There is a gap between women’s major contribution to agricultural production, marketing and rural livelihoods, and their limited voice in making decisions that affect them, their livelihoods and their communities. In response, IFAD, with support from the Government of Norway, developed the Rural Women’s Leadership Programme (RWLP) to strengthen the role and voice of women leaders in rural organizations, including in policy dialogue. The overall goal was to increase the responsiveness of national policies, programmes and institutions to the needs and potential of rural women farmers. It was implemented between 2010 and 2013 in Madagascar, Nepal, the Philippines and Senegal. The experience in Nepal is described below to illustrate the good practice.
RWLP in Nepal
In Nepal, patriarchal norms continue to keep women at home and limit their mobility, which in turn hinders their economic opportunities. The Nepalese social castes create additional inequalities; Dalit (often called ‘untouchable’) women are marginalized by women from other castes, preventing them from accessing available opportunities.
The two-year RWLP covered five districts in central Nepal. It aimed to strengthen the capacities of rural women, their associations at all levels and their professional organizations, as well as enhance the quality of policy advocacy and dialogue. Various climate change programmes were concentrated in the target area, directly channelling resources to the district level. The Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs) represented an opportunity for women and men to access these resources and benefit equally from development opportunities.
RWLP in Nepal was based on the concept ‘leadership for what’ – motivating women’s leadership by linking objectives to clear opportunities – in this instance, LAPA funds and improved natural resource management. Capacity-building and training were provided to women in leading roles at the local and national levels supported by coaching, mentoring and exposure visits. Policy frameworks were reviewed, and advocacy was fostered through the media and at relevant international events. A ‘training of trainers’ approach was adopted to reach women leaders at the district level and then through the tiers of rural organizations. The content was highly practical and included negotiation skills, confidence-building, self-development, organizational change, gender mainstreaming and technical knowledge on agricultural issues, including natural resource management. Crucially, it also facilitated women’s access to LAPA funds at the district level.
#RuralWomenLeadershipProgramme #IFAD #RWLP
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Publisher:
IFAD
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(2018
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Type / Script:
Publication
in English
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Keywords:
EMPOWERMENT, RURAL AREAS, WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT, WOMEN'S ADVANCEMENT, RURAL WOMEN, WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE, PROGRAMME OWNERSHIP, CAPACITY BUILDING
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Thematic Group: IFAD
:
International Fund for Agricultural Development
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Thesaurus:
14.01.00
- Advancement Of Women
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Reference Link:
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