Gender and the NSP

1. This presentation will probably involve audience discussion, which will create action items. Use PowerPoint to keep track of these action items during your presentation • In Slide Show, click on the right mouse button • Select “Meeting Minder” • Select the “Action Items” tab • Type in action items as they come up • Click OK to dismiss this box • This will automatically create an Action Item slide at the end of your presentation with your points entered. Gender and the NSP Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)

2. Data Sources • Assessment of NSP Facilitating Partners, Common Final Report, Altai Consulting August 2004 • From Subjects to Citizens: Initial Lessons from NSP, AREU, August 2004 • Gender Roles in Agriculture: Case studies of five villages in northern Afghanistan, March 2004

3. NSP: What’s on paper • Women are entitled to participate equally with men in decision-making about development projects • Women’s participation is not compulsory – the idea should grow from the communities • Alternative arrangements for women’s participations are addressed via women’s shuras/CDCs if women’s participation is difficult • 10% of block grants earmarked for women’s projects

4. NSP: What’s actually happening in the field • Access to information about NSP is often scarce and infrequent for women – 10% grants not being used • When women allowed to participate, a strong commitment among them, in spite of a high rate of female illiteracy. • Two main factors had the most important impact on the level of success of FPs with respect to this matter: •   Having a sound, reflected approach with an in-depth, solid religious and social tools/arguments. • Having well-informed, trained and experienced female field staff.

5. Are women’s voices really heard in the CDCs? • Most CDCs are separated into male and female shuras • Women are often isolated in the few co-ed CDCs that do exist • Often problems of communication between men and women’s shuras (men don’t listen) • Women’s projects are not included in the project proposals if the block grants are not enough for covering both men and women’s projects

6. Observations • Some variation across villages in levels of women’s participation in CDCs • Women’s participation has exceeded the expectations of most FPs, even if the initial ambitious targets have not been met. • Despite an encouraging level of women’s participation, the real involvement of women in decision-making is still very limited, particularly in mixed CDCs. • Elderly women and educated women are often more accepted in public roles

7. How to improve women’s participation in NSP? • More female facilitators and better training, understanding, and support • Training and support to women’s CDCs • Improve women’s access to communication and information about NSP • Enforcement of the principle that 10% of block grants can be earmarked for women’s projects if necessary • Make sure that those women’s income-generating projects that do exist are economically viable

8. Practical Recommendations Women and men CDCs first meet separately before convening at a common consultation: • Respectful of the cultural separation between men and women • Meeting amongst themselves allows women to raise a louder voice and to express more freely than when mixed with men. Tools besides elections can be used to ensure real participation: e.g., women’s groups for selection of projects (AKDN), women’s committees with a separate budget, etc. 

9. Altai Recommendations Continued • Women’s participation be at the center of a specific workshop, organized by the OC/MRRD, to which all FPs would be invited to share experiences and recommendations.   • Greater effort to increase the number of women field staff should be explored – through bonuses, recruitment of couples, etc

10. Findings from 5 villages report • Most current inc-generating activities (handicrafts) for women have minimal economic returns • Among the poor, women can rarely keep the profits of their labors • Inability to own property such as land also negatively affects vulnerable women’s children’s chances for education and a brighter future. • Tremendous need for gender-aware programming • Train in business skills, marketing, and pricing • Explore livestock for women – need female extension agents too then!

11. Next Steps • Follow-on USAID project should provide enormous strengthening of women’s participation in NSP by targeting literacy and income-generation via the CDCs. • Request other donors to provide similar follow-on programs targeting key areas of literacy and income generation. • Request MISFA to go beyond providing micro-credit to women by starting micro-enterprise training and marketing techniques for vulnerable women, in particular, to become a part of the formal village economy.