Workshop and Interactive Consultation: The Importance of Joint Female Leadership

On 27 April 2017, Gender Concerns International organised the workshop and interactive consultation “The Importance of Joint Female Leadership”, at Panda Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar.

The Event brought together representatives of WOs and Female Parliamentarians to discuss gender-inclusive peacebuilding, and promote Female leaders (both Parliamentarians and women in Civil Society) to work together to promote gender issues in peace talks. In a young democracy with a substantial gap between Civil Society and policy-makers, this event was original and innovative in its approach. The organisation hopes that it can become a landmark towards increased interaction between policy-makers and Civil Society, marking the first steps towards joint female leadership in Myanmar.

The current state of female representation in Myanmar’s peace process, the relevance of UNSCR 1325, the gender issues addressed in NCA, and a roadmap towards a common peace agenda developed was discussed. The participants were supportive of the idea of joint female leadership for a gender-inclusive peace process. Promoting a strong collective voice among WOs was recommended as an imperative to ensure their increased participation and influence in the peace process. While participants noted that female participation in the peace process remained low, positive development was also noted with women’s representation in the Union Peace Commission having increased from 7% to 13%.