Innclusion of Women – PDAs work on Women, Peace and Security

Inclusion of Women – PDAs work on Women, Peace and Security

Malawi

In commemoration of the 16th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Malawi inaugurated a "National Women in Peacebuilding Forum" in October 2016 to champion women's equal and active participation in peace and security initiatives. The PDA provided accompaniment and technical advice for designing the programme and its content. The mandate of the Forum is to mobilize a critical mass of women in Malawi to develop their capacity to actively participate in peace, security and humanitarian issues in the country. The Forum, which was launched by the Minister of Gender in the presence of the UN Resident Coordinator, expands and builds on the 'Women in Faith' peacebuilding network established and supported by the UN since 2014. It will coordinate all initiatives led by women in peacebuilding under the National Peace Architecture support.

Maldives

In the Maldives, the PDA worked on a mapping study on women's wings of political parties in order to identify ways for enhancing women's political participation in the country. The research and continuous advocacy for greater participation of women in the political processes led to training sessions for women's wings of major parties. As a result, one of the parties pledged to secure separate financing for women candidates, a direct outcome of the training, which advocated for additional support and financing for female candidates.