April 11, 2023

Gender as a Cross Cutting Issue

Central to Good Governance

Induction Training, RIAM November 2006

Dr Shirley Randell & Restituta Mukantagara

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Gender as a cross cutting issue

Rationale for strong emphasis on gender in Rwanda

• Poverty Reduction• Economic Development • Good Governance

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What are the international, regional and local contexts that have led to gender being recognised as central to poverty reduction, economic development and good governance

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International Context

• CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women

• Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA)

• Millennium Development Goals, particularly MDG3, Gender equality and women’s empowerment, but all – poverty, water, education, health etc

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Regional Context• NEPAD objectives – eradicating long term

disparities and promoting equality and equity between men and women

• The Rights of Women in Africa is a Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’ Rights

• The Solemn Declaration of African State Leaders (2004) expresses support for the parity principle

• Rwanda soon to join the East African Community which also has gender priorities

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National Context

• Constitution

- Article 9 of the Constitution states that:

“30 percent of all decision-making structures

shall be reserved for women • 2003 Government commitment to gender

issues and mainstreaming• Decentralisation policy

– - favours representation of women at the

various administrative levels• MIGEPROF and National Gender policy

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National ContextVision 2020

• Gender is a key aspect of Pillar 3 in the Government of Rwanda’s Vision 2020

• Inclusion of gender will lead to effective implementation of all other pillars

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Economic Development Poverty Reduction Strategy

• Gender as a cross cutting issue is a key aspect of all planning for Rwanda’s EDPRS 2006-2008 planning, including the 12 sector working groups

• Gender is a critical component of HIV/AIDS which is also a major cross cutting issue in the EDPRS

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Table 1 Status on International Indicators, Rwanda, 2005

HDI rank (167 countries)

GDI rank(140 countries)

GDI value HDI rankminus GDI rank

HDI value

159 122 0.447 1 0.45

HDI Human Development Index

GDI Gender Development Index

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Table 2: Development Indicatorsin Rwanda by Sex

• Development Indicators Female Male • Life expectancy at birth 45.6 42.1• Combined gross enrolment• ratio for primary, secondary• and tertiary levels 48.6% 58% • Adult literacy rate • (age 15 and above) 48.6 % 70.5%• Estimated earned income • (PPP US $) $US985 $US1,583

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Table 2: Development Indicatorsin Rwanda by Sex

Female Male• Women living below poverty line 65.3%• Total rate of economic activity 82.3% 93.5% • Employment in the

non-agricultural sector 24% n/a• Participation in tertiary education 39% 61% • Participation in Government

at Ministerial level 35.7% 64.3%• Participation in National Parliament 48% 52%

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Challenges to the policy of

gender as a cross cutting issue

• Internationally and nationally the policy of mainstreaming gender in practice areas has seen gender issues neglected and slipping off the agenda.

• There has been a reduction in the efforts to empower women, the other side of the coin to gender equality

• There is very limited gender budgeting in planning and decision making processes

• There is very limited gender auditing to assess progress

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Challenges to the policy of gender as a cross cutting issue

• There is a high demand from the national and district governments, civil society and women’s organisations in Rwanda for support in gender equality and women’s empowerment strategies and activities in addition to the gender mainstreaming/cross-cutting strategy.

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Case Studies from SNV Experience

• Training of Advisers to all be gender sensitive

and able to implement gender principles in all

practice areas• Preparing a manual for mainstreaming gender

into Water, Sanitation and Health programs• Advocacy at national level for the inclusion of

gender in the EDPRS

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Case Study 1

• SNV Rwanda advisers unfamiliar with gender

concepts and practice• 10 day, 30 hour interactive in-house gender

and development course delivered• All practice areas prepare gender action plans• Significant progress made in integrating gender

in NRM – biogas, RALG – education, MAP –

honey, PPT• In-house gender committee established

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Case Study 2: Training Manual for

Mainstreaming Gender into WASH Programs

• COFORWA approached SNV for gender training• of management and technicians• PROTOS approached SNV for gender training for

coordinator• Field visit for focus groups• Gender training manual prepared incorporating

chapters from SNV manual and new chapters on

gender and water• Manual trialled with gender adviser - October• Manual to be trialled in field - November

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Case Study 3: advocacy at national level - EDPRS

• SNV approached MINECOFIN, UNIFEM, UNDP,

DFID about engendering the EDPRS process• Together we called for a gender workshop for

all Ministries and stakeholders in the EDPRS• We set up gender shadow Sector Working

Groups to monitor the work of every SWG• SNV staff were invited to participate in SWGs

and Shadow SWGs

- backward looking report on PRSP

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Case Study 4: EDPRS (cont)

• Cross-cutting issues SWG developed checklists

for each of the four cross cutting issues,

including gender• MIGEPROF, UNDP, UNIFEM/SNV national

workshop on gender based policy analysis• Gender representatives attended each of the

sector log frame exercises• The cross cutting issues SWG is now examining

each log frame to ensure that gender is included

appropriately

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April 11, 2023

Tools for Mainstreaming Gender

The checklist for mainstreaming gender as a cross-cutting issue in the

EDPRS

Dr Shirley Randell AM

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Gender Subcommittee

• Parliament - FFRP • Ministries – MIGEPROF, MINEDUC• Government agencies – NIS, NWC,

NEPAD• Development partners – UNFEM, UNDP,

UNFPA, UNICEF, DFID, Canadian Corporation

• NGOs – SNV, RWLC, RAUW, WWP, African Rights, Profemmes

• Academic institutions – KIST, KHI, KIE

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Gender Goal

By 2020, Rwandan women and men, girls and boys will have achieved equity of

- voice, - participation and - access

in every area of economic growth and poverty reduction represented in national policy and law.

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Purpose

By 2012, gender equality canbe demonstrated, measured and verified using gender disaggregated national data to show that the country is on track to achieving:

• Gender equality in halving the proportion of people living below the poverty line by 2015

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• Gender equality in reduced income disparity (Gini coefficient, shares of the poorest quintile in national consumption)

• Gender equality in increased GDP per capita US$

• Gender equality within the increased average GDP growth rate (to 8%)

• Gender equality in progress towards the MDGs

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Five major areas

• Gender-disaggregated data collection and reporting

• Reproductive health rights

• Access to business and services

• Law and policy on legal, social, economic opportunities and physical protection

• Educational achievement

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All sectors involved

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1 Progress towards achieving gender equity

• In Sectoral policies and their implementation, and in District plans and their implementation

- demonstrated by every Sector/ District in their returns to the EDPRS Annual Progress Review (APR).

• Data and analysis to be presented in an annual composite national assessment of progress :> in the EDPRS APR,> in the Joint Budget Support Review> in the Minister of Finance’s presentation of the budget to Parliament.

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Suggested Outputs

• NIS: Gender-disaggregated data contained in all national surveys and reports by the National Institute of Statistics

• Parliament/MIGEPROF: A new annual report: “Progress Towards Achieving Rwanda’s Commitment to its Women Citizens”.

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MIGEPROF or Gender Observatoire: resourced to collect, analyse and present national gender equity progress

• All Sectors/ Districts: to establish gender-disaggregated data

collections in their information systems for annual planning processes and annual reporting.

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• NEPAD: to utilise this data and reporting

• MINECOFIN: to ensure gender-disaggregated budget planning and execution data is available from all Sectors/ Districts.

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINECOFIN: Terms of Reference/ instructions for APR to include gender in each Sectoral chapter and a gender summary page.

• MINECOFIN: Gender-discussion to be scheduled for one of the annual Joint Budget Support Review meetings.

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2 Women enabled to exercise their reproductive health rights

• A reduction in the average number of children per woman from 6 to 5 by 2012 and to 4 by

2020.

• A significantly increased contraceptive prevalence rate

• A significant drop in the number

of maternal deaths

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2 Women enabled to exercise their reproductive health rights (cont)

• A higher average age at which women have their first baby

• Increased levels of female participation in the labour market, including formal sector

employment

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Suggested Outputs

• MINISANTE: Increase the range of, and access to family planning methods

- contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 10.3% to over 50% in 2020

• MINEDUC: Maintain equal numbers of girls and boys in education

– primary completion of 95% by 2012 100% by 2015

- enrolment in lower secondary 52% by 2012 62% by 2015

• MIFOTRA: Reduce rate of youth unemployment/ underemployment by ½ within 5 years

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

•MIFOTRA: Strategies for female participation in formal employment and the labour market agreed by 2008

•MIFOTRA: Reduce rate of women’s unemployment/ underemployment by ½ within 5 years

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINISANTE: Reduce the rate of maternal mortality from 750/100,000 to 600 in 2010 and 200 in 2020

• MINISANTE: Reduce the rate of infant mortality from 86/1000 to 80 in 2010 and 50 in 2020

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINISANTE : Safe delivery and child-birth for women - increase births taking place with trained attendance from 31% to over 50% in 2011

• MINISANTE: National Information campaigns – designed to praise smaller families, explain contraception, deliver messages on safe delivery, provide messages on risks to infant mortality.

• MINALOC/MINEDUC: Increase in access to safe drinking water and to sanitation (including toilets in schools)

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3 Range of business and financial services expanded and differential levels of gender access addressed

• Social Insurance extended in coverage (from 4% to 10% of population with full gender equity) by 2012.

• Social Safety Nets made more equitable for the most vulnerable 10% of the population by 2012.

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Business and Financial Services (cont)• Micro finance gap between men

and women reduced by 75% by 2012

• Revision of laws & policy to protect women’s ownership of land and other property

• Number of women’s start-up businesses increased by 50% by 2012

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Suggested Outputs

• MINILOC: Formal Social Insurance coverage extended to over 10% of the population and equal participation by women and men by 2012.

• MINECOFIN/BNR: Provision of, and access to micro-finance extended to give equality of access to women and men - 50% reduction in gap.

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINECOFIN: Coverage of a Social Safety Net extended to equitable levels of support for the most vulnerable 10% of the population, with equal access to women

• Private Sector/ New products identified and brought to the market to address women’s concerns for financial services.

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINIJUST/MINITERE: Laws revised to grant women protected rights of ownership for land and other property, regardless of the status/ type of marriage.

• MINAGRI: Recognise the contribution of women farmers and increase their

technological skills• All Sectors: Strategies for sensitisation

and awareness of differential access and the need for expansion of business and financial services identified and implemented

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4 Policy and law on women’s legal, social, economic opportunities• By 2011, physical protection is

completed, made effective and fully monitored on behalf of, and with the participation of, the mass of rural and urban women in Rwanda

- in order to set a road map towards full and unequivocal gender equity by 2020

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Suggested Outputs

• MINEDUC/MINIJUST: Literacy and legal literacy campaigns designed and launched by 2009

• MIGEPROF: Public campaign on gender-based violence (GBV) designed and launched by 2008

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINIJUST/MINADEF: Training for Police and Security Forces on countering GBV designed and launched by 2008

• Investigation into participation / trafficking into the sex industry researched and appropriate policy action taken by 2009

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINEDUC: Education investigates and designs measures to counter gender-based violence and gender-discrimination in schools and colleges by 2009

• Parliament/MINILOC: MPs and Local Government Representatives are able to access, analyse and use national data to identify and implement gender-based policy initiatives by 2009

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINECOFIN: Design of a ‘gender equity roadmap’ based on bottom-up consultation processes agreed and costed by 2012 ready for the 3rd national PRSP

• All Sectors: support and help civil society organisations to increase their capacity to monitor and advocate for gender change

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5 Education Achievement

• Girls’ position in educational achievement is improved

• Young women achieve equity in completion of tertiary education and training

• Adult women increase their functional literacy/education rates

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Suggested Outputs

• MINEDUC/MINELOC/MINITERE: Ensure that the physical environment (particularly school sanitation) in schools supports the continued attendance of girls and young women by 2010

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINEDUC/MINELOC/NIS: Implement quality controls -

- data measurement- improvements to the school

curriculum - improving school management

(including parent teacher committees) and teacher role modelling;

- planning for and implementing a comprehensive gender equity education policy made fully operational by 2010

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Suggested Outputs (cont)

• MINEDUC/MINILOC: Functional adult literacy/education targets reviewed and made gender equitable - policy implemented and budget lines reviewed

• MINEDUC: Introduce specific equity

measures to increase the participation of women in tertiary education and training

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Gender Goal

By 2020, Rwandan women and men, girls and boys will have achieved equity of

- voice, - participation and - access

to every area of economic growth and poverty reduction represented in national policy and law.

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