WLP’s partner in Mauritania, Association des Femmes Chefs de Famille (AFCF) conducted leadership trainings for female elected officials during March and April of 2016. Twenty-five women policymakers participated in total—ten parliamentarians from the capital of Nouakchott and 15 others representing various municipalities in the country.
The focus of the trainings was twofold: to provide technical support toward the adoption of a legal framework to combat violence against women and to help push for a draft bill against underage female domestic labor.
The workshops conducted situation analyses on the prevention of violence and the vulnerability of the victims using the WLP curricula Leading to Choices, Leading to Action, and Victories Over Violence. Trainees identified priority risk factors to be addressed, developed an advocacy intervention methodology, and created a plan to strengthen the competence of parliamentary staff. After the training, participants reported a better knowledge of gender issues, increased ability to perform strategic planning and monitoring, and improved communication skills in articulating a complex argument.
Another result of the trainings was the establishment of the Network of Women Parliamentarians, a multi-regional advocacy group. The group’s work builds on advocacy done by AFCF since 2011 concerning the adoption of a child labor bill that meets the standards of the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. After the trainings, the Network of Women Parliamentarians in Nouakchott Municipality held a series of meetings with the national authorities to push for the adoption of this Labor Act. As a result, the national Council of Ministers recently drafted a law on underage female domestic labor, and also adopted a legal framework for combating violence against women.