Gender Projects working in Punjab

 

Ø                 Women’s Political School

 

 

 

 

Project Objectives:

The aim of the project is to deliver a holistic and integrated capacity development programme for women councillors, provide adequate and reliable support networks and systems for women participating in political processes and to build the institutional capacities of relevant training institutions, government departments and the civil society. The following activities are envisaged under the project:

 

1. The approach with regard to the wider training of Training of Trainers (ToTs) to be delivered to 36,000 women councillors will primarily continue to be that of ‘mentoring and nurturing’, which entails building resource capacity within the recipient group itself.

2. Support linkages initiatives will also include the mapping of institutions providing relevant capacity and skill trainings and other services in health, education, credit, charity and crisis intervention etc; establishment/strengthening of District Support Networks (DSNs) and Documentation & Resource Centers (DRCs) and strategies will be devised to ensure that the benefits derived are extended to women councillors at the tehsil and community levels.

3. Through information sharing & networking, a data profile of women councillors will be developed and updated; the WPS website will be Updated and operationalised and media strategies will be developed to serve the basis for knowledge networking and information sharing.

4. Institutional strengthening include specialized training modules on leadership, gender-sensitivity/ awareness raising and project design & management will be developed for training institutions, relevant agencies/organizations and governmental and non-governmental institutions.

 

Progress Update:

The active lobbying by the project and the efforts of various other organizations has resulted in approximately 24,508 women being selected at the union level in the local government elections, 2005. During the major chunk of the year there were no new councilors elected therefore the project focused on activities such as training of Social Welfare, Local Government and Women Development Officers on project design and management. The capacity building exercise was meant to assist them in handling projects submitted by women councilors. These trainings were conducted at the National Institute of Public Administration. The curriculum developed was shared with their staff for adoption in their regular courses on project design and management. A similar exercise was also conducted for the research analysts and lead mentors (Master trainers). A mapping exercise of curriculum, brochures and training institutes was undertaken to ensure that there had been stock taking of the work conducted earlier on by various organizations in the field of training of women councilors.

Future Plans:

Training of women councilors and lead mentors are being held in Balochistan, N.W.F.P, Sindh and Punjab. The same activity will be held in the future at District, Tehsil and Union council levels. These trainings and the curriculum are to be institutionalized at various local government academies and other relevant institutions. In Punjab, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Ministry of Women Development and Local Government and Rural Development Department, Government of Punjab according to which women councilors would be trained at Local Government Training Academy, Lalamusa, Punjab. In Sindh these are being conducted at the Muncipal Training Research Institute, Karachi and the Local Government Academy Tandojam. In Balochistan these are being conducted by Rural Development Academy (RDA) while in NWFP Pakistan Rural Development Academy has played a key role in the capacity building of lead mentors (Master trainers).

Other activities include setting up district support networks for women councilors and completion of a data profile exercise of all women councilors.

Ø                        Gender Mainstreaming in Planning & Development Division
Mandate

PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the Gender Mainstreaming Project is to build the capacity of government officials to mainstream gender in the (i) formulation, (ii) implementation, and (iii) monitoring and evaluation of government policies, plans, programmes and projects in all areas of development. The following are the key objectives of this 3-year project:
• Gender sensitization of senior and mid-level Planning and Development (P&D)    officials at the federal, provincial and district levels;
• Develop capacity for gender analysis, planning and monitoring and evaluation;
• Establish gender disaggregated database using information and communication    technology (ICT) skills and competencies;
• Develop institutional mechanisms and procedures for systematic gender    mainstreaming and accountability in government.                                                                                           

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
The basis of the Gender Mainstreaming Project is the Gender Mainstreaming Framework developed after detailed consultation with the stakeholders and finalized with the Planning and Development Division of the Government of Pakistan, and in line with the framework the Project attempts to achieve the five clear-cut objectives common between the two; sensitization, training, gender disaggregated databases, knowledge-based networking, and advocacy for institutionalization of gender mainstreaming responsibility and accountability.
The sensitization aspect has been geared towards policy- decision-makers at very senior positions, whilst the training component has been geared towards that level of government which is dealing more directly in a hands-on manner with policy and development issues. Sensitization also covers the data managers in order to make them more aware of the need for gender disaggregated data, and thus create a demand for it. The hardware requirements have been approximately assessed so that the project can provide for the essential equipment that is required to create and / or modify such databases. Knowledge-based networking in terms of connectivity and creation of discussion forums and groups will involve exercising an innovative approach in order to produce results. In order to support the two objectives of gender disaggregated databases and knowledge-based networking, computer-related and web construction trainings have also been included. In order to create awareness of the need for formal institutionalized systems of allocation of responsibility and channels of accountability for gender mainstreaming, sensitization of legislators has been identified as a tool.

The heart of the project is the planning and development departments, mandated with the development policy planning and project appraisal. However, other key departments are also targeted. This targeting is based on the long-listing of the departments as provided for in the Rules of Business, and then identifying the departments of immediate relevance to the objectives. Thus, a draft targeting strategy is proposed for the future also, by listing the departments as primary, secondary and tertiary targets. The attached departments and the autonomous bodies have not been listed in the table, since they are an area that could not be attended to within the scope of this project. However, based on this tentative listing, it is the primary targets that this project proposes to focus on. The secondary and tertiary target departments can be the focus of a future project / pipe-line project, along with the attached departments and the autonomous bodies.
Departments
Within the departments that this project focuses on, it is the planning wings / planning cells that have been tuned into. It is here that the basic project documents and / or policy proposals are drafted before going to the planning and development departments for appraisal / approval. Therefore, the offices and personnel connected to planning in approximately ten departments have been included in the scope of this project. (There is a slight variation between the provincial governments and between the federal and provincial governments in titles, etc., and how departments are grouped together.)
The following departments have therefore been included in the project ambit

•  Planning and Development Department
•  Education Department
•  Environment Department
•  Finance Department
•  Health Department
•  Labour Department
•  National Institute of Public Administration
•  Public Health Engineering (Water and Sanitation) Department
•  Services and General Administration Department
•  Social Welfare and Women's Development Department
•  Economic Affairs Division

The Gender Mainstreaming Project will be housed in the federal Planning and Development Division, and the provincial Planning and Development Departments. Development in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is planned in the FATA Secretariat, a part of the establishment of the Governor N.-W.F.P., and the implementation of the Project in that secretariat is proposed to be part of the overall N.-W.F.P. capacity building effort. The Federally Administered Northern Areas, though not enjoying the legal status of a province, nevertheless has a secretariat form of administration, and therefore it is proposed that the Project for that area be housed in the Northern Areas Planning and Development Department. Similarly, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir component will be housed in the P&DD AJK.

Education sector work is important for the creation of the human resource base required for sustainable development. Because of its nature, the health department is more aware of gender and gender issues than other line departments, and also recognizes the need for gender disaggregated data. Gender analysis hands-on skills are, however, equally required in this department.

Environment is a cross-sector issue like gender mainstreaming, and for purposes of responsibility has been treated similarly, with the creation of an Environment Department, usually located within another department. The two cross-sector issues are interlinked, and literature and experience has indicated that environmental and sustainable development issues often involve an intimate linkage with gender and women. Environment departments have therefore been added to the target organization list.

Finance Department's role as the funding agency for governmental effort in development is central, and the recognition of gender mainstreaming in this department is of considerable long-term importance. The direct issue relating to this department is of gender budgeting; however, at this stage both sensitization and skills development in the context of gender analysis for mainstreaming would be the primary interest.

Under the Rules of Business, the Economic Affairs Division, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, is the responsible agency for assessment of requirements, programming and negotiations for external economic and technical assistance to Pakistan from various countries and international organizations.

The TNA found the health sector personnel to be relatively more aware of gender and gender issues. However, the role of this main social sector department is central to long-term sustainable development and it is therefore critical that gender sensitive perspectives and relevant skills become inherent in the working of this department.

The National Institutes of Public Administration (NIPAs) exist in all provincial capitals, and are mandated with public sector training programmes, and thus become the natural choice for provision of gender mainstreaming training programmes for the provincial and district governments. The FATA component, as part of the overall N.-W.F.P. component of the project, can use the NIPA located in Peshawar . Alternate arrangements will need to be made for the FANA component of the project. Though NIPAs already include gender sensitization as a component of their major training courses, and have provided short awareness trainings confined to this subject. However, these institutions do not have the in-house capacity to conduct gender analysis skills training, and the necessary capacity will have to be contracted in for the duration of the training courses from the private sector. Therefore, in terms of project implementation NIPAs can be utilized for the rollout facilities for training. In addition to the use of such facilities, personnel from NIPA have also been included as subject / targets of the training so that gender analysis skills are also imparted to some of the permanent NIPA staff.

Water supply (and sanitation) has for some time been considered as women's development activity because of the gender roles assigned by society. The investment in this sector has brought partial results, partly because of the lack of gender analysis exercised in policy and project development. This sector would therefore need to be focused in terms of  sensitization as well as skills development.

Services and General Administration Department, in some provinces bifurcated in two, (and the Establishment Division at the federal level) is the human resource wing of the government, and thus dealing with issues such as recruitment policy, rules governing service conditions, etc. How public sector employment policy affects women is a subject that has so far only had a cursory examination. Women's employment (in both the public and the private sectors) has been advocated by various quarters, and the necessary awareness and skills in the S&GAD (and Establishment Division) will allow for a better policy analysis.

Women's Development Departments have the mandate for policies and programmes related to women, but because of its very nature gender mainstreaming cannot be treated as a sector in the formal governmental structures because much of the substantial work is to be incorporated in the formulation and implementation related decision making processes of the other departments. Therefore, the creation of these departments has only partially addressed the issues, and they continue to focus largely on women specific development issues. Gender sensitization may or may not be a superfluous issue for these departments, but the need for gender analysis skills is understood and recognized. Such skills will allow better analysis as well as greater contribution to the work of the other, related departments.

The project whilst addressing the essential needs of the federal and provincial governments in a prioritized manner does also take into account the results of the devolution of power process being undertaken by the government, and also attempts to address the gender analysis / mainstreaming needs of the district governments. Within this tier of local government, the seven primary groups have been identified, with the focus of attention at this level also being the planning-related Finance and Planning Group of Offices.

Ø                        Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiative

 

 

 

 

Background:

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) refers to a variety of processes and tools aimed at facilitating an assessment of the differential impact of mainstream budgetary expenditures on women and men with cognisance being given to the society’s underpinning gender relations. In Pakistan, gender budgeting was proposed, for the first time in 2001 by the Ministry of Women Development (MOWD) in a paper on “Gender and Poverty” submitted for the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF). Government support for gender-responsive budgeting was also reiterated in the interim and draft Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP) in 2003. Subsequently, an extensive round of consultations was held between UNDP and the Government of Pakistan at the federal, provincial and district level that resulted in the ‘Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiative (GRBI)’.

 

Project Objectives:

The specific objectives of this pilot project are to ensure that government spending addresses the needs of women and men equitably and attends to the needs of marginalized groups; that budgets are reviewed and analyzed through a gender lens in order to better understand the contribution and needs of women in the national economy, and that civil society – government partnership promotes transparency in the determination of government priorities and in public spending. The project envisages the objectives to be achieved via the following five stages:

 

1. Awareness raising and consensus-building requires that easily understandable information, in the form of briefs and handbooks, on gender issues and the differential impacts of budgets and policies on men and women be disseminated amongst the federal, provincial and district government and civil society.

2. Gender-responsive budgeting training for stakeholders envisages building the capacity of stakeholders through an integrated curriculum and a core team of trainers to create an engendered framework for budgetary analysis.

3. Gender analysis of the priority sectors of health, education and population include a team of researchers, who following training, would develop a research agenda for gender analysis in selected social sectors such as health, education and population and would review budgeting methodologies and tools to identify instruments that are gender-responsive.

4. Review of draft research reports at a workshop by all stakeholders to identify gaps in issue research and develop an appropriate strategic advocacy plan.

5. Advocacy activities include meetings with stakeholders at all levels, media discussions, public dialogues and the establishment of a high-level committee to oversee programme implementation.

 

Progress Update:

The Project has developed advocacy material which includes Gender Responsive Budgeting Resource Kit, Gender Responsive Budgeting Awareness Raising Material, Training Manual prepared for concerned Government Ministries and Departments. Awareness raising sessions have been held with Parliamentarians, civil society, government officials for a better understanding of gender responsive budgeting and its differential impact on men and women.

 

This year the sex disaggregated information on civil service employment incorporated in the Government of Punjab Budget Call Circular 2006-2007 paved way for collection of sex-disaggregated data pertaining to line ministries and facilitation of provincial budget unpacking.

 

Three individual Gender Aware Policy Appraisal (GAPA) studies in Education, Health and Population sectors was commissioned to analyze policies and programs funded through the budget from a gender perspective by asking whether policies and their associated resource allocations are likely to reduce or increase gender inequalities. Gender specific inputs provided in the studies are intended to feed in to the sector review reports, prepared under the Medium Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) process.

 

 

Ø                  Gender Justice Through Musalihat Anjuman Project (GJTMAP

GOP, Ministry of LG&RD.

 

              Gender Justice Through Musalihat Anjuman Project (GJTMAP) is an attempt to seek relief for the vulnerable by promoting non-formal community based alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems. ADR platform provided in the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) 2001, in the form of Musalihat Anjuman (MA), is informal, accessible and cost – free forum and, therefore, expected to effectively dispense justice to victims of gender violence and other issues as prescribed by LGO and the Rules of Business (RoBs).    

Project Goal:
“To assist women and other vulnerable sections of society in improving their conditions through safeguarding and promoting their rights and lawful entitlements”

Objectives:

• Constitution and mobilization of the Musalihat Anjumans in all Unions Councils in the project districts (under Section 102, LGO 2001);
• Musalihat Anjuman’s capacity built to dispense gender justice at the community level through Musalihat Anjuman Support Services (MASS);
• Partnerships between judiciary, police and Musalihat Anjuman for accountable, fair and equitable dispensation of justice; and
• Community Advocacy for legal rights of Women and Men’s role in ending violence.

Scope:
The project would cover all union councils of eight districts during the first Phase (2004-06) and another twelve districts in the second phase (2007-2011).  A province wise detail of districts is as follows:

 

 

Ø                              National Plan of Action (NPA)/Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

 

 

                  The National Plan of Action (NPA), as the policy document for women development was finalized in collaboration with the Government Departments and NGOs. The NPA aims at facilitating women’s participation in all spheres of life as well as ensuring protection of women’s rights within the family and society. The platform for action  for women gives key recommendation for overall improvement of women’s condition and status, concentrating on thirteen areas of concerns, which are:-

 

1. Women & Poverty.
2. Education & Training of Women.
3. Women & Health.
4. Violence Against Women.
5. Women & Armed Conflict.
6. Women & the Economy.
7. Women in power & decision making.
8. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women.
9. Human rights of women.

10.Women & the media.

11. Women & the environment.

12. The girl child.

13. Women with disabilities.

 

                 The convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), to which Pakistan acceded in 1996, requires all government departments to ensure the rights to life and security of any kind including sex. It is to guarantee the equal status of women by ensuring that no new, Law is discriminatory towards women at present. Efforts are made to study all such existing laws to bring them in conformity with the standards of human rights and honor killings are to be read as murder.

 

Aim of the Project

Briefly, the aim through NPA is to:-

• Raise awareness on women issues.
• Bring improvement in health, education, training, skill development and income of women.
• Establish mechanism for combating violence against women.
• Women position in the family and the community.
• Strengthen the position of the Girl Child.