The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has launched the Inclusive Municipal Leadership Program, a 40-month (2018 to 2022) initiative to support female local elected officials and citizens in Tunisia. This 7M$ initiative is funded by Global Affairs Canada.
A new generation of women leaders is emerging in Tunisia. In 2016, the country amended its electoral law to include a provision supporting gender parity among municipal councils. In the wake of this change, 47% of representatives elected in the 2018 local elections are women. However, discrimination against women is ongoing and often undermines their progress.
The Inclusive Municipal Leadership Program (PLMI) will work with eight municipalities in Tunisia to provide training to ensure that their citizens and elected officials have more influence over the management of local affairs.
With technical support from Canadian municipal specialists, and with the support of the Centre international de développement pour la gouvernance locale innovante (CILG-VNG International), partner municipalities will reinforce their ability to mainstream gender into their day-to-day management practices, and provide women and other vulnerable groups with inclusive and gender-specific services in partnership with civil society. This project will also provide support to various national institutions to create an environment that promotes women’s political engagement.