When women lead, we get better policy outcomes and can build more prosperous, healthier, and sustainable communities. Unfortunately, women who enter and stay in politics face harassment, threats, and exclusion that undermine both their effectiveness and institutional credibility. In one global study, 85.2% of women MPs reported experiencing psychological violence during their term. For women to take up their rightful place as decisionmakers, we need to challenge the systemic barriers that prevent them from entering and progressing in formal politics - from weak quota enforcement and institutional resistance to cultural stigma and underreporting of violence.
Recently, WFD brought together over 100 participants, including women parliamentarians, political party members, civil society activists, journalists, researchers, and state officials from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand to share experiences, strategies, and commitments for building safer, more inclusive political spaces.
The ASEAN Women Political Leaders’ Series: Towards Safe and Inclusive Politics reaffirmed the power of cross-border collaboration in addressing violence against women in politics (VAWP) and advancing gender-inclusive leadership across the region.
What did we learn from this regional convening?
1. Cross-sectoral alliances and clear accountability structures can turn risk into collective power
“Gender Observatories turn individual risk into collective power, by building shared evidence, deepening institutional memory, and enabling coordinated responses to cross-border threats like digital violence against women in politics.”
Cecillia Makonyola, Head of Inclusive Politics Practice, WFD
In Indonesia and Malaysia quotas are vulnerable to political manipulation. Laos and Thailand contend with fragmented data and limited awareness. In this context, WFD introduced the Gender Observatory (GO) approach, which facilitates collaboration among civil society organisations, electoral bodies, and state actors to monitor, document, and address VAWP collectively. National actors can begin to institutionalise observatory practices: under this initiative, Thailand is beginning to publish sex-disaggregated electoral data and engage the media.
2. Legislators and political institutions are key to reforming inclusive politics
Discussions with women legislators and political leaders unpacked structural barriers to women’s political participation, ranging from gendered norms and masculine defaults to political gatekeeping and institutional exclusion. We identified several key persisting barriers:
- Quotas alone are not enough because structural and cultural barriers still limit women’s political participation
“Electoral systems do not always favour women candidates, imbalance in political appointments, implicit biases, access to party funding, patriarchal attitudes that question women’s leadership.”
Anfaal Saari, State Minister of Women and Family Empowerment, Social Welfare and Care Economy and Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly, Malaysia
While several ASEAN countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, have introduced gender quotas, implementation remains weak and enforcement is inconsistent. Political parties often manipulate or find loopholes to bypass quotas, treating them as formalities rather than commitments to equity. In many cases, qualified women are overlooked in favour of candidates seen as more likely to secure votes. Cultural norms, internal party politics, and a lack of political will continue to undermine women’s access to leadership, especially at local levels.
- Violence against women in politics is systemic and demands an institutional response
VAWP is a systemic attack on women’s participation. Intimidation, threats, and harassment can come from anyone, including senior members of candidates’ own political parties. VAWP is embedded in political institutions, where reporting mechanisms are often ineffective or biased. As such, it is imperative to establish formal structures and cross-party mechanisms to protect women in politics and ensure accountability.
This dialogue also sparked commitment to institutional action through the signing of the ASEAN Women Legislators Solidarity and Action Pledge. The pledge symbolises a collective determination to promote inclusive legislation, build gender-responsive political institutions, and uphold democratic values. It demonstrates the importance of building solidarity and allyship in the region to strengthen institutional commitments. It is a powerful tool to mobilise political will, set shared priorities and milestones, and signal a unified stance on combating VAWP and advancing inclusive government across the four ASEAN countries.
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Three key lessons on creating a safe and inclusive political culture for women leaders
Three key lessons on creating a safe and inclusive political culture for women leaders
Chompunut Chalieobun
When women lead, we get better policy outcomes and can build more prosperous, healthier, and sustainable communities. Unfortunately, women who enter and stay in politics face harassment, threats, and exclusion that undermine both their effectiveness and institutional credibility. In one global study, 85.2% of women MPs reported experiencing psychological violence during their term. For women to take up their rightful place as decisionmakers, we need to challenge the systemic barriers that prevent them from entering and progressing in formal politics - from weak quota enforcement and institutional resistance to cultural stigma and underreporting of violence.
Recently, WFD brought together over 100 participants, including women parliamentarians, political party members, civil society activists, journalists, researchers, and state officials from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand to share experiences, strategies, and commitments for building safer, more inclusive political spaces.
The ASEAN Women Political Leaders’ Series: Towards Safe and Inclusive Politics reaffirmed the power of cross-border collaboration in addressing violence against women in politics (VAWP) and advancing gender-inclusive leadership across the region.
What did we learn from this regional convening?
1. Cross-sectoral alliances and clear accountability structures can turn risk into collective power
In Indonesia and Malaysia quotas are vulnerable to political manipulation. Laos and Thailand contend with fragmented data and limited awareness. In this context, WFD introduced the Gender Observatory (GO) approach, which facilitates collaboration among civil society organisations, electoral bodies, and state actors to monitor, document, and address VAWP collectively. National actors can begin to institutionalise observatory practices: under this initiative, Thailand is beginning to publish sex-disaggregated electoral data and engage the media.
2. Legislators and political institutions are key to reforming inclusive politics
Discussions with women legislators and political leaders unpacked structural barriers to women’s political participation, ranging from gendered norms and masculine defaults to political gatekeeping and institutional exclusion. We identified several key persisting barriers:
While several ASEAN countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, have introduced gender quotas, implementation remains weak and enforcement is inconsistent. Political parties often manipulate or find loopholes to bypass quotas, treating them as formalities rather than commitments to equity. In many cases, qualified women are overlooked in favour of candidates seen as more likely to secure votes. Cultural norms, internal party politics, and a lack of political will continue to undermine women’s access to leadership, especially at local levels.
VAWP is a systemic attack on women’s participation. Intimidation, threats, and harassment can come from anyone, including senior members of candidates’ own political parties. VAWP is embedded in political institutions, where reporting mechanisms are often ineffective or biased. As such, it is imperative to establish formal structures and cross-party mechanisms to protect women in politics and ensure accountability.
This dialogue also sparked commitment to institutional action through the signing of the ASEAN Women Legislators Solidarity and Action Pledge. The pledge symbolises a collective determination to promote inclusive legislation, build gender-responsive political institutions, and uphold democratic values. It demonstrates the importance of building solidarity and allyship in the region to strengthen institutional commitments. It is a powerful tool to mobilise political will, set shared priorities and milestones, and signal a unified stance on combating VAWP and advancing inclusive government across the four ASEAN countries.
3. Action should be prioritised over recognition
A major highlight of the convening was the public launch of WFD’s methodology to address VAWP, a tool to help institutions identify, assess, and mitigate risks of violence against women in politics. Developed through a participatory process with women leaders and experts from across ASEAN countries, the methodology is grounded in both evidence and lived experience.
Presented by WFD researchers Cecillia Makonyola and Constanza Robles-Fumarola, the tool focuses on risk patterns, helping institutions to systemise accountability.
Importantly, the methodology shifts the conversation from recognition to action. It calls on political institutions not only to acknowledge the prevalence of VAWP but to take concrete, measurable steps toward transforming political environments into spaces where all women can lead safely and meaningfully.
Looking forward: Building regional momentum
The event reaffirmed the importance of regional cooperation in addressing VAWP and creating inclusive governance structures. WFD will continue to support national-level efforts to operationalise Gender Observatories, implement the VAWP methodology, and strengthen institutional safeguards against political violence. In parallel, WFD will work to expand the ASEAN WPL network, offering a continued platform for cross-border solidarity, policy exchange, and mutual support. By building on this momentum, we aim to ensure that safe and inclusive politics is not an aspiration but a standard across the region.
Learn more about the ASEAN Women’s Political Leadership programme