Women's empowerment

The project objective overall was on empowering women in eight Pacific Islands. Initially the project was to concentrate on Fiji, but after a number of specific challenges including floods, political instability and the termination of elected councilors in Fiji and the country’s suspension from the Commonwealth, the project had to be redesigned. The focus shifted from elected representatives at municipal level to women working at management and service-delivery levels in local government. The project also moved to become more regional, involving women in local government across the Pacific Islands. The project included gender awareness training, Training of Trainers (ToT) for women working in local government, the creation of a Women in Local Government network and website, multimedia outreach to the community to promote understanding of local government and the crucial role women play in service delivery, and a research and publication component. Although redesign was forced onto project holders by the political climate, it turned out that the local government approach and the regional nature of the project were its major strengths.

The project aimed to prepare Iraqi women for full and equal participation in the democratic process, by equipping them with knowledge of their rights and by providing a practical set of skills to empower them use this knowledge politically. The grantee worked with existing NGOs that were members the Iraq Civic Action Network. Activities included Training of Trainers for NGO participants; internships for young women who were placed with the NGOs; knowledge-sharing workshops and civic forums organized by the trainees to reach out to a wider public, including decision makers and media; and the reinvigoration of a National Committee for the Political Participation of Iraqi Women.

The project aimed to prepare Iraqi women for full and equal participation in the democratic process, by equipping them with knowledge of their rights and by providing a practical set of skills to empower them use this knowledge politically. The grantee worked with existing NGOs that were members the Iraq Civic Action Network. Activities included Training of Trainers for NGO participants; internships for young women who were placed with the NGOs; knowledge-sharing workshops and civic forums organized by the trainees to reach out to a wider public, including decision makers and media; and the reinvigoration of a National Committee for the Political Participation of Iraqi Women.

The project’s objective was to enhance the quality of rural women’s political participation by raising their awareness of fundamental rights; the advantages of democracy and the importance of participation. The grantee aimed to mobilize and motivate rural women to actively participate in political life, and to organize them to take collective efforts on their own behalf.  Activities were targeted at both women and men in 680 communities in Sindh Province, Pakistan, and included data collection, participatory meetings, extensive media campaigns and social gatherings to stimulate community discussion, and the organization of local groups to promote and protect women’s rights. The project was relevant, given the fact that democratic participation in Pakistan, especially of women, was low. Underlying causes included the male-dominated social system, low awareness of fundamental freedoms and democratic rights, and a general lack of confidence in democratic processes.

The project’s objective was to enhance the quality of rural women’s political participation by raising their awareness of fundamental rights; the advantages of democracy and the importance of participation. The grantee aimed to mobilize and motivate rural women to actively participate in political life, and to organize them to take collective efforts on their own behalf.  Activities were targeted at both women and men in 680 communities in Sindh Province, Pakistan, and included data collection, participatory meetings, extensive media campaigns and social gatherings to stimulate community discussion, and the organization of local groups to promote and protect women’s rights. The project was relevant, given the fact that democratic participation in Pakistan, especially of women, was low. Underlying causes included the male-dominated social system, low awareness of fundamental freedoms and democratic rights, and a general lack of confidence in democratic processes.

The project focused on the role of the media as a source of information for women at grassroots level, and as an influencing agent on government and institutional processes, promoting women’s voices and issues in the media. Additionally, the project aimed to build the capacity of advocacy groups to work with the media on behalf of women and other marginalized groups. The project succeeded in bringing women’s issues into the national debate ahead of the political reform process in Kenya. Most prominent was the monthly publication of the online newsletter Kenyan Woman which effectively framed women’s issues to more than 3 million subscribers. Kenyan Woman caught the attention of senior politicians, brought women’s stories to the attention of Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and influenced mainstream media to increase their focus on women’s issues.

The project objective overall was on empowering women in eight Pacific Islands. Initially the project was to concentrate on Fiji, but after a number of specific challenges including floods, political instability and the termination of elected councilors in Fiji and the country’s suspension from the Commonwealth, the project had to be redesigned. The focus shifted from elected representatives at municipal level to women working at management and service-delivery levels in local government. The project also moved to become more regional, involving women in local government across the Pacific Islands. The project included gender awareness training, Training of Trainers (ToT) for women working in local government, the creation of a Women in Local Government network and website, multimedia outreach to the community to promote understanding of local government and the crucial role women play in service delivery, and a research and publication component. Although redesign was forced onto project holders by the political climate, it turned out that the local government approach and the regional nature of the project were its major strengths.

The project had two primary audiences: Roma women’s NGOs and young Roma women activists. There were three additional audiences: local government officials; young people, Roma and non-Roma; and, officials of Roma political parties. This focus sought to address in a practical way the weakness of Roma civil society organizations, and particularly those led by, and working for, Roma women, in undertaking advocacy on behalf of their own people. The grantee accomplished a great deal with the small amount of funds provided. It built on the strategic plan developed for 2008-2010, and its earlier project “Implementation of CEDAW for Romani Women”, as well as follow-up initiatives (2005-2008). Through an extremely careful allocation of funds to different areas of activity, the organization was able to undertake a long list of activities and, thus, achieve its own objective. Yet, from an external perspective, it is apparent that there were insufficient funds for some activities, where follow-up was badly needed.

The project aimed to prepare Iraqi women for full and equal participation in the democratic process, by equipping them with knowledge of their rights and by providing a practical set of skills to empower them use this knowledge politically. The grantee worked with existing NGOs that were members the Iraq Civic Action Network. Activities included Training of Trainers for NGO participants; internships for young women who were placed with the NGOs; knowledge-sharing workshops and civic forums organized by the trainees to reach out to a wider public, including decision makers and media; and the reinvigoration of a National Committee for the Political Participation of Iraqi Women.

The project aimed to address the under representation of women in decision making positions in Jamaica, particularly on the boards of private companies and public commissions. The project did this by: increasing the participation of women through training and awareness building and increasing the participation of women in leadership in community based organizations, including school boards, also through training and awareness building. It also sought to create a national conversation on the need to open spaces for women to participate in decision making. There was also a separate women’s leadership research activity undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago. Although women comprise more than 70% of university graduates in Jamaica, only 13% of parliamentarians are women and only 16% of the board positions in the private sector are filled by women. The project believed that by training 100 women it could make a strategic infusion of talented and enthusiastic women into the boardrooms, and transform their gender dynamics. The project met its main objective of increasing the number of qualified women trained and available for service on public commissions and private sector boards. Some of these women were already high profile leaders and board members, but most were entry and mid-professional women with leadership potential that still remained to be tapped.