The Rights and Gender Perspective

Presentation at the International Seminar on the Rights and Gender Perspective

Nairobi November 5-9 2012

The Rights and Gender Perspective• Starting point - prerequisites• Principles• Approaches• Methods

The Rights and Gender Perspective• Based on the international human

rights:

“ All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1

From needs to rightsNeeds-based Rights-basedIndividuals are objects of development

Individuals are empowered to claim their rights, subjects

People are passive beneficiaries

Men and women are active participants by right

Needs can be prioritised, e g basic needs

Rights are indivisible, no hierarchy of rights

Needs may generate promises, no duty

Rights always imply duties

The Rights and Gender Perspective - principles

• Participation – mobilisation – empowerment

• Accountability and transparency

• Non-discrimination

Participation ….

• Community members are involved and contribute to different stages of development projects.

• Participation from problem identification to monitoring and evaluation.

• Community members are social actors with unique insights on their situation-

Participation ….cont.

• Levels/types of participation: informing consulting deciding together acting together supporting independent

community initiatives

Participation ….cont…

• Methods to engage communities:Mobilisation…Empowerment….

Close link between participation and ownership

Accountability

• Refers to the relationship between rights-holders and duty-bearers.

• “All human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights” – every human being is a rights-holder.

Accountability…

RIGHTS HOLDER

claims the right from…

DUTY BEARERfulfils responsibility to…

Accountability…..cont.

• Overall responsibility to assure human rights lies with the state:

Parliament, ministries, local authorities, judges etc.

Legal duty-bearers

Accountability…..cont.

• Moral duty-bearers:Churhes, civil society organizations

are accountable to the communities they work with.

…. and transparency

• Transparency is a prerequisite for accountability.

• Transparent with finances, plans, decisions, results, assessments……

• Systems for open communication

Non-discrimination

• A fundamental human rights principle:

• Every individual is entitled to his or her human rights without discrimination on any grounds

• Equal access to processes and its benefits

Non-discrimination…. Cont.

• Special attention to most vulnerable groups…

• …..at the same time identify, recognise and capitalise on people’s strengths and assets

The Rights and Gender Perspective• Human rights are for all human

beings.• Women are entitled to the same

human rights as men.

Reality check

The Rights and Gender Perspective.. Cont.• 2/3 of the illiterates in the world are

women and girls• Women produce 60-80% of food in

developing countries, but own less than 2% of land needed for production

• Less than 20% of parliamentarians in the world today are women.

Gender Equality

• Gender equality is not mainly about women.• Gender equality is about the relationship

between men and women.• It does not mean that women and men have to

become the same, but that their rights and responsibilities will not depend on whether they were born male or female.

The Rights and Gender Perspective – challenges and opportunities• Identify and analyse root causes• Power analyses• Address obstacles to development• Address gender as part of power

analyses and active non-discrimination

The rights and gender perspective….

Thank you for your attention!