Addressing barriers to women's political participation in North Africa, Forward Thinking host meeting of Tunisian and Libyan parliamentarians, 22nd November 2017

This growing number of female MPs represents an important constituency in the politics of North Africa. In each country, despite facing considerable obstacles, they have been at the forefront of driving and shaping the developments since 2011 and increasing playing a transformative role in addressing long-standing challenges.On the 22nd of November, Forward Thinking organised a meeting between a number of prominent Libyan and Tunisian women parliamentarians in order to discuss the changing role of women in the region, the barriers that remain to women's political inclusion, and other shared challenges in the region. Participants agreed that as parliamentarians, they had developed a unique set of experiences and perspectives that could help to inform their peers across and beyond the region. As such they expressed a desire for further opportunities to meet counterparts from across the region in order share lessons, support their mutual development  and to discuss areas of common interest.