Civil society organizations

Women's empowerment

Gender equality and advancement of women is a critical measure for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and one that guides UNDP development efforts and results. The active and meaningful participation of civil society, particularly grass roots women’s organizations, is essential to achieving internationally agreed commitments, especially the MDGs. Read more about UNDP's work in women's empowerment

Examples of UNDP engagement with women's organizations include:

Collaboration with UNIFEM in Kyrgyzstan and Kenya

The global UNDP Gender and MDGs pilot project being implemented by UNIFEM in Kyrgyzstan and Kenya are yielding interesting results. In Kyrgyzstan, the multi-stakeholder action is demonstrating how to lower transaction costs for government and civil society partners through the use of intersecting frameworks – MDGs, CEDAW and the Beijing PFA – to strengthen understanding and accountability for gender equality.

In Kenya for instance, consultations with grassroots womens organizations are generating a clear agenda for action on MDGs from a women’s perspective. Women are making it clear that the test of the relevance of MDGs lies in how they translate into visible improvements in their everyday lives - walking safely to the river to collect clean water, children attending schools where there are adequate numbers of teachers and educational materials, implementation of laws related to women’s property and land rights, and elimination of violence against women.

India

In India, the UNDP/Japan Women in Development Fund initiative is assisting the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) to support poor women through access to information and communications technologies for micro-enterprise development.

Nepal

In Nepal, the Mainstreaming Gender Equity Programme conducted CEDAW sensitization programmes in partnership with civil society for judges, lawyers, and police. The programme supports a Volunteer Lawyers Network that provides free legal advice and assistance to needy women who are victims of domestic violence.

Turkey

In Turkey, the Local Agenda 21 (LA-21) project has contributed to increasing women’s participation and representation in local elections, as well as legislative reform to increase women's participation and representation. Specific and focused campaigns and festivals have been organized to promote common principles for the establishment and functioning of women's councils, and cooperation among women's organizations in different cities.

After an analytical study on women's entrepreneurship opportunities in southeastern Anatolia, UNDP supported the establishment of a Women's Entrepreneurship Center in Sanliurfa in partnership with the Governorate and Harran University. In Diyarbakir, support was also provided for an internship programme for University students to encourage women entrepreneurs in partnership with KAGIDER (Association for Support of Women's Entrepreneurship).

Bangladesh and Malaysia

The Asia Pacific Gender Mainstreaming Programme, in partnership with the Regional Indigenous Peoples' Programme, initiated a country exchange between Bangladesh and Malaysia in 2005, to engage in capacity development through training indigenous women in decision-making. This exchange programme provided the indigenous women with the opportunity to learn from shared experiences and to gain a broader understanding of their rights, capability building to protect these rights.