Kinshasa: the women’s political participation to be the focus of a Conference-debate scheduled for Saturday

Kinshasa, January 22^nd, 2026 (CPA). – The women’s political and electoral participation has been chosen as the theme for a conference-debate scheduled for Saturday, January 24^th, 2026, at the National Pedagogical University (UPN) in western Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it is learned on Thursday from the organizer. ‘Focused on “The women’s political and electoral participation: a lever for development?”, the conference-debate is scheduled for January 24^th, 2026 to raise awareness among women of the importance of their political and electoral participation in DRC,’ has declared Divine Dielamonika, She Leads’s programme coordinator at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (Ifes). ‘The aim is to strengthen women’s engagement and promote inclusive governance for development,’ she has added. According to Ms Dielamonika, the choice of the theme is justified by the fact that in DRC, women remain under-represented in decision-making bodies, even though their involvement is essential to strengthening democracy and sustainable development. She Leads is a programme of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) that aims to promote women’s leadership, political and electoral participation, and to combat barriers to their political engagement. ACP/