Coordinating action among sub-national women‘s rights networks

Topic: Gender Equality

Human Rights & Civ. Soc.

Gender Equality

East Africa

Problem & Solution

Limited engagement, cohesion and coordination of grassroots and community-based Women’s Rights Organisations (WROs) at the sub-national levels affected activism and strategic advocacy for promotion of women’s rights and gender equality. This limited the extent to which issues at the local level were reflected and fed into national level advocacy.
In addition, there were no mechanisms for sustaining initiatives beyond the project life, or replicating and cascading them to other areas, especially lower levels not previously targeted.

The solution was to coordinate collective community-centred action among District Women‘s Networks, facilitating their growth and participation, cohesion, ownership, and sustainability of initiatives.

The experience

UWONET approach of work is working with and through the District Women’s Rights Networks (DWRN). UWONET realized that it was essential to strengthen coordination, solidarity, activism and advocacy at the sub-national. UWONET further acknowledged that DWRNs play a key role in advocating for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE), but often lacked the knowledge and resources to do so effectively. To bridge this gap, UWONET conducted capacity building sessions, addressing key issues such as governance, advocacy, gender programming and the intersectionality of gender and environment, while incorporating traditional and local knowledge and perspectives to strengthen ownership.

Furthermore, UWONET worked with WROs, Government and other stakeholders to establish and support the DWRNs- a platform for capacity development, exchange, advocacy, coordination of collective actions as well as holding duty bearers to account on commitments made. The DWRNs bring cohesion and unity to the various voices amplifying women's rights and gender equality.

Challenges

Resource constraints necessitating continuous efforts to secure funding and establish partnerships
Overcoming deeply ingrained norms that perpetuate gender inequality demands continuous sensitization and awareness-raising efforts
Backlash to Gender Justice perpetuated by the negative social norms.

Impact

Many networks have evolved from grassroots initiatives into legally recognized entities, bolstering their credibility and their capacity to mobilise resources and expand their outreach.
Enhanced community awareness and notable shifts in gender equitable attitudes
Recognition of the vital role of women in influencing change and development

Lessons Learned

Importance of long-term commitment and the value of resource leveraging through partnerships and networks
Effective policy implementation at grassroots level requires sustained advocacy
DWRN as an excellent approach towards addressing gender inequalities fosters sustainability and district based activism