Thanks to the United States, however, scores of these women — women like Nancy Elizabeth Henr�quez, a Miskito Indian from the northern town of Sandy Bay, Nicaragua — have made their wishes come true. Henríquez was elected mayor for the municipality of Bilwi on November 7, 2004, using skills she acquired in municipal candidate-training sessions offered by the International Republican Institute (IRI), with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy.

"These training sessions have empowered women by giving the indigenous communities the confidence to express their rights and opinions, and ensure leadership positions in local governance," Henr�quez says.

A nonpartisan, nonprofit U.S. organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide, IRI sends expert volunteer trainers, elected officials, and staff to more than 50 countries around the world to teach men and women how to build strong and lasting democracies in their countries. IRI, like its counterpart, the National Democratic Institute, is one of many nongovernmental (NGO) and private organizations that draw on generous U.S. funding to offer a multitude of programs and specialized training to encourage women's political participation and strengthen their leadership qualities. In 2004, IRI received more than $25.5 million from USAID and more than $7.8 million from the National Endowment for Democracy for all its programs.

Henríquez, a council member for eight years for the Atlantic Autonomous Region, Nicaragua's poorest area, attended IRI training in June 2004. Other participants in her group, women between the ages of 17 and 70, included representatives from AMIKA and KIMAT, the two main local indigenous women's associations in Puerto Cabezas and Waspan; representatives from the local branch of the Autonomous Region Human Rights Office; and members of the Association of Judges, an NGO that fights abuse against women.

Henríquez believes IRI's training is important for her and the other participants because "it enables us to analyze the laws that affect the citizens of the Atlantic Coast. Additionally, the seminars provide us with the necessary judicial skills to fight toward greater political space."

From Argentina to Burma and from Belarus to Nigeria, the United States and partners like NDI and IRI can point to similar achievements for women who, like Henr�quez, seek an active role in public life.

For instance, following the passage of Indonesia's new election law in 2003, IRI carried out elections training in preparation for the 2004 parliamentary and presidential elections. Included in these programs were sessions for 400 women candidates and activists in East Java and Yogyakarta, in addition to a national conference, "Electing Women to Office in the 2004 Election," and three elections-related training seminars in three Indonesian provinces and the capital, Jakarta.

Once Indonesia's general elections took place in April 2004, the institute moved quickly to provide training to political party groups, especially women activists who sought office in 2004 at the provincial and national levels.

In Moldova, 177 women, including elected officials, from all its regions attended three IRI women's political training seminars held in 2004 for the Social Liberal Party, the Christian Democratic People's Party, and the Our Moldova Alliance Party. U.S. Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, a former elected official herself, conducted one of the training programs.

In China, the institute is taking advantage of the opportunities for women leaders in rural areas, where sometimes up to 80 percent of the men have left to seek work in the cities. A local NGO, Rural Women Knowing All, and IRI began by identifying women with leadership potential through surveys and then brought them together for training. Subsequently, many ran successfully for village chiefs, party branch leaders, and for other positions at the grassroots level. Once elected, a number of these leaders received additional training to show them how to share best practices, overcome common difficulties, and encourage other women to become involved in civic affairs.

IRI has expanded a 2001 pilot program to train women legislators in Argentina. The new program works to strengthen Argentina's democratic institutions through initiatives to foster accountability and transparency in the legislature, coordinate civil society efforts, and promote the development of new leaders.

Henríquez has no doubts about the importance of these types of training efforts, which she is convinced helped her and other women "promote the voice of the indigenous community in the Atlantic Coast." Henríquez said: "I believe women are prepared to confront any challenge in order to help our community. I would like to thank the International Republican Institute for the opportunity it has provided the indigenous population of the Atlantic Coast through its women- and candidate- training sessions." But she has one request for IRI: "These training sessions should be held more frequently and in our native indigenous language."

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