Pa Kite M Deyo! Don't Leave Me Out! Haitian Women Demand Their Right to Participate in Public Affairs

This paper describes the work of women's rights organisation Fanm Yo La in mobilising Haitian women to vote and to hold their elected representatives to account, and in supporting women candidates before and after election. It is included in the Oxfam Great Britain (GB) publication Learning for Action on Women's Leadership and Participation".

The opening sections provide context for this work, explaining that a legacy of years of violent political turmoil and entrenched ideas about gender roles make it very difficult for women in Haiti to be active in the political arena. According to Oxfam, "The game of politics is organised according to men's rules, with male-designed structures and political tools. It was only in 1957 that women gained their full privileges to vote....Since then, discriminatory legislation has continued to keep women at an unfair disadvantage against their male counterparts in all areas of life, as an inherent imbalance in power relations exists....This discrimination serves to exacerbate the effects of the poverty in which so many women in Haiti live, and their marginalisation from political activity denies them the right to influence and input into policy decisions that could alleviate this poverty."

In this context, Fanm Yo La (which means "Women Are Here" in Haitian Creole) has been working since 1998 to promote women's civil and political rights via various activities focusing on two main areas. The first is generating awareness about women's issues and concerns within state structures, with the end goal of achieving a systematic integration of women's concerns and gender equality within public policy. The second is encouraging civil society organisations, political parties, and women's organisations to be proactive in terms of promoting gender equity in their organisational structures, by providing and promoting access to positions of authority and responsibility to women from all socio-economic groups. Fanm Yo La's work involves not just encouraging women to run for public office, but also getting ordinary women to realise that they not only have the right but also the responsibility to join in the debates and go to the polls.

Fanm Yo La's efforts seek to draw on the rich experiences of Haitian women from all walks of life and from all parts of the country. Ranging in age from 25 to 60, most of the women come from rural areas, where they are active members of community-based organisations or associations. While most have not finished high school and have limited reading and writing skills, Fanm Yo La contends that these are the women who are in a position to influence the development of their communities through political involvement.

In the two years leading up to the 2006 presidential, legislative, and municipal elections, Fanm Yo La, together with another local partner supported by Oxfam GB, carried out a national citizen mobilisation campaign in three northern and north-eastern municipalities. The campaign involved meetings and debates with local candidates, open to everyone in the community, which provided spaces for dialogue. Workshops were also held on themes such as the importance of the elections for local authorities, the role of candidates and the different local authority positions, non-violent conflict resolution and management, and the role of women in public life. Radio shows, commercials, and short broadcasts were designed to encourage citizens to vote, and to promote the participation of Haitian women in the political process. Thematic training workshops designed to address the specific needs of female candidates, political activists, and community leaders were organised. Themes included participative community management and local development, good governance, debate techniques, and campaign organisation and techniques.

Lobbying activities aimed at the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) resulted in the inclusion of an article in the electoral law stipulating that all political parties had to ensure that 30% of their candidates are women. In addition, together with female candidates from a number of municipalities, Fanm Yo La prepared and submitted a list of demands to the CEP to request that action be taken to ensure the installation of voting offices in several communities which did not have them. One of the creative initiatives of the project entailed the signing of protocol agreements with political candidates from all parties, both men and women alike. The protocols - based on the principles of decentralisation, local power management, respect for human rights, and non-violence - seek to ensure greater accountability of local authorities with respect to community residents, to minimise exclusion, and promote co-operation and collaboration for the development of the community. Guided by the preamble of the Haitian Constitution of 1987, the protocols were signed following community debates between candidates and local residents that sought to identify specific issues facing the communities relating to health, education, infrastructure, environment, and justice. Specific articles in the protocols included: mutual respect and courtesy during electoral campaigns; "town hall" meetings to be held every three months to evaluate the council's activities; publication of a regular news bulletin to keep the population informed; and the commitment to engage in promoting women's rights and the full participation of women via the integration of women into positions of responsibility and authority within the community.

Oxfam found that, "In the three municipalities where campaigning activities took place, the fruits of Fanm Yo La’s efforts were visible. In Carice, the female candidate for the post of mayor was successfully elected, and in neighbouring Mont Organisé, six out of the seven female candidates were elected to their respective posts. In addition, women outnumbered men at the polls. These results were echoed on a national level. A total of 4,000 female candidates ran in the elections; of these, 400 women were successfully elected to various posts. Most of the women were elected to local-government posts, with only eight women elected to Parliament – four as senators (out of a total of 30 seats), and four as deputies (out of a total of 98 seats). Even though the number of women in Parliament is far from high enough, the overall numbers speak volumes when compared to the numbers recorded for the elections of 2000; in those elections, of 2,037 women candidates, 161 were elected."

At a public ceremony held to celebrate these mobilisation efforts, current and former female politicians presented plaques of achievement and encouragement to the words of the song "Pa Kite m Deyo" ("Don't Leave Me Out"). Recognising that getting women into positions of power and decision-making is only the first step, Fanm Yo La's approach entails providing continued support to newly elected female officials - who face a series of challenges and obstacles, such as the mindset of their male counterparts. Working with 120 of the 400 elected female leaders at the local level, Fanm Yo La is holding joint workshops with local governments in a selection of municipalities in five departments. The three-day workshops, which specifically reach out to mayors and their deputies (men and women alike) seek to combine training on community management with training on gender equity, via presentations on participative community management and local development, and good governance. Acknowledging that women leaders may require additional support to increase their capacity and effectiveness relating to specific issues and/or technical skills, Fanm Yo La organised a two-day workshop for the eight female parliamentarians currently in office. During these workshops, an inventory of discriminatory legislation was prepared and analysed via a series of tools and exercises. The women were also trained on preparing proposed bills for new and reformed legislation.

Looking to the future, Fanm Yo La will continue both its lobbying activities and its efforts to prepare women to lead. With the support of Oxfam GB, the organisation's "Women in Politics School" will provide training on a weekly basis for approximately 50 women from the western department. "As more and more women are elected to official posts, demonstrating their capacity and ability to play crucial roles within the national public arenas, they will serve as role models and agents of change, positively influencing the culture of politics for the next generation of women."