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| Preparatory
meeting for the establishment
of the Gender Task Force
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| Preparatory
meeting for the establishment
of the Gender Task Force
|
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| Collective
photo of the Gender task force
consultative meeting group
|
| |
Kadugli,
11 September 2007 - This
week the first Ministerial Gender
Task Force in South Kordofan state
was established. The Task Force
is composed of 45 civil servants,
25 of which are women, selected
from nine state ministries, in addition
to the Legislative Council, the
State Judiciary and the Office of
the Governor.
Like in many states and areas of
Sudan, a large number of women in
South Kordofan have little access
to health and education, and limited
access to various resources. Women’s
health is threatened by harmful
traditional practices such as female
genital mutilation and yet their
limited participation in the decision-making
mechanisms deprive them from voicing
their concerns. Combined with two
decades of conflict that have consumed
much of the country’s resources,
these factors have played a major
role in slowing down the process
of empowering women.
Today, out of South Kordofan's 20,120
civil servants, only one woman occupies
a decision-making position at the
level of Director General. With
eight women in the State Interim
Legislative Council and one woman
in the State Cabinet, women’s
under-representation in the political
spheres is another disempowering
factor.
However, the contribution of women
on Southern Kordofan’s economy
is quite significant. Women are
credited for contributing directly
to at least half of the agricultural
products as they work up to 15 hours
per day and yet they have less access
to land, credit, marketing facilities
as well as health and agricultural
extension services, advice and packages.
To help identify gender mainstreaming
challenges, opportunities and necessary
actions, UNDP organised during 25th
to 26th August 2007 a gender audit
of ministries dealing with the following
issues: health; education; economy
and investment; local governance
and civil service; culture, information,
youth and sports; rural development
and water resources; and social
welfare, women and children.
As a follow up to this gender audit
exercise that was organized in partnership
with the state Ministry of Social
Welfare, Women and Children (MOSWWC),
UNDP conducted a workshop that helped
validate the audit results and develop
gender mainstreaming action plans.
South
Kordofan’s first Gender Task
Force
The Gender Task Force is composed
of 25 women and 20 men, all working
as civil servants in South Kordofan.
The Task Force members were selected
from the above-mentioned ministries,
in addition to the Legislative Council,
the State Judiciary and the Office
of the Governor. They will represent
their respective institutions in
the gender mainstreaming process
and will carry out the following
functions:
- Train civil servants in each public
sector organization on gender issues
- Engage in advocacy, lobbying and
networking activities for the promotion
of gender concerns in the State
- Participate and audit the gender-responsiveness
of planning, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of development policies,
Programmemes and projects
- Participate and audit the gender-responsiveness
of Ministerial and state budgets
- Develop and disseminate sector-based
gender mainstreaming guidelines.
- Identify gender challenges and
opportunities in public institutions
through “in-house” gender
needs assessments
- Develop gender policies for public
institutions.
- Develop and support the implementation
of gender integration action plans
in public institutions.
- Participate in the preparation
and dissemination of Gender Behavioral
Change and Communication materials.
- Contribute to the monthly Gender
Task Force meeting organized by
MOSWWC.
- Collaborate with other organizations
(both governmental and non-governmental)
to promote gender equality in South
Kordofan State.
UNDP’s
Efforts Towards Achieving the MDGs
The Millennium Development Goal
No.3 aims “to promote gender
equality and empower women”.
To support the full participation
of Sudanese women in the political
and economic lives, UNDP’s
role is to also ensure that the
national and state plans and strategies
mainstream gender.
In South Kordofan, UNDP’s
support to the establishment of
the Gender Task Force is part of
the Democratic Governance and Capacity
Building project. One of the project’s
key goals is to support the mainstreaming
of gender in both Governmental and
Civil Society Organizations in South
Kordofan through the following actions:
- Develop a gender capacity training
curriculum
- Organize and conduct the Gender
Training of Trainers for the members
of the Gender Task Force
- Provide the MOSWWC with the necessary
equipment such as computers, printers,
and photocopiers
- Provide funding to cover direct
Gender training cost.
- Work with the United Nations Mission
In Sudan (UNMIS) and the United
Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM) to recruit a UN Volunteer
National Gender expert to serve
in the Ministry of Social Welfare,
Women and Children
- Provide technical support for
the development of Gender policies,
laws and action plans.
- Provide backstopping, mentoring
and coaching support
A
Step Towards Affirmative Action
The support provided by the Government
of South Kordofan state to this
initiative stems from its eagerness
to improve the situation of women
in the area. It is also a response
to the call of the State Interim
Constitution that was ratified in
December 2006, emphasizing the rights
of women in social and political
spheres. The Constitution also calls
for positive discrimination, also
known as the “affirmative
action”, in order to increase
the representation of women in areas
of employment, education, business,
and decision-making positions from
which they have been historically
excluded. To this end, the government
has tasked the Ministry of Social
Welfare, Women and Children (MOSWWC)
with setting up the structures and
process needed for mainstreaming
gender at state, locality, and community
levels. These policy steps mark
a new window of opportunity for
women in South Kordofan. However,
much work remains to be done for
gender equality in South Kordofan
as well as the rest of the country.
Gender
Mainstreaming
“Mainstreaming a gender perspective
is the process of assessing the
implications for women and men of
any planned action, including legislation,
policies or Programmemes, in any
area and at all levels. It is a
strategy for making the concerns
and experiences of women as well
as of men an integral part of the
design, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of policies and Programmemes
in all political, economic and societal
spheres, so that women and men benefit
equally, and inequality is not perpetuated.
The ultimate goal of mainstreaming
is to achieve gender equality.”
- United Nations Economic and Social
Council, 1997
For more information,
please contact:
Lealem Berhanu Dinku; Senior Technical
Advisor, UNDP Sudan - Democratic
Governance, Kadugli Offce, lealem.berhanu@undp.org
Aicha Elbasri; Communications Manager,
UNDP Sudan, aicha.elbasri@undp.org
