Imagine being a young woman involved in grassroot movements and protests. Imagine taking to the streets, organizing marches, involving the community, even risking your own safety for the causes you believe in.
Now imagine that, if and when these causes are finally discussed in political parties, you are not involved.
That’s what has happened and continues to happen to many young women in the Euro-Mediterranean region: despite decades of advocacy and international agreements, politics across the Euro-Mediterranean region continues to be dominated by men. Women, especially young, working-class, and minority women, are consistently underrepresented and excluded due to structural, institutional, and cultural constraints. While some Mediterranean countries have made promising reforms, true gender parity remains a distant goal.
The current landscape: regional gaps amid global shortfalls
Across the Euro-Mediterranean region, women’s representation in national parliaments remains below both global and EU averages in many countries. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU, 2025), the global average of women in national parliaments is 27%. In comparison, the Euro-Mediterranean region shows significant variation, from 5% in some Southern Mediterranean countries, to 44% in Spain, due to strong parity laws.
Despite surpassing the global average in many cases, uneven implementation of parity mechanisms and political resistance remain widespread, especially in new democracies and semi-authoritarian regimes in the southern Mediterranean.
Further challenges include:
- Declining donor funding and political instability, which have stalled or reversed gender reforms in countries like Libya and Lebanon.
- Online violence and harassment, particularly acute in patriarchal societies where female politicians are subject to smear campaigns and death threats.
- Peace processes in conflict-affected countries (e.g., Syria, Libya) often exclude women entirely, despite global resolutions calling for their inclusion.
The Political game is rigged
The first wall women hit is often invisible, built into the rules of the system.
- Electoral systems matter more than people think. In countries like France and the UK, where majoritarian systems dominate, only one winner takes all. That usually favors older, well-connected men.
- In contrast, proportional list systems (like in Spain or parts of the Balkans) can lead to better female representation, especially when combined with gender quotas.
But quotas aren’t magic. If parties game the system by putting women last on the list or swapping them in at the last minute, it becomes performative. In France, the 2000 Parity Law was a milestone, but parties often prefer to pay fines rather than comply, as Élise Massicard points out.
Political parties themselves act as gatekeepers. In North Africa and Southern Europe, women still rely on male sponsors or family connections to get ahead. They’re placed in “unwinnable” districts or symbolic roles. Morocco and Turkey show this clearly: women may be on the list, but real power stays with men.
Money is another major barrier. Campaign financing is often informal and opaque. Women , especially those from rural or marginalized communities, are less likely to have the connections or resources to run a viable campaign. In Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt, this economic gap is a key reason women stay out.
Violence, culture & control
Politics isn’t just hard, it can be dangerous.
According to a 2021 IPU/UN Women survey, 82% of women parliamentarians in Europe reported psychological abuse. Nearly half had received threats of rape or death. In Tunisia and Lebanon, online attacks are often coordinated, aiming to silence and discredit female candidates.
Legal protections are weak or nonexistent, and social stigma adds pressure. In many parts of the region, running for office means risking family backlash, community shaming, or even ostracism.
Inside political institutions, the culture is still deeply masculine. Parliaments reward aggression and confrontation, traits praised in men, but criticized in women as “unladylike.” Political scientist Pippa Norris writes that women are punished either way: act strong, you’re “too harsh”; act collaborative, you’re “too soft.”
Then there’s the media. In Southern Europe, outlets often focus on how women dress, cry, or raise their children, not their political platforms. Reporters Without Borders found this especially true in Italy, Cyprus, and Greece. The message? Women in politics are anomalies, not leaders. We need different narratives, more stories about women leading and advocacing. Here’s why Leading Change – Women in Politics for an Inclusive Future focus so much on ambassadors and testimonies: representation is crucial for inclusion in political spaces.
Locked out from the start
Many women don’t even get a foot in the door.
Youth wings, party training programs, ministerial internships, these stepping stones to power are still overwhelmingly male. Outside capital cities, access is even harder.
Even in moments of revolution and transition (like Tunisia or Egypt) women led protests and organized on the ground. But when it came time to write constitutions or join cabinets, they were sidelined.
Some stark stats:
- Just 23% of party leadership positions in the EU are held by women (EIGE).
- At Libya’s 2020 peace talks, only 15% of delegates were women, despite the UN’s calls for inclusion.
- Syria’s Geneva process repeated the same exclusion.
Signs of change (and what’s working)
Despite the challenges, some places show that real change is possible.
- Spain and France have implemented parity laws with real enforcement. Result: multiple gender-balanced cabinets and strong female representation.
- Tunisia was once a regional model with its 2011 gender parity law , though recent authoritarian shifts have rolled back progress.
- The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2025 aims for mandatory parity in decision-making roles.
- UN Women is investing in leadership training in Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt, boosting visibility and confidence for emerging female leaders.
Infrastructure matters, too. Countries like France, Spain, and Italy offer childcare and family support, which makes it more feasible for women to enter politics.
Other innovations are linking economic and political empowerment. In Jordan, Morocco, and Algeria, programs are combining entrepreneurship training with civic leadership. Because financial independence makes political ambition possible.
Beyond quotas: changing the whole system
Women are excluded from politics not because of merit, but of systemic injustice. Here’s why symbolic progress is not enough: we need to shift systems, not just photoshoots.
This is where initiatives like Leading Change – Women in Politics for an Inclusive Future step in. Using platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, that blend activism with storytelling. Hashtags like #HerVoiceHerPower and #LeadershipHasNoAge invite young women to imagine themselves in power, but it doesn’t end with that: influencer partnerships amplify these messages, while mentorship networks turn them into real-world impact.
Because politics isn’t just decided in parliaments. It’s shaped in comment sections, in DMs, in grassroots conversations between generations of women saying:
“You belong here. Let’s get to work.”
Let’s make sure young women across the Euro-Med region are not just watching , but leading.
This article draws on data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), UN Women, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), and regional case studies.
Disclaimer: Leading Change – Women in Politics for an Inclusive Future is part of the Mediterranean Youth in Action Transformative Narratives programme, implemented by the Anna Lindh Foundation. The programme serves as a platform for young influencers and digital content creators to create meaningful content and lead social media initiatives and awareness campaigns that highlight youth voices, strengthen media narratives, and promote intercultural dialogue across the Euro-Mediterranean region.
