Gender Focus within Governance

Gender Focus within Governance

In the districts where CYSD works, women’s participation in community level decision making process is largely confined to their SHGs and federations. Their participation is almost taken for granted in other community based forums and it is mostly proxy in nature in Palli Sabhas. Even if a woman is a ward member or Sarpanch, it is often the male family member who represents her in decision making processes. In order to address this issue, CYSD has initiated a number of interventions. For example:

Micro Level Planning: CYSD has initiated a micro level planning process with the communities it works with, to give them the opportunity to articulate their village development problems to the Gram and Palli Sabhas. During the process, CYSD ensures that separate discussions with women and men take place, so that both sections of society are heard.

Orientation programmes on NREGA/FRA: CYSD carries out a number of training programmes on government laws or poverty alleviation programmes. These initiatives often have a differential impact on men and women, which CYSD takes into account. For example, many communities value the work of men over the work of women, and this is often reflected in higher wages for men than women. Through promoting NREGA, CYSD highlights the fact that both men and women should be entitled to equal wages, and strives to ensure its proper implementation. The recent Forest Rights Act (FRA) includes a clause that forest land “shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses in case of married persons”. CYSD is working to ensure that land applications are submitted in the name of both husband and wife.

Addressing issues of Proxy Leadership: CYSD provides trainings to both male and female PRI members to ensure they are aware of their roles and responsibilities. It also provides special training for women CBO and PRI representatives on effective leadership. In order to ensure accountability, CYSD provides governance literacy training with communities, so that communities themselves are aware of their rights and responsibilities towards the PRI. This has had a number of positive effects, for example now many women are requesting to see the minutes of Palli Sabha meetings before signing the approval of them.