REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON GENDER BUDGETING

1. REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON GENDER BUDGETING Organized by Department of Women and Child Development-GOI In Collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) And Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) New Delhi, 23-24, November 2005 Building Budgets from Below presentation by Ahalya S Bhat, SSF on the Methodology and Tool Developed in Karnataka to Enable Women in Local Government to Design Fiscal Policy

2. Prelude • Presentation shows the STEPS required to ensure an outcome out of a process. • It emphasizes the importance of process in generating outcome • The following slides represent • Process used • Value of partnership • Adoption of other methodologies • Merging of methodologies to generate outcome

3. Background • Women at the grassroots, have always and world wide shown their capacity to design,build and manage development . • However , women’s participation in governance including budget matters, education, employment , etc has not materialized • Yet in India there has been recognition of the need to include women in governance for many decades

4. Contd….

5. Singamma Sreenivasan Foundation -A profile SSF is a public charitable trust dedicated towards the empowerment of women and conservation of nature. • Objectives: • To facilitate the advancement of women • To improve their conditions of living and employment . • To document and disseminate information related to women. Few activities undertaken • Strengthening Women’s participation in District Level Governance • Creating infrastructure facilities for training rural women in growing and • processing of medicinal plants • Human Rights Education • Evaluation of schemes for Women in Karnataka

6. Need to link Economic Governance to Political Governance With federation formed there was a need to develop technical skills. Federation members expressing their views Need of the hour – Empowerment of women in Economic Governance `Building Budgets from Below’ was built on the foundation (Women federation) that was already laid by SSF

7. Aim of the Foundation Enabling the women from Grassroot level to develop plan and Building Budgets from Below in local self government with women’s leadership

8. Building Budgets From Below Objectives 1. Linking economic governance to political governance. 2. Examining and analyzing the budget of both the State and the Local Governments and helping elected women to participate in budget preparation. Project was implemented in 3 phases

9. Designing a methodology • Over a period of three years a tool/ a methodology has been evolved in enabling elected women to know and participate in development planning and financing at local level. • This process has been in partnership with • UNIFEM/ European Union • State Government of Karnataka • Janagraha (Citizen's movement committed to increasing citizen participation in local government: the practice of participatory democracy).

10. Steps required to achieve the outcome in summary • Women’s connectivity, • Intense process of participation • Statistical data/surveys • Women’s political will The experience proved that women elected to local councils who are never exposed to Budget, Politics/ Education can be agents of change & can learn techniques and use them.

11. Sites Location: Federation of women The Federations were also formed in 3 southern states –Kerala, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu In Karnataka the federation was formed in 9 districts

12. Outline of nine steps

13. The process required 9 Steps to enable the outcome • The First Brick- • Women to be organised in a collective. Usually this is done • by women’s organisations. • This was undertakenby SSF through a project “Associating Women in Local Self Government” • SSF formed association of 684 Elected members of panchayats in Karnataka in 9 districts during 2000- 2005 On a common platform

14. Step II- sites selection • Out of these 9 districts where women had formed federations, SSF choose 2 GPs and 2 Urban areas for enabling women’s participation in economic governance • Honaganahalli Gram Panchayat in Bijapur district. • Kogali Gram Panchayat in Bellary district. • Udupi City Municipal Council & Tumkur City Municipal Council. 4. Mysore City Corporation • In Phase II and Phase III – Tumkur was selected in place of Udupi

15. Step III – Data Collection Two levels of data collection was done • Quantitative data: • Collecting state level budgetary allocations & of selected sites i.e. Secondary Data • Primary data collection in the selected sites • Socio-economic profiles of EWRs • Socio-economic profiles of Sites • Working of Public distribution systems • Availability of health services • MAPS showing the resources available • Qualitative information on their knowledge • of budgets was collected from EWRs • through check list EWRs, women folk participating in the deliberation

16. Step IV - Demystify the budget Enabled EWRs to demystify the budget by presenting the data to them through participatory mock sessions • 1. Engaging women in number of meetings used to understand • the area and develop a Budget as they would like to see it i.e., • the “Ought” Budget • 2. Presenting them the actual budget and the ought budget and letting them understand the gap between the Actual Budget and Ought Budget • 3. Through this process the women were enabled to understand – • What was a Budget • How Budget was prepared • How to influence the Budget

17. Findings : Awareness : Women were kept in dark Perception : Lack of knowledge in governance Participation : Very minimal and opportunity was not given • No System to impart knowledge to elected representatives. • No linkage between Actual Budget and the `Ought Budget’ prepared by women • Given an opportunity with training, women are capable of participating in the budget process.

18. Bridging the Gap – Between Logistics and execution to bring measurable outcome • Problems were identified • Data collected and analysis was done • Lacked technique/Methodology to solve • the problem • There was need for intervention to bridge • this gap In this backdrop Janaagraha joined hands with SSF

19. In order to bridge the gap.. SSF adopted the technique of Janaagraha • Collecting data on revenue & expenditure • Community participation/ participatory democracy • Citizens engage with the government as communities and not as individuals • Bringing awareness to the citizens • Having three cornered meeting • SSF adopted this technique in the GPs and Municipalities to achieve the outcome • In case of Janaagraha it is limited to urban body and with citizen represented by ward committee in the city

20. Step V- Site Interventions • The technique of Janaagraha was implemented . • The stakeholders i.e, SHG members, EWRs, Bureaucrats, Decision Makers, other NGOs participated. • Focus on identifying critical issues, find suitable solutions and arrive at financial requirements. • Women lobby was formed to influence the budget • 25 round of meetings were held Women participating in the meeting & learning about the budget process

23. Positive outcome in 2005-06 Budget • Mysore City Corporation: • - An ad hoc “Women and Child Welfare Committee” to be constituted - IWDP enhanced- Rs 5-10 lakhs - To buy sewing machines for women enhanced-Rs 7-10 lakhs - New head `Nirmala Nagara Yojana’ created with Rs 10000 to each local habitat group - Number of women self groups increased from 2-4.

24. Contd…… • Tumkur City Municipal Council: • A separate head for women in the budget earmarking 1% of the total budget to women’s development was introduced • Honaganahalli GP: • Budget was allocated for construction of bus stop in Jumnal village as well as to raise the compound walls of public toilet for women • Allocations were made for repairing of toilets for women Kogali GP: • The EWRs & President of GP assured that suitable allocations would be made for improving the roads, distribution of ration cards, toilets facilities

25. Thank you