BRIDGE Gender and Development In Brief 21: Governance

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

IN BRIEF

ISSUE 21	APRIL 2009
Gender and Governance

English - PDF
French - Word / PDF
Portuguese - Word / PDF
Spanish - Word

IN THIS ISSUE

• Gender and Governance: an Overview
• CEDAW 30 years on: stories of change from Egypt
• Putting gender-based violence laws into practice in the Philippines

Governance processes – with their emphasis on principles of accountability, transparency, responsiveness and inclusiveness – should be a means to social transformation. But despite this potential, they are failing to deliver on gender equality. Women are having to struggle to get their voices heard and their needs met; women's organisations are having to push for recognition of women's rights and for adequate accountability mechanisms. Why is this, and what actions would enable them to fulfil their potential to empower women and bring about social justice? This In Brief maps out persistent obstacles to gender equality in governance, such as the gender imbalance in positions of authority. It also offers possible ways forward - including making rights central to governance, and building political will for change. Case studies from the Philippines and Egypt show how the combined efforts of governance bodies and civil society can play a key role in ensuring that gender-transformative legislation is initiated and implemented.

Gender and Governance: an Overview

ALYSON BRODY, BRIDGE

“I was the one who was elected. Before I was not allowed to go out, never to speak. I have learned to speak, to use the microphone. Now the mike [microphone] has come into my hand, it will remain with me all my life – nobody can take it away”

(Murawarunissa, India, cited in Mukhopadhyay 2004: 37)

Why focus on gender and governance?

Women are often excluded from decision-making, from the household up to the highest levels of government. Women's equal participation in governance is therefore an important end in itself – a recognition of their right to speak and be heard. More broadly, it is a means to social transformation. Governance institutions shape perceptions of the roles that women and men play in society, as well as determining their access to rights and resources. Involving women in defining these policies and processes, and in shaping the institutions that produce them, makes it more likely they will be responsive to the different needs and situations of both women and men, and contribute to gender equality.

So what is governance?

‘Governance' is a slippery term with various definitions depending on who is talking about it and the context in which it is used. Put simply, governance refers to decision-making by a range of interested people (or ‘stakeholders') including those in positions of power and ‘ordinary citizens'. These decisions have a huge impact on the ways in which women and men lead their lives, on the rules they are expected to abide by, and on the structures that determine where and how they work and live. They also shape how public resources are allocated and whether services take account of both women's and men's needs and interests.

Probably the first governance institution that comes to mind is government . In both the South and North, government decisions create and perpetuate gender inequalities – but governments remain a crucial part of the solution. Yet it is not only national governments who make decisions about our lives; global governance institutions like the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) also make decisions about our world, which then influence those made by national governments.

In turn, civil society organisations (CSOs) and citizens play a key role - putting pressure on governments to take action to challenge gender inequalities, and holding them accountable for the commitments made. The following In Brief articles illustrate this well. In Egypt , a coalition of CSOs, backed by the Egyptian National Council for Women, has been holding the government to account for commitments to women's rights, using the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In the Philippines , it is the local government – supported by CSOs and women's groups – that is pushing the implementation of national legislation on gender-based violence.

What are the goals and principles of governance?

Many agencies and organisations see effective governance as the route to, for example, reduced poverty and more equal, democratic, corruption-free societies. Some see economic growth and efficiency as the best way to achieve these end goals. For others, governance should promote social justice and gender equality, and further the realisation of the rights of all citizens.

In turn, these different players assess how effective – or good – governance is on the basis of how accountable, transparent, inclusive and responsive governance institutions are to their citizens. These principles – if defined, applied and measured in ways which reflect gendered concerns – can improve the performance of governance institutions. For example, inclusive governance processes that meaningfully engage women as well as men are more likely to result in programmes that meet the needs of both, making them more effective. Similarly, accountability mechanisms designed specifically so that women can hold governments accountable for their commitments to CEDAW can enable women to access their rights.

Why is gender-sensitive governance so important?

We need effective governance, underpinned by the principles outlined above, at all levels – from the global to local, and in the South and North. How can governance be effective if it does not lead to a more equal world where women have choices and their rights are realised? How can it be effective if it does not take account of and respond to the differing needs and priorities of women and men in public spending, policies, legislation and treaties? How can it be effective if women are unable to exercise their right to participate in the decisions that affect their lives?

Nomusa Dube, eThekwini ,Municipality Speaker, at a Genderlinks gender, elections and media workshop in the run-up the 2004 elections in South Africa

Photographer: Trevor Davies, SAMSO

What challenges do we face?

Failure to tackle entrenched gender inequalities - While there has been some progress, policies and legislation are still not eliminating gender inequalities. In fact, in some cases, they are creating further inequalities. One example is trade liberalisation policies, led by the WTO, which have impacted on women workers less able to claim labour rights. Another is the continuing failure in many countries to recognise rape within marriage as a crime – meaning that perpetrators cannot be called to account. At the community level, local customs often prevent women from inheriting land. While the international frameworks exist to challenge these gender inequalities – in the form of CEDAW and other human rights instruments – signatory countries are not putting their commitments into practice, and others – including the USA – are failing to ratify them. Why is it that so many governance institutions remain unresponsive to these inequalities?

Decision-making is dominated by men - There are still far fewer women than men with the power to make decisions in governance institutions. In 2008, the world average of women in parliaments was only 17.8 per cent. I n the highest decision-making bodies of European Union central banks, there are five times as many men as women. Local government-initiated consultative processes also often fail to engage women sufficiently. Even decision-makers in CSOs tend to be men. Underlying these inequalities is the pervasive idea that a man's place is in the ‘public' realm, while a woman's role is to manage the ‘private' domain of the home .

Governance processes often exclude people with caring responsibilities, primarily women - Indeed, the very working arrangements of governance institutions are usually inflexible, making it difficult for women to balance work in governance institutions with unpaid caring responsibilities. In turn, the participatory processes designed to engage citizens in decision-making – such as participatory budgeting – can exclude women, for example, by failing to provide crèches and other facilities.

Women are not treated equally in governance institutions and processes - Even when women are involved, they are often kept on the margins of decision-making – confined to ‘soft' policy areas such as health and education – while the important decisions are made by men in closed ‘inner circles'. This marginalisation is also prevalent in CSOs and in local government participatory processes.

What would gender-sensitive governance look like?

Gender-sensitive governance requires that gender equality and the realisation of women's rights are at the heart of the goals and practices of governance. Policies and legislation should address the differing needs, interests, priorities and responsibilities of women and men, as well as their unequal economic and social power. As already noted, establishing clear, gendered understandings of the principles associated with effective governance is important, but these principles need to be incorporated into the kinds of concrete approaches outlined below.

Enabling more women to participate in governance - Making governance gender-sensitive requires more than ‘adding women' in parliaments, but this is one place to start. Gender-sensitive reforms in national and local government – in the form of electoral quota systems and the establishment of women's ministries – have helped to achieve a better gender balance. Electoral quotas stipulate that women must constitute a certain percentage of the members of a governance body. For example, at 56.3 per cent, the Republic of Rwanda has one of the highest figures in the world for women's representation in national assemblies – in large part due to a quota system. If women are to make the most of the opportunities which governance reforms present, i nvesting time and resources to build their capacity is also vital.

Changing the governance institutions themselves - A thorough gender analysis of everyday institutional practices, conducted through internal and external assessments, is a good way to uncover attitudes, behaviour, thinking and policies that are discriminatory or gender blind. Likely institutional changes needed include:

Making rights more central to governance institutions and processes, with stronger systems of accountability for honouring international commitments such as CEDAW.

Ensuring that policies are responsive to all citizens, informed by participatory processes that identify the different needs of women and men.

Ensuring that all governance processes are transparent and accountable, with governance institutions publicly assessed on their efforts to address gender inequality and ensure women's equal participation in governance.

Building the capacity of women and men in governance institutions to understand gender issues – in turn developing the political will needed to bring about change.

Promoting greater flexibility around working hours and ensuring free or affordable child-care facilities are available and accessible.

Changing mindsets – governance is for all - Finally, we need to break down existing ideas of governance as the domain of privileged men – removed from the realities of ordinary people – and inspire both women and men to identify their own potential roles in bringing about a transformed, more equal society. As Murawarunissa declared at the start – ‘Now the mike has come into my hand, it will remain with me all my life – nobody can take it away'.

This article summarises the Overview Report on ‘Gender and Governance’ by Alyson Brody (see the end of this bulletin for full details).

CEDAW 30 years on: stories of change from Egypt

ALYSON BRODY, BRIDGE

“We have seen a tangible change in women's status through using CEDAW. We have felt it. We have lived it. So, we advise any NGO anywhere in the world to use this machinery. It's very important and it can make a lot of difference in women's lives”

( Dr. Afaf Marei Vice Chair of the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement personal communication, November 2008).

The potential of CEDAW for achieving gender equality

It is 30 years since the inception of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Informal stories emerging from around the world indicate that CEDAW has been making a difference, thanks particularly to the work of women and gender equality-focused CSOs.

What is CEDAW?
The UN Convention – CEDAW – was adopted in 1979 and came into force in 1981. CEDAW defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. States that have ratified the Convention commit themselves to planning and undertaking a series of measures to combat discrimination at all levels of society, including through ensuring equal opportunities in political and public life, and equal access to employment, education and health care. The Convention is unique in its affirmation of the reproductive rights of women. It also calls for the modification of cultural and social practices of men and women where these are likely to undermine the goal of gender equality.

The Optional Protocol to CEDAW
Adopted in 1999, the Optional Protocol (OP) was a breakthrough – a mechanism for holding governments to account. Giving individuals and groups the right to protest to the CEDAW Committee about women's rights abuses, the OP allows the Committee to conduct enquiries into these cases in countries where the OP has been ratified. Under the OP, governments can be asked to explain and address complaints about serious violations, and investigations can be launched. However, the OP can only be resorted to when all available processes at the national level have been exhausted.

The Egyptian CEDAW Coalition: contributing to changes in women's lives

The Egyptian CEDAW Coalition , backed by the Egyptian National Council for Women, has been instrumental in enforcing CEDAW as a mechanism to advance women's rights and gender equality in Egypt . The members have lobbied government on diverse issues related to CEDAW, and completed their first CEDAW Shadow Report in 2001.

This has been influential in pushing the Egyptian government to address gender inequalities in legislation, in combination with work by others on issues such as women's claim to equal citizenship under the Constitution. There have been several resulting changes, particularly to the family law. Egyptian women married to foreigners now have the right to pass their nationality on to their children. Many of the legal obstacles to divorce, previously faced by women, have been lifted; for example, women can now apply for divorce without their partner's consent. Restrictions on women's movement have also been revoked – notably women can now apply for passports without seeking the approval of their husbands.

What is CEDAW Shadow Reporting and who can do it?

National governments that have ratified the Convention are required to submit a report to the CEDAW Committee on the status of women within a year of ratification, and to submit a report every four years on their progress in removing obstacles to gender equality. CSOs are playing a key ‘watchdog' role in this process through CEDAW Shadow Reports. These are typically a set of recommendations from CSOs grounded in case studies from within the country. While t he CEDAW Committee cannot oblige governments to respond to these recommendations, Shadow Reports carry authority and are often highly persuasive.

Preparing a CEDAW Shadow Report – some guidelines

Information in the report should be organised according to articles of the CEDAW Convention , not by issue.
The report must be submitted at least two weeks before the official report and shadow report are considered by the CEDAW Committee.
The report should contain clear, evidence-based recommendations – CSOs can gather information from studies conducted at local or national levels.
Good shadow reports include case histories that reflect the differing ways in which women's rights have been violated.
Information for these cases can be gathered through interviews and simple questionnaires.

For further information on how to prepare a shadow report please see:
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iwraw/proceduralguide-08.html or contact the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva .

Building capacity for CEDAW Shadow Reporting

As the case of the Egyptian CEDAW Coalition shows, CSOs are playing a key role in shaping recommendations that are difficult for governments to ignore, leading to significant changes in women's lives. The success of the Coalition is largely due to its commitment to building the capacity of its 40 member CSOs – by providing training on CEDAW – and creating solidarity among them. Another factor is the support the Coalition receives from the National Council for Women, an influencing body formed in 2000.

Remaining barriers to CEDAW

Despite such successes, barriers remain to the effective implementation of CEDAW. Some countries, including the USA , have not yet ratified CEDAW, while others have not adopted the OP. Even countries that have signed CEDAW sometimes place reservations on certain articles, generally on the grounds that they undermine local culture or religious beliefs. For example, despite being progressive in its response to CEDAW, the Egyptian government has placed a reservation on article 16 on ‘equality in relation to marriage', citing as a reason “the firm religious beliefs which govern marital relations in Egypt and which may not be called into question” (Human Rights Watch 2004). Because Shari'a law stipulates that a man's responsibility is to support his wife financially, a divorce court is likely to rule that the marital home is the man's exclusive property, ignoring a woman's non-monetary or financial contributions to the home during her marriage.

In spite of these obstacles, CSOs can play a significant role in pressuring governments to fully enact CEDAW. The current work of the Egyptian CEDAW Coalition, which is participating in a campaign to advocate for the lifting of reservations and the adoption of the Optional Protocol, is one promising example.

Thanks to Afaf Marei, Hania Sholkamy, Mulki Al Sharmani and Fatemah Khafagny for their input into this article.

Alyson Brody is a researcher at BRIDGE, Institute of Development Studies.

Putting gender-based violence laws into practice in the Philippines

MARITONA VICTA-LABAJO, Executive Director, Social Development Index (INDEX)

When governments put progressive legislation in place, how can they guarantee it has the desired impact? The experience of the Philippines – where new laws on gender-based violence (GBV) and abuse of children are being put into practice using a decentralised governance system – offers some answers.

A Billboard in Namibia reminding people that gender-based violence is against the law

Photographer: Colleen Lowe Morna

What is the scale of the problem?

In 2003, the Philippines National Police Women's Desk documented 8,011 cases of GBV, 10 per cent of which involved rape. Child abuse is also rife, with one third of GBV survivors reportedly under the age of 18. Much of this violence happens in the home at the hands of a male relative or partner. These figures are worrying enough, but the real incidence of violence is likely to be even higher – since most cases go unreported due to social taboos and because appropriate, effective legislation has until now been lacking.

Legal measures - the government's response

In 2004, the Anti-violence Against Women and their Children Act was passed in the Philippines . This granted the government the power to intervene in cases of household violence or abuse against women and children – previously considered to be private matters beyond the jurisdiction of the state. Yet there has been recognition in the Philippines that passing laws is not enough. Efforts are also needed to ensure the public know about these laws, know how to use them, and feel comfortable doing so. Clear support processes for those reporting abuse must also be in place.

The role of decentralised governance

What has enabled these laws to bring about real change is the highly decentralised nature of governance in the Philippines . Different local government units, down to the barangay (village) level, have been instrumental in establishing participatory processes to raise public awareness of the problem of GBV, and of the laws that exist to tackle it. One example is the Binangonan municipality on the island of Luzon , which was selected for a pilot community advocacy project because of the large number of girls undergoing treatment for sexual abuse. The aim of the project was to address the needs of victims of child abuse, particularly girls aged seven to 18, in order to prevent further violence and encourage the reporting of abuse cases. A steering committee of municipal officials tasked a core group of gender and child rights advocates at the barangay level with raising awareness of these issues at the community and household levels.

A seminar was organised at the municipal level to discuss the new laws, and to talk about women's and children's rights more broadly. Major stakeholders in the municipality – including elected barangay officials, day care and health workers, police officers, teachers and members of CSOs – attended the seminar. Participants learned how to identify and report signs of abuse. They were expected to pass on what they learnt by holding talks for women and men in the community, and developing public educational materials on the prevention, reporting of and treatment of GBV. In tandem with these activities, the municipal government established a clear referral system and an inter-agency response mechanism for addressing reported cases of abuse against women and children.

The results

In the three years since the launch of the project, there has been a notable increase in the number of abuse cases being reported. Village, local and municipal government authorities have issued protective orders against perpetrators and more legal cases have been filed. In addition, various forms of assistance have been extended by the municipal government to the survivors of abuse and their families. These include educational assistance for child victims, assistance during court hearings, liaising with the public attorney's office for legal assistance in speeding up legal cases, and in some instances, finding shelter for the survivor's family.

What contributed to these changes?

Key to the success of this initiative was the recognition of the difficulties of translating national level laws into practice, and of the potential of decentralised governance as an agent of change. Not only have local government officials been called to account for their role in preventing and responding to cases of GBV, but a sense of shared responsibility for raising awareness of existing GBV laws has been fostered at community and household levels.

Edited by Alyson Brody, BRIDGE, Institute of Development Studies.

References and further reading

BRIDGE (2009) ‘Gender and Governance', Cutting Edge Pack, Brighton : BRIDGE/IDS http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports_gend_CEP.html#Governance

Basu, A. (2003) ‘Gender and Governance: Concepts and Contexts', in M. Nussbaum, A. Basu, Y. Tambiah and N. G. Jayal , Essays on Gender and Governance , New York: United Nations Development Programme http://data.undp.org.in/hdrc/GndrInitv/Essays%20on%20Gender%20and%20Governance.pdf

Felix, M. (2006) ‘Gender-based violence in the Philippines: measuring outcomes of public policies', presentation made at Forum 10, Global Forum for Health Annual Meeting, Egypt, 29 October – 2 November http://www.globalforumhealth.org/filesupld/forum10/F10_finaldocuments/posters/Felix_MariaLeny.pdf

Human Rights Watch (2004) Divorced from justice: Egypt's obligations under international law, http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11887/section/9

IKNOWpolitics Website: http://www.iknowpolitics.org/en

International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW) (2009) Producing Shadow Reports to the CEDAW Committee: A Procedural Guide, January 2009 , Malaysia: IWRAW http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iwraw/proceduralguide-08.html

Mukhopaddhyay, M. and Meer, S. (2004) Creating Voice and Carving Space: Redefining Governance from a Gender Perspective , Amsterdam: Royal Tropical Institute http://www.kit.nl/net/KIT_Publicaties_output/ShowFile2.aspx?e=646

Rai, S. and Waylen, G. (2008) ‘Introduction: Feminist Perspectives on Analysing and Transforming Global Governance', in S. Rai and G. Waylen (eds), Global Governance: Feminist Perspectives , Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=281005

Shin, H. (2004) ‘CEDAW and Women's Human Rights: Achievements and Obstacles', paper presented at Human rights 2004: The Year in Review, Castan Center for Human Rights Law's Annual Conference, Monash University http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/events/2004/heisoo-shin-paper.pdf

United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) (2008) ‘Who answers to women? Gender and accountability', Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009 , New York: UNIFEM. Available in English, French and Spanish at http://www.unifem.org/progress/2008/index.html

University of the Philippines Population Institute (2004) Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study 3 , Quezon City: University of the Philippines, http://www.ovcrd.upd.edu.ph/index.php?Itemid=30&id=30&option=com_content&task=view

Also available: Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and Governance

As well as this bulletin the pack includes:

• Overview Report, outlining the main issues,
examples of innovative practice, and recommendations
• Supporting Resources Collection, including summaries
of key resources, case studies, tools, and contact
details for relevant organisations

Editors: Hazel Reeves with Justina Demetriades

Thanks to The Write Effect for copy-editing.

Tell us what you think of this In Brief!
E-mail: bridge@ids.ac.uk

In Brief is also available in French, Spanish and Portuguese from the BRIDGE website or as a paper copy from BRIDGE.

For further information on BRIDGE please contact:
BRIDGE, Institute of Development Studies,
University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1273 606261 Fax: +44 (0)1273 621202
Email: bridge@ids.ac.uk
Siyanda: comprehensive gender and development database
http://www.siyanda.org/
BRIDGE: free download of all our reports including the Cutting Edge Packs
http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk

BRIDGE supports the gender advocacy and mainstreaming efforts of policymakers and practitioners by bridging the gaps between theory, policy and practice with accessible and diverse gender information. It is a specialised gender and development research and information service, one of a family of knowledge services based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the United Kingdom . This In Brief has been undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Thanks also to Irish Aid and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for their ongoing support of the BRIDGE programme.