Changing the Rules
© ActionAid
ActionAid Australia Strategy Update 2012–2017
Guided by our theory of change, which puts women’s rights at the heart of our work, our mission objectives during this strategy period are focussed on women’s rights where they are most under stress. ActionAid believes that an end to poverty and injustice can be achieved through purposeful individual and collective action. Our primary objective is to help people claim their human rights and actively challenge the structural causes of poverty. We will pursue this through the following mission objectives 1 and 2.
Arifa has been a member of the ActionAid women’s group in West Bengal, India since 2009. There are now more than 200 members in the group, covering topics they are passionate about, such as the shortage of clean water, poor roads, and the lack of electricity and education in the community. 2
© Nicola Bailey/ActionAid
Mission Objective 1:
Enable poor and excluded people, particularly women, to claim their rights through securing access to, and control over, the productive resources and decision making processes essential to improving their livelihoods. Our commitment: By 2017, ActionAid Australia will have supported women in securing access to, and control over, productive resources such as land and water. Our progress: ActionAid Australia has continued building on our programs and campaigning work with women smallholder farmers and accelerated our support for them. Through a range of activities such as skills training, rights awareness, strengthening solidarity through cooperatives and campaigning for policy changes, ActionAid has demonstrated how through a multifaceted approach we can significantly empower those who are the most marginalised within communities. ActionAid Australia has received positive feedback for the smallholder farmer program, which has subsequently led to the implementation of similar programs in other countries such as Afghanistan (see highlighted case studies).
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: • Supporting poor and marginalised farmers in Kenya and Uganda • Increasing food and nutritional security in Afghanistan • Providing safe drinking water in Malawi • Working with youth to empower local communities in Myanmar
Some of our other projects which contribute to this mission objective include strengthening access to resources such as water in remote communities and training youth to become leaders in their community through the fellowship approach.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Food for Thought – Rights for Action Location: Kenya and Uganda Time frame: June 2011 – June 2016
WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED: The governments of Kenya and Uganda have prioritised agricultural areas with high economic potential which has resulted in food insecurity amongst households in communities not in these areas. There has been poor representation of women smallholder farmers’ interests in policy, research and agriculture programs.
Who we are working with: • Directly targeting 4,500 smallholder farmers 70% of whom are women • Indirectly benefiting 29,250 people in corresponding households Objectives: • Increase access to basic services for poor and marginalised smallholder farmers • Strengthen the Australian government’s policies and programs in Africa
Highlighted activities: In partnership with ActionAid Kenya, ActionAid Uganda and the Australian government, we are working to improve people’s long term food security by: • Supporting farmers to access drought-resistant seeds and planting material • Supporting farmers to access water harvesting and irrigation equipment training • Providing technical training in crop and animal husbandry • Supporting the establishment of agroforestry nurseries • Mobilising and training groups including Farmer Field Schools (see case study on following page) • Conducting training and awareness raising on policies related to climate change • Conducting awareness raising on budget allocations to food related rights issues • Researching and reviewing food-related policies in Kenya and Uganda
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“We want the farmers to become independent and to improve their farm productivity for a self-sustaining agroeconomy in these dry-land areas” – Jamlick Mutie
© ActionAid
CASE STUDY: Farmer Field Schools’ graduate to cooperative societies After three years of training, ActionAid supported farmers in eastern Kenya have now moved a step further to bring together their Farmer Field School (FFS) groups to form cooperative societies that will help in marketing their surplus produce. “One thing we didn’t know was that in spite of drought we can still harvest enough for ourselves and our children to eat, and have surplus to market. And the last thing we want to do is give the surplus produce to brokers at throw away prices,” said Rhoda Mwende, a smallholder farmer from Kambiti village. Bidii FFS, which now operates under Isiolo Smallholder Farmer’s Cooperative Society,
Women members of Bidii group with their beans for sale.
has become the first-ever group in the country to sell farm produce abroad. With the support of ActionAid, Bidii group now exports French beans through Finlay’s Limited, which buys the produce from a common collection centre, and sends it to the market abroad. In other parts of the country, people who belong to cooperatives have been able to access bank loans through their cooperative. “That is where we are headed. We want the farmers to become independent and to improve their farm productivity for a self-sustaining agro-economy in these dry-land areas,” says Jamlick Mutie, the ActionAid Project Officer in Isiolo. “We have just started, and I believe the sky is the limit,” said John Losunyen, the chair of the Isiolo Smallholder Farmers’ Cooperative Society.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Resilient Agriculture and Livelihoods Initiative for Socio-Economic Empowerment (REALISE) Location: Afghanistan Time frame: June 2014 – June 2018 Who we are working with:
WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED: Women and men in Afghanistan are heavily dependent on agriculture for food security and livelihoods, but productivity and income from farming remain very low. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood and subsistence for approximately 80% of the Afghan population. Decades of war, drought and social upheaval have devastated the country’s agricultural sector. REALISE is building on ActionAid’s existing livelihood programs in six rural districts of Afghanistan, recognising the critical role women play in household food security and nutrition.
• 5,449 women and men directly (and over 38,000 people within these households) • 6,820 households in project villages will be impacted through community interventions • Total outreach of 121,525 people Objectives: • Increased food and nutritional security for vulnerable women, men and children in participating households • Increased economic security and income diversity for vulnerable women and men • Strengthened capacity of vulnerable women and men to influence policy and decision makers to better meet their needs Highlighted activities: Working in partnership with ActionAid Afghanistan and the Australian government, we are working to support vulnerable women and men by: • Improving local food production systems that are more resilient • Providing agricultural and livestock training • Drip-irrigation • Business development training • Establishing and strengthening cooperatives • Group training on food security issues • Literacy training • Providing support to influence decision-making, public services and policies at village, district, provincial and national levels
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© ActionAid
“We didn’t want to give up. We understood our rights. To our surprise we were not scared to fight back.” – Safya
A mother of four, works in her backyard farm with her children in a village in northern Afghanistan.
CASE STUDY: Afghan women battle for sustainable livelihoods “We took a very bold step against male members of the local council to run the wheat mill,” says Safya, a 34 year old woman from a village in northern Afghanistan. “We were not only poor but uneducated women. We never went against our men’s wishes and all our lives we did what they instructed us to do, so going against their will was something very bold for us. When ActionAid introduced us to the women’s entrepreneurship program, we were not sure if that would really work. Because we knew that the men from the council would definitely object to the initiative.” In Safya’s village, male council members were not against women’s rights. In fact, in many instances they had supported women, however many had grown up in a patriarchal society where women’s power had always been underestimated. Safya continued, “The next day after installation of the wheat mill, the male members from the
council approached me to hand the keys over to them, saying women can’t do business. This is for men, the women’s role is to take care of the home, they told us.” Safya approached other women from the village to combat this injustice, “We didn’t want to give up. We understood our rights. To our surprise we were not scared to fight back. We asked council members to return the keys and responsibility of the wheat mill but it was not easy for them to accept.” Their tireless effort was not wasted, she further says, “None of the women in the village are unemployed. We are united today and our unity is our strength. At present, we are slowly progressing in our work and I am sure that soon we will be a bigger business. Now council members have also realised our strength and power. They no longer underestimate us but our story of success has made them listen to us and they always proudly share this story and the lessons learnt with every visitor to our village.” ActionAid established 82 women livelihood groups comprising 1,050 members supporting vulnerable women on various livelihood enterprises including wheat milling. 7
Mission Objective 2:
Protect women’s rights by preventing and responding to gender-based violence against women during disasters and conflicts. Our commitment: By 2017, the safety, security and dignity of women affected by conflict and disasters will be enhanced through our support to women, which enables them to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. Our progress: One of the strengths ActionAid Australia brings to the International Federation is our experience in protection work during disasters and conflict. At the end of 2014, ActionAid Australia took up leadership of the Federation’s work on Women’s Rights in Emergencies, mandating us the responsibility to design programs that specifically uphold and strengthen women’s rights in conflict situations. ActionAid understands that women are the most vulnerable during disasters and conflicts however they also provide an opportunity to change power dynamics through empowering women and promoting their leadership in their communities.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: • Assessing the capacity of countries for risk reduction in disaster and recovery, and the extent to which women are considered in the national rebuilding efforts • Investigating the efficacy of transitional justice for women in conflict and postconflict contexts in Uganda, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) • Paralegal training in Afghanistan
A show of solidarity to support the victims of sexual violence in Democratic Republic of Congo.
© ActionAid
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Making Transitional Justice Work for Women
Rights, resilience and responses to violence against women in northern Uganda, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo What is transitional justice? A set of judicial and non-judicial measures that are introduced in order to address human rights abuses during and after periods of conflict and/or state repression Time frame:
WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED: Women are disproportionately impacted by violence and civil war in multiple ways, including sexual and other gender-based violence which is of increasing concern in sub-Saharan Africa. This project investigates the efficacy of transitional justice for women considering the realities of women’s lives in conflict and post-conflict contexts and their experiences of recurrent violence in northern Uganda, Kenya and DRC. The research will identify women’s priorities in the transitional justice context and the obstacles preventing them from accessing justice and human rights. The project seeks to help develop alternatives for rebuilding communities in ways that better meet women’s justice needs, build resilience and reduce violence against women.
April 2013 – May 2015 Objective: To produce evidence-based research that supports policies to build resilience in the context of transitional justice, a significant yet under-appreciated aspect of peace-building and development Activities: • Interviews and focus group discussions with women affected by violence in at least three locations in each research country • Interviews and meetings with civil society organisations, governments, regional and international organisations with an interest in human rights and justice for women • Policy dialogues and public events with key stakeholders locally, nationally, regionally and internationally • Publication of research reports and policy analysis along with proposals for more effective models of transitional justice for women Achievements: • The research strategy involved training of ActionAid Uganda, Kenya and DRC staff on research methodologies and insight building on gender justice which will be used for future work • Communities and policy makers were very receptive to the research and the data collection phase was very successful • The collected data is currently being analysed and the next phase will be dissemination of findings in-country for verification and the final report will be produced. This work will be used to inform future policy work and law reform to ensure that future transitional justice initiatives are framed by the women affected. The findings of this research will be used by the judiciary and state to facilitate justice sector reforms and protection of women from further violence in conflict prone areas 9
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
The South Asia Women’s Resilience Index Project (WRI) Time frame: July 2013 – December 2014 Assessed countries against developed country benchmark, Japan:
Key policy implications identified for policymakers • Empower women to build disaster resilience at the community level • Emphasise women’s capacity for leadership, and their rights to be included in DRR activities • Improve monitoring and evaluation, and introduce accountability for gender-specific DRR targets • Better coordinate and decentralise disaster planning • Match DRR and resilience building with poverty reduction and sustainable development If you would like further information, please visit www.actionaid.org/womensresilience Overall Women’s Resilience Index Score
Japan Bhutan 10
Sri Lanka Nepal
India Maldives
27.8
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40.4
• Examples in South Asia of how women are making important contributions to building disaster resilience.
• Sri Lanka
• The Maldives
42.2
• A vicious circle of vulnerability and disempowerment means women’s capacity to build resilience is not being realised.
• India
45.2
• Gaps between policy and practice undermine women’s disaster resilience across South Asia.
• Pakistan
45.9
• Most South Asian countries fare poorly in considering women in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience building.
• Nepal
• Bhutan
46.4
• For every 1 man killed during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 4 women lost their lives.
• Bangladesh
80.6
RATIONALE FOR THE INDEX:
Bangladesh Pakistan
ActionAid’s Approach in Emergencies
Vanuatu: ActionAid and the Vanuatu Women’s Centre has established a partnership in collaboration with the Department of Women’s Affairs to address protection issues that directly impact on women in the current crisis and in the long term. © ActionAid
Adorida was in her house with her grandson when Typhoon Haiyan hit. They ran for shelter, and returned to find rubble where their house once was.
A Vanuatu Women’s National Platform on Protection of Women’s Rights during Disaster Response and in Building Resilience has been established: • Comprising representatives of local women’s organisations, women from the private sector and women leading political processes
Philippines:
Gaza:
Following Typhoon Haiyan and Hagupit, ActionAid has set out a three-year emergency response and recovery program. ActionAid’s focus is on the following:
ActionAid has supported over 10,500 people in Gaza to date, prioritising women and children. Our current response focus is on women-led recovery programs, such as:
• Advancing women’s rights and economic alternatives
• Livelihood support
• Rehabilitation of typhoon affected communities to rebuild their livelihood and resilience to disasters • Accountable disaster risk reduction and management mechanisms
• Income generating activities, knowledge and skills training • Developing women’s groups, organisations and leadership
• With the objective to mobilise women to take collective leadership to monitor and advise on protection issues in this disaster and in disasters to come • ActionAid has opened a second Women’s Information Centre which will enable us to reach out to women, addressing information gaps and ensuring that women are able to access services available to them – including support for when they have experienced violence at home
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VISION A world without poverty and injustice in which every person enjoys the right to a life with dignity.
MISSION To work with poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty and injustice.
VALUES Mutual respect Equity and justice Honesty and transparency Solidarity with the poor
ActionAid Australia Suite 2, Level 2 10 Mallett Street Camperdown NSW 2050 Phone: (02) 9565 9102 Fax: (02) 9519 9847 Email: executive.director@actionaid.org Website: www.actionaid.org/australia ABN: 87 001 251 930 Printed on 100% recycled paper
Courage of conviction Independence Humility
Cover image: Bena, a smallholder farmer who is part of ActionAid’s ‘Food for Thought, Rights for Action’ program in Uganda.