http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=3406
Editorial India's Roadmap For Women [ 2006-9-18 ] By Deepti Priya Mehrotra ?IF gender components are integrated into government policy, funds can be allocated, action taken on a large scale, and women's conditions improved. We think it is important to mainstream gender into the developmental process," says Dr. Pam Rajput of India's NAWO (National Alliance of Women's Organisations). This is the thinking behind NAWO's initiative towards engendering India's Eleventh Five-Year Plan, in coordination with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNIFEM and UNDP. Consultations This civil society initiative kicked off in December 2005 with the formation of a think tank consisting of representatives of women's organisations, activists and academics. The think tank held five regional-level consultations with grassroots women during April-July 2006, in Chandigarh, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Shillong and Kolkata, as well as two national consultations. Over 1,000 women expressed their views at these consultations. Taking this as a guideline, think tank members prepared ?Voices: Women Redefining Development', a comprehensive document that was presented to the Planning Commission on August 29, 2006, at a meeting chaired by Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Several recommendations were well received by the Planning Commission, while some were questioned, challenged and/or discussed threadbare. Ten years ago, a similar think tank brought on board hundreds of women's organisations to gender-audit past plans and articulate priorities for the Ninth Plan. Inclusion of several recommendations made the Ninth Plan the most gender-sensitive Plan up to then. The present Planning Commission is also likely to include many of the recommendations currently being proposed. Ruth Manorama, well-known Dalit leader from Karnataka, elucidates: ?We have recommended that Dalit women be considered a separate category, with specific Plan provisions and budgetary allocation. Basically, we want access to health, education, credit, water and land allotment on a priority basis for Dalit women. This proposal has been accepted in principle. This will be the first time that a Five-Year Plan makes such a move. We have proposed that women from the minority communities, tribals and other disadvantaged sections also receive attention so that their basic rights as citizens are ensured." Dr. Vibhuti Patel, Head, Department of Economics at SNDT Women's University, Mumbai, notes, ?Liberalisation has adversely affected marginalised women. But Planning Commission members did not agree easily. Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that structural adjustment always affects some sections of society adversely. But we said, the impact is very widespread and it is not acceptable. Large sections of people are getting poorer, losing resources and livelihoods, and there is feminisation of poverty. This has to be taken seriously." Dr. Asha Kapur-Mehta of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, says, ?We have especially flagged health concerns, because poor health pushes women into poverty, and further exacerbates the conditions of those who are already poor." Preventive and curative public health services should be ensured, as also clean water and toilet facilities. Similarly education of girls is to receive high priority - the recommendation is that 6 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) be invested to enhance girls' and women's education at all levels. Other broad recommendations with far-reaching implications include redefinition of the poverty line, poverty measures and minimum wages in a way that reflects economic realities. Also, the definition of work should be expanded so as to include various categories of women workers who fall outside the current criteria. Many women work all their lives to add to family resources, and they should receive all the social security benefits that are being proposed for informal sector workers. Dr. Indira Hirway of the Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad, points out, ?There are even mechanisms for measuring women's unpaid work, such as making ?satellite budgets' in the national accounting system, which recognise this labour. However, we have not really included this as a recommendation yet." Many members felt that the time is not yet ripe for this suggestion. Concerns of women from the Northeast, and from Jammu and Kashmir, have received special attention. The impact of conflict on women, the ways in which this impact can be mitigated, as also inclusion of women from these areas in mainstream development have been emphasised. Gender dimensions in the context of disasters and displacement have received due attention. The ?Voices' document proposes that, ?No displacement can be done without a clearance certificate from a committee consisting of human rights activists and the concerned populations, including women." Wherever land is allotted for rehabilitation, it should preferably be to women, or as joint ownership. Recommendations have been made for the protection of the rights of marginalised women, including sex workers, women who are HIV+ and women with disabilities. Elimination of all forms of violence against women has been described as a prerequisite for development. Existing laws need to be implemented, with appropriate monitoring mechanisms, safe and sensitised support services, shelter homes and fast-track courts. As one member succinctly put it, ?If the girl child does not survive, who are we doing all this planning for?" A central idea proposed is the promotion of ?W-Governance' (governance by women). The gender gap that exists at every level of governance needs to be overcome. In fact, the document points out that the Planning Commission itself should have more women members - a minimum of 33 per cent members should be women. This is also true for State Planning Boards. A separate Ministry for Women, headed by a Cabinet-rank minister has been recommended. As matters stand, the Ministry for Women and Child Development tends to allocate only about 11 per cent of its funds for women, the remaining 89 percent being reserved for children. A strong case is being made for gender budgeting as well as sex-disaggregated data in every governmental ministry and department, as well as in private and public sector undertakings. Bottom-up approach This women's initiative to engender the Eleventh Plan in many ways illustrates what it is recommending - a bottom-up approach, with in-built strategies for participation and inclusion of the dispossessed and marginalised. Rather than sit back as victims, women have decided to stand up for their rights - not only in the family and at the workplace, but also at the level of national policymaking. Will this gargantuan effort actually make a difference? Clearly, it is a serious effort at bridging the gap between women on the ground and the men in high places - so that the voices of grassroots women reach those who make decisions at the top. By integrating women's claims into the planning process, it is hoped that gender justice will become an essential part of development. - Women's Feature Service --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA) To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
