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– Drumbeats: for a pro-women, pro-youth, participatory, and inclusive democracy

November 19, 2019
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In 2018, Equipop expanded its operations to promote women's and young people's civic and political participation through a project called “Bruits de Tambours” (Drumbeats).

In West Africa, 45% of the population is under the age of 15.1 Women represent 51%-52% of the population. Relative to their share of the population, women and youth are underrepresentedrepresented in decision-making bodies and community governing bodies. Public life is carried out with little or no input from women or young people; consequently their problems and specific realities are not taken into account into account. Despite some progress, this situation is caused in part by unequal or different-difficult access to financial and other resources, which in turn means that women's and young people's people's voices are not heard, even though they play a vital role in their families’ social and economic life.

“The authorities do not take our needs as women into account!” Young woman speaking during a women’s group meeting, Saint Louis, Senegal

Following Senegal, which instituted a gender-parity law in 2010, many countries now use quota systems in order to improve women's political representation.

However, the physi-cal presence of women in government does not always mean that they actively and effectively participate in governance. To the detriment to their professional and political careers commitment, women remain subject to cul-cultural biases and still bear great responsibility for their family and household. Patriarchal norms, sex discrimination in the public sphere, and especially violence against women deprive them of liberty and safe access to public spaces; these factors also limit women's-en’s participation in politics. Sometimes men even co-opt women, choosing those they know full well will not bother them. Such actions discredit women and give fuel to the opponents of gender parity who argue that women lack the skills needed to govern. Today, we need all societies to understand that women can and should occupy seats in decision-making bodies and that women can and should empower themselves. Only gender quotas and parity will enable women to hold sway in government, enable young women to consider careers as politicians and leaders, and enable young men and women to accept the fact that a woman's place is also outside the home.

If young people leave politics to old people, then older people will decide for them and make decisions that benefit older people! A young man from Saint Louis, Senegal

Unlike gender parity, no law encourages youth participation in government. While political parties and community organizations have always had separate youth branches, such groups have primarily served to distance young peopleple from decision-making bodies. In Senegal, young people, relegated to youth issues, facing defiance from their elders.

There are often two sides to the story: older people think that young people are not interested in politics and governance, while young people feel alienated and not included to participate. They prefer to work within the community on economic and social issues, finding success outside formal governance bodies. Young people often create their own modes of communication.-communicating with and appealing to institutions, notably through art, culture, and social networks-works. Sometimes they follow avoidance strategies, discouraging efforts to create a climate of mutual consideration with the authorities. In other cases, young people often show a genuine willingness to get involved, but are constantly rebuffed because of their inexperience-experience. Like women, young people need to realize that they count and have power; they need to prepare in order to exercise their right to speak. Can we move toward effective gender and generational parity? That is Equipop’s aim with Drumbeats! DruMbEatS

RAES, in partnership with Equipop, NGO 3D, and the Siggil Jigéen Network, leads the Drumbeats Project, a social and community-based organizationoutreach campaign. Designed to inspire stronger, more democratic governance in Senegal and West Africa, it promotes the notion that a participatory and inclusive democracy can and should include women and youth. The project revolves around five components: a TV series, a radio show, and related content to prompt social mobilization-tion, community action to put more-inclusive governance modes into practice, and a monitoringmonitoring and evaluation program to share lessons learned. (1) World Population Dashboard, UNFPA: www.unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard

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– Drumbeats: for a pro-women, pro-youth, participatory, and inclusive democracy

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