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COVID-19 has become a defining governing challenge of 2020 in countries around the world. The pandemic’s intersection with gender has created unique and disproportionate effects on women, and one of the most severe among them has been increased rates of gender-based violence (GBV).
Just weeks before the August general elections in Zambia, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) released a series of revised accreditation requirements for citizen election observers that significantly hampered their ability to accredit observers across the country.
As Tanzania prepares for local elections in 2024 and the general election in 2025, there are hopes for democratic gains with political and electoral reforms that strengthen multiparty democracy. These hopes are based on the ascension of Tanzania’s first female president in 2021, who promised political reconciliation and governance reforms for the country's development.
In Malawi, lots of boys are harnessing the wind - the country is full of young people with great ideas.
When two students from allochtone ethnic groups (Ivoirians who are not “native” to the area but are from other parts of the country) were approached on November 17 by a young autochtone (someone from a “native” ethnic group) holding a machete, they were nervous; ethnic tensions in the area had been on edge, particularly since the local elections.
Disability Pride Month, celebrated in July, commemorates the achievements of people with disabilities worldwide. Over one billion people, or about 16 percent of the world population, have some type of disability.
First invoked by the South African disability rights movement in the 1990s, “Nothing About Us Without Us” became the clarion call of activists organizing to overcome systemic oppression and empower persons with disabilities to take control over decisions affecting their lives. Since then, the concept has anchored the work of the global disability rights movement and its demand for the full and equal inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Barriers to women’s political participation have long existed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Conflict, gender-based violence, disempowerment, and restrictive laws all represent continued challenges that women face throughout the region. Pro-democracy protests have been sweeping across MENA for over a decade, leaving the countries of the region with no choice but to re-evaluate the place of women in their societies.
With nearly half of the world’s population voting this year, illiberal governments and authoritarian forces are ramping up their efforts to undermine the credibility of elections and overall faith in democracy. Recognizing the gravity of this moment, NDI partnered with Foreign Policy on an event, Safeguarding Global Elections in 2024, the third installment in NDI’s “Defending Democracy” series.