WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Lois Capps saw a lot of things that left a lasting impression during her recent trip to Africa, where she and other lawmakers got a close-up look at the continent's emerging democracies.

But something that really impressed her was the cadre of strong women who are newly elected to public office and are playing an important role in reshaping their governments.

"They've elected these women, and the women there kind of stick together," said Capps, a Santa Barbara Democrat.

Capps spent 11 days in Africa with five other Congress members who are part of the House Democracy Assistance Commission. The commission is made up of 20 House members who work to promote and support the development of democratic governments around the world.

The group returned to the United States earlier this week after visiting six countries on the African continent, including Kenya, where many women and girls were the targets of sexual violence after the country's disputed presidential election late last year.

And yet, 15 women were elected to the Kenyan National Assembly during those elections, the most ever in the country's history.

Capps said the women parliamentarians whom she met asked a lot of questions about what it's like to be a woman in the U.S. Congress and suggested forging a working relationship with the women's caucus in the House.

They seemed particularly committed to helping the women in their own country, Capps said.

"The violence against women (in Kenya) is just a powerful occurrence, very terrible and destructive," Capps said. "And the women in any kind of position of leadership are focused on dealing with this. But there are many issues that women face that, if they are elected women, it gives them a real strong motivation to work together."

In Mauritania, a Muslim country in northwest Africa where until fairly recently tradition dictated that women could not be schooled, Capps met with women who have come forward, with their fathers' permission, and emerged as political leaders.

"They've had to do in a very short time, in some of these emerging democracies, what we have taken as the women's suffrage movement 100 years to achieve (in the United States)," Capps said. "It's remarkable."

Capps said her work with the commission and with other democracies around the world "makes me a better member of Congress."

"The more we can strengthen one another's democracies around the world, the goals of peace and living in harmony —whether it's climate change we're working on or poverty reduction — all of these universal goals are something we can accomplish more effectively if we work together," she said.

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