social changes.12 Having said this, the MDG3 Fund is to be congratulated for supporting a wide variety of approaches that have attempted to deal with the roots of gender power – approaches which women’s movements have long known are the only way to achieve lasting changes in gender relations, and therefore, in gender equality. More importantly, by supporting a number of women’s funds, community foundations, human rights funds, and women’s organizations with re-granting functions, the Fund has helped to channel much needed resources to over 3,600 small, community-based women’s organizations. These organizations have in turn helped amplify the Fund’s impact through critical interventions for grassroots women’s awareness, empowerment, mobilization, and assertion of their rights. Needless to say, these resources must be replenished if the achieved results are to be sustained, intensified, and expanded over time.
7. Local and national governments influenced and capacitated to strengthen their gender equality policies, programs and services While grassroots work by women’s rights organizations/movements and their allies is a critical component of achieving sustainable changes in the social, cultural, and economic conditions that perpetuate inequality, the role of the state as a duty-bearer in protecting and promoting women’s rights cannot be neglected. When women begin to claim their rights, when communities seek to shift cultural norms and practices that mitigate against those rights, backlash and aggressive re-assertion of patriarchal rules are inevitable - as many scholars and activists have noted.13 Women need strong legal and constitutional frameworks that guarantee equality in order to fall back on. They need the support of institutional mechanisms mandated to protect and promote their search for equality and security. The state and its various agencies have a vital role to play in this context; elected representatives, government officials, and all members of the law enforcement machinery need sensitization alongside stronger and more appropriate tools and frameworks which will help them do their part in the struggle for gender equality. Recognizing this, many Fund grantees have actively collaborated with local bodies, provincial authorities, national governments, and legal machineries to strengthen their policies, programs, and services in support of gender equality. It is a matter of pride to acknowledge that 38 local governments in 36 countries,14 and national governments in 48 countries have been actively engaged,15 equipped, and influenced to advance gender equality goals.
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