Group items tagged

The paper argues that successful service delivery to poor people requires that clients have voice and influence in the process of service design and delivery. It presents methods - such as participatory planning and gender budgeting - to strengthen the voice of poor women, and help ensure that both women's and men's concerns and priorities are taken into account. But it also recognises that tools and training are not enough; if women's perspectives on poverty reduction priorities disappear once the consultative stage is over, or if the results of a gender budgeting process are ignored, then nothing will change. Women's organisations, other civil society organisations and donors therefore have an important role to play in holding governments and providers accountable with respect to women's empowerment and gender equality. Guidelines are presented to support donors in strengthening accountability with respect to public services. These include: provide and demand sex-disaggregated data in all documents to make gender biases visible, promote gender auditing systems and gender budgeting initiatives, and carry out assessments and evaluations to measure outcomes and impact of service delivery with regard to gender equality.'

'Women are increasingly significant as national and international migrants, and it is now evident that the complex relationship between migration and human development operates in gender differentiated ways. However, because migration policy has typically been gender-blind, an explicit gender perspective is necessary. This paper attempts this, beginning with an examination of recent trends in women's migration, internationally and within nations. It then considers the implications of the socio-economic context of the sending location for women migrants. The process of migration, and how that can be gender-differentiated, is discussed with particular reference to the various types of female migration that are common: marriage migration, family migration, forced migration, migration for work. These can be further disaggregated into legal and irregular migration, all of which affect and the issues and problems of women migrants in the process of migration and in the destination country. The manifold and complex gendered effects of migration are discussed with reference to varied experiences. Women migrants' relations with the sending households and the issues relevant for returning migrants are also considered. The final section provides some recommendations for public policy for migration through a gender lens.'

Recently, gender perspectives have received more attention from various stakeholders due to consistent global advocacy and awareness-raising efforts that highlighted the importance of gender equality in disaster risk reduction. However, progress in mainstreaming gender perspectives into disaster risk reduction remains inadequate. Gender considerations are still largely marginalized from the disaster risk reduction process. Based on information provided in national reports on disaster risk reduction, such marginalization of women is especially true at the national level. In daily realities, women are key victims as well as resilient forces to natural disasters. Sri-Lanka Disaster Management Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe, talks about the role played by women in disaster risk reduction and how gender issues have to be linked to the sustainable development goals nations want to achieve.

'This paper highlights the fact that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) do not directly address the issue of adult basic education and literacy, in spite of these being essential for achieving the Millennium targets. It explores the potential of adult basic education with gender equality to be transformatory for individuals, and for groups working to address key issues, such as gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS. The role of governments and other key agencies in relation to gender equality and adult basic education is also explored. The paper concludes with a discussion of how to develop longer-term approaches to gender equality, adult basic education, and literacy.'

'Why do some countries succeed in promoting gender parity and equality in education while others do not? The answer often given is 'political will'. All too often, however, no further explanation is offered. There has been little effort to understand why governments are unwilling or unable to change their policies and priorities to achieve equal access to education for girls and boys, as expressed in the third Millennium Development Goal. This paper considers the concept of political will and explores the role that it plays in improving gender parity and equality in education.'

In spite of the enshrining anti-poverty programs and objectives of the poverty eradication programs contained in India's five year plans, women's poverty in India, even after 58 years of independence, is glaring. This paper, based on a field survey, addresses the issues of economic constraints and the denial of women's access to productive assets in the form of land ownership and human capital such as education, skill-training. The article contributes to the overall picture of female poverty at the national level. The author finds an exaggerated emphasis being placed on women laborers and inadequate economic opportunities among them as the major obstacle to reducing female poverty. Because of these constraints and discrimination, women enter into the unorganized sector, i.e. the agriculture sector. This paper examines how lack of skills, heavy physical work of different types, long hours of work with limited payment, lack of guarantee of minimum wages, lack of job security, lack of minimum facilities at the work place are the characteristics of the informal sector which contribute to women's economic disempowerment. With regard to the economic position of Indian women, it is clearly evident that India is principally an agricultural economy, and despite their significant contributions to economic production, they are far from equal to men. Land, for example, is a critical asset in rural areas. Evidence points to gender disparities in access to this and other assets necessary for poverty reduction. Having rights to land is a crucial factor in determining how people will ensure their basic livelihood. In all cases women's more limited access to these assets hamper their efforts to reduce poverty and diminishes the effectiveness of poverty reduction more generally. Although the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution (in its preamble with respect to fundamental rights, fundamental duties and directive principles) with respect to

'Failure to achieve gender equality in education is often blamed on 'weak capacity'. This paper illustrates the ways in which individual, organisational, and institutional capacity all play important roles in producing positive results for girls. It is essential to recognise that these different forms of capacity are related, in order to prevent the disappearance of policies and strategies produced with the aim of achieving gender equality in education.'

'Failure to achieve gender equality in education is often blamed on 'weak capacity'. This paper illustrates the ways in which individual, organisational, and institutional capacity all play important roles in producing positive results for girls. It is essential to recognise that these different forms of capacity are related, in order to prevent the disappearance of policies and strategies produced with the aim of achieving gender equality in education.'

'Historically and across a diverse range of countries, women from disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups have tended to provide care services to meet the needs of the more powerful social groups, while their own needs for care have been downplayed and neglected. This paper by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development traces the evolution of ideas in the area of gender and care, and analyses some of the main strands of thinking. The author analyses the contribution of feminist economics to the conceptualisation, as well as the measurement and valuation, of the unpaid economy, including its care components. The author shows how in approaching the issue of care from their distinct disciplinary perspectives in social policy and sociology, gender analyses of welfare regimes have contributed to the theorisation of care in important ways, some of which intersects with the work of feminist economists.'

'Jamillah Karim takes an extremely complex and contentious set of topics - race, class, gender and faith - and skillfully examines them within the framework of the ummah, or the Muslim community. American Muslim Women is an ethnographic account, but it is also a deeply personal look into the lives of a group of women whose voices are not typically heard in American society.'

'Women are often excluded from decision-making, from the household up to the highest levels of policymaking. Women.s equal participation in governance is, therefore, an important end in itself - a recognition of their right to speak and be heard. More broadly, it is a means to social transformation. Decisions made and policies implemented by governance institutions at global, national and local levels help to shape perceptions of the roles that women and men play in society, as well as determining their access to rights and resources. Involving women in defining these policies and processes, and in influencing the institutions that produce them, makes it more likely they will respond to the different needs and situations of both women and men, and contribute to gender equality.'(source:BRIDGE, April 2009,pdf:82 pages )

'Because of deep-rooted gender inequalities, and because of the large population of South Asia, the region has the highest number of out-of-school girls in the world. This paper outlines some of the issues confronting practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in girls' education in South Asia, and explores what they can do to move towards high-quality and gender-equitable education for all.'

This 2007 report 'provides a framework for policy makers to use in establishing what sectors of the economy and society are the most strategically relevant to women's development goals. It will help them make informed decisions towards a vibrant and competitive national knowledge society, taking full advantage of a country's human resources. 'In order to achieve this, data are needed: data that provide the best and most useful information on gendered opportunities and challenges, data that will allow the best decisions to be made. The report aims to provide the framework for the necessary data analysis to achieve these goals.'

'News about Muslim women in America is usually saddled with the same woeful tales-abusive husbands, gruesome honor killings and the occasional controversy over headscarves. The tales are poignant, political and sad. Which is why American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class and Gender within the Ummah (NYU Press) by Spelman College Professor of Religious Studies Jamillah Karim is a welcome departure from the usual portrayals of Muslim women in the U.S. as victims of their religion.'

This booklet provides a snapshot of UNFPA's programming efforts to advance gender equality and empower women. It reports on activities undertaken in various priority areas like empowerment, reproductive health, youth and adolescent, conflict and emergency situations, etc. The report is based on contributions from the global, regional and country levels over the course of two years (2007-2008).'

'What interventions are needed to improve the legal position of women, especially in Muslim societies, so that women's rights exist not only on paper but are realised in practice? Drawing on interviews conducted in Egypt, Yemen and Jordan in early 2008 with affected individuals, activists and people involved in development projects, this report proposes three key areas of action: formal legal reforms, improving women's access to their rights, and working closely with traditional and religious authorities to spread knowledge about existing laws. It presents case studies of interventions taking place in relation to these three areas, including an example of how the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW) lobbied for gender equality in nationality law in Egypt, a study of a national coalition against underage marriage in Jordan, and an example of how cooperation with male and female Islamic preachers in Yemen was successful in raising awareness of existing laws to protect women's rights. A central factor in the success of all the projects presented was the combination of lobbying with training measures and action research. Documentaries and public hearings at which affected women could tell their own stories proved to be particularly effective in lobbying and advocacy. Projects with judges (male and if possible also female), with employees of the judiciary and with the police force were also found to bring about positive changes.'

Building on a legacy spanning three decades, UNFPA Country Offices in the Asia-Pacific region and their faith-based partners came together for a two-day consultation to assess the nature and impact of these partnerships in the areas of maternal health, gender equality, migration and youth welfare. This report documents the experiences and lessons learned from the varied initiatives of faith-based organizations, as well as the best practices emanating from these strategic alliances around the region. The discussions, recommendations for action and the many voices of critical faith-based actors, are all documented in this report.

This resource book on women's health needs and problems in Africa. Designed for use by health workers and others who provide information and counseling to women at the community level. It addresses reproduction and sexuality, pregnancy and childbirth, adolescent health, menopause, gender issues, and social and cultural determinants of women's health.

'The objective of the Sindh Education Sector Reform Project for Pakistan is to increase school participation, reduce gender and rural/urban disparities in schooling outcomes, increase retention and transition, and improve quality. The key potential environmental and safety issues related to the program include: (i) liquid and solid wastes generated during school construction and operation; (ii) lack of adequate measures, both at the design and construction stages, to address the schools´ vulnerabilities to natural disasters (both in new and rehabilitated schools); (iii) drinking water contamination and lack of adequate sanitation facilities; (iv) lack of education programs for children in personal hygiene and safety procedures during emergencies; (v) lack of low-cost renewable power systems in schools located in off-grid areas, resulting in an inadequate learning environment for children (excessive heat and poor lightning), and preventing the use of low-cost water decontamination techniques; and (vi) land acquisition issues.

'What are the impacts of of parental death and chronic poverty on children's education and health in Indonesia? This paper estimates the short- and long-term effects of maternal and paternal death on children's school enrolment, educational attainment and health in Indonesia, and compare it with the effect of chronic poverty. The authors also investigate whether there are any gender dimensions of the effects.'