Dr Amrita PatelSansristi, Bhubaneswar

15th May 2012

Gender - concepts

Sex 

Gender

Natural Socio cultural

Biological differences in physical qualities

Masculine and Feminine qualities in roles, behaviour

Sex is constant everywhere Gender is variable & changes with time & culture

Gender attributes can be changed

Sex cannot be changed(except surgery)

Son preference Discrimination in food distribution Lack of educational facilities for girls Masculinity vs. Feminity concepts. Lack of Mobility for girls Non-recognition of Sexuality Lack of Right to Property of women No space in decision making for women

NATURE VS. NURTURE The space is gendered. 

MALE FEMALE

Public Private

Paan shop, cinema, stadium, street corner

Kitchen, home

The qualities/ attributes are gendered. 

FEMALE MALE

Body Mind

Nature Culture

Emotion Reason

Subjective Objective

Private Public

Low High

Caring Power

Nurturing Control

Love, selflessness Ambition

Affection Aggression

  FEMALE MALE

Dolls Toy Gun

Bangles Cycle

Ear rings Motor cycle

Bindi Tractor

Clothes Bus

Blue ColourPink Colour

 FEMALE MALE

Secretary FarmerNurse PilotPre Primary School teacher Manager

Women give birth to babies (Sex difference)

Girls are gentle; boys are tough. ( Gender difference) Men drive auto rickshaws. ( Gender difference)

Men’s voices break at puberty; women’s don’t. (Sex difference)

Women are better at caring for children than men. (Gender difference)

Body hair is fine on men ; women have to shave. (Gender difference)

Ramesh is playing with his friends. Guddi his sister looks on.

Boys must be brave. Women should be housewives. “ Pratima, You don’t have to go the

cycle repair shop. Your brother will go.”

Denial of equal enjoyment of rights on the basis of sex, race, religion, political belief, caste, social class, disability, age, sexual orientation or a combination of these or other attributes.

 Patriarchy is both a social structure as well as an ideology/ belief.

     Male dominated family       Male domination       Male head of the family      Male control over economic, social

and political resources

Men are more skilled in productive positions and paid more

 Women are in low paid jobs with the least job security.  

Women’s reproductive capacity imposes social obligations of caring, nurturing and household chores .

Women do the invisible, un recognized and unpaid work within the family.

Women’s Sexuality, Mobility & Property and other economic resources

Social institutions

Cultural & Religious institutions

Political institutions

Laws and legal instruments

Media

Educational systems

“… the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.

It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated” (UN)

policy design decision-making procedures and practices methodology implementation monitoring and evaluation

1. A Mainstreaming Approach to Stakeholders: Who are the Decision-Makers?

2. Mainstreaming a Gender Agenda: What is the Issue?

3. Moving Towards Gender Equality: What is the Goal?

4. Mapping the Situation: What Information Do We Have?

5. Refining the Issue: Research and Analysis6. Deciding on a Course of Action: Designing Policy

Interventions and Budgets7. Arguing Your Case: Gender Matters!8. Monitoring: Keeping a (Gender-Sensitive) Eye on

Things9. Evaluation: How Did We Do?10. En-Gendering Communication

Mainstreaming gender in governance

Governance has been defined by UNESCAP (2006) as ‘the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)’.

Good governance has been defined comprehensively by UNESCAP (2006) as ‘a form of governance that embodies eight specific characteristics, and can be seen as an ideal of governance. participatory, consensus oriented,

accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and [which follow] the rule of law’.

Good governance - enactment of measures for positive discrimination in favour of those groups (especially women) that have been historically marginalized, in order to provide them with an equal platform so that they are included in the process of governance.

For good governance - responsive to gender needs, interests and promote gender equality.

Gender Responsive Governance (GRG) is central to the notion of good governance.

Low literacy of women (Tribal) Declining child sex ratio Maternal health, anemia Un organised women workers Wage disparity Low employment in organised Displacement, migration Trafficking Violence (increasing)

33 % - 50% reservation of seats for women

PESA area – all posts for STs

Are PRIs gender responsive institutions ? Whether the PRIs are responsive to the

gender needs of its own members and the community as a whole,

whether PRIs are gendered spaces (processes, and environment encouraging for gender dialogue)

Are gender issues are recognized as priorities for PRIs as a whole

Is the institutional setup responsive to its members for the effective functioning. (E.g. extent of devolution of powers, fiscal planning and autonomy, priority setting within the PRIs)

 

Has the increased presence of women in local elected bodies enabled them to become agents towards transforming PRIs into gender responsive institutions?

What are the barriers/enablers to such transformation - social factors, institutional factors, structural factors

women do not constitute a single, undifferentiated category. Caste, class, religion and other forms of social stratification cut across gender categories to influence women’s experiences, interests and concerns.

institutional barriers include the inadequate devolution of functions, lack of financial and planning autonomy, bureaucratic influence, the policy of rotation of seats, lack of training , lack of information, distance, non inclusion of women in standing committees, etc

social barriers such as lack of education, oppressive patriarchal ( presence of elderly males) and caste structures, lack of respect of women in PRIs, physical violence in public and domestic spheres( pre and post elections), local politics spawned by caste/class/religious dynamics, early marriage etc

Economic barriers - women’s access and control (or lack thereof) of productive property assets (land, water, and forests), income from employment, housing etc influence their decision-making power within and outside the home.

Structural barriers – family responsibilities, livelihood maintainance, carer role, reproductive role

Women lack an independent identity- their identity is usually relational, i.e. derived from their relations with male members of the family. This hampers their ability to take independent decisions. there is evidence to suggest that women’s weak economic status within the family inhibits their participation in PRIs as they face difficulties in mobilizing the resources required to contest elections, campaign, travel etc

Their negotiations of these limitations provide insights on the way forward

Individual capacities High education Previous experience as PRI Previous work exp as ANM etc Motivation; Clarity in roles and responsibilities Ability to mobilize community, prior community rapport

Women’s collectives such as Self-Help Groups, women’s Panchayats etc - to organize and articulate their interests better and engage in decision-making in the family and community. Women belong to such groups are more likely to undertake a leadership role and develop the skills, confidence and support base required for entering PRIs as elected representatives.

training programmes are considered instrumental in helping understand their roles and responsibilities and develop administrative, technical and financial knowledge for more effective functioning.

SocietalFamily, spouse supportSupport of other PRI membersActive involvement and support of govt

officialsPresence of NGOs, women’s organisations

Principles of way forwardAddress the barriers and build on the

enabling factorsPrioritisationCyclic and continuous and feeding into each

otherGender responsive, gender sensitiveHolistic Pro active and progressiveParticipatory, need based( district specific)

Women participation in Palli sabha and Gram Sabha

Elected women training and capacity building – universal coverage, hands on , continuous

Strengthen women’s collectives and groups- social mobilisation

Functional literacyAll women PanchayatsGender budgetingBuilding alliance, networksSensitisation of local bureaucracy and

leadership Information disseminationAwareness generation