Côte d'Ivoire

Women's Leadership

Women of all backgrounds are amongst some of the hardest-hit casualties of the Ivorian conflict and its diverse rhetoric built upon political parties, ethnic groups, and geographic regions. Of particular concern, sexual violence affects Ivorian women across the political and ethnic spectrum. As both feuding sides vouch to acquiesce to peace, a window of opportunity opens up for Ivorian women to mobilize around their common agenda and secure an active role in the country’s shifting socio-political structure, infusing their interests into the national dialogue.

To achieve this potential, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) launched a program entitled Mobilizing Ivorian Women for Constructive Participation in Governance and Leadership. Through trainings, workshops, and the radio program Dignité des Femmes, SFCG aims to provide accurate information to women on governance and leadership issues, and to facilitate dialogue and exchange between women from the North and South on issues related to good governance and leadership.

In October 2007, SFCG used the lessons of women’s leadership in Sierra Leone and Liberia as an example and catalyst for women’s leadership on peace and in the elections in Côte d’Ivoire. SFCG’s Women’s leadership symposiums, two at the regional level and one at the national level, brought together leaders from across the spectrum of political, ethnic and identity groups in Côte d’Ivoire with women’s leaders from Sierra Leone and Liberia to share experiences and build collaborative strategies toward women’s leadership.

The symposiums helped provide women with positive examples of women’s leadership from Côte d’Ivoire’s neighbors, and bridge the differences between the various groups represented at the symposiums. In many cases representing the first time the women had collaborated across these divisions since the crisis began. There was recognition that the only way to end the suffering that all women and their families had endured; they had to find a way to begin working together. By the end of the two day session, the women identified changes that they would like to make together and strategies to achieve the desired result of improving women’s representation in leadership positions in Côte d’Ivoire.