Women and Youth Leadership Participation aims to strengthen the participation and leadership of women and youth in accountability and decision-making processes at the local and national levels and create platforms where they can learn about their civic rights and how to exercise them.

Why we focus on women and youth participation

Women and young people in Zimbabwe have little information on democratic processes, participate marginally in exercising their civil and political rights, and are not influential or visible enough to prevent being continually excluded, marginalized, and underrepresented. WYLP aims to empower them – and the CSOs that advocate for them – to act as civil rights advocates and participate in governance through their watchdog function.

How we support women and youth leadership and participation

WYLP offers civic rights training to women and youth about their civil rights to increase their participation in various aspects of civic life, such as politics and community development.

Results so far

  • Youth leadership in Parliament increased from 6 to 35 MPs from the 2018 Harmonized Elections to the 2023 Harmonized Elections, according to official statistics from Parliament of Zimbabwe. The program contributed to these results by training candidates to mobilize funding and run effective campaigns using social media and effective political messaging.
  • CSO networks are getting more involved in how the Government makes decisions, through the project. The program helped capacitated 50 CSO members (42 women and 8 men) for national and City of Bulawayo budget meetings. In line with submissions made, the Government increased funding for the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises, and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
  • The program also set up high-level dialogues with the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, and the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services where 48 women and young people attended and demanded initiatives that can help bridge the digital divide across the country.

Where

Zimbabwe

Period and budget

2023 – 2025, € 1.1 million

Partners

Zimbabwe Gender Commission, Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD), Parliament of Zimbabwe.

Donors

European Union Delegation to Zimbabwe and the Embassy of Ireland in Pretoria