“Getting Ahead: Testimonials of Women in Politics”

As part of the 53rd Session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), iKNOW Politics and its partners held a side event entitled “Getting Ahead: Testimonials of Women in Politics.” The event brought together over 100 guests and hosted a panel discussion facilitated by the Ambassador of Belgium, H.E. Jan Grauls.

The distinguished panelists were H.E. Fredrik Arthur, Ambassador for Women and Gender Equality from Norway; Hon. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Democratic Governance Director with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from South Africa; Hon. Syada Greiss, Member of Parliament from Egypt; Hon. Margaret Mensah Williams, Deputy Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament from Namibia; Hon. Dominique Tilmans, Member of Parliament from Belgium; Hon. Tezira Jamwa, former Member of Parliament from Uganda; and Dr. Ruby Dhalla, Member of Parliament from Canada.

During the event, the panelists provided strategic recommendations on how to enter and get ahead in politics by sharing their personal experiences with the audience. Hon. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and Dr. Ruby Dhalla spoke about the challenges of young women politicians and highlighted strategies they had used for building credibility among constituencies. Hon. Tezira Jamwa described approaches for involving women in political life in post-conflict countries, while Hon. Syada Greiss highlighted key barriers faced by women politicians and activists in traditional and conservative societies based on her experiences in Egypt. Hon. Margaret Mensah Williams pointed out the prominence of building strong relationships within local communities and using such relationships to advance in politics. Hon. Domnique Tilmans shared her views on the necessity to involve women in all issues and recommended not to limit women’s contributions in politics only to issues relevant to women and children. Panelists also discussed the importance of working with men to promote women in politics and to create gender sensitive institutions and laws that further create an environment favorable for women’s political participation.

At the event, iKNOW Politics launched a film entitled “Getting Ahead: Testimonials of Women in Politics” that features the stories of prominent women leaders from Burundi, Canada, Ireland, Jordan, Namibia, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, and Uganda. In each of the profiled testimonials, women shared their personal journeys in politics and strategies on how to succeed in it. Ambassador Fredrik Arthur officially launched the film by presenting it for the first time to the event participants.

By highlighting the successful stories of women leaders, iKNOW Politics and its partners aimed to encourage women candidates and aspirants around the world to get involved in politics and public life, and to create strong networks among each other. Such networks will make the voices of women heard globally, encourage sharing of knowledge and information, and provide women leaders the support necessary to succeed in the political realm.

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