Project Goal:
High level of social and political acceptance of women’s roles; contribution at family, social, political and economic aspect and recognized as agent of transformational change.
Project Outcome:
Strategy:
Basically LHDP project is an outcome of “We Can” Programme of Oxfam GB where DEW worked as a partner. DEW used it as an existing platform. DEW has 20,000 Change Makers who are the agent of enhancing gender equality at family, community and state by bringing a positive shift in attitudes, beliefs and practices support violence against women.
It is from cradle to graveyard that women, only because of their gender identity, have to undergo a wide variety of physical and psychological oppression, torture, cruelties and inhumane treatment at familial-societal-state spheres across the South Asia. Women of Bangladesh and South Asia in general are getting deprived of a number of fundamental rights in terms of food, health, education, safety, physical and mental growth, participation at politics and workplace. Thus a woman has to face multitudes of oppression irrespective of age gaps, relationship differences and geographical locations.
Research findings reveal that approximately 50 millions of women are less in number than the expected numerical was supposed to be in South Asia as based on ratio of men and women in South Asia. These “missing millions of women” are basically the indicators of gender inequities, discrepancies, oppression and overall negligence towards women as deep-rooted in society. Bangladesh belongs to one of the world’s poorest countries with a population of approximately 160 million. With Bangladesh’s 69.2 years of life expectancy at birth, 8.1 expected years of schooling, 4.8 average years and schooling and $1,044 per capita income (GoB source), the country has been ranked 146th among the 187 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) according to the Human Development Report-2013 of UNDP. The country has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) value of 0.518, ranking it 111 out of 148 countries in the 2012 GII Report. Around 19.7 percent of Parliamentary seats are held by women and 30.8 percent of women have reached a secondary or higher level of education compared to 39.3 percent of their male counterparts. For every 100,000 live births 940 women die from pregnancy related causes and the adolescent fertility rate is 68.2 births per 1000 live births. Female participation in the labour market is 57.2 percent compared to 84.3 percent for men.
The proposed programme aims to transform women’s leadership by reducing incidence of violence against women that are taking place at the domestic domain of Mymensingh district areas. Women are still confined with social stigma due to the conventional notion of patriarchy and conservative religious norms even after implementation of We Can campaign. Although they are familiar with gender based rights issues, they have no escape from the dilemma due to lack of mass realization on gender issue related law and policies. Targeting to the desired goal, the program intends to transform women gradually with an influential role not only within the family, also over the community. For this, their skills and capacities would be enhanced by providing adequate knowledge, information and training. Sustainable income generating opportunities with increased income would be created for them through Fair Trade and Livelihoods program by facilitating market access. Their economic empowerment will be heightened which will lead them towards decision making procedure within the family and the community largely. Regular awareness building activity is also required to create mass realization on gender based rights issues and policies. A strong advocacy network will act as a catalyst to make gender related law and policies more popular raising gender sensitivity within the community largely. The entire effort will be effective in reducing VAW from the community at large where women will have life with equal opportunity, respect and dignity.
Development Wheel (DEW) has identified through its long involvement in implementing various projects in the greater Mymensingh that the rate of infringement of women rights and various forms of violence against them are much higher in the remote areas of the districts than any other parts of the country. DEW has started We Can campaign programme in Mymensingh from March 2008 with limited areas like three adjacent Upazillas and Mymensingh district town. Due to successful implementation of We Can Campaign in Mymensingh, women are familiar with various forms of VAW that are happening in the society. They are more concerned of their own rights and determined to improve their position in the community with honour and dignity. Still they are lagging behind with lack of proper knowledge and information to take the upper-hand role.
Basically LHDP project is an outcome of “We Can” Programme of Oxfam GB where DEW worked as one of its partners. The South Asian campaign of Oxfam entitled as “We Can” commenced its journey in Bangladesh on September 18 of 2004. Six new districts (Faridpur, Rajbari, Mymensingh, Chandpur, Jessore and Natore) were further included within the campaign in 2008. Till now the campaign has spreaded up to 55 districts of Bangladesh. DEW had been one of the vital and crucial partners of Oxfam GB in translating the concepts of “We Can” programme into action. DEW has implemented “We Can” campaign programme in Mymensingh from March 2008 to June-2011 with limited areas and resource like at Mymensing district level covering the Municipality area along with three other sub-districts likely as Muktagachha, Fulbaria and Trishal. The community mobilization activities of DEW has made it possible to disseminate “We Can” message to at least 2 lac people by creating 20,000 vibrant Change Makers with electronic data-base. On the other hand, a soothing bridge has already been enhanced within the local stakeholders, civil society and also the grass-root community within a viable-network where a well-defined District Alliance occupying 40-members is also formed for a more systematic execution within the community. In addition, DEW has gathered a considerable amount of understanding in linking the related aspects of human rights and good governance issues while experiencing the accomplishment of the movement employing a highly skilled team of competent staffs. Moreover, the systematic approach that is invested by DEW has identically become a very popular model which can be followed as a replicable model for either vertical or horizontal growth or both in further.
In the continuation of the journey, from October 2012, Oxfam has initiated an innovative intervention named Let Her Decide and Participate (LHDP) to enhance women agency of change through developing Women Transformative Leadership at different level. DEW as a one of its partners has been implemented series of activities through its women platform ‘Adda’, Change Makers, civil society, service provider organizations and district alliance in this working period. DEW is working with 8 villages and 5 educational institutions under this intervention. The initiative has proved that positive changes have been brought in attitude and practice among women against VAW. Increased awareness about stereotype role of women, earlier they are not willing to disclose domestic violence due to patriarchal barrier. The women platform ‘Adda’ can represent itself as a collective and visible stand on violence against women and to prepare themselves to face emerging anti development and women empowerment evil force like Jammat, Hefazat and other fundamentalist force.
Aim:
High level of social and political acceptance of women’s roles and contribution to the family, society, political and economic aspects of life and women will be recognised as agents of transformational change.
Objectives:
Outcome:
Activities:
Activities of Outcome-1
Activities of Outcome-2
Activities of Outcome-3
Despite various women’s empowerment programme running for three decades in Bangladesh, gender relation between women and men remain largely unchanged at family, community and state. So the existing rate of women education, women involvement in paid work, few participation in politics don’t make significant change in position and condition of women. Still now most of the women are not in decision making process, they have no control over their resources and their mobility is restricted. Women in Bangladesh are often denied the right to make decisions regarding timing of marriage, sex and childbearing (Sethuraman, 2007; Garcia-Moreno et al, 2005).
Even the constitution of Bangladesh has placed women on an equal footing with men in all spheres of public life. This is a guaranteed right that is ensured under Parts I, and II, corresponding to the Fundamental Principles of State Policy, and Fundamental Rights respectively. Most of women and men are not aware about these legal aspact and support system to challenge the situation. The socialization system, gendering process reinforcing the gender stereotyped role, biased social structure and value system make women more vulnerable to gender based violence and restricts their movement, hinders their potentials to emerge as the leader of their own life and challenge the barriers and transform the socio-political barriers and step forward. Therefore, reformation interventions are required for bringing transformational changes in women’s lives, in traditional gender relations and in changing power dynamics.
In this perspective, the project “Let Her Decide and Participate” facilitates and supports stronger individual and collective capacities to make lasting change, women’s articulation of a political voice to assert their personal rights and access resources, and creates an enabling environment for women to practice leadership at all levels (family, community, organizations, state and religious institutions, schools and the market) and in all domains (economic, social, political, cultural) through a transformative approach to women’s leadership. A transformative approach recognizes all contributions, no matter how small they seem, as steps in a transformative process and the necessity of women setting their own agendas in all decision making processes.
Since the inception of the organization, DEW has continued to grow and emerge in response to changes in the needs and demands of the poor people especially women of north east part of Bangladesh. DEW believes that women are of equal value to men and violence against them is a violation of their basic human rights and thus there is a need to end all violence against women which is also crime. We work to ensure that women have a real voice in all governance institutions, from judiciary to the civil service and in the private sector and civil society. It helps them to participate equally with men in public dialogue and decision making. We also believe that gender equality and women empowerment are not only human rights but also a pathway to achieving sustainable development.
Equality does not mean that men and women are the same, but that opportunities and chances in life will not depend on their sexual orientation. Gender Equity on the other hand refers to the fair and just distribution of all means of opportunities and resources between women and men. Decision making emerges as an important predictor of empowerment. To ensure women’s equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making at first we have to increase women’s capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership. The socio-economic position of women in societies negatively affects their participation. Typically, women earn less than men, and the sexual division of labour in society also imposes burdens on women that are not normally faced by men. Finally we would like to achieve equal rights of women in the personal, family and social structures. It is a process through which women could go beyond their traditional role and explore their inbuilt and hidden leadership quality. To introduce “Transforming Women Leadership” in Mymensingh, DEW will focus on some strategic interventions which are given below:
Bangladesh has some enabling legal framework, policy and convention and very recent state formulate a DV act but despite these women’s rights are being violeted everyday. Mojority people are not aware of existing legal aspect and support system to challenge the unjust. Any progress in terms of policy and legislation remains unsuccessful, as it is not supported by an associated shift in attitudes and beliefs.Moreover traditional patriarchal socialisation system reinforcing gender stereotype situation and blocked to avail the support mechanism when required.DEW will focus on in achieving the attitudinal change in the society required where the legislation will be used meaningfuly. We believe at first we have to change our own behaviour and mindset, so we believe start anything from your heart. These activities and campaign may play a vital role to reach our target.
Project Stakeholders: Women club members, Change-makers, District alliance committee, Service provider organizations, Family members of club members, Group committee of others project, Local Government body, Human rights based NGOs, Mohila Parishad, Udichi, Trade union, Producer associations, Civil Society, Members of Press Club, district level govt officers, Educational institutions, All staffs of Development Wheel (DEW), elected members etc.
Numbers of Direct Project Participants: 1050
Numbers of Indirect Project Participants: 5250 LHDP indirect project participants+ 40 members of District Alliance committee+ Students and teachers of 6 Educational institutes + 20000 Change Maker+7500 ARP beneficiaries.
DEW has decided to mainstream LHDP concept among other projects. After this decision, DEW is working to disseminate the LHDP theme to other running projects at Mymensingh. As a result, Organization is getting easy access to promote LHDP at community level.
Meantime, “Project Facilitator” of DEW-LHDP project as appointed by DEW is working at DEW Mymensingh regional office and networking with other staffs of DEW. Thus the doctrine of “Gender and Women Leadership” is being integrated within the organization and management system.
Primarily we want to integrate LHDP concept with our existing and ongoing platforms. Here existing indicates We Can Campaign platform and ongoing indicates Agricultural Rights Program (ARP) platform. Agricultural Rights Program (ARP) is supported by The Swallows India Bangladesh and implemented by DEW. It is an ongoing project. In our next phase we want to integrate LHDP with that project. In ARP, 40% direct beneficiaries are women and working area of ARP covers LHDP area also. Rural women play a significant role in rural economy of our country. They participate in crop production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to diversify their families’ livelihoods. In addition, they carry out vital functions in caring for children, older persons and the sick. In ARP project beneficiaries also formed group to attain their agricultural rights. We think the integration of LHDP concept with ARP project may help to ensure gender justice. Our ultimate target is to integrate our activities with three outcomes of LHDP:
We reach our target through various activities:
We expect through our activities we can achieve gender justice in below mentioned areas:
Finally, we can say gender justice is the pathway to achieving sustainable development. DEW believes and practices gender sensitivity in its organizational structure and with its stakeholders. In all projects of DEW, we have at least 40% women stakeholders.DEW is dedicated to improving livelihoods security of the poor segments of the society in Bangladesh through increasing their participation (particularly women) in small scale economic activities by creating the provision of a range of business and life skills for them. We want to integrate LHDP theme with our above mentioned mission. To work together we will conduct coordination meeting with ARP staffs regularly and to mainstream LHDP theme in organisational structure we disseminate the theme in monthly staff meeting regularly.
Development Wheel (DEW) is implementing Let Her Decide and Participate (LHDP) project supported by Oxfam-GB in Mymensingh from November 2012. Basically this project is based on building Women’s Transformative Leadership. Goal of this project is to attain high level of social and political acceptance of women’s roles and ensuring women’s contribution at family, social, political and economic aspect and her contribution recognized as agents of transformational change. DEW is working in 8 villages and with 5 educational institutions under this project. Besides, DEW is also working with civil society, service provider organizations and District Alliance. In another project or programme like, DEW is providing knowledge, building capacity, linkages to public and private sector service providers, emphasizing to make group savings of farmers so that when projects will be end they can help themselves (self-help group). Also DEW is including GOB agriculturist extension services to their projects activity so that they can serve the farmers better and a sustainable relationship can be formed between farmers and GOB officers. It means we are closely working with community for sustainable development.
We initiate all possible measurements to mainstream LHDP theme in our existing and ongoing platforms and integrate it in our all programme development, policy making and decision making.
Violence against women is perhaps the most pervasive violation of human rights. Bangladeshi women experience violence throughout their life cycle that takes many forms including sex selection feticide, domestic violence and sexual assault. In family relation violence is considered as a part of traditional culture. So the person who is abusing feels its their right to abuse and the person who is abused considers its their fate.So definition of violence becomes unclesr in terms of family values and norms.Poor women in Bangladesh are relatively more vilnerable to gender based violence. In rural Bangladesh women’s vulnerability increased because of their powerlessness and unequal access to and distribution of economic resources.
Since the inception of the organization, DEW has continued to grow and emerge in response to changes in the needs and demands of the poor people of north east part of Bangladesh. DEW’s vision is a society where all people will enjoy equal rights, equitable access to employment and adequate resources necessary for their livelihoods and will live in dignity. Dew believes that women are of equal value to men and violence against them is a violation of their basic human rights and thus there is a need to end all violence against women. We work to ensure that women have a real voice in all governance institutions, from judiciary to the civil service and in the private sector and civil society gender equality and women empowerment are not only human rights but also a pathway to achieving sustainable development. It helps them to participate equally with men in public dialogue and decision making. We also believe that gender equality and women empowerment are not only human rights but also a pathway to achieving sustainable development.
Dew believes in gender equality and gender justice at the same time DEW practices it in its organizational structure means management, policy and procedure. There are 42% female members in Executive Committee and 38% female members in General Committee of DEW. They can take part in policy and decision making of the organization. There are 30% female staffs in our all ongoing project.40% direct project participant are women in all ongoing project.
Explaining Transformative Leadership:
The cardinal aim of “transformative leadership” for women is to give the voice and speechless women the least voice and speech to manifest her in a unique way, to enable her to be heard, to orient her in the courses of action and channel her resources and potentials to the full. Since the mythical age of Khana, women have been chopped off her tongue or that she has been muted and silenced. “Transformative Leadership” wishes to unleash the vibrant inner resources of women and utilize it to its optimum level so that women can stand against all the patriarchal strides of society and raise her voice in the tone of self-reliance and independence.
To break the silence of hundreds year, we need a transformational change within the structure. We know that it’s a long way to touch the harbour that’s why we have to indicate the steps towards the target. In LHDP concept to reach the harbour of gender justice we find the given way to the power structure. The way to the power structure:
The project “Let Her Decide and Participate” facilitates and supports stronger individual and collective capacities to make lasting change, women’s articulation of a political voice to assert their personal rights and access resources, and creates an enabling environment for women to practice leadership at all levels (family, community, organizations, state and religious institutions, schools and the market) and in all domains (economic, social, political, cultural) through a transformative approach to women’s leadership. A transformative approach recognizes all contributions, no matter how small they seem, as steps in a transformative process and the necessity of women setting their own agendas in all decision making processes.
We believe that the project endeavours creating space for women where women will take a lead role to bring changes within their lives and leadership, transform the traditional gender roles, bring shifts in the power dynamics, develop a platform of women from local to national level associated with the women’s movement, civil society movement and government for creating wider acceptance of gender equality and ending GBV. As the approach of the project is transformation regarding women leadership, it can radically change our stereotype women’s role in organization and community. This transformative women’s leadership concept influences to bring about fundamental change and facilitating the empowerment of self and others – at home, formal and informal milieus, among others. It helps us to practice active citizenship, being agents of change, increasing voice and accountability in formal and informal power structures. DEW will be benefited if we incorporate all this things in policy or decision making, in strengthening gender friendly environment at organization or positive changes has been brought in attitude and practice among individuals, staffs and stakeholders against VAW.
