Project profile — Women's Voice and Leadership - Mali

• Mali (100.00%)

• Government And Civil Society, General: Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project is part of Canada’s Women’s Voice and Leadership Program, which supports local and regional women’s organizations and networks that are working to promote women’s rights, and advance women’s empowerment and gender equality in developing countries. This is done by supporting activities, building institutional capacity, and promoting network and alliance-building as women’s rights and feminist organizations are critical agents of change. The Program also responds to the globally recognized, significant gap in funding and support to women’s rights organizations and movements around the world. This project is being implemented by a consortium formed of the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) and the Société de coopération pour le développement international (SOCODEVI). The project supports an estimated 19 local women’s right organizations (WRO) and 6 networks which regroup 3,200 members to eventually reach up to 1.4 million Malians country-wide. Project activities include: (1) providing multi-year and quick response funding to the 19 WROs; and (2) supporting capacity building of WROs.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased efficiency in implementing local women’s rights organizations programmes and activities through an innovative approach that contributes to advance gender equality; (2) increased efficiency of advocacy of networks that bring together organizations that defend women's rights in order to generate impacts on policies and legal and social institutions; and (3) institutional strengthening, in an innovative manner, of local women’s rights organizations in Mali especially those representing vulnerable and marginalized women and girls.

Results achieved as of March 2024 include: (1) supported 25 women's and girls' rights organizations, including 19 local organizations and 6 platforms, alliances and networks; (2) the 25 organizations demonstrated a better grasp of the issues involved in defending women's and girls' rights. They have also spoken out and denounced, without taboo in fora, gender inequalities, gender-based violence and weak law enforcement, notably the low representation of women in decision-making bodies and women's poor access to land; (3) the 19 local organizations integrated the daily use of information and communication technologies. The organizations have used community radio, web TV and social media as tools to raise awareness of women's and girls' rights; (4) the organizations worked for the inclusion and protection of people in vulnerable situations, particularly internally displaced persons; and (5) raising awareness among men within the framework of positive masculinity encouraged the involvement of some men in household activities (health, education and communication) alongside women.

• Proactive disclosure