Women hold only 16 % of seats in parliament worldwide. Currently there is not a single female parliamentarian in the Solomon Islands.

Promoting women’s voices is one of the aims of IWDA. With our partners, we are committed to ensuring women’s participation in their communities.

This newsletter focuses on our projects that give women the skills and self-confidence to advocate for women’s rights. For instance, you will read in this newsletter the story of two young women living in Thai-Burma border camps who are seeking to share their skills with other young women in their communities.

Another example, in Fiji women have limited access to leadership roles in local governance processes. Women currently make up 14% of elected councillors. There is only one mayor (Levuka) and three Chief Executive Officers/Towns Clerks (Lami, Levuka and Tavua) in the twelve municipal councils.

That is why, with our partners, we are working to support women through workshops and training in order to enable them to participate in local government activities.

The projects we write about in our newsletters change lives, and we enjoy being able to share something of this with you.

Newsletter 75 - Autumn 2009