Term paper’s topic: Why women remain underrepresented in Ivory Coast’s politics?

COURSE: PSIR531 – GENDER AND POLITICS

Professor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Cemaliye Beysoylu

Presented by: Luc KOUASSI

ID: 2210120004
Faculty of political science and international relations
 1- INTRODUCTION
Women’s political participation and representation are essential for achieving gender
equality and democracy. However, in many countries, women face to various barriers and
challenges that limit their access to and influence in the political sphere. Ivory Coast, a
West African Country that has experienced political instally and civil conflict, is one of
the countries where women’s political rights and opportunities are still lagging behind.
Despite the global trend towards gender equality and women empowermwnt, the political
arena in Ivory Coast remains predominantly male-dominated. That is why, this term
paper aims to explore the reasons behind the underrepresentation of women in the
political landscape of Ivory Coast because it is a global issue that warrants attention. In
the context of Ivory Coast, understanding this disparity is crucial for promoting inclusive
governance and sustainable development. This study seeks to contribute to the discourse
on gender equality in politics, with a specific focus on the Ivorian context.
The paperis divided into three part. The first part analyses the factors that hinder women’s
political participation and representattion in Ivory Coast. The second part highlights the
achivements and opportunities for women’s political participation in Ivory Coast and the
third one discusses the recommandations to increase women’s representation in politics.

2- THEORIES
To understand the underrepresentation of women in Ivory Coast’s politics, one can apply
feminsit theories, such as liberal feminism and social feminism, to analyse the systemic
barriers hindering women’s entry imto politics. Additionally, the application of
intersectionality theory is crucial, considering the impact of intersecting factors like
ethnicity, religion, and socio-economic status on women’s political engagement.
Analyzing achievements and opportunities for women in Ivory Coast’s politics could
benefit from the lens of empowerment theort. This lens allows examination of how
women have overcome barriers, gained political agency, and seized opportunities. It is
essential to highlight instances where women have successfully navigated the political
landscape, emphasizing empowerment strategies and the role of women’s networks.
Examiming recommanadations for increasing women’s representation in Ivory Coast’s
politics can be approached through the lens of transformative feminism. This perspective
goes beyond merely addressing existing structures and seeks to trnsform the political
landscape to be more inclusive. It involves advocating for policy changes dismantling
patriarchal norms, and promoting cultural shifts that support gender equality.
In summary, lenses such as feminist theories (liberal feminism, social feminism, and
transfromative feminism) and intersectionality theory provide valuable frameworks for
making sense of the factors influencing women’s political representation in Ivory Coast.
These lenses help analyze the challenges, celebrate achievements, and propose
recommendations for a more inclusive political landscape.

3- BACKGROUND

Part 1: FACTORS HINDERING WOMEN'S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND

REPRESENTATION IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Section 1: Historical and cultural factors

Ivory Coast, a country of cultural and religious diversity was on the dominance of France
over 67 years and has inherited a colonial legacy. With its historical and cultural factors,
the ethnic and religious diversity, and the patriarchal norms and values have influenced
the role and status of women in Côte d'Ivoire's society and politics. First of all, French
colonization of Ivory Coast imposed a patriarchal and eurocentric system of governance,
education and religion that marginalized and oppressed women and indigenous cultures.
Colonial practices and policies drisminated women such as indigenous code, which
limited the rights and freedoms of the native population ; the assimilation policies, which
forced the adoption of French culture and language ; the civiling mission, which
undermined the traditional values and beliefs of the local people ; and the exploitation of
women’s labor and ressources, such as forced cultivation of cash crops and taxation.
Therefore, Ivory Coast is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, including over 60
ethnic groups and diverse faith such as Islam, Christianism and animism. This ethnic and
religious diversity created divisions and social and political conflicts which had
repercussions on women’s rights and opportunities. Ethnic and religious identities were
used to mobilize or exclude women’s participation in politic, like post-independence
nationalism which favoured “Baoule” etnic group and Christian religion ; the coup of
1999, leaded by muslim general, which provoks anti-muslim feeling ; the civil war of
2002, which divided the country between the north, kept by rebels and the south
controlled by the government along ethnic and religious lines ; the electoral crises frm
2010 to 2011, which causes violences and violations of women’s rights especially in the
west of the country. Additionally, Ivory Coast is a patriarchal country where men are
considered as chefs of the familly and leaders, whereas they expect from women to be
submissive and obedient. Indeed, patriarchal norms and values limited women’s access to
education, health, economic and political resources, as well as opportunities. Women face
to discrimination and violence in various domains of life, such as early and forced
mariage, feminine genital mutilation, domestic violences, sexual harassmsnt and rape.
According to United Nations Women, only 50% of legal frameworks, promoting,
applying and observing sex equality are in Ivory Coast ; 27% of women old from 20 to
24 years were married or in union before their 18 years ; only 11,4% of parliaament seats
was occupied by women in february 2021 and 16,4% of women old from 15 to 49 years
declared to have been victims of physicaal and sexual violations from actual or ancient
intimate patner during the last 12 months.
Secondly, the civil war, the political crisis, and the violence and insecurity have affected
women's political participation and representation, both as victims and as agents of peace
and reconciliation. Indeed, the civil war in Ivory Coast, which started in 2002 and ended
in 2011, had mitigated impact on political participation and women’s representation.
Some women suffered of violence and insecurity during and after the civil war, being
targered by armed groups, security forces and militias. According to the Union Nations
(UN), over 3000 people were killed and more than 150 women have been raped during
the post electoral crisis in 2010-2011. In addition, women have also faced to
displacement, poverty, human rights violations, limiting their access to education, health
and justice. Moreover, some women have done the experience of discrimination and
exlusion of political sphere, by hitting patriarchal norms and practices which undercut
their power to act and their leadership.
Thirdly, the social and economic factors have significantly limited women's access to
education, employment, and resources, and affect their political empowerment and
aspirations. Indeed, almost half of the poulation in Ivory Coast lives under the sill of
poverty, which makes difficult for some families to pay school tuitution, uniforms and
school supplies for their children , especially for girls. Poverty forces also some girls to
give up to school and to engage in child labor, early mariage or prostitution to support
their needs or those of their family. Literacy rate for women in Ivory Coast is only 38,6%,
compared to 60,8% for men. This limits the capacity of women to access to information,
to communicate, and to participate to civic et economic activities. Leteracy also affects
women’s self-confidence, their decision making and their competencies in leadership.
These problems affect the education, the employment and resources of women, as well as
their political empowerment and their aspirations, because they can reduce their life
expectancy, their productivity, and their participation to public life. Women in Ivory
Coast assune the majority of domestic labor such as cooking, cleaning, and take care to
old people and children. These responsabilities limited time, mobility and opportunities
for women to continue the education, the employment, and resources as well as their
political empowerment and aspirations because they can restrict their choice and their
voice.
Consequently, social and economic factors such as poverty, illiteracy, health and domestic
responsabilities, have limited women’s access to education, employment and resources
and have influenced their political empowerment and their aspiration in Ivory Cost.
Section 2: Institutional and political factors
The electoral system, the party system, and the political culture of Côte d'Ivoire have had
both positive and negative effects on women's political participation and representation.
Indeed, Ivory Coast uses a mixed electoral system, with a single-member plurality for the
presidential election and a proportional representation system for the legislative election.
This system can facilitate women’s access to political functions because it allows the
gender quota representation and the alternation of candidates by gender on the parties’
lists. However, the application of these measures wa inequal and unsufficient, because the
law on quota adopted in 2019, requires only 30% of women as candidate and do not
specifies sanctions in case of non-compliance. In addition, the electoral system do not
treat others obstacles that women face such as the lack of financial and logistic support,
less level of education and literacy, and the prevalence of stereotype and discrimination
associated to gender. Furthurmore, Ivory Coast has a multiparty system, with 3 main
parties which dominate the political sphere : the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy
and Peace (RHDP), the Democratic Party of Cote d’Ivoire (PDCI), and the Ivorian
Popular Front (FPI). These parties have different level of engagement and action in favor
of the promotion of women’s participation and political representation. For example, the
RHDP, which is the political party in power, adopted gender politic and gender unity in
its structure, and supports law of quota and the creation of the Female Skills Compendim
(COCOFCI), a database of qualified women for public office. However, the political
system reflected also profound divisions and conflicts that marked the country’s history
as along ethnic, regional and religious lines. These clevages can compromise solidarity
and cooperation between women across political lines and confront to violence and
intimidation during electoral periods.
Furthurmore, existing structures in the private and public spheres of Ivory Coast are
patriarchal so on masculine domination. This domination is reflected in political parties,
where decisive role are principally occuped by men, that making difficult women’s
ascension at leadership functions. In the same way, political parties may not prioritize
gender equqlity, and internal resistance in the party hinders women’s progress. The lack
of engagement for women’s inclusion in making decision process limits their
representation. This favours networks and clientelism dominated by men. In Ivory Coast,
women face to financial compulsions and limited access to necessary resources for their
political campaign. An inequal access to funding, network and support’s system locates
women in disadvantage situation in the competitive political landscape. Additionally,
women in political life frequently face to violences and sexist harassment, both online
and offlne. So the fear of reprisal and social stimagtisation dissuade womwn to
participate actively to politics and to look leadership posts. To continue in the same
perspective, the lack of suitable legal framework and application mecanism to fight
against discrimination based on gender and to promote womwn’s rights hinders
improvement. The lack of effective politics perpetuates disparities between sex among
political representation.
Finally, the limited visibility of successful women leaders in politic creates a lack of
model, making difficult for aspiring women to imagine themselves in the similar
positions and scaring their political ambitions. These factors contribute to women’s
underrepresentation in parliament of Ovory Coast, where they have only 11% of seats.
This situation compromised women’s empowerment and the democratic development of
the country.

PART 2: THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN’S

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN IVORY COAST

Section 1: The women's movements and civil society organizations

In Ivory Coast, there are women’s movements which advocate for their rights. Women's
movements and networks in Ivory Coast have also built alliances and coalitions with
other actors. Some of these movements and coalitions are :
- UN women, which supports women's leadership and participation in governance,
political, economic and social spheres, as well as the fight against gender-based
violence and the promotion of women's rights in peace and security contexts.

- The Organization of Active Women in Ivory Coast (OFACI) is a civil society

organization that promotes and protects the rights of women, participates in the
democratization process, and advocates for a culture of peace.

- The World March of Women (WMW) Ivory Coast is a feminist movement that
emerged in 2004 and joined the global WMW network. The WMW Ivory Coast
works for women's political participation, economic autonomy, and social justice.

- The African Union (AU), which launched the African Women Leaders Network
in Ivory Coast in 2018 to galvanize a movement of women leaders to play an
important role in Africa's transformation.

- Militant mothers,which is a group of women who protested against the colonial

regime’s forced labor policies and mobilized for anticolonial action in the 1990s
and 1950s.
 - Women’s Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, created in 2002 to facilitate
dialogue and mediation between parties in conflict during the civil war and to
advocate for women’s inclusion in the peace process.

- The National Forum of Women's Civil Society Organizations and Associations

(OFSCs), which was established in 2023 to map and strengthen the role of the
women's associative movement in advancing gender equality in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. The OFSCs also serve as a platform for dialogue and
coordination among women's groups and other stakeholders in the gender sector.

- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which works
with the government and civil society of Ivory Coast to promote women's
inclusion in the security sector reform, and to prevent and respond to conflict-
related sexual violence. The OSCE also provides training and capacity building for
women mediators and peacebuilders

- The government, which launched the National Council for Women on 2 March
2018 to guide efforts on women's rights and gender equality.

- The World Bank, which funds the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and
Demographic Dividend project (SWEDD), which aims to enhance women's
occupational integration, economic empowerment, and financial inclusion in Côte
d'Ivoire and other Sahel countries.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)
conducted an evaluation of women’s political participation and representation in Ivory
Coast in 2017, focusing on the innovative mechanism of Ivory Coast’s Female Skills
Compendium (COCOFCI), which aims to strengthen the gender dimension in political,
economic, and social governance. The evaluation highlighted the relevance, efficiency,
and impact of the COCOFCI, as well as the challenges and opportunities for its
sustainability and improvement.

Section 2: The women's political leadership and representation

Women have played an important role in the process of peace consolidation and
democratization, as well as, social and economic development of the country. In the
following section, we will give some examples of eminent politicians and leaders women
in Ivory Coast. First of all, we have Dominique Claudine Ouattara, the current first lady
of Ivory Coast and the president of Children of Africa foundation, a humanitarian
organization which supports education, health and well being of children in Africa. She is
also the founder of the National Oversight Committee of Actions Against Trafficking,
Exploitation and Child Labor, which aims to protect children’s rights and fight against
children’s treat. In addition to the first lady, there is Nasseneba Toure, the minister of
Women, Family and children in Ivory Coast since 2017. She is a member of RHDP, the
coalition party in the power. She is also mayor of Odienne, a city in the north west of the
country since 2013. She is implicated in diverse initiatives to promotr women’s
empowerment, sex equality and social cohesion in Ivory Coast. The third personnality is
Daniele Boni Claver, one of the two candidates during the presidential election in 2020.
She is the leader of Depublican Union for Democracy (URD), a centrist political party
that she founded in 2006. She has a long carrier in journalism and politics, having been
minister of communication from 1990 to 1993, and president of the High Authority for
Audiovisual and Communication from 2003 to 2005. She advocates in favor of pacific
and inclusive political dialogue, as well as, the respect of constitutional order and human
rights.
Women politicians and leaders in Ivory Coast have made some progress in advancing
women's interests and agendas. Indeed, in 2016, a new constitution has been introduced,
stipulating that the Ivorian state must promote women’s political rights, by increasing
their representation in the elected assembles. In addition, in 2019, a new law has been
adopted, requiring at least 30% of candidates presented by parties for parliamentary and
regional elections must be women. In 2020, two women ran for president in the october
election : Daniele Boni Claverie and Marie Carine Bladi. Finally, some women have
occupied powerful position in the government such as Henriette Diabate, who servee as
Grand Chancelor of the National Oder, and Kandia Camara, an ancient minister of
education.

Part 3: THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE WOMEN'S

REPRESENTATION IN POLITICS

Section 1: The regional and international frameworks and cooperation

There are several conventions and regional and international initiatives that support and
promote women’s political particpation in Africa and over there. Some of them are :
- The African Charter on Human and People Rights, also kkown as the Beijing
Chart, a regioanal human rights implement that ensures rights and liberty for all
the African people and also the right of equality, non discrimination and the
participation in public affairs.
 - The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted during the fourth global
conference on women in 1995, a worldwide program for women’s empowerment
that call for complete and equal participation of women in the political, civil,
economic, social and cultural life.

- The UN Security Council Resolution 11325, adopted in 2000, is a historical

resolution which recognizes women’s role in the prevention and resolution in
conflicts, negotiation, peace consolidation, peace maintaining, humanitarian
response and post-conflict reconstruction, highlighting the importance of equal
and full participation in all efforts of peace and security’s maintaining and
promotion.

- The protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocal, is a regional legal
implement, aiming to protect and promote women’s rights in Africa, including the
right to participate in political and decisive processes.

- The African Union Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Strategy,

adopted in 2018, is a continental framework that guide the implementation of AU
Agenda 2063 and sustainable development targets on sex equality and women’s
empowerment, with a focus on six priority areas, one of which is women’s
leadership and governance.

- The Southern African Development Community Protocol on Gender and

Development, adopted in 2008, is a regional implement that fixes goals and
indicators to achieve sex equality and women’s empowerment in the SADC
region.

Section 2: Recommendations
In this section, we will see some concrete actions and measures that could be taken by
relevant leaders, such as the government, the parliament, the political parties, the civil
society, and the international community, to implement the recommendations and
guidelines to improve women’s political participation and representation in Ivory Coast.

For the government, some possible actions and measures include:

- Adopting and implementing a contitutional amendment or law that establishes a
gender quota or another affirmative mechanism for women’s representation in all
domains and that provides sanctions for non-compliance.
 - Allocating a specific percentage of public funding for political parties to support
women who are candidates and also elected, as well as to promote political
gemder equality.
- Establising and strengthening a mechanism or a national institution for women’s
progession, like a minister, a commission or an agency, that coordinates and
monitors the implementation of international and regional human rights
implements, as well as national plan for women, peace and security.
- Developping and establishing a global and multi-sectorial strategy to prevent and
deal with violence against women in politics, in collaboration with the parliament,
the judicial system, medias, civil society and international community.

For the parliament, some possible actions and measures includes:

- Creating and strengthening women’s transpartisan network that advocates in
favour or women’s political participation and representation, and that monitors and
evaluates the implementation of political policies and laws in favor of sex equality.
- Adopting and implementing resolution that promotes sensible parlementary
culture to gender and inclusive work environment, and warning and sanctioning all
form of discrimination, harassment or violence against parliamentaries women and
workers.
- Providing opportunities to improve parliamentaries women’s capacity especially
models and youngs, to develop their competencies and knowledges in diverse
aspects of parliamentary work such as legislation, surveillance, budgetary planning
and communication.
- Involving and consulting women’s civil society organisation and network, as well
as constituency and women’s groups to ensure that their voice and perspectives
must be reflected and represented in the agenda and the parliamentary activities.

For the political parties, some possible actions and measures include:
- Adopting and implementing a constitution and a sensible political document for
gender, reflecting the equality principles and non-discrimination, and committing
to help in for the progress of women’s rights and interests.
- Implementing a gender quota to ensure a minimum representation of women in
political structures, candidates’ lists, and anticipate sanctions in case of non-
compliance.
- Developping and implementing gender equality policies by adressing the needs
and women’s specific challenges in politics such as violence, harassment, lack of
resources, limited access to training.
 - Establishing and strengthening the unity, a women’s counsel or commission in the
party to ptomote leadership, women’s participation and representation, and to
monitor and evaluate the implementation of gender equality politics and measures.

For the civil society, some possible actions and measures include :
- Training and strengthening a network, a platform, a women’s national or regional
coalition that advocates in favour of women’s political participation and
representation, and that monitors and reports progress and challenges.
- Organizing campaign to sensitize voters on the importance and advantages of
women’s political empowerment for the development and peace of the country.
- Providing support and assistance to candidates and elected sucg as mentoring,
training, networking, fundraising, mediactic visibility to strenghten their capacities
and chance to win elections as well as, exercise effectively their functions.
- Engaging and collaborating with the government, the parliament, the political
parties, the medias and the international community to influence and to shape
policies and programs that affect women’s political participation and
representation, and hold responsible to their engagements and obligations.

For the international community, some possible actions and measures includes:
- Providing financial and technical supports to the government, the parliament, the
political parties and the civil society to implement international and regional
human rights implments and national plan on women, peace and security, and to
strength women’s political participation and representation.
- Supporting the development and the implementtion of sensible electoral systems
and process of gender, enssuring the effective and total participation of women as
voters, candidates and electoral officials, and preventing electoral violence
towards them.
- Promoting and facilitating sharing experiences and good practices on women’s
political participation and representation between different countries and regions,
and to provide platform and dialogue and cooperation opportunities between
leaders and feminine activists.
- Monitoring and evaluating the situation and women’s political participation and
representation progress in the country, and to provide recommendations to parties
as well as international and regional mechanisms.
 4- CONCLUSION
Women’s political representation is a crucial issue for Ivory Coast, a country that has
experienced decades of political instability, civil war, and social unrest. Despite the legal
and constitutional provisions that guarantee women’s equal rights and opportunities,
women remain underrepresented in the political sphere, facing multiple barriers that limit
their participation and influence. These barriers include discriminatory laws, patriarchal
norms, low literacy, and violence, which create a hostile and unequal environment for
women who aspire to political leadership. However, women have also made significant
achievements and seized opportunities to enhance their political participation in Ivory
Coast, such as the COCOFCI program, the quota system, the female candidates in the
2016 and 2021 elections, and the women in government positions. These achievements
demonstre women’s resilience, agency, and potential to contribute to the country’s
development, peace, and democracy. To increase women’s representation in Ivory Coast’s
politics, it is necessary to implement effective and comprehensive measures, such as
enforcing the quota system, promoting women’s education and empowerment,
strengthening women’s networks and solidarity, and engaging men and boys in gender
equality. By doing so, Ivory Coast can harness the full potential of its human capital,
foster social cohesion, and achieve sustainable development. Women’s political
representation is not only a matter of justice and achieve sustainable development, it is
also a matter of necessity and opportunity for Ivory Coast.

REFERENCES