October 11, 2024, marks the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s focus, “Girls’ Vision for the Future,” makes the need for girls’ and young women’s equitable political involvement especially apparent. Despite girls and young women being critical parts of political environments, their global participation within these spaces continues to be limited, with numerous obstacles designed to exclude them. Ongoing research shows that gender differences in political engagement start early, often taking hold in formative years before individuals reach political maturity. One study, which surveyed approximately 29,000 girls and young women (ages 12-18) globally, found that 1 in 5 participants had been personally discouraged from participating in politics. One in three (31%) survey respondents indicated that they do not feel politics is open to their participation. Women and young women, in all their diversity, experience a decline in their ability to partake in political environments, while girls are raised to view their political involvement as inherently inferior to their male peers. This intentional exclusion perpetuates political cultures that prioritize women’s disempowerment. Adolescent girls and young women’s political involvement is critical not only for their own benefit but also for the overall good of their communities. However, all global regions witnessed a staunch decline in women’s and young women’s right to openly engage in politics from 2015 - 2022. As of September 2024, less than 27% of all members of parliament are women.

To address these barriers, NDI and its partners recently developed DISRUPTHER, a civic and political leadership module supporting adolescent girls and young women in all their diversity to reframe who leads and enables power shifts. NDI partnered with leading organizations focused on girls' empowerment, Running Start and Women Win (with additional thanks to Women Win’s local implementation partners, Empodera and Moving the GoalPosts) to develop the DISRUPTHER module, and the Population Council, an early champion of the methodology. The overall goal of DISRUPTHER is to deepen the pool of adolescent girls and young women (or AGYW, aged 12-18) with political skills and aspirations to be politically active young leaders. In accordance with this goal, DISRUPTHER covers a range of relevant topics: Safety Planning, Defining Personal Values, Public Speaking, Organizing to Make Change, and others. The eleven total DISRUPTHER modules are structured to increase participants’ capacity, confidence, and connections when navigating their political contexts and engaging in the political landscape. In addition to the curriculum modules, the DISRUPTHER program also includes an Activity Book for participants to further engage with the resource on an individualized level, as well as a Facilitator Guide to ensure that the program’s implementation runs safely and effectively. 

Through DISRUPTHER’s focus on adolescent girls and young women in all their diversity, it is directly challenging the cyclical patterns behind AGYW and women’s political exclusion. With this objective in mind, three primary principles have shaped the program’s design and implementation: 1) combating the gender confidence gap, 2) protecting girls’ rights by securing their political capacity, and 3) fostering the growth of the “Whole Girl.” With the first of these principles, DISRUPTHER is seeking to counteract the gendered confidence gap following puberty and adolescence. NDI’s research revealed that between the ages of 8 and 12, girls experience a consistent decline in self-confidence (while young boys’ confidence only continues to increase). By beginning political empowerment programming with girls and young women when they start to experience this decline, NDI is directly addressing the gendered confidence gap and creating a foundation for greater political engagement among the participants. The impact of this inclusion is embodied in the second principle. Without the voice of girls and women in the political space, their rights are at great risk. By giving girls the tools to mobilize effectively and confidently, they are better equipped to fight gendered rights regressions. The third principle emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach when working to support AGYW. DISRUPTHER is not intended to be a stand-alone program but rather to help fill a gap and be integrated into a larger programming ecosystem.

“The training motivated me because I came to realize that we have potential as women and we can always achieve our dreams regardless of our family or financial background. I was touched by the sessions as I came to understand my values and identify the social issues I cared about.” - Participant from the Kenyan pilot.

Piloting of the DISRUPTHER methodology and programming first took place in late 2022 - 2023 in both Kenya and Brazil, after which it was included in a recent (Spring 2024) NDI program in Honduras. From these three iterations, DISRUPTHER has already shown a significant impact. The Kenya pilot worked with 147 young women across four different counties. Quantitative data showed an immense shift in personal political drive and capability, showing DISRUPTHER’s potential for sparking larger civic participation among women and girls. Following the DISRUPTHER trainings, 78% of participants indicated an increased confidence in their ability to engage civically and politically, 85% reported an increase in their ability to identify policy issues that they were passionate about, and 87% have participated in a community engagement activity since the program ended. The Brazil pilot, while smaller in participant size, also had this powerful impact. Following their engagement with DISRUPTHER, 95% of the Brazil participants reported having a larger civic/political network than before the program, showing how the program’s design provides a foundation for further political involvement beyond the learning modules. When explaining the importance of the program content, one participant in the Brazil pilot said, “Politics became much clearer to me, and a lot closer than what I imagined was quite distant from me. It's something that we experience every day, and that we are part of, it involves us.”

In the Honduras adaptation of  DISRUPTHER, participants’ understanding of political involvement increased alongside their comfort with taking political action. For example, participants moved from information absorption to practicing necessary political engagement skills like public speaking. This program had a significant impact on individual participants, as revealed in their feedback. One girl reflected on the experience with a renewed motivation to be involved in leadership and decision-making roles, saying, “This training process has motivated me to run as a candidate for the presidency of my school.”

Adolescence is a critical window for intervention. Effective action can prevent opportunities for adolescent girls and young women from shrinking, build their confidence, and disrupt the cycle of women’s and young women’s exclusion from political decision-making. Adolescent girls and young women must be supported to develop not only the political capacity, voice, and agency but also the resources and networks to influence the decision-making that affects their lives and reflects their “vision for the future.” DISRUPTHER was created to do just that.

Learn more about how to gain access to the DISRUPTHER module

DISRUPTHER is currently translated into English, French, and Spanish. As part of the commitment to Do No Harm principles as well as prioritizing child safeguarding considerations, NDI approval is needed to access this resource and will be granted on a case by case basis.

Click here for more information on how to request access.

Author: Kaimyn Paszko, Program Manager for the Gender, Women and Democracy team  & Isabelle Schwartz, Program Associate for the Gender, Women and Democracy team

NDI gratefully acknowledges the support of the John P. and Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation for funding the development of the DISRUPTHER curriculum as well as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for funding NDI’s pilot programming and the publication’s production.

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NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works in partnership around the world to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms and values to secure a better quality of life for all. NDI envisions a world where democracy and freedom prevail, with dignity for all.