Gender Mainstreaming and Realizing Women

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Gender Mainstreaming and Realizing Womens
Rights (Nigeria)Bola Fajemirokun
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Introduction

• Case study describes work done under the poverty
  to economic justice study of 2004 and follow-up.
• Studt coincided with launch of Phase 1 of Country
  PRSP in 2004, i.e. National Economic Empowerment
  and Development Strategy, NEEDS.
• Feminization of poverty acknowledged in NEEDS.
• Study focus what strategic actions are necessary
  to improve womens economic position in Nigeria?

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Partners

• Two NGOs
• Devt. Initiatives Network, DIN (with the support
  of the Ford Foundation) policy analysis Lagos
  metro surveys.
• Social and Economic Rights Action Centre, SERAC
  (with the support of the Global Fund for Women)
  campaigns dissemination.

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Actions

• Analysis of non-governmental and governmental
  actions, which have a bearing on womens economic
  status or condition. Four categories
• National policies on women (2000), HIV/AIDS
  (2003), population for sustainable development.
• Social and related legislation, e.g. human rights
  frameworks, workplace entitlements, social
  benefits (pensions, health insurance, housing
  credits).

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Actions (contd)

• Institutions, e.g Fed. Ministry of Women Affairs
  (est. 1995), Nat. Comm. for Women, Nat. Centre
  for Womens Devt, Small Medium Enterprises
  Devt. Agency,SMEDAN (est. 2003).
• Poverty reduction programmes, e.g. Govt
  microcredit schemes, Nat. Poverty Eradication
  Programme (since 1999).
• In addition, Lagos metro area survey of 150
  respondents.

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Results

• Robust nat. policy frameworks that are in
  conformity with inter. treaty obligations.
• Gender targets specified./Gender mainstreaming
  promoted in key policies and in NEEDS.
• But with regards to institutions and poverty
  reduction programmes, no evidence of gender
  mainstreaming being done.
• Sex-disaggregated data not being collected.
• Increased spending on poverty reduction but
  gender impacts of govt budgets and programmes
  difficult to assess. Access to information
  difficult.

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Challenges

• Limited involvement of women in political
  decision-making (state national).
• Only 20 of the 36 States have female
  representation in State legislature.
• NASS Out of a total of 109 senators in the
  Senate, there are only three female senators. In
  the House of Representatives, out of a total of
  360 members, there are only 21 female members.

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Challenges (contd)

• Absence of freedom of information laws.
• Unavailability of accurate, up-to-date
  sex-disaggregated data from public institutions.

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Recommendations

• Womens rights, including their economic rights,
  need to be promoted and protected, e.g. by
  reinforcing Social Charter in NEEDS and other
  policy commitments though new legislation.
• Use gender mainstreaming to ensure that
  government promotes gender balance in plans,
  programmes and projects.
• Poverty multi-dimensional. Access to social
  services just as important as income levels.
  Gender budget work to determine gender impacts of
  fiscal spending activities of govt. Not
  specifically mentioned in NEEDS and other
  policies.

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Moving Forward

• CSO-government collaborations on gender budget
  work especially at municipal and State levels.
• This will facilitate accountability and
  transparency in public institutions and finances.

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Example new project

• Gender Budget Transparency Accountability
  Project, 2006-2008.
• Geographical focus Lagos State.
• Partners DIN supported by European Union and in
  cooperation with Lagos State Budget Ministry.
• VIP MOU concluded with Lagos State Budget
  Ministry in June 2006 to guarantee access to
  municipal and state planning budget officers
  and budget docs.

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Emerging policy process

• Proposed transformation of Nat. Policy on Women
  to Nat. Gender Policy.
• Opportunities for CSOs involvement in zonal
  consultations and submissions of memoranda.
• Aims
• To accelerate gender mainstreaming through new
  administrative practices, e.g. appt. of gender
  desk officers mandatory collection of
  sex-disaggregated data in the public sector.
• To institutionalize gender budget analysis.