VOICES

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Engendering the Eleventh Five Year Plan

• VOICES
• Women Redefining Development
• A Civil Society Initiative to
• Engender the 11th Plan
• August 29,2006

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PROCESS

• This effort is a civil society initiative
  coordinated by The National Alliance of Women
  (NAWO), supported by the MWCD, UNIFEM and UNDP

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Think Tank

• The Think Tank is a group of representatives of
  womens organisations, activists, researchers,
  and academicians who have designed and guided the
  process.
• In January 2006, the Think Tank made a
  presentation to the Planning Commission on key
  gender concerns that needed to addressed in the
  Approach Paper

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Regional/National Consultations

• Were held to include grassroots womens voices,
  concerns and inputs into the 11th Plan. Over 1000
  women participated in
• Five Regional Consultations
• Two National Consultations

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National and Regional Consultations

• States/UTs Covered under the Regions
• Northern Regional Consultation
• Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana,
  Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal and
  Chandigarh
• 2 North East Regional Consultation
• Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland, Meghalya,
• Mizoram,Tripura,Manipur
• 3 Eastern Regional Consultation
• West Bengal, Bihar, Orrissa, Jharkhand,Sikkim,
  Lakshwadeep
• 4 Southern Regional Consultation
• Karnatka, Tamil Nadu, Kerela, Pondecherry,
  Andhra Pradesh
• 5 Western Regional Consultation
• Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya
  Pradesh, Chhattisgarh , Dadra Nagar Haveli and
  Daman and Diu

Interface with The Planning Commission August
29, 2006
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Approach

• Gender Equality and Gender Justice must be
  articulated as one of the Central Focus in the
  11th Plan
• The development process must be engendered to
  strengthen the links between economic growth and
  gender justice

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• There must be an integrated and inter sectoral
  approach. Restricting the focus to womens
  issues will yield limited results
• Gender must be addressed across its inter-
  sectional dimensions of caste, class, tribal
  status, poverty and other exclusions
• The goal would be to engender every sector

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Recommendations

• Overall Recommendations
• Cross Sectoral Recommendations

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Overall Recommendations

• Promote the idea of W- Governance to ensure the
  presence of women at levels of decision / policy
  making levels
• Better accountability mechanisms are required to
  ensure that the State adheres to its own laws

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• Corruption perception index of all Government
  departments, public sector enterprises, banks can
  be developed to reduce corruption
• Reconstruct Poverty Line to reflect economic
  reality and measures of poverty should include
  nutritious food security and basic amenities
• Funds allocated for womens projects to be
  utilised completely - ensure no lapsed funds

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Eliminate All Forms of VAW- A Prerequisite of
Development

• Ensure time bound implementation of existing
  laws to eliminate VAW with appropriate
  monitoring mechanisms, budgetary allocation
  provide safe and sensitized support services
  with shelter homes at each District and Fast
  Track Courts

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• Separate Ministry for Women with Cabinet Rank
• Sex disaggregated data should be made compulsory
  for every government department, Public Sector
  Unit, Pvt. Sector, Corporate etc. and published
  annually

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1. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

• Increase public investment in agriculture
• A minimum of 10 of GDP should be invested and
  50 of the new investment be made in rural
  activities directly benefiting women.
• Ensure individual ownership rights of women for
  productive assets including land and animals.

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• Womens access and control of watersheds, check
  dams, wastelands, community bio gas plants, etc
  to be ensured through public funding.
• Need of a measurable plan to allot land for Dalit
  and tribal women in a stipulated period - for a
  specific time and a specific amount
• Providing incentives such as provision of higher
  subsidies for land development, irrigation,
  credit and a 50 rebate on transfer fee, house
  tax, sales tax and stamp duties on women owned
  land, housing and rural industries

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• In case of displacement Rehabilitation policy
  should ensure land for land.
• Ensure employment for displaced agricultural
  workers.
• Women should be seen as individuals, not as
  subjects of men. Entitlements and settlements
  should be ensured separately
• Government schemes to lease land to womens
  groups for womens collective economic
  activities.

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• Preventive and Corrective measures to mitigate
  farmers suicide with Counselling services for
  farmers and their families
• Documenting cases of farmers and families who
  have committed suicide pay liberal compensation
  to the victims families, especially women.
• Counter trade liberalisation of agriculture and
  non agriculture activities

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2. Ministry of Commerce and Industry

• Conditions for workers in private companies,
  EPZs, SEZs should be gender sensitive.
• Special attention should be given to womens
  health needs at all times, and especially during
  pregnancy.

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3 Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution

• There should be a more workable and efficient
  scheme to ensure that poor and especially
  women-headed households, old and destitute women
  get adequate food regularly at fair prices.
• Universalisation of PDS in all rural, urban and
  tribal areas.
• Individual, not family ration cards, should be
  issued to each citizen.

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4. Ministry of Environment and Forest

• Need for scientific policy for mining that
  binds every state
• Need for review of social and ecological
  impact of existing dams and their beneficial
  claims

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5. Ministry of Finance

• Gender budgeting to be introduced in every
  Ministry, Department, and special cells to be
  instituted in all departments at the state and
  local level.
• Withdrawal of VAT on all food items and selected
  semi-processed food items, and no full
  convertibility of the Rupee.

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6. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

• .

• Right to health to be ensured
• Life cycle approach to be implemented
• Increase government spending from 0.9 to 3 GDP
  with matching funds from the State

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• Ensure women friendly free, comprehensive Primary
  Health Care that is accessible (to marginalized
  populations- migrants, sex workers, hijras etc.
  and disable friendly), affordable with full
  preventive and curative care at the PHC level

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• Upgrade at least 50-60 SCs and PHCs as
  24x7 round the clock and make the phase wise
  information of the Plan available to all women
  in the community.
• Engender medical education with a holistic
  perspective on womens health (moving beyond
  reproductive health) and mainstream womens
  health concerns in the education
  system- primary to higher- in the
  formal,informal and non- formal sector.

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• Law Policy and Guidelines
• Develop a national policy on mental health in
  consultation with mental health activists with
  adequate budget provisions at centre and state
  level
• Planning commission should have independent
  estimates for SRB and clear targets (with
  financial benefits to states) at the district
  level for 2007.
• Develop a strategy and appropriate measures to
  enforce the implementation of the PCPNDT Act and
  fix accountability at all levels by undertaking-

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HIV/AIDS

• Empower women to ensure their sexual health
• Improve provision of home based care services
• Increase knowledge and awareness levels
• Increase livelihood opportunities for women
  affected by HIV/AIDS
• Gender sensitive services are necessary in STI
  clinics especially for treatment, counseling and
  care.

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7. Ministry of Home Affairs

• Internally Displaced People
• Formulate a national policy for the resettlement
  of internally displaced within a specific time
  frame. Conduct surveys of physical structure,
  livelihood and job opportunities, and basic
  requirements of people.

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• Increase allocation to SHGs and develop them into
  independent Cooperatives.
• Due to increase in the number of orphans free
  orphanages are required with facilities for food
  and education up to class 12.
• Increase number of trauma and counselling centers.

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• Introduction of State insurance cover for
  victims.
• Special attention needs to be paid to capacity
  building of both boys and girls in order to
  sensitise them to especially cultural and
  social issues.
• Quota for conflict-affected female- headed
  households under Indira Awas Yojna.
• Gender sensitization of Military and
  Para-military forces.

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• Disaster Management
• Natural disasters and hazardous situations like
  cyclone and earth quake prone areas should be
  recognized and vulnerable communities to be
  equipped adequately with the science, technology,
  infrastructure and transport support.
• The relief and rehabilitation package should
  consider women specific needs. Special concern to
  be given to pregnant and lactating mothers.

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• Strong Environmental laws and vigilance should
  be followed to avoid industrial disasters
• Compensation and assets to be given to both
  men and women.

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8. Ministry of Human Resource Development

• Education
• Ensure that 6 of GDP is invested to enhance
  girls education at all levels
• To ensure accessibility of the unreached and
  disadvantaged groups like SC/ST, minorities,
  people with disabilities.

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• Also ensure scholarships, uniforms, mid day
  meals, gender friendly secure environment
• Separate toilets for the girls, more women
  teachers,regularly reoriented with up to date
  syllabi and gender sensitisation and remedial
  teaching for disadvantaged girls.

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• 9.Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• The broadcasting bill should be passed to ensure
  that there is a regulatory body or a media
  monitoring committee on the lines of the Film
  Censor Board that regulates and monitors private
  TV channels in each State.

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• Regular broadcast and telecast of innovative
  development related information especially
  relating to health, nutrition, employment schemes
  etc
• Focus on womens participation in community and
  commercial radio

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10. Ministry of Labour and Employment

• National minimum wage to be calculated to provide
  people with a life of dignity and be legally
  enforced.
• Comprehensive social security legislations that
  cover unemployment, health insurance, nutrition,
  old age pension, maternity, disability and
  regulation of employment for all workers

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• Gainful rehabilitation in terms of alternate
  land, livelihood, shelter and all basic
  necessities concerning health, education and
  connectivity for all people displaced by
  development projects, closures, lockouts,
  relocation, man made and natural disasters
• Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to be
  extended to tea garden workers

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• Employment guarantee for both urban and rural
  areas throughout the year with separate cards for
  women and for all adults seeking employment.
• Special programmes to impart training and
  entrepreneurial skills, capital, credit
  facilities without collaterals and market support
  to women headed households/all women.
• Enforcement of labour laws in SEZs, EPZs and
  FTZs.

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• No stigmatisation and discrimination for people
  suffering from HIV/AIDS in terms of loans,
  business, credit and job opportunities.
• Focus on issues of BPO workers such as timings,
  schedules, working conditions, facilities,
  holidays, nutrition, transport, security etc.

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11. Ministry of Social Justice Empowerment

• Every district should have a safe quality shelter
  home with livelihood options, free effective
  legal aid cells and womens rights based
  counselling centres
• Social Security should be for the old, infirm,
  deserted, displaced, widowed, and other
  distressed women.

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12. Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation

• Sex Disaggregated Data should be made a
  compulsory requirement in every government
  department as well as the public and private
  sector

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• The definition of workers to be used in the
  proposed legislation for providing social
  security to informal sector workers should be
  formulated in ways that includes women who work
  all their lives for adding to family resources
  but still escape the current criteria for
  workers.
• The definition of work should be altered in ways
  that will make it possible to include all working
  women into the category of workers. Otherwise,
  most women will be denied the benefits of social
  security and some workers' rights that are likely
  to be given to informal sector worker.

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• Public schemes for womens economic independence
  often adds to their work load (a double day as
  they also maintain their homes) and does not give
  them an  adequate full income. Very poor women
  need full-time wage work. Self-employed women
  need training in various skills as well as
  entrepreneurship.
• The work offered to women in many government
  schemes is undesirable and poorly paid. the kind
  of work. Schemes must be designed to give
       women work that earns them equal pay even if
  the tasks are not the same.

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13. Ministry of Tribal Affairs

• Tribal communities are displaced for many reasons
  - mining, industrialization, urbanization,
  environmental degradation, submergence of their
  home lands, large dams and conflict. Women and
  children are very adversely affected in all
  cases. Special efforts to offer support services
  for their early rehabilitation, economic
  activities, education ad training, and to
  protect them from violence must be provided for.

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• Land Rights for Tribals clear cut demarcation of
  land for tribals to be ensured, and wherever
  there are over 20 families, it should be ensured
  that there should be no intrusion from any other
  community and for any other purpose.
• Time-bound programme to ensure that the land
  titles should be made over to women in tribal
  communities.

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• No displacement can be done without a Clearance
  certificate from a committee consisting of human
  rights activists and the concerned populations,
  including women.
• Address issues of livelihood and ecology for
  populations being displaced, plans for
  rehabilitation to be women-centred with a cluster
  approach.
• Housing and adequate infrastructure including
  clean water, drainage, roads, toilets,
  streetlights, burial grounds, to be ensured in
  tribal settlements as a basic right and to
  prevent migration

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• Employment to be strengthened by ensuring that
  the quotas are filled.
• Alcoholism Encouraging the Revenue collection
  through sale of alcohol should be banned since
  it works against the interest of tribals.
• Ensure the full utilization of the allocated
  budget for the Special Component Plan And
  increase the allocations under it, and include a
  special component for Dalit Women in this fund.

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14. Ministry of Urban Development

• Develop the notion of women friendly cities which
  are safe and cater to women specific needs -
  lights, toilets and garbage cans.
• Increased allocations for public transport
• Beautification and expansion of roads in urban
  areas should consider cyclists, pedestrians and
  slower moving traffic.
• In the case of urban families, housing should be
  a minimum of 20x25 for each Dalit family, and
  titles should be in the name of women.

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15. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation

• Formulate a national policy to cover pavement
  dwellers and homeless citizens.
• Allocate houses in joint names, if not only in
  the womens name.
• Reduce property taxes and related stamp duties,
  etc for single women.

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• Dalit Women
• Dalit women should be considered a special
  category. A comprehensive Development policy for
  Dalit women is an urgent necessity, focusing on
  the increased access to all basic needs including
  health, education, credit, water, and sanitation.
  Land should be allotted to the Dalit women as a
  priority, and requisite fund allocation should be
  made for the purpose.

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16 Planning Commission/ State Planning Boards

• The Planning Commission/ State Planning Board
  should have more women members
• Every Division of the Commission should have a
  Gender Specialist in order to mainstream gender
  into all aspect
• The Commission should have a Separate member
  heading the Division to look after the issues of
  Youth and Children

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• THANK YOU