LESSON
Lesson Learned: Promotion of Women’s Empowerment and Rights in Somalia
The engagement of “community catalysts/mobilizers” included men in leadership positions within the communities. These men were recruited to spread the messages of women’s empowerment in conjunction with the grassroots campaigns. One community catalyst interviewed was a teacher and religious leader who was also consulted on the nature of the messages and said he considered them “excellent”. Another religious leader said his job was to “undo communities’ negative views on women’s rights and empowerment” and to help change people’s perceptions, including those of parents so that they allowed their daughters to explore their potential “even by seeking leadership positions”. The community catalysts also helped smooth the way for CSOs to gain access to regional administrations. Several of those interviewed expressed their satisfaction at having been consulted and then brought into the project.
Project Partner
Centre for Education and Development
Project Description
To increase representation and participation of women in social, economic and political activities in Somalia, the project focused on training and providing support to 20 CSO partners, through mentoring, exchanges, and networking. Grassroots awareness was raised through the CSOs and via the media, as well as through a series of school debates. Advocacy targeting regional and national officials was carried out through meetings and the development of regional and national strategies on women’s empowerment. A final component of the project tested the new capacity of these CSOs, by awarding 10 USD2,000 grants to CSOs which submitted the most innovative projects on women’s empowerment.
The project was well designed, with a number of components that helped it both to empower women in the 20 participating CSOs and beyond. It was also timely, given discussions on a new Constitution and elections announced for 2016. The actions planned were carried out and met their targets. There were no superfluous components in the project; each was designed to add value to other parts of the project.
Report
Evaluation Date
June 2016
Theme
Country