Political Inclusion

LGBTQI+ populations face fundamental barriers that inhibit them from engaging in political and civic life. In many countries, the basic rights of such populations are not protected, including safety and access to justice. Accordingly, IRI places a premium on our principles of “do no harm” and using a cross-sectoral lens for related programs. For instance, in Bangladesh, we partnered with a local organization to promote the rights and awareness of transgender women through dance performances, television, and storytelling. In all programs, IRI responds to unique circumstances faced by local LGBTQI+ communities by conducting innovative research and assessments, such as a barrier analysis conducted in Laos and focus group discussions in Bangladesh.

IRI’s relationships with key stakeholders who can influence LGBTQI+ individuals’ lives – including government actors, civil society, political parties, and media – uniquely positions us to partner with LGBTQI+ populations. We partner with such organizations globally to bolster opportunities for LGBTQI+ populations to have their voices heard and rights protected. Examples include building advocacy for more inclusive laws and practices, connecting the LGBTQI+ community to government actors to ensure their priorities are heard, building inclusive elections through non-discrimination trainings and activism through art.

Persons with disabilities (PWD) face systemic and enduring exclusion and discrimination that makes it difficult to shift sociopolitical norms and necessary for them to fill leadership roles in their communities. To overcome barriers to political inclusion in countries like Jordan, IRI mainstreams PWD into leadership development programs. IRI also provides platforms for PWD advocates to promote the meaningful inclusion of all people in government processes. In Sri Lanka, for instance, an intern from IRI’s Emerging Leaders Academy used this platform to establish a disability focal point within the Department of Information.

Recognizing that representative governance is a hallmark of healthy democracies, a cornerstone of IRI’s inclusion efforts to remove barriers to political participation is to make sure all people have equal access to elections. For example, ahead of the 2019 elections in Guyana and the 2020 elections in Mongolia, IRI launched voter education campaigns to help PWD understand how to access information about how to exercise their right to vote. Following elections in countries including Georgia, Tunisia, and Nigeria, IRI released reports that analyzed PWD inclusion to bring awareness to the challenges and successes for ensuring all voices are represented in a democracy.

Religious, ethnic, linguistic, and indigenous minorities – and other such communities who are marginalized though they are a demographic majority in their country – comprise a substantial portion of the population in many countries in which we work. IRI ensures our interventions are inclusive of these groups, starting with diversity of participants in our activities. In counties including Tanzania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, IRI has partnered with communities that cross ethnic divisions, using approaches that harness sports, art, and film to promote engagement. An overarching theme of IRI’s work with minority groups is building tolerance, peaceful interaction, and collaboration across communities.

IRI empowers partners to translate civic and voter education materials to minority languages and disseminate them in communities where linguistic minorities live. Across programs, IRI creates a safe space for people of all identities by providing spaces for prayer, catering to a variety of diets, and working with trainers from minority communities.

IRI creates space and the ability for minority groups to play an active role in political processes, while building more inclusive, peaceful, and democratic political systems.