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News from the Field: Towards the Full Participation of Women in El Salvador

Women continue to be severely under-represented in elected positions in El Salvador, despite the considerable contributions they have made to rebuilding the country almost 20 years after the end of its 12-year civil war. At the same time, women in politics can provide an entry-point to greater consensus-building in El Salvador, which remains a highly polarized society.

With UNDEF support, the Association of Salvadoran Women Parliamentarians and ex-Parliamentarians, ASPARLEXSAL, is conducting a project to correct a gender imbalance whereby currently, women make up 53 per cent of the electorate, yet occupy only 14 of the 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly. A key component of the project is a course in political leadership bringing together women from all six political parties represented in the Assembly. Now in its third year, the course covers subjects of both personal and political development, from self-esteem, empowerment and management skills to human rights, public opinion, public health and population issues. Graduates have gone on to become parliamentary candidates, mayors and municipal officials. As important, by enabling women from different backgrounds to form a cohesive group for a period of nine months, the course offers an opportunity to build dialogue and understanding across party lines, and to find areas of common ground – a pioneering experience for most of the participants.

On a visit to San Salvador in April 2009, United Nations Democracy Fund Senior Adviser Annika Savill met with both course participants and the ASPALEXSAL leadership. “I had never interacted with a member of one of the other parties before and was actually even a little afraid,” said one alumna. “Now, we all meet regularly and even go on trips together. We know how much we have in common.”

This is particularly valuable at this juncture of El Salvador’s political evolution. With the recent victory of FMLN in general elections after 20 years of ARENA Government, and the presidential handover in June 2009, the country is undergoing yet another crucial and challenging transition on its journey to build and consolidate a functioning democracy.

Asked if they were taken more seriously by male colleagues as a result of the skills they had acquired on the course, the group answered, as one, a resounding “Yes!” One young municipal official added, “Above all, I think we take ourselves more seriously."

 

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