Gender is Fun! Gender Action Learning for Sustainability in Kyrgyzstan

1. Gender is Fun! Gender Action Learning for Sustainability in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux Independent Consultant, GAMEChange Network For IFAD Kyrgyzstan, September 2016 GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

2. What is GALS? Community-led empowerment methodology which aims to give women as well as men more control over their lives and catalyse and support a sustainable movement for gender justice. Gender mainstreaming methodology used on its own or integrated into existing activities and programmes in any development intervention, including general life planning, livelihood and value chain development, financial services, environmental management, health, reproductive rights, literacy, civil society development, counselling and conflict resolution. Participatory gender advocacy research enabling more inclusive, effective and cost-efficient democratic policy development and gender advocacy. GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

3. Evolution of GALS Gender Action Learning System: 2007 – ongoing • Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Union • Oxfam Novib/IFAD WEMAN, GENVAD… • IFAD Sierra Leone… • TWIN UK Uganda, DRC, Malawi and Latin America Gender Action Learning for Sustainability at Scale (GALSatScale) 2013 - ongoing • Happy Family Happy Coffee: Hivos and Ecom Trading Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Indonesia • Gender mainstreaming in cocoa sector with FLA, Nestle • IFAD Kyrgyzstan • SNV Ethiopia • Financial Action Learning System (still to be developed – Nigeria January) GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

4. Elements of GALS Approach: inclusive, focus on positive, action from day 1, gender justice vision non-negotiable, multistakeholder Methodology: participatory facilitation techniques, active learning, generic diagram drawing, ‘fun’ songs and theatre Tools: Diagrams adapted to specific purposes, budgets, timescales, participants and contexts GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

5. Gender Justice Vision Women are intelligent actors, not victims Women’s rights in CEDAW are non-negotiable A world where women and men of all agesrealise their full potential as economic, social and political actors, free from all gender discrimination, for empowerment of themselves, their families, their communities and global humankind Redefine ‘culture’ in terms of underlying values of respect, inclusion and equity Men are potential partners in change towards a just society GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

6. Gender Justice Framework • Promotion of women’s human rights as stated in UN CEDAW to enable both women and men to move forward in a just society • Right 1: Freedom from Violence • Right 2: Gender Equality in Decision-making • Right 3: Equal property rights • Right 4: Freedom of thought, movement and association • Right 5: Equal rights to work and leisure • Gender justice for men to enable them to challenge and change gender stereotypes and constraints preventing men and women from achieving their full human potential. GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

7. WHAT IS WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT? GENDER TRANSFORMATION POWER WITH WomenPower within:confidenceaspirations Women:Power toskillsresources Men Power toPower within ALLPOWER OVER= BAD STRATEGIES FOR WOMENto change gender inequality STRATEGIES FOR MENto changegender inequality GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

8. Why Gender and Households? Gender inequality in property rights, division of labour and decision-making leads to inefficient use of resources and division of labourin the household Men’s excessive luxury expenditure (alcohol, smoking, ‘women in town’) limits resources for family wellbeing and means men will die young, caught in vicious cycle of peer pressure and health risk Conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law cause considerable unhappiness on all sides Households engage in distress sales because of cash shortages Men traders’ own expenditure on alcohol and other luxuries limits savings and leads to indebtedness Women businesses also face serious barriers at household level GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

9. Gender change is fun! Drawing and emphasis on the visual Songs and dances : promoting a vision, questioning culture and teaching tools Interactive theatre and role play: visioning and most significant changes Participatory photography and video Technology – democratising the web GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

10. INTERLINKEDGENDER STRATEGIES Strategy 2: Mainstreaming for innovation and institutional change Strategy 3: Global Gender Justice Advocacy Movement Strategy 1: Empowerment through Community-led Gender Action Learning GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

11. Generic Participatory Action Principles • Focus on the positive: visioning, strengths, opportunities, win-win to build support for tackling challenges and conflicts • Action from Day 1: SMART activities and targets tracked over time from the very first session • Inclusion : everyone can be a leader of change • Social justice is non-negotiable : including gender and generational justice • Sustainability : ownership, pyramid peer upscaling and integration GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

12. Generic Diagram Types Used at all levels, generally with symbol drawing, to increase clarity of thinking and communication Road Journey – underlying strategic planning framework with SWOT analysis Trees – concept mapping Circle maps – relationship mapping Diamonds – analysing priorities for change and impact assessment GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

13. Participatory Facilitation Techniques Facilitation from the back Give time for individual reflection first Use of drawing Pairwise discussions to develop confidence Development of listening skills Participatory democratic discipline built into the tool facilitation Quantification GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

14. Each process is unique Purpose and issue Context: levels of education, power relations, cultural sensitivies, cultural forms Social capital and networks available Role, capacities and relationships of implementing organisation Funding levels, availability and conditions Available resource organisations and champions TIME at each stage GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

15. Catalyst Process: Rocky Road to Diamond Dreams Individual and household level for ease of voluntary peer sharing Vision Vision Journey Gender Balance Tree Change Leadership Map Challenge Action Tree Multilane Highway GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

16. Livelihoods and Value Chain • Business Brainstorming • Business input/output tree • Increasing Incomes Challenge Action Tree • Market to value chain map • Multilane Business Plan GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

17. GALS leadership capacity development – first develop vision and confidence through GALS catalyst process Leadership visioning for women/men ‘What are the characteristics of a good leader? Good member? Bad leader? Bad member? Leadership analysis Governance mapping Leadership planning for individuals Leadership planning and monitoring for group governance. As entry point to more advanced leadership development Everyone Can be a Leader GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

18. Participatory Organisational Planning Aggregated and Collective Visioning (soulmate and/or gender diamonds) Challenge Action Trees Upscale and advocacy mapping Aggregate and collective Multilane Vision Journey Participatory advocacy research GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

19. Engaginggovernment Link individual planning to government participatory planning processes Farmers present plans to local government officers Integration of gender training into government agricultural extension Use of monitoring information to influence local officials eg land boards GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

20. Issues: value chain, gender-based violence, land rights etc MandE aggregated from members to groups to organisation and used for advocacy Quantitative and qualitative follow-up studies on issues emerging Use of participatory methods so that analysis and findings are fed back to the people affected Community fair that could gather existing information and lead to new plans Linkage with Universities for in-depth research Advocacy Research GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

21. Web resources GameChangeNetwork(Gender Action Mainstreaming for Empowerment to Change) websites: http://www.gamechangenetwork.info http://www.gamechangenetwork.org GALS (Gender Action Learning for Sustainability) websites: http://www.galsatscale.net https://www.facebook.com/galsatscalenetwork/ GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

22. Naryn workshop: Daughter-in-law song GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

23. GALS Increasing Incomes Challenge Action Tree looks at the production (GAPs and environmental), marketing (including relationships with companies) and household (gender, youth, child labour, health and safety to increasing farmer incomes from coffee. asks farmers to identify what they see as solutiochange commitments. ns that they can implement themselves and make 5-10 This enables companies to assess what farmers already know and can share with each other. This enables service providers to see where they need to add and/or correct information to make technical trainings much more cost-effective and focussed on what farmers really need to know. The same Challenge Action Tree tool is then used to frame each practical technical GAPs session to look in more detail at e.g. canopy management etc. Action from day 1 GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

24. Start with the individual Diversity of households Develop social networks Maximise self-interest incentives Work with stakeholders at all levels Link with government Link with researchers (later) MAKE GENDER FUN GALS as Household Methodology GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016

25. Why drawing? Clearer thoughts and concepts : if you can’t draw it you don’t know it Clearer communication and visual impact of ideas and concepts ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ Developing the ‘right side of the brain’ Intelligence and memory Loosening up and getting people away from comfort zone Possibility of fitting in more information in a smaller space to examine the relation between different elements Inclusion of people who cannot read and write - they are often better at symbol drawing than people with higher levels of formal education GALS in Kyrgyzstan Linda Mayoux for IFAD Kyrgyzstan September 2016