere is also an evident disconnect between women in civil society and women in government further diminishing the potential collective leverage women can bring to policy processes. is situation led the West Africa Civil Society Institute and the Women Peace and Security Network to initiate the establishment of the West Africa Womens Forum in December 2008, as an annual space for women working in di erent sectors in the region to deliberate and design strategies for enhancing womens in uence on policy processes and provide a conduit for improved collaboration among womens groups. e 1st Forum titled Assessing the gains, Advancing the Agenda brought together over 50 women from three distinct sectors; women in civil society, women in government and women from the donor community. Participants were drawn primarily from West Africa, with representation from other parts of Africa and the world. Participants re ected on womens roles and participation in governance, development, peace and security in the region and to design concrete strategies for in uencing and informing policy processes. e uniqueness of the Forum was that it provided a tactical space for cross section of women from di erent elds to reach consensus on topical issues facing women in West Africa. e central aim was to convene the 1st West African Womens Policy Forum by creating a podium for women working in di erent sectors to jointly deliberate on strategic topical issues a ecting women in the region, such as the representation of women in governance, development and peace and security processes. e Forum had four (4) main objectives: To establish a platform for women across West Africa to strategise on maximising e orts towards in uencing policies on womens issues; To enhance collaboration between women in civil society and governments; To serve as an annual re ection space for a cross section of women in the region; and To provide an avenue for West Africa women to form linkages with women working in other regions of the world. A keynote address on the Forum theme was delivered by Hon. Vabah Gay or, Minister of Gender and Development, Republic of Liberia. is address was supported by discussions on seven core themes: Reviewing the Status of Womens Leadership in West Africa Tracking current issues a ecting women Drug Tra cking Sub-regional integration , Migration and Free movement of people Peace and Security e Prospects of linking policy and practice in West Africa; Revisiting womens networking and collaboration in West Africa; Succession Planning in Womens Leadership; Establishing Regional and International Linkages; and Designing Regional Strategy for Womens Policy in uencing.

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

e Policy Forum o ered Sixteen (16) key policy recommendations to enhance the involvement of women in leadership and decision making processes across the region. e recommendations outlined below are directed at ECOWAS, National governments, and Civil society. ECOWAS: As the most progressive regional body on the continent, ECOWAS should increase the numbers of women in key decision making positions at the Commission and other institutions. It is important that the African Unions standard of gender parity be adopted at all levels; ECOWAS and in particular the Gender and Development Centre in Dakar and the Gender Unit at the Commission should develop more inclusive ways of working with womens groups to achieve the implementation of its protocols and other policies. e Centre should be a rallying ground for women in the region. For example, given the unique impact of migration on women, the Gender Centre should lead the process of placing women at the core of implementing the Protocol on Free Movement, Right of Residence and Establishment; First Ladies in West Africa through the auspices of the ECOWAS Gender Centre and national gender ministries should be targeted to become involved in policy formulation processes at national and regional levels; ECOWAS leaders should invest in strengthening the Gender and Development Centre in Dakar, to enable it play a more in uential and constructive role in policy processes; National Governments: Governments should close the gap between signing and adopting instruments and implementation. ere should be more commitment by States to fully domesticate CEDAW, e Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women, and the ECOWAS gender policy; Given the appallingly low representation of women at national decision making structures, governments in the region should recommit to ensuring a minimum 30 per cent of women at all levels of government; West African women in government positions should view women in civil society as allies and forge more strategic and interdependent relationships that will enhance womens ability to in uence policies; Civil Society: Womens organisations should intensify their commitment to mentorship by creating opportunities for young girls to participate and bene t from training programmes, workshops, and leadership initiatives in order to facilitate continuity in womens representation in decision making; Women in civil society should make overtures towards women in government and endeavor to provide technical assistance on issues that a ect women in the region. A starting point should be for women in both sectors to work on the common cause of increasing the numerical representation of women at all levels of decision making; Womens groups in civil society should increase their visibility within the sector and across the region by playing more critical roles in policy formulation processes. For example, women should become more vocal and visible in traditionally male sectors such as security, economic development and policy analysis;

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Womens groups should enhance mechanisms for quality collaboration by maximising e orts and reducing unhealthy competition and rivalry. A database of womens initiatives outlining areas of specialisation should be developed to improve cooperation; Joint Recommendations e forum recommended the formation of a West Africa Womens Advisory Panel comprising of women in government, civil society and the private sector to support the gender structures at ECOWAS and provide policy advice to national governments; Peace and security remains a high priority issue in West African countries, therefore, all actors should enhance e orts to domesticate the implementation of related peace and security instruments such as the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. e processes of developing national action plans for Resolution 1325 should be accelerated in all countries. Lessons should be learned from Liberias experience of developing a national action plan on the Resolution; Given the male dominated state of the security sector in countries across West Africa, womens advocacy on engendering the security sector should increase. is advocacy should involve calling for institutional gender policies that guide the recruitment, retention and protection of women in the security sector; Women from all sectors should organise around upcoming elections in West Africa and become more engaged in pre and post electoral processes. Lessons on the roles Ghanaian women played in the countrys 2008 elections should be documented and shared in the region; and Finally, women should advocate for their visible inclusion in the implementation of the proposed ECOWAS vision 20/20 ECOWAS of the People: Towards a Democratic and Prosperous Community.

Ms. elma Ekiyor Executive Director WACSI

WACSI and WIPSEN-Africa acknowledge and appreciate the support provided by the African Womens Development Fund (AWDF), the International Womens Programme of the Open Society Institute, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and Abigail Disney, towards the 1st West African Womens Policy Forum.

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

1.0 Introduction
he West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) and Women Peace and Security Network, Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) with support from the African Womens Development Fund (AWDF), the International Womens Programme of the Open Society Institute, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and Abigail Disney, organised the 1st Annual West African Womens Policy Forum in December 2008, to inform, guide, in uence and monitor policy formulation and implementation on issues that a ect women in West Africa. e Forum provided a platform for womens groups, associations, coalitions and women in government and other decisionmaking positions to re ect on womens roles and participation in governance, development, peace and security in the region and to design concrete strategies for in uencing and informing policy processes. e uniqueness of the Forum was that it provided a tactical space for cross section of women from di erent elds to reach consensus on topical issues facing women in West Africa. It is envisaged that the Policy Forum will serve as an annual gathering of West African women given the uid nature of the regions policy environment. e overall goal for instituting this annual forum is to address the prevailing lack of strategy and chasm in womens collaboration and broad based advocacy to in uence policies in the region. e Forum brought together over 50 participants from West Africa including womens groups, networks, women in government, gender machineries and ECOWAS. Women from other parts of the African continent and the world were also represented.

1.1

e central aim was to convene the 1st West African Womens Policy Forum by creating a platform for women working in di erent sectors to jointly deliberate on strategic topical issues a ecting women in the region, such as the representation of women in governance, development and peace and security processes.

Aim and Objectives of the Forum

Hon. Vabah Gay or (Minister of Gender and Development) - Liberia, giving the Keynote Address.

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

e Forum had four (4) main objectives: To establish a platform for women across West Africa to strategise on maximising e orts towards in uencing policies on womens issues; To enhance collaboration between women in civil society and governments; To serve as an annual re ection space for a cross section of women in the region; and To provide an avenue for West African women to form linkages with women working in other regions of the world.

1.2

e following seven (7) issues formed the basis of presentations and discussion at the forum: Reviewing the Status of Womens Leadership in West Africa Tracking current issues a ecting women Drug Tra cking Sub-regional integration , Migration and Free movement of people Peace and Security e Prospects of linking policy and practice in West Africa; Revisiting womens networking and collaboration in West Africa; Succession Planning in Womens Leadership; Establishing Regional and International Linkages; and Designing Regional Strategy for Womens Policy in uencing.

emes of the Forum

2.0 Reviewing the Status of Womens Leadership in West Africa

study commissioned by WACSI on the Status of Womens Leadership in West Africa provided the foundation for discussing the prevailing leadership issues a ecting women in West Africa. Speci cally, the research examined womens leadership in di erent sectors of West African society and assessed how women have contributed to governance and democratisation processes. e contribution of women in the pre-colonial and colonial era and in contemporary West Africa was analysed to gauge the progress made over the decades. e study also examined womens approach and response to leadership in public and private spaces as well as their approach to succession planning. Four (4) West African countries were selected as case studies; Cote dIvoire being a country transitioning from protracted civil wars; Ghana and Senegal, for relative political stability in the process of democratisation; and Nigeria, for its size and geo-political signi cance in the region. Overall the study found that notwithstanding the existence of international mechanisms for gender equality such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA)1, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right on the Rights of Women in Africa adopted in 2003 in Maputo, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment adopted in Addis Ababa in 2004 and Millennium Development Goals,2 all of which the African States have committed to, inequality remains intractable in ECOWAS member states. e study provided statistical analysis of the number of women in leadership and political positions, particularly in national parliaments and key positions in Ministries and parastatals. is analysis revealed that Senegal leads in womens representation in parliament with 33 women out of 150 representatives in the lower house (i.e. 22%), and 46 women out of the 100 representatives in the upper house (46%), while Nigeria emerged as the lowest with 25 women out of 358 representatives (i.e. 7%) in the lower house, and 9 women out 109 (i.e. 8.30%) in the upper house.
1 In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China. It is frequently referred to as the Beijing Conference. The Conference was the culmination of twenty years of work by the global womens movement, and resulted in the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). It Provides a framework on gender equality and empowerment of women in 12 critical areas of concern which are: poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict, economic disparity, power sharing, institutions, human rights, mass media, environment and the girl-child. MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower women.

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1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Table 1:

List of women Parliamentarian in West Africa (October, 2008)

Lower Houses S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Country Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Cape Verde Congo Cote DIvoire Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
Country with highest %

Upper House or Senate Number of Seats 83 111 180 72 137 203 120 53 230 114 100 64 147 113 358 150 121 81 Women Seats 9 17 25 13 10 18 20 5 25 22 14 8 15 14 25 33 16 9 % of Women 10.80% 15.30% 13.90% 18.10% 7.30% 8.90% 16.70% 9.40% 10.90% 19.30% 14.00% 12.50% 10.20% 12.40% 7.00% 22.00% 13.20% 11.10% Elections Year ----Aug. 2008 -Feb. 2003 ----Oct. 2005 --Apr. 2007 Aug. 2007 --Number of Seats ----70 -91 ----30 --109 100 --Source:

Elections Year Mar. 2003 May 2007 Jul. 2007 Jan. 2006 Jun. 2007 Dec. 2000 Dec. 2001 Jan. 2002 Dec. 2004 Jun. 2002 Mar. 2004 Oct. 2005 Jul. 2007 Dec. 2004 Apr. 2007 Jun. 2007 Aug. 2007 Oct. 2007

Women Seats ----9 -14 ----5 --9 46 ---

% of Women ----12.90% -15.80% ----16.70% --8.30% 40.00% ---

Country with lowest %

e Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

e research highlighted several factors that impede womens ascendancy to leadership positions. ese include the perennial challenges of high illiteracy among women, cultural impediments, and poverty. Additional contemporary challenges such as discord between women in government and those in civil society and the inability of women to relate to emerging spaces that advocate for womens leadership such as the African Feminist Forum also hinder progress in womens leadership. Many women in West Africa are still hesitant to associate themselves with the notion of feminism3 limiting the potential for strategic alliance building.

e 1st West African Womens Policy Forum participants during a plenary session

e study also revealed that though there has been a noticeable increase in the numbers of women in the executive branch of government, across West Africa women still nd it di cult to make gains in traditionally male dominated branches such as Ministries of nance, interior and defence.

Feminism according to the African Feminist charter places patriarchal social relations structures and systems which are embedded in other oppressive and exploitative structures at the centre of analysis. While patriarchy is a system of male domination and authority which legitimises the oppression of women through political, social, economic, legal cultural, religious and military institutions. The main ideological task of feminism is to understand the system of patriarchy and to put an end to it politically. For more, See -The African Feminist Charter at http://www.africanfeministforum.org/v3/files/Charter_of_Feminist_Principles_for_African_Feminists.pdf accessed 28 April, 2009.

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

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Table 2:

A sample of some women in key government positions in West Africa

No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Country Liberia The Gambia Ghana Ghana The Gambia Ghana Cape Verde Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau Senegal Liberia Liberia Sierra Leone Guinea-Bissau Cape Verde

Position President Vice-President Chief Justice Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Secretary of State of Economy and Finance Director Immigration services Minister of Finances and Public Administration Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Minister of Economy Minister of Defence Minister of Finance Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Defence

Name Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Aisatou N'Jie Saidy Georgina Theodora Woode Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu Margaret Keita Madam Elizabeth Adjei Cristina Duarte Fatima Maria Carvalho Fialho Helena Nosolini Embalo Mame Madior Boye Antoinette Sayeh Olubanke King-Akerele Zainab Hawa Bangura Adiato Diallo Nandigna Cristina Fontes Lima
Source: http://www.infoplease.com/world/leaders

Year 2007 1997 2006 2009 2005 2007 2006 2008 2009 2002 2006 2007 2007 2009 2006
(Accessed on 28 February, 2009)

Furthermore, women continue to su er from the consequences of historical marginalisation and exclusion from political processes. e practices and structures of political parties have typically alienated women. e cost-intensive nature of political campaigns and the requirement for political candidates to be absent from the home for extended periods of time make it almost impossible for women to combine their gender roles at homes with the requirements of successful campaigning. As a result, women have mostly resolved to supporting male candidates with expectations of getting political appointments. e few women who emerge as ag bearers for their political parties are exceptions rather than the norm. e study found that where such candidates emerge, they are put under intense scrutiny and often have to consistently prove their worthiness as good women. e fear of such scrutiny has discouraged more women from presenting themselves as leading candidates for political positions. Some key ndings from the research for the improvement of womens leadership in West Africa are; Integration of gender issues and concerns into all government establishments, programmes and activities for equal participation and enablement of women in the developmental processes of their society; Facilitation of consultative processes and platforms between women leaders in government and civil society to consolidate the discourse on women unity while forging e ective partnerships and alliances to advance womens agenda in the sub-region; and

(L-R) Hon. Bamba Massani (MP - Cote dIvoire); Dr. Esi Sutherland Addy (Board Member - WACSI) and Hon. Jeneh Kandeh (Deputy Minister - Social Welfare, Gender and Children A airs) - Sierra Leone

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1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Joint e orts in building the capacity of women to in uence and monitor policy formulation and implementation on issues that a ect women, and intensify the e ort to empower women with necessary information, skills and training that will contribute to a constructive transformative leadership.

3.0 Tracking Progress and Challenges in Womens Policy Influencing

e forum identi ed key issues requiring the attention of policy makers. call for womens collective advocacy.

ese issues are of particular concern to women and

3.1

Drug tra cking is a major threat to West Africas development and security. A combination of porous borders, corruption and crime are contributing to making the region an epicenter for drug tra cking. Women have become pawns and players in the drug trade as they are used to tra c illicit drugs across borders. ough a number of instruments exist to combat this problem such as the 1996 Political Declaration and Drug Control Action Plan on the Control of Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Tra cking in Africa drafted and reviewed in 2002 at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union4, and the new 2007 ECOWAS framework, replacing the 1997 plan adopted at Praia, Cape Verde, the problem remains unabated. West African women need to extend their advocacy to addressing the problem of drug tra cking from a gender perspective. It was noted that women made key contributions to raising awareness of the impact of human tra cking on young women and girls and similar advocacy should target drug tra cking. Empirical studies need to be conducted to gauge the causal factors of this problem, the impact on communities across the sub-region and ongoing e orts to address it. Such studies will provide information on how womens collective advocacy can contribute to stopping this destructive trend. Further, the forum proposed that, concerted support should be given to ECOWAS member states who are confronted with the scourge of drug tra cking in accordance with the ECOWAS Strategic Vision adopted on June 15, 20075.

Drug Tra cking

Above: Ms. elma Ekiyor (Executive Director - WACSI) Top right: Mme Khady Fall Tall (President - WAWA); and Ms. Ruth Ochieng (Executive Director - ISIS-WICCE) Uganda Bottom right: Mme. Salimata Porquet (FIFEM) - Cote DIvoire

4 5

Mashaba, Mpho. Institute for Security Studies. Organised Crime and Corruption: Fighting the Problem Within the NEPAD Framework. See http://www.iss.co.za/index. php?link_id=28&slink_id=1185&link_type=12&slink_type=12&tmpl_id=3 accessed January 8, 2009. ECOWAS Press Release N:57/2007. Abuja, 15 June 2007. ECOWAS Leaders Adopt Strategic Vision for Regional Development. See http://news.ecowas.int/en/presseshow. php?nb=57&lang=en&annee=2007 accessed January 8, 2009.

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3.2

e establishment of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) in May 28 1975, following the signing of the Lagos Treaty by the 15 Member States6 anticipated development towards a sub-regional economic zone with clear objectives - to promote economic integration and stability in all elds of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and nancial questions, social and cultural matters. A key objective of the preamble to the Lagos Treaty is to remove obstacles to the free movement of goods, capital and people in the sub-region7 which is sine qua non to the attainment of sub-regional integration. In pursuit of this objective, ECOWAS member states adopted a Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the Right of Residence and Establishment in 1979, thus placing the free intra-regional movement of persons and goods at the heart of the regions integration process. ough signi cant strides have been made to facilitate free movement of persons, the issue of migration remains a concern for the region. Migration and regional integration were identi ed as key issues the West African Womens Policy Forum should focus on. Historically, migration has been a way of life in West Africa and an essential tool in its integration process; breaking languages and colonial barriers8. e region has experienced a variety of migrations, often caused by population pressure, poverty, political and related factors - poor national economies, environmental disasters and endemic con icts. Persons that migrate from and within the sub-region include temporary cross-border workers, female traders, farm labourers, professionals, clandestine workers and refugees. ese migrants are essentially intra-regional and short term in response to the interdependent economies of neighbouring countries. Women make up signi cant proportion of migrants in West Africa; either as small-scale cross-border traders, or eeing as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) or refugees. Migrant women include those moving to other countries, as well as internal migrants; who relocate in other parts of their own countries. Whilst many women accompany or join family members, increasing numbers of female migrants migrate on their own as the principal wage earners for their families. However, a signi cant number are forced migrants, who have ed persecution, environmental degradation, natural disasters and other situations that a ect their habitat and livelihood.

Sub-Regional Integration, Migration and Free Movement of People

Above: Dr. Sintiki Ugbe, (Director - Gender, Youth, Civil Society, Employment and Drug Control) - ECOWAS Commission. Top right: Yasmin Jusu-Sheri (MARWOPNET) Sierra Leone; Bunmi Dipo-Salami (Larens-Consult) - Nigeria. Bottom right: Ecoma Alaga (Programme Director - WIPSEN-Africa) - Ghana

6 7 8

The following countries comprises of the ECOWAS states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cte dIvoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. See Article 2 (1) of ECOWAS Protocol of May 29, 1979 Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and establishment See Article 2(d) (iii) of the 1993 Revised ECOWAS Treaty Bach, D.C (Ed) 1999 Regionalisation in Africa: Integration and Disintegration, London: James Currey publishers

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1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Studies have shown that majority of people engaged in trade within the sub-region particularly, in the informal sector are women. Women are also known as key players in cross-border trade, and account for up to 90 percent of informal trade along the borders of West African states. Hence, women traders and entrepreneurs are key stakeholders playing signi cant roles in the integration process. In spite of womens invaluable contributions towards regional integration and trade/economic growth in the sub-region, they often experience di culties which undermine the potential of their activities and obstruct the development of cross-border trade and integration e orts. ese include9: the palpable roadblocks across frontiers, the lengthy and costly formalities at border posts, and corrupt o cials. Women and children are also susceptible to tra cking. For example, children from Togo, Nigeria, Mali, are taken to Cote dIvoires plantations and as domestic servants in Gabon. Women from Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Sierra Leone are exploited as sex workers in countries of the European Union in the so-called Triangle of Shame in the Niger/Chad/Nigeria border10. e ECOWAS Protocol on Free movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment is a powerful tool that can address the challenges of migration and movement in the region, if national governments commit to its implementation. Civil society actors across the region also have to pressurise governments and ECOWAS, as a body, to continue e orts to improve integration.

3.3

Women have made impressive gains in peace and security across West Africa. Groups such as MARWOPNET, WIPSEN-Africa, Femme Afrique Solidarite (FAS) have enhanced the participation of women in peace processes in the region. However, women remain largely absent in decision making spaces in the security sector. Studies show that only the Police and Army in most countries in the region have up to 18 percent of women in decision making while other security institutions such as Border Controls, Drug Control, Private Security Agencies, and Immigration Services have little or insigni cant numbers of women in their leadership structures. Mainstreaming gender into all structures of governance particularly within security sector is highly imperative as sustainable peace will not be achieved without the full participation of women and men. e Forums participants stressed that womens advocacy in peace and security should be targeted towards mainstreaming gender in the security sector. e integration of gender issues can improve the e ciency, professionalism and respect for human rights in security sector institutions. Gender mainstreaming initiatives can enhance the e ectiveness of prevention and response to gender-based violence. It can also help to create a healthy and e cient work environment by lowering internal rates of discrimination, harassment and violence.11 Instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and United Nations Resolutions 1325 and 1820 have all provided frameworks for women to call for their representation in all aspects of peace and security. is advocacy is yielding results in security sector reform processes in Liberia and Sierra Leone but needs to be extended to other countries in the region such as Cote dIvoire and Guinea Bissau. In addition, the increase in recruitment, retention and advancement of women within the security sector is critical to reforming and enriching the sector as women provide special services that men are traditionally unable to. In the context of multidimensional peacekeeping operations, women contribute to screening of female ex-combatants; widening the net of intelligence gathering; performing the cordon and search of women; and assisting in the aftermath of sexual violence12. Women often have certain skills that are highly useful to security sector institutions. Research, speci cally within the eld of policing, has documented that female o cers: are less likely to use excessive or deadly force or be involved in misconduct; are more e ective at defusing and de-escalating potentially violent situations; receive more favourable evaluations and fewer citizens complain; and report greater support for the principles of community policing13.
9 10 11 12 See http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/2/41400366.pdf accessed 17 April, 2009 http://www.gcim.org/attachements/RS8.pdf accessed 17 April, 2009 The road to gender equality in Af rica: Overview The Africa Union commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6 July, 2004 United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Enhancing the Operational Impact of Peacekeeping Operations: Gender Balance in Military and Police Services Deployed to UN Peacekeeping Missions. Background Paper. New York: UN DPKO Policy Dialogue, 28-29 March 2006. 13 Kim Lonsway et al. Hiring & Retaining More Women: The Advantages to Law Enforcement Agencies. National Center for Women & Policing: 2003.

Peace and Security

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e Forum highlighted that gender mainstreaming and increase in the participation of women within security sector surpasses operational bene ts, it also ensures compliance with international norms, instruments and laws such as CEDAW (1979), the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). ough Resolution 1325 does not speci cally mention SSR, it calls for womens equal participation and full involvement in all e orts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. Women also have to engage regionally on the implementation of the ECOWAS Con ict Prevention Framework (ECPF)14. is engagement should include raising awareness of the framework among womens groups and actors at all levels and ensuring that women participate in key processes such as con ict early warning and response and formal mediation and negotiation processes.

Ms. Leymah Gbowee (Executive Director - WIPSEN Africa)

(L-R) Ms. Iheoma Obibi (Executive Director - Alliances for Africa) - Nigeria; Ms. Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (Executive Director - AWDF) - Ghana.

Left: A cross section of the Forum participants listening to presenters as they advocate their points. Top right: Zina Pierre (Washington Linkage Group) - USA; Gloria Steinem (Womens Media Center) - USA Above right: Yvonne Moore (Executive Director - Daphne Foundation) -USA; Kanyere Eaton (Executive Director - e Sister Fund) - USA.

14 The ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework is a regional mechanisms developed to guide the conceptualisation, implementation and evaluation of conflict prevention initiatives in the ECOWAS Commission and Member States. The framework signifies conflict prevention mechanisms as an essential part of regional integration and development. For more see http://www.ecowas.int/publications/en/framework/ECPF_final.pdf accessed 28 April, 2009.

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4.0 Prospects of Linking Policy and Practice in West Africa

omens groups across West Africa continue to face challenges of linking their initiatives to policy change. One of the main causes of the gap between practice and policies on womens issues is the disconnect between women in civil society and women in government. is disconnect is partly responsible for challenges in domesticating international instruments such as CEDAW and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in West African states.
Table 3: West African Countries which have signed/ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

Date of receipt of the instrument of S/N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Countries Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Cape Verde Chad Cote d'Ivoire Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Date of signature 11 Nov. 1981 -6 Jun. 1983 --17 Jul. 1980 17 Jul. 1980 29 Jul. 1980 17 Jul. 1980 17 Jul. 1980 17 Jul. 1980 -5 Feb. 1985 -23 Apr. 1984 29 Jul. 1980 21 Sept. 1988 -R- ratification/A- accession or/ S- succession 12 Mar. 1992 14 Oct. 1987 A 23 Aug. 1994 - A 5 Dec. 1980 A 9 Jun. 1995 A 18 Dec. 1995 A 21 Jan. 1983 16 Apr. 1993 2 Jan. 1986 9 Aug. 1982 23 Aug. 1985 17 Jul. 1984 A 10 Sept. 1985 8 Oct. 1999 A 13 Jun. 1985 5 Feb. 1985 11 Nov. 1988 26 Sept. 1983 A
Source: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/states.htm accessed 28 April, 2009.

Mutual suspicion and lack of trust has characterised the relationship and interaction between women in both sectors. On one hand, women in civil society criticise women in government for not representing their needs and issues, while women in government accuse civil society of being ignorant of governance processes and often undermining their e orts. is lack of collaboration between women in both sectors has led to an underutilisation of the contributions each side can make to in uencing policies. Civil society has information and technical expertise that can be essential in assisting women in government to formulate policies, and women in government are strategically positioned to guide civil society on where advocacy should be targeted. e Forum also considered the dearth of skills among parliamentarians in di erent national governments as constituting another challenge to womens ability to in uence policies. Most female parliamentarians lack skills in gender analysis and are unable to formulate legislation from a gender perspective. Furthermore, women in parliament nd it di cult to advocate speci cally on womens issues for fear of being ostracized within their political parties. e result is that female parliamentarians often legislate along party lines, even in cases where such policies may be disadvantageous to women.

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Table 4:

West African countries which have signed/ratified or acceded to African Union convention on Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples on the Right of Women in Africa.

Date of Ratification/ S/N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Countries Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Cape Verde Chad Cote d'Ivoire Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Date of signature 11 Feb. 2004 26 Feb. 2004 25 Jul.2006 -06 Dec. 2004 27 Feb. 2004 27 Jan. 2005 11 Sept. 2003 31 Oct. 2003 16 Dec. 2003 08 Mar.2005 16 Dec. 2003 09 Dec. 2003 06 Jul. 2004 16 Dec. 2003 26 Dec. 2003 09 Dec. 2003 30 Dec. 2003
accessed 28 April, 2009

Accession 30 Sept. 2005 09 Jun. 2006 -21 Jun. 2005 ---25 May 2005 ----13 Jan. 2005 -16 Dec. 2004 27 Dec. 2004 -12 Oct. 2005

Date of Deposited 13 Oct. 2005 09 Aug.2006 -22 Jul. 2005 ---06 Sept. 2005 ----03 Feb. 2005 -18 Feb. 2005 30 Jan. 2005 -26 Oct. 2005

Sources: http://www.achpr.org/english/rati cations/rati cation_women%20protocol.pdf

It was noted that the insigni cant number of women represented in parliaments across the region was a major hurdle to womens ability to in uence legislation. For example in Nigeria there are only 25 women out of 358 representatives in the lower house (i.e. 7%) and 9 out 109 representatives in the Upper house, as at the 2007 general election. is under-representation is also evident at the ECOWAS level. For example, at the ECOWAS Commission; there are only two (2) women serving as Commissioners out of eight (8) Commissioners. Participants urged ECOWAS as the most progressive Regional Economic Community (REC) on the continent, to increase the numbers of women in key decision making positions. ECOWAS should also ensure that the Gender Development Centre is properly capacitated and supported to facilitate in-roads for women to in uence regional policy processes. e minimal number of women in these spaces calls for more collaborations between government and civil society. Some organisations such as the 50:50 group in Sierra Leone have tried to enhance collaboration between women in government and women in civil society organisations. However, such examples are the exception and not the norm in West Africa.

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5.0 Revisiting Womens Networking and Collaboration in West Africa

frican women have been mobilising on issues that a ect their lives for decades. is has provided them with knowledge, networks and tools that are useful in bringing about change in society. Womens collective organising has been instrumental for a number of signi cant shifts in democratisation processes in West Africa. For example, women were central to the election of Africas rst female President; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. In 2004, women in Ghana successfully developed the Womens Manifesto as a political tool for negotiating with political parties. e achievements recorded in developing the manifesto were gained through womens networking and collaborations. Examples of the networks existing in the region include MARWOPNET, West Africa Womens Association (WAWA), WIPSEN-A etc. However, the Forum acknowledged that these networks often work in isolation, thus, limiting their overall impact. WACSI developed a regional civil society directory which lists three hundred and twenty ve (325)15 womens groups and organisations operating in the region. is accounts for an impressive number, however, the extent of collaboration and interaction between these groups is unknown. A review of womens coalitions, collaborations and networks that have been successful revealed that the successes were based on clear shared values, goals and commitment. Women networks and coalitions formed on speci c issues working within a pre-determined timeframe have traditionally been more successful than womens coalitions that metamorphose into organisations or formalised networks. e challenges associated with the latter range from di culties securing long term funding, leadership tensions and sustaining growth and momentum. e Forum noted that it was important to revive or strengthen existing networks to make them more relevant and adaptable to the needs of the region or countries while adhering to their respective mission and values. Furthermore, it is imperative that innovative platforms for collaboration are encouraged across the region, particularly on regional policy issues. ese spaces should be sustained by shared values and a common sense of purpose whilst maintaining individual organisational identity. Participants envisaged this as one of the potential roles of the West African Womens Policy Forum. e meeting designated WACSI to create a database of womens organisations working in the region to enable easier identi cation of groups with similar missions, goals and constituencies thus fostering more strategic collaborations. Such strategic collaborations will reduce the prevalence of tensions amongst womens groups and networks. Overlap and duplications of initiatives was cited as one of the reasons for tensions. erefore, it is important that groups identify the individual strengths and comparative advantages within collaborations. Networking based on what each participating organisation can contribute to advance a common cause should be the goal of womens collaborations in West Africa. ere was consensus that continued polarisation among women undermines the overall impact women can make to policy in uencing.

Hon. Bamba Massany (Parliamentarian, Cote DIvoire)

Hon. Bernadette Lahai (Parliamentarian,Sierra Leone)

Ms. Deweh Gray (President - Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia) - Liberia

15 *This number is not exhaustive.

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6.0 Succession Planning in Womens Leadership

A key issue relevant to the discourse of women capacity to in uence policy in the long term is succession planning
he Forum noted the existing gap between the current generation of women in leadership positions and the younger generation of potential leaders. e deteriorating nancial situation in Africa has caused most young girls to prioritise economic stability provided by jobs in the private sector such as banking and telecommunication over careers in the not-for-pro t sector, or speci cally in the womens movement. A continuation of this trend will result in a vacuum in the womens movement if not addressed. Two case studies on how women are working to bridge this gap were presented at the forum.

6.1

e Liberian Young Girls Transformative Leaders Project

Liberia is in the process of consolidating peace after a long and brutal civil war which led to the deaths, displacement and injury of thousands of Liberians. e war was also responsible for destabilising the lives of children and young people. Many young people in the country have only experienced wars and have challenges envisioning productive lives in the country. is is especially true of young girls who have faced various forms of abuse, abandonment and deprivation as a result of the war, leaving them traumatised, with low self esteem, and lacking basic educational skills (female literacy rate 37%). e high number of teenage pregnancy (according to UN report of 2001, Liberia rate among 10 highest in the world)1, prostitution, multiple sexual relationships, maternal mortality rate of 994 per 100,000 live births, and records also shows that 1-9 children die before ve years in Liberia. rough its work in Liberia, WIPSEN-Africa realised that many young girls have cynical views of leadership and have no plans of striving for leaders spaces. e organisation designed the Transformative Leaders Project to develop the skills and abilities of young girls to contribute to peacebuilding and community leadership. e project was implemented with the Ministry of Gender and Development and endorsed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. WIPSEN selected three counties; Bong, Bassa, Montserrado to launch the project and 150 students were nominated from 30 schools in the 3 Counties. e transformative leadership project was implemented in phases. In each phase the girls passed through a series of intense leadership training and mentorship processes. Girls from each county were asked to design community service projects to test the skills they had acquired. e innovative projects designed include establishing a reading room for other girls and instituting peer learning programmes in schools. ese projects will remain as platforms for training more girls. At the end of the project 20 girls graduated successfully and 5 were selected as Girls of Distinction for showing exemplary leadership qualities. ese girls were presented to President Sirleaf at the International Womens Colloquium in March 2009. e successful implementation of the Transformative Leaders project in these counties has led to the government of Liberia requesting WIPSEN to expand to other counties.

Source: See the United Nations Organisation at www.un.org

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6.2

Enhancing Young Girls Leadership in Nigeria: KINDs Experience

In Nigeria, though there are a plethora of womens groups and the country has a strong history of women activism, women still struggle to penetrate decision-making spaces. Womens access to leadership positions is constrained by several factors including traditional, religious and cultural attitudes which cause discrimination. Furthermore not many quali ed women aspire to lead in public spheres. ere are less than 10 percent of women in political o ces at federal, state levels, and as such, womens overall leverage on policy in uencing processes is weak.(See Table 2) A number of credible womens organisations have been working to enhance womens representation in decision making. ey include; BAOBAB for Women Humans Rights (BAOBAB), Alliance for Africa (AfA), Gender and Development Action (GADA). Nevertheless, the understandable focus on positioning women in decision making has led to less focus on building the capacity of girls as aspiring leaders. To address this gap, the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) designed a project that equips young girls with leadership skills. KIND was established following the death of Kudirat Abiola, a leading democracy activist who was assassinated in 1996.1 In 1999, KIND opened its o ce in Nigeria and instituted the KINDs Young Womens Leadership Programme which provides training for young girls in democratic values and the importance of participating in governance. In 2005, KIND built on the young women Leadership programme by o ering Kudra, a leadership programme for Young Women in universities. e target universities in the rst three years of Kudra were in Lagos, Bornu and Cross Rivers States. e programme develops and promotes a new generation of female leaders to serve in their communities and participate e ectively in democracy in Nigeria. KIND currently serves 3,250 young women in ve (5) Nigerian universities2. rough these initiatives, KIND has been able to increase the interest of young girls in leadership, and governance towards building a caliber of potential leaders. Additionally, KIND is committed to building the skills and con dence of young women to patriarchal stereotypes. rough the Empower project the organisation has been able to train and build the capacity of 100 young university women in Ogun State, Nigeria, funded 5 established youth networks (KIND Clubs) in 5 other universities (Cross River, Lagos, Plateau, Anambra and Borno States), and an internship programme. e trainings are intended to develop the young womens leadership skills, provide information on sexual and reproductive health and rights; build negotiation and communication skills; and strengthen capacities for career planning, nancial management, entrepreneurship and advocacy.
1 2 Source: http://www.kind.org/ accessed 17 April, 2009 Source: http://www.kind.org/files/2004_annual_report.pdf accessed 17 April, 2009

ese two case studies from Liberia and Nigeria illustrate the importance of developing policies and programmes that build the leadership potential of young girls. e Forum was urged to provide opportunities for young girls and women to participate in subsequent meetings. Womens groups working across the region were also encouraged to include initiatives for girls in their programme strategy, particularly in areas of advocacy, leadership and governance.

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7.0 Establishing Regional and International Linkages

elegates stressed the importance of the proposed West Africa Womens Forum in forging linkages with womens initiatives and groups across the continent and in other parts of the world. ough West Africas policy environment is peculiar, the challenges facing womens ability to in uence policies are global. Women in other parts of Africa have a lot to learn from West Africa womens agency and it is paramount that the Womens Forum makes attempts to build alliances with other womens groups on the continent. e continent is rich with examples of groups working through alliances to bring about policy changes that favour women and these experiences can be shared. It will also be important for the Forum to work closely with active networks such as ISIS WICCE (ISIS Womens International Cross Cultural Exchange), SWEP (Sudanese Women Empowerment for Peace), NESI Network, SIHA (Strategic Initiative for Horn of Africa Women), African Women Development Communication Network (FEMNET) who have wide memberships and can incorporate more voices into the Forums discussions. e Forum and these networks should seek ways of cooperating with regional bodies such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Southern African Development Community (SADC), ECOWAS and AU on national issues with continental rami cations such as Zimbabwes political tensions, the con ict in DRC, and military coups in Guinea Bissau and Republic of Guinea. Strong linkages across regions have the potential of exerting necessary pressure on regional bodies to move from policy rhetoric to action.

Top: (L-R) Hon. Vabah Gay or (Minister of Gender ) - Liberia, Dr. Helen Scalon (Gender Program Coord. - ICTJ); Rosalie Lo Ndiaye (Board Member - WIPSEN Africa) Above left: Sitting L-R: Gloria Steinem, Dorcas Coker-Appiah, Deweh Gray and Abigail Disney exchanging ideas in a group discussion. Above right: Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (Executive Director - AWDF) - Ghana

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8.0 Designing Regional Strategy for Womens Policy Influencing

he Forum deliberated on the need to develop an informed strategy for womens groups to e ectively in uence national and regional policy processes in West Africa. Such strategy should consist of guidelines for enhancing womens collaborations at various levels in the region and avenues for cross-fertilisation of knowledge and skills. Speci cally, the Forum stressed the need for a targeted strategy for engaging at the regional level, particularly with the ECOWAS Gender and Development Centre (EGDC)16 in Dakar, Senegal. e Centre should become a convening platform for women to in uence the policies and practices of ECOWAS. erefore proactive measures to support the Centre are required. e Centre also needs to popularise its activities and provide opportunities for a broader base of womens groups to work with it. Participants also stressed that, overall, womens groups lack the requisite advocacy skills to engage policymakers. erefore, the strategy should contain a strong component on capacity building; particularly in policy writing, presentation skills, coalition building and documentation. e strategy should identify champions or drivers who will keep it focused and maintain the momentum. It is important that the regional strategy examines and addresses continental and international issues that a ect women and the implementation of international instruments that promote womens human rights. Highlighting the di culties in in uencing policies, participants urged that the regional strategy should involve women in government and civil society working together on key issues a ecting the region. Modalities for that collaboration should be a focus area of future Policy Forums.

9.0 Conclusion
est Africa is on a promising trajectory towards consolidating regional integration, democracy, good governance, peace and development. However, there are a number of challenges still facing the region ranging from unemployment, political tensions in some countries, heightened drug and human tra cking and economic crisis. e task of addressing these challenges requires the collective e orts of all segments of West African societies. However, women remain largely absent or unrepresented from decision making spaces where policies are formulated and as a result are often adversely a ected by the implementation of such policies. e 1st West African Womens Policy Forum was organised in recognition of this gap in policy processes. e Forum provided a platform for a cross section of women from government and civil society to deliberate on the issues facing the region and on how to reposition women in the policy environment. e meeting rea rmed the importance of womens collaborating to in uence policies that a ect the lives and rights of women at all levels in the region. e high participation of government and civil society underscored the recognition by both sectors of the need to identify more functional avenues for collaboration and interaction. e consensus at the Forum was that we need each other and commitments were made to build trust and interactions between women in civil society and government. A key outcome of the Forum was the nomination of a group of women to serve as an Advisory Panel to the Forum to guide engagements with policy makers. e conveners of the 1st Forum; WACSI and WIPSEN-Africa were mandated to lead the process of organising future forums. However, it was stressed that the role played by these organisations would only be facilitating the process.
16 The EGDC was established in January 2003 at the 26th Session of the Heads of State and Government held in Dakar, Senegal where its headquarters is based. It is also a product of the ECOWAS Gender Policy. The Centre also works in conjunction with member states as well as sub-regional and international bodies to advance gender equity and women empowerment, as part of efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For more see http://allafrica.com/stories/200710030627.html accessed 28 April, 2009

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10.0

Policy Recommendations

e 1st West African Womens Policy Forum that held in Accra, Ghana on December 2 - 3, 2008 o ered Sixteen (16) key policy recommendations to enhance the involvement of women in leadership and decision making processes across the region. e recommendations outlined below are directed at ECOWAS, National governments, and Civil society. ECOWAS: As the most progressive regional body on the continent, ECOWAS should increase the numbers of women in key decision making positions at the Commission and other institutions. It is important that the African Unions standard of gender parity be adopted at all levels; ECOWAS and in particular the Gender and Development Centre in Dakar and the Gender Unit at the Commission should develop more inclusive ways of working with womens groups to achieve the implementation of its protocols and other policies. e Centre should be a rallying ground for women in the region. For example, given the unique impact of migration on women, the Gender Centre should lead the process of placing women at the core of implementing the Protocol on Free Movement, Right of Residence and Establishment; First Ladies in West Africa through the auspices of the ECOWAS Gender Centre and national gender ministries should be targeted to become involved in policy formulation processes at national and regional levels; ECOWAS leaders should invest in strengthening the Gender and Development Centre in Dakar, to enable it play a more in uential and constructive role in policy processes; National Governments: Governments should close the gap between signing and adopting instruments and implementation. ere should be more commitment by States to fully domesticate CEDAW, e Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women, and the ECOWAS gender policy; Given the appallingly low representation of women at national decision making structures, governments in the region should recommit to ensuring a minimum 30 per cent of women at all levels of government; West African women in government positions should view women in civil society as allies and forge more strategic and interdependent relationships that will enhance womens ability to in uence policies; Civil Society: Womens organisations should intensify their commitment to mentorship by creating opportunities for young girls to participate and bene t from training programmes, workshops, and leadership initiatives in order to facilitate continuity in womens representation in decision making; Women in civil society should make overtures towards women in government and endeavor to provide technical assistance on issues that a ect women in the region. A starting point should be for women in both sectors to work on the common cause of increasing the numerical representation of women at all levels of decision making;

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Womens groups in civil society should increase their visibility within the sector and across the region by playing more critical roles in policy formulation processes. For example, women should become more vocal and visible in traditionally male sectors such as security, economic development and policy analysis; Womens groups should enhance mechanisms for quality collaboration by maximising e orts and reducing unhealthy competition and rivalry. A database of womens initiatives outlining areas of specialisation should be developed to improve cooperation; Joint Recommendations e forum recommended the formation of a West Africa Womens Advisory Panel comprising of women in government, civil society and the private sector to support the gender structures at ECOWAS and provide policy advice to national governments; Peace and security remains a high priority issue in West African countries, therefore, all actors should enhance e orts to domesticate the implementation of related peace and security instruments such as the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. e processes of developing national action plans for Resolution 1325 should be accelerated in all countries. Lessons should be learned from Liberias experience of developing a national action plan on the Resolution; Given the male dominated state of the security sector in countries across West Africa, womens advocacy on engendering the security sector should increase. is advocacy should involve calling for institutional gender policies that guide the recruitment, retention and protection of women in the security sector; Women from all sectors should organise around upcoming elections in West Africa and become more engaged in pre and post electoral processes. Lessons on the roles Ghanaian women played in the countrys 2008 elections should be documented and shared in the region; and Finally, women should advocate for their visible inclusion in the implementation of the proposed ECOWAS vision 20/20 ECOWAS of the People: Towards a Democratic and Prosperous Community.

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Abigail Disney (President - Daphne Foundation) - USA

(L-R) Yvette Chesson-Wureh (Manager - International Womens Colloquium) - Liberia; Ms. Sindi M. Gould (Executive Director - BAOBAB) - Nigeria

Funmi Alexander Balogun (IPPF ) - Kenya

Ruth Ochieng (Executive Director - ISIS-WICCE) - Uganda

(L-R) Salimata iam (Head, Policy and Programmes - ECOWAS Gender and Development Centre); Abla William (Deputy Commissioner - BIN) - Liberia

(L-R) Cornellie Ayite (Director - Magazine le Fleuron et Ass. Pour Un Devt. des Initiatives Feminines); Dorothe Ebina Mumbambi (Centre dActions et dAide au Developpement) - Togo

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List of Participants at the 1st West African Womens Policy Forum: Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda December 2 3, 2008 GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
S/N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Names Hon. Vabah Gayflor Hon. Jeneh Kandeh Hon. Bernadette Lahai Hon. Bamba Massany Cecilia Kaikai Cllr. Abla G. Williams Julia Duncan-Cassell Mariam Tackie Salimata Thiam Barkie N. Remoe-Doherty Dr. Sintiki Ugbe

APPENDIX 1

Department Ministry of Gender and Development, Liberia Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Childrens Affairs, Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Parliament Cote dIvoire Parliament Prisons Service Sierra Leone Immigration Services, Liberia Superintendent Liberia Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ghana ECOWAS (EGDC), Senegal Sierra Leone High Commission in Accra ECOWAS Commission, Nigeria

CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS

S/N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Names Abigail Disney Adjoa Bame Bernice Sam Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi Cllr. Yvette Chesson Wureh Cornellie Ayite Deweh Gray Dipo-Salami Olubunmi M. Dorcas Coker-Appiah Dr. Achola Okeyo Dr. Rose Mensah Kutin Dr. Esi Sutherland Addy Dr. Nematta Majeks-Walker Gloria Steinem Hadja Ramatoulaye Sow Dr. Helen Scanlon Hon. Khady Fall Tall Iheoma Obibi Irene S. Jayee Kanyere Eaton Marlne Sedou Babio Dorothe Ebina Mumbambi Zina Pierre Nuala Lawlor Olufunmilayo A. Balogun Organisations/Institutions Daphne Foundation, USA WISE, Ghana WILDAF-Ghana African Womens Development Fund AWDF, Ghana International Secretariat of the Womens Colloquium, Liberia Magazine le Fleuron et Ass. Pour un Devt. des Initiatives Feminines Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) La-Rens Consulting, Nigeria Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, Ghana Mantha Foundation Abantu for Development, Ghana WACSI, Ghana 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone Womens Media Center, USA Association des Femmes Entrepreneurs de Guinee (AFEG), Guinea ICTJ, South Africa AFAO-WAWA, Senegal Alliances for Africa, Nigeria Liberia Refugee Women Organisation (LIREWO) The Sister Fund, USA Assoc. des Femmes de lEducation du Benin (FAWE), Benin Centre dActions et dAide au Developpement (CAAD), Togo Washington Linkage Group, USA Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Ghana International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Kenya

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S/N 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48.

Names Patricia Formadi Rosalie Lo Ndiaye Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng Salimata Porquet Sindi Medar Gould Susanne Jambu Namatovu Tatey Adzoavi Nyuito Wynyfred Onung Achu Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff Yvonne Moore Blanche Selmah Leymah Gbowee Ecoma Alaga Ducloux Amelien Christabel Nortey Vivian Armah Geraldine Graindorge Thelma Ekiyor Adama Sira Bah Omolara T. Balogun Katherine Adarkwa Lady Willie Harry Jenny Alu

Organisations/Institutions Women and Development Project (WADEP) WIPSEN-Africa ISIS WICCE, Uganda (FEFEEDES CI) & FIFEM & ECOSOCC Baobab for Womens Human Rights, Nigeria NESI Network (New Indigenous Sudanese NGO), Sudan Association de Femmes Pour la Santeetle Devt. (ALAFIA) Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Nigeria MARWOPNET, Sierra Leone Daphne Foundation, USA WIPSEN-Africa, Liberia WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana WACSI, Ghana WACSI, Ghana WACSI, Ghana WACSI, Ghana WACSI, Ghana WACSI/WACSOF

Susanne Jambu Namatovu (NESI Network) - Kenya

Participants at the 1st West African Womens Policy Forum are exercising after a long day of deliberation

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1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

APPENDIX 2 - FORUM AGENDA

Day 1 Chair: 9.00 9.30 OPENING SESSION Dr. Esi Sutherland Addy, Board Member, WACSI Welcome Address Leymah Gbowee, Executive Director, WIPSEN Africa elma Ekiyor, Executive Director, WACSI Keynote Address: Hon. Vabah Gayflor, Minister for Gender and Development - Liberia Goodwill Message: Hon. Jeneh Kandeh, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Childrens A airs - Sierra Leone Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Executive Director of AWDF, Ghana Abigail Disney, Daphne Foundation, USA Tea/Coffee SESSION 1: Reviewing the Status of Womens Leadership in West Africa Chair: Dorcas Coker-Appiah, Board Member, WIPSEN Africa Key findings on the status of womens leadership in West Africa Presenter: Bunmi Dipo-Salami, WACSI Consultant/Lead Researcher 11.30-12.30 SESSION 2: Tracking progress and challenges in womens peace and security Chair: Dr. Sintiki Ugbe, ECOWAS Director, Gender, Youth, Civil Society, Employment, Drug Control- ECOWAS. Presenters: Yasmin Jusu-Sheri , MARWOPNET Sierra Leone Ecoma Alaga, WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana Mme. Salimata Porquet, Activist, Cote dIvoire 12.30-1.30 SESSION 3: Prospects of linking policy and practice in womens peace and security Chair: Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, Executive Director, AWDF, Ghana Presenters: Salimata iam, ECOWAS Gender and Development Centre, Senegal Bernadette Lahai, Parliamentarian, Sierra Leone Iheoma Obibi, Executive Director, Alliances for Africa, Nigeria Hon. Bamba Massany, Parliamentarian, Cote DIvoire 1.30-2.30 Lunch

9.30 10.00

10.00-10.45

10.4511.00 11.0011.30

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

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2.30 3.30

SESSION 4: Succession Planning in Womens Leadership Chair: Hon. Jeneh Kandeh, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Childrens A airs, Sierra Leone Presenters: Leymah Gbowee, WIPSEN-Africa: The Liberian Young Girls Transformative Leaders Project Wynyfred Onung Achu, Donor Development O cer KIND: Enhancing Young Girls Leadership in Nigeria KINDs Experience

3.30 4.30:

SESSION 5: Presentation and Discussion on the 2009 International Womens Colloquium Chair: elma Ekiyor, Executive Director WACSI. Presenters: Cllr. Yvette Chesson-Wureh, Coordinator of the International Secretariat of the Womens Leadership Colloquium.

6.30

Welcome Cocktail: Documentary Viewing: Pray the Devil Back to Hell Chair: Kanyere Eaton, Sister Fund. USA Presenters: Abigail Disney, Daphne Foundation, USA Leymah Gbowee, WIPSEN-Africa, Ghana.

End of day 1

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1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

Day 2: 9.00 10.30: 10.3011.00 11.3012.45

Tea/Coffee SESSION 7: Establishing regional and international linkages Chair: Abigail Disney, Daphne Foundation, USA. Susanne Jambu Namatovu, Nairobi, Kenya. Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng, ISIS WICCE, Uganda. Gloria Steinem, USA. Zina Pierre, USA.

12.45 1.45

SESSIONS 8: Documentary Viewing Chair: Deweh Gray President, Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), Liberia Presenter: Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng, ISIS WICCE, Uganda

1.452.45

Lunch

2.453.45

SESSION 9: Designing Regional Strategy for Womens Policy influencing Chair: Olufunmilayo Alexander Balogun, Gender Advisor International Planned Parenthood Federation. Facilitators: Group 1: Dr. Helen Scanlon, ICTJ, South Africa: Research and Documentation Group 2: Sindi Eldora Gould, Executive Director, BAOBAB: Training and Capacity Building Group 3: Yvonne Moore, Executive Director Daphne Foundation, USA: Mobilising resources to support womens policy advocacy Group 4: Rosalie Lo Ndiaye, Board member, WIPSEN Africa: Joint Policy Initiatives between CSOs and Government

3.454.30 5.00 End of Forum

Group Presentations/Discussions Way Forward

1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

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Notes

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1st West African Womens Policy Forum - Assessing the Gains, Advancing the Agenda

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