25 January 2007

Women Mayors Work To Improve Government in Madagascar

Partnership for a Better Life

 

Brigitte Rabemanantsoa, mayor of the central Malagasy city of Ambohimalaza. (USAID)

"Only now do I really understand what my role as mayor is and the benefits of involving the community in decision-making," said Brigitte Rabemanantsoa, the first woman to be elected mayor of Ambohimalaza, central Madagascar.

Rabemanantsoa is the first woman to be elected mayor of Ambohimalaza. Her town was the birthplace of three kings and a queen, and was the childhood home of the current president. Yet the town is still poor.

In her first two years as mayor, Rabemanantsoa has overseen the building of three dams that improve irrigation for rice farming. As a result, incomes have tripled for one-third of the population; farmers and their families now can eat three meals a day.

When Rabemanantsoa met with the country's other mayors for a democracy workshop, she realized that only 62 of the 1,550 mayors are women, yet these few women were making a real difference in their communities. One mayor brought potable water to her commune; another advocated for providing birth certificates for thousands of children; another worked to bring nutritional rehabilitation services to her town. They are visionaries -- committed, resourceful and dynamic -- and they are making their voices heard.

The women mayors decided to form an association to strengthen their voice, support and learn from each other, maximize their impact and advocate for women’s rights.

A program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) helped them formalize a group, create a constitution, elect officers through a democratic process and create a concept paper and strategic plan.

The program's training in urban planning, the responsibilities of mayors, good governance, community participation and women’s rights strengthened the members’ ability to govern. Their advocacy efforts brought impressive results.

First, the women mayors convinced national authorities that their towns should be priorities for launching pilot projects. Second, they secured funding from the government for each mayor to improve one road in her town, bettering prospects for commerce to grow. Finally, they advocated for special consideration for nutritional rehabilitation and support centers and for AIDS prevention education.

With a strong association now backing them, these determined women can be confident that they will be able to achieve their goals.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)