Women & Democracy (W&D) is a non-profit organization working towards women’s economic, political participation and good democratic governance in the Maldives. Founded in 2016, W&D works to empower women to participate fully in political and economic life across all sectors, and to improve the quality of life for women and girls.
W&D also undertakes gender-based violence interventions and assists women who experience violence with safety and mental well-being services. Women & Democracy is a trusted name and a devoted community partner dedicated to improving the lives of women.
W&D was founded by Safaath Ahmed Zahir, a Business & Financial Analyst, and Social Entrepreneur and also one of the Queen’s Young Leaders of the 2016 cohort.
From 2016 to the present, W&D has offered political empowerment training to more than 600 women who aspired to public office and political leadership, eighty-three of these were successfully elected to democratic office. On the gender-based violence interventions, W&D has to date assisted over 300 women who experienced violence with prompt, quality care and services for their safety and mental well-being.
W&D is among fourteen other Youth Ventures Programme (YVP) grant recipients selected to receive project funding and technical support from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT). Through the YVP, QCT’s support will facilitate the maintenance of a gender-based violence helpline and psychosocial support for the victims as well as the contracting of legal services for gender-based violence cases.
