women

Considering that 24 per cent of rural women in Haïti are farmers, issues around access to land, management and exploitation of natural resources are hugely important. In both the North and North-East departments where 50 per cent of the population rely on farming activities to live, land issues in can be highly contested and become a source of conflict. To addresses the issues faced by rural Haitian women farmers, UNDEF funded a project focusing on women’s access to ICT. The project was highly effective in both building skills and strengthening the capacity of women to network and lobby for their rights. Through the activities of the project, rural women’s capacities to lobby for results were increased. The use of technology to achieve lobbying outcomes was innovative and efficient, leading to direct benefits in the five target communities. The project was relevant and facilitated the establishment of dialogue between grassroots organizations and local authorities. The implementing agency also efficiently managed high-level outputs remaining within the project plan.

The project's objective was to strengthen institutional capacity of three independent CSOs working with rural women’s groups so that they could establish associations of self-help groups and promote inclusive participatory dialogue with authorities. Working from a UNDP model, the project focused on three aspects: transparency and accountability; rights awareness and advocacy; and linkages with other community-level groups. The project was exemplary in its effectiveness, both in terms of the clarity of outcomes to be achieved (and activities to achieve them) and of quantitative and qualitative standards of achievement. It raised awareness of voters’ and women’s rights, and initiated engagement between local officials and rural communities. This is also an example of a project where sustainability was included in the design. The capacity building activities included supporting partner organizations achieve a degree of financial independence, by providing technical advice on project design and management, and by helping them develop internal governance and accountability systems.

The project's objective was to strengthen institutional capacity of three independent CSOs working with rural women’s groups so that they could establish associations of self-help groups and promote inclusive participatory dialogue with authorities. Working from a UNDP model, the project focused on three aspects: transparency and accountability; rights awareness and advocacy; and linkages with other community-level groups. The project was exemplary in its effectiveness, both in terms of the clarity of outcomes to be achieved (and activities to achieve them) and of quantitative and qualitative standards of achievement. It raised awareness of voters’ and women’s rights, and initiated engagement between local officials and rural communities. This is also an example of a project where sustainability was included in the design. The capacity building activities included supporting partner organizations achieve a degree of financial independence, by providing technical advice on project design and management, and by helping them develop internal governance and accountability systems.

The overall objective of the project was to reinforce community dialogue and participatory democracy in the Western part of Cote d’Ivoire, with a view to enhancing social cohesion and the enhancement of democratic values at local level. To achieve this objective, the project had three outputs: Civil society organizations (CSOs) and the authorities are better equipped to use community support techniques; CSO’s providing support to communities on the management of conflicts; and enhanced involvement of local communities in development initiatives. The project was remarkably relevant, in that it correctly identified the lack of social cohesion as a major risk for conflict returning to the target areas. The project developed strategies and activities that specifically addressed the needs of the local communities and those of the CSOs working with them. However, the project design phase did not sufficiently involve the communities and CSOs, and the project should have involved more technical experts.

Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan sought to strengthen the voice of civil society and foster sustainable democratic practices within Afghanistan by generating a deeper public debate among women and youth groups around the 2014 presidential electoral process. The project lost relevance however in implementation. Only a few activities were done in the pre-electoral period and only a portion of the intended CSO-journalist elements were done. In addition, the predominate use of Pashto in the round tables and reporting, narrowed its relevance to the two-thirds of the country that use Dari.

The global objective of the project was to promote inclusive democracy as a key component for the country to emerge from political crisis and to set the ground for stable governance. It targeted two groups; the participants in formal politics which included women candidates and elected representatives, institutions and political parties and more general, the wider public. Specifically, the project aimed to increase the priority of gender issues and the number of women representatives in policy-making. It also aimed to raise awareness and acceptance women participating as candidates and voters in public and political affairs. The grantee’s intervention strategy relied on using existing Malagasy women’s associations and networks in order to push for the fulfilment of commitments made under international and regional instruments ratified by Madagascar, in particular a Protocol of the Southern African Development Community which had a parity goal of 50 per cent in elected positions. In a context marked by recurrent political crises, the project contributed in a relevant way to address the socio-political burdens that prevent women from participating as citizens and decision-makers.

The project’s objective was to reinforce the political participation of former slaves, by promoting the equality of rights between former slaves (Harratines) and former masters (Bydhanes) in order to maintain inter-community peace in the region of Hoch El Gharbi, desert areas located in the South-East of Mauritania. The project was implemented in 40 villages including 120 Adwabas (isolated areas populated by former slaves), and focused on Harratines’ literacy, civic education, community capacity building and inter-community dialogue between them and the Bydhanes. Various factors that remained unaddressed limited the project’s relevance: including attitudes towards slavery and lack of engagement from authorities on this issue. In addition the Harratines do not have the operational and institutional capacity to represent their own interests in the political arena.

The project targeted the Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (TANGO) in the Gambia, and more specifically its 121 member NGOs (including the staff of some 60 NGOs) including over 2,000 members (community based organizations, religious and cultural bodies, youth organizations, trade unions and farmer associations). While the country has a plan for decentralization, the implementation of the plan has been incomplete. Civil society in the country has lacked advocacy capacity and communication channels to cooperate with regional and local level administrations so that decision making takes into account the most pressing needs of citizens.  The project attempted to increase the level of understanding between government and civil society about the positive effect that joint dialogue could have while aiming to increase the association of NGO members’ capacity to effectively engage with the government on issues of concern to civil society. The project in most cases achieved or exceeded the targeted outputs. Beneficiaries praised the usefulness of the advocacy strategy framework tool the project introduced. In addition, advocacy skills trainees confirmed that the knowledge they acquired serve their professional needs. In addition, the project’s communication forum effectively informed the public discussion about discrepancies between legal provisions and current policies.

The project’s objective was to increase the number of rural women in Côte d’Ivoire participating in the democratic process, specifically in decision-making. In order to do this, the project set out to raise awareness among rural women of their political and civil rights; and increase the number of informed rural women able to participate in electoral processes either as candidates or as voters. The activities were designed to take into account the post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, taking into account that women make up the largest proportion of the voting population. The decision to intervene in the western part of the country, which was particularly affected by the war and where women became victims of sexual and gender based violence allowed a more targeted response to the specific needs of the beneficiary populations.

The project’s general objective was to increase access to justice for marginalized groups among the rural population of the southern district of Kamonyi, including people living with HIV/AIDS and the Twa ethnic minority. The project document highlighted that access to justice in Rwanda was a privilege reserved for the elite: an urban prerogative that discriminates against uneducated, low-income populations living largely in rural areas. The project was built around three main areas of activity: providing direct access to free legal assistance, through the opening and daily operation of a Legal Aid Clinic in the rural district of Kamonyi; setting up a citizens’ system and strengthening local capacity to address judicial issues through the education and training of paralegals; and creating a responsible and solidarity-based dynamic where law students provided direct legal as part of their school curriculum. The project was highly relevant, as it was tailored to local legal mechanisms put in place by the national framework to reform and decentralize the justice system. Overall the project improved legal structures and services in the Kamnoyi district and contributed to greater justice at the local level.