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Kathmandu Tuesday December 18, 2001 Paush 03, 2058.
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Women’s commission :
Inception and challenges
By Dr Gopal Krishna Siwakoti
Women’s rights defenders in Nepal are
thrilled by the recent announcement of the government on the creation of a long-cherished
national commission for women. The need for such an ombudsman has been seriously felt
particularly after the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Many
women’s rights champions have been stepping up a coordinated campaign to establish a
machinery that addresses the issues of women’s human rights and equality, redresses
grievances, enjoys autonomy and has power to investigate questions of women’s rights
and gender justice.
National Women’s Machineries (NWMs) were
central to the ‘integration of women in development’ strategy of the 1970s.
Since the mid-1980s, the slow pace of change in women’s status and opportunities, the
experience of project and policy ‘misbehaviour’ and the ghettoisation of
women’s issues in government structures, have called into question the top-down
strategy of creating NWMs. Twenty years of experience point to a number of lessons about
the creation and support of national machineries and the wider policy context within which
they operate. These could usefully inform future financial and technical assistance to
NWMs and, more broadly, the project of institutionalising gender in government policy and
planning.
Shifts in the conceptualisation of Women in
Development (WID) and/or Gender in Development (GAD) issues in the last decade are
reflected in new approaches to the state as a vehicle for change. Mainstreaming looks
beyond the promotion of projects and programmes for women, to the consideration of gender
issues across all sectors, ministries and departments. This, in turn, may imply
transformation of the institutional structures of government and the state and requires
close attention to the links between national women’s machineries and other areas of
government.
It is noted that several NWMs, particularly
the more recently established ones, focus on advocacy and policy oversight work, as well
as direct involvement in ‘women’s’ projects. In some cases, however, the
rhetoric of gender mainstreaming is not translated into practice and NWMs continue to
conform to the old welfare-oriented model. The Indian Women’s Commission could be
regarded as ample evidence of this.
Experience has demonstrated that a range of
political, institutional and financial constraints limit the effectiveness of national
machineries. In general, there has not been a remarkable shift from welfare-based
strategies to a more human rights approach. This often results from the lack of high-level
commitment, lack of a strong internal constituency and dependence on external funding. If
a commission is to be effective, a solid constitutional and legal status is crucial, as is
a policy which specifies goals and clear lines of organisational responsibility and
accountability. These need to be backed by planning procedures and management support
structures which can transform policy into practice. The rough road that the National
Human Rights Commission in Nepal is travelling today is the best case in point.
Establishment of such a structure in a political and financial vacuum yields no tangible
results.
In general, the experience of projects and
programmes implemented by NWMs in several countries is not very positive, with a
predominance of traditional welfare-oriented activities (eg mother and child health care)
or income generation. Direct involvement in project implementation is not a crucial part
of NWM activity, in the current context. If gender mainstreaming is the objective, policy
oversight and advocacy roles are vital in order to influence wider government policy and
push for legislative change. Where the NWM does implement projects, it should be in
conjunction with the relevant specialised ministries or civil society organisations.
The main institutional options are location
within a single ministry, or to be constituted as a central advisory body, usually within
the Prime Minister’s office, attempting to influence planning process across all
departments. The autonomy associated with being a single ministry may be offset by lack of
influence in other sectors. Since the Ministry of Women in Nepal also deals with issues
such as children and social welfare, there is likely to be severe competition for
resources. In the case of housing the body at the Prime Minister’s office,
women’s issues may gain a higher profile, enhanced access to funding and stronger
connections with, for example, the civil service. However, there is a potential danger
that the commission may become overly dependent on one or two key political figures or
there is a great danger of blatant nepotism.
The proposed women’s commission is
likely to be underfunded and vulnerable to arbitrary budget cuts. This is because there is
a lack of priority for gender issues in the bureaucracy, with a direct impact on staffing
levels and quality which tends to be low, inexperienced and lacking in specialist skills,
and on the scope of activities. Given the present scenario the commission will have to
cope by diversifying activities, which tend to be skewed in favour of highly-visible
projects of a relatively short-term nature, rather than the less visible work of long-term
institution building or developing advocacy capacity.
Even if there is strong internal commitment
by a few individuals, realistically, Nepal is not in a position to fully fund its own
commission and will have to rely heavily on external funding. In such a situation donors
should play a role in supporting women’s organisations in civil society and in
creating links, consultation and networks between civil society and the commission, in
order to promote accountability. Equally important is the ability of the commission to
influence public spending decisions and public expenditure reviews.
Sectional interests and rivalries among
ministries mitigate against the consideration of cross-sectoral issues such as gender,
which require a coordinated approach. The Women’s Ministry itself is often keen to
protect its ‘turf’ and concentrate on highly visible activities which will
attract donor funding. The personal and political nature of gender adds to the resistance
of government officers to examining these issues. Political patronage and interests and
electoral demands can be very influential in the appointments of commission members. In a
country where the Women’s Ministry is often notoriously tied to the political
interests of the ruling party (often through its women’s wing), the establishment of
an independent commission could prove an arch rival organ, resulting in serious conflict
of interest and mission.
The legitimacy and accountability of the
commission are dependent in part on the quality of its links with women’s
organisations and NGOs representing women’s interests. A variety of mechanisms, both
formal and informal, for consultation between the commission and women’s
organisations have to be developed, ranging from seats on government committees, to public
hearings and informal consultation. A system of formal representation is likely to exclude
small and weak organisations. So where women’s organisations are diverse (eg
ethnically, socially or politically) public hearings combined with wider consultation may
work better. In order to reach women who are not part of the organised women’s
movement or formal organisations - often the most marginalised groups - resources are
needed for outreach work through liberal decentralised policy to enhance women’s
cause in the true sense.
A cramped focus on the commission, in
isolation of the broader policy context, is not useful. One strategy might be to integrate
proposals for strengthening the commission or for gender mainstreaming in government
planning and administration more closely with programmes of civil service and
administrative reform, at the design stage, with a particular focus on ensuring that
gender issues are not marginalised in the process of down-sizing the bureaucracy, on
strengthening mechanisms and procedures for gender planning and on issues of
accountability to women in service provision. The commission must have a strong mandate
with investigative powers and the body must refrain from politically polluting factors!
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