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Contribution long abstract

Recent political reforms across the Horn of Africa and Middle East region have seen an increase in the number of women leaders through the adoption of gender quotas. This has been informed by the international push for equity and inclusion, driven by a dream of a democratic society. However, the increased quotas are not a direct reflection of the substantive influence women have on decisions on the outcomes of peacebuilding and policies. The mandates provided by the constitutions do not sufficiently overcome the patriarchal power dynamics. The cases are an indicator of superficial quotas that only giving women minimal vocal input. An adoption of strong, solid factors is crucial for women’s voices in these matters. Well-structured legal frameworks, aggressive advocacy networks, and initiatives on leadership are critical. Affirmative action should be adopted to push beyond tokenism, heavily depending on gender responsive policies. To move from the existing fictional quotas brought by tokenism, strong and genuine political will, reforms and a shift in culture is crucial. From this, the paper gives insights on policy directions that stakeholders and partners have to design to yield a tangible result on women’s influence on peacebuilding and development outcomes. Further, an illustration of the translation of the mere descriptive women representation to substantive leadership geared towards equality and long-lasting peace.