Raising Her Voice (RHV)

Working in partnership with 450 organisations around the world in an effort to enhance women's participation in decision-making, RHV works in 4 main ways:

1. Finding ways to support economically poor and marginalised women to network, campaign, and advocate on the issues that are most important to them - Example: RHV in Honduras's strategy is to build a strong grassroots network of women activists to hold the authorities to account and to ensure that the government does not reverse hard-won progress on women's rights. Project partners have also contributed to a high-profile, national campaign against the high rates of murder of women.
2. Supporting civil society organisations in their work to represent economically poor and marginalised women's needs and concerns at the highest levels - Example: In Honduras, Bolivia, Nepal, and Aceh, Indonesia, RHV partners have facilitated focused reflection and analysis of intra-family power dynamics, divisions of household roles, and expenditure as a mechanism for exploring barriers to women's wider participation and leadership. One result: Members of Keutapang village, Aceh, Indonesia, adopted a qanun law (a law promulgated by Muslim sovereigns) on the gendered division of labour and rights of women to participate in village development planning processes.
3. Working with public institutions and decision-making forums, including traditional structures, to support, challenge, and improve the way they respond to women's demands - Example: RHV in Liberia, where the state and civil society have been weakened by civil war, both the government and traditional leaders are engaging with the project. According to organisers, a strong media coalition has been established, and a greater number of women are taking on leadership roles. Lobbying by the women's movement resulted in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the President of Liberia, speaking out against female genital mutilation, "helping to break the taboo around this harmful cultural practice".
4. Disseminating learning and good practice through media and communications work - Example: In Nepal and the Gambia, partners invited media editors and journalists to visit communities in which RHV is working and "reported numerous benefits: Not only did coverage and quality of reporting increase but journalists made strong personal connections with the communities; creating long-term media allies for project partners. Visitors also ran CDC [Community Discussion Class] trainings sessions themselves, providing professional inputs that have helped to strengthen members' own engagement with local media".

Women, Political Participation.