Monday, March 17, 2008 Editorial: For women to matter
“DILI man gud kalihok ang mga kababayn-an og way funding (women’s programs need funding).”
Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale stressed the need for financing to sustain advocacies promoting women’s welfare. According to Jujemay G. Awit’s March 8 Sun.Star Cebu report of the 8th Women’s Congress in Cebu, Magpale singled out the dearth of funds for gender and development (GAD) programs at the local government units (LGUs).
The sentiments of the chairperson of the Provincial Women’s Commission, which sponsored the congress attended by more than 700 women’s groups, mirror the national predicament.
GAD budget
For this reason, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) bannered for the 2008 Women’s Month the theme of the 52nd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women: “Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.”
According to the www.news.ops.gov.ph, this year’s local theme, “Cedaw ng Bayan: Yaman ng Kababaihan” will focus on generating resources to finance initiatives on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
To address the concerns of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), the NCRFW intends to lead a nationwide campaign to promote the use of the GAD budget to implement gender equality and women’s empowerment programs at the national and local levels, as well as review gender mainstreaming efforts related to gender budgeting.
Magpale observed that many LGU leaders do not consider GAD as a priority. NCRFW also aims to explore partnerships and collaboration with nongovernment organizations (NGOs), development institutions and the private sector for resource generation initiatives.
Mainstreaming
Substantial work remains to be done to mainstream GAD in the public and private spheres. According to the NCRFW, there are four entry points so development planning can incorporate gender equality and women empowerment: policy, people, enabling mechanisms, and programs and projects.
In terms of policy, there is no lack of official statements and pronouncements endorsing gender mainstreaming as a critical and legitimate concern at local and national level, in LGUs and national government agencies (NGAs), and in the private and public sectors.
At the people’s level, awareness-raising and education must be carried out for stakeholders to assume four critical roles. As sponsor, an individual or group must act on the power to sanction or legitimize change. Foreseeing the changes needed to correct oppressive or unfair situations, sponsors channel the new priorities through their institutions. Heads of NGOs, LGUs and NGAs reinforce GAD mainstreaming to create the environment to enable projects to be made on time and within budget.
GAD mainstreaming is also dependent on change agents. The people responsible for implementing GAD programs and projects should be trained in diagnosing potential problems, developing an appropriate plan to address these issues, and executing such plan to achieve the necessary changes.
As with other spheres of development work, GAD sponsors and change agents must regard target groups or communities as co-equals and partners, not mere recipients of assistance. For GAD interventions to be sustained, the target partners participate from needs identification to implementation and monitoring. Gender sensitivity can help participants, specially males, review and change perceptions and predispositions in gender relations.
Throughout the process, advocates are important for lobbying and monitoring to ensure that processes are on track in mainstreaming GAD. Specifically when public funds are involved, stakeholders ensure that resources are properly allocated and accounted for.
To make GAD a reality, more than funding is involved.
