EISA Madagascar Programme Activities
2009
EISA Madagascar & the VMLF National Plan of Action to Increase Women's Participation and Representation in the Conduct of Public Affairs: 2009-2013. EISA Madagascar has been active in drafting a Plan of Action for the inclusion of at least 30% women in political and public affairs and hosted a National Seminar in Antananarivo in January to launch the NPA.
2008
Other programmes at EISA have worked with the Madagscar office to run workshops on Civil Society - Parliament engagement as well as a Post Election Review workshop.
Workshops ran in February that aimed to train trainers in the successful EISA methodology in order to continue and sustain the Women in Politics Programme.
2007
EISA convened a two day seminar in May to open a space for issues to be fully interrogated, debated and discussed by a broad spectrum of stakeholders to ensure that gender parity is meaningful. Topics covered included
- Protocols, declarations and charters - a tool to encourage gender equity in the democratic process
- The impact of electoral systems on the inclusion of women in the electoral process
- How constitutions engage with protecting, promoting and guaranteeing gender equity
- Overview of SADC constitutions
- Developing the economy - social and economic challenges for women's participation
- The role of political parties in enhancing women's representation in decision-making processes
- Challenges to women's participation in Parliament
Workshops
In addition to the seminar, EISA initiated a training programme for women parliamentary candidates. Workshops have already been completed in Antananarivo in June and in Tamatave and Majunga in July 2007. Three more are scheduled to be held in Toliara (August); Anstiranana (September) and Fianarantsoa (October).
Participant feedback
"Not time to get bored!"
"Very exciting .. we learn a lot!
This programme should be longer and presented regularly to all of us."
"This programme should be presented to men also and to all women's associatons."
"It should be presented to our youth."
Read a poem written by one of the workshop participants.
A Train the Trainer programme will be presented once the workshops have been run.
Outcomes
Participants have used the training programme activities as an opportunity to develop networks and formed an "association for development" after the intitial Antananarivo workshop.
Read an interview with a graduate of our Women in Politics programme who is now an MP in Madagascar.
