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331. Strategic Partnerships to Advance Family Planning

Author:
Janet Fleischman and Cathryn Streifel
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The Senegalese minister of health, Dr. Awa Marie Coll-Seck, used a familiar term with us to express her commitment to expanding access to family planning—“yes we can.” That is a bold proposition in such a conservative country, in a region with some of the world's highest maternal mortality and unmet need for family planning. Her leadership reflects an important moment in Senegal, and prospects for advancing women's health and family planning in the subregion may depend on its success.
Topic:
Development, Gender Issues, Human Welfare, and Reform
Political Geography:
Senegal

332. Gender, equality and corruption: what are the linkages?

Author:
Craig Fagan and Marie Chene
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
Gender inequality and corruption are closely inter-linked. Gender inequalities undermine good governance, sustainable growth, development outcomes and poverty alleviation. Where countries have made advances in women's empowerment and gender equality, they have witnessed lower levels of corruption over time.
Topic:
Corruption, Gender Issues, Poverty, and Reform

333. Behind Closed Doors: The risk of denying women a voice in determining Afghanistan's future

Author:
Elizabeth Cameron and Jorrit Kamminga
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
As the Taliban regime fell in 2001 after six years of abuse and oppression, the international community made a promise to the women of Afghanistan, that it would never again abandon them. The protection of their rights, at least in part, became a key element to afterwards legitimize the war which followed. It is 13 years since Colin Powell, then- US Secretary of State, declared that, 'the rights of the women in Afghanistan will not be negotiable.' Now Afghan women are questioning what the future holds.
Topic:
Democratization, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Self Determination
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

334. What War Has Wrought in Afghan Women's Lives

Author:
Jennifer Heath
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Abstract:
The “liberation” of Afghan women became a justification of the George W. Bush administration for the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Good intentions notwithstanding, Western feminists often painted a distorted portrait of absolutely helpless Afghan women buried alive in their burqas. One sad result of this black--‐and--‐white thinking, which overlooks the nuances and diversity of Afghan life and society, has been a severe curtailing of the quality, quantity, and endurance of whatever help Western women try to offer their Afghan sisters. This paper gives a historical overview of the realities of Afghan women's lives, contrasting these with common perceptions about Afghan women held by those outside Afghanistan – often misperceptions upon which millions of dollars of foreign aid have been spent. A description of Afghan women's social context touches on their views of the Taliban, women's political rights and empowerment throughout history, and women's access to healthcare and education. This paper argues that unless every step is taken with consideration for Afghan women's concerns, within the diverse contexts of their real lives, there can be no lasting peace. Any peace agreements must include clear commitments from all sides to respect and protect women's rights.
Topic:
Education, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Political Activism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

335. Pursuing gender equality in land administration

Author:
Helle Munk Ravnborg and Rachel Spichiger
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Ensuring gender equality with respect to land rights is hailed as a key element of the recent land reforms, but actual results in this respect are limited. Achieving gender equality requires a comprehensive focus on land, family and other laws, including customary, pertaining to land and on their implementation on the ground.
Topic:
Civil Society, Gender Issues, Governance, and Reform

336. The G20 and Gender Equality: How the G20 can advance women's rights in employment, social protection and fiscal policies

Author:
Shawna Wakefield
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In its "World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development?, the World Bank asserted that gender equality was a core development objective in its own right and also "smart economics?. The same year, in their Los Cabos Declaration, G20 leaders committed to tackling the barriers to women?s full economic and social participation and to expanding opportunities for women in their countries. Oxfam supports this commitment, and calls on the G20 to go further and assess the entirety of their agenda and actions in the light of development and rights-based commitments to women?s rights and gender equality.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Labor Issues, and Reform

337. The BRICS Development Bank: Why the world's newest global bank must adopt a pro-poor agenda

Author:
Lysa John
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In July 2014, a new multilateral and Southern-led development bank is expected to be launched by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – better known as the BRICS. The BRICS Development Bank will provide a fresh source of finance for developing and emerging economies to meet their development needs. Little has been made public regarding the proposed Bank's core mandate or activities but while governments negotiate the technicalities of the Bank, it is critical that they also provide a solid vision of the principles, priorities and objectives on which the Bank's activities and operations will be premised. This policy brief recommends that these include commitments to: ending extreme poverty and inequality, with a special focus on gender equity and women's rights; aligning with environmental and social safeguards and establishing mechanisms for information sharing, accountability and redress; leadership on the sustainable development agenda; the creation of mechanisms for public consultation and debate; and the adoption a truly democratic governance structure.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Gender Issues, International Cooperation, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and South America

338. Inequality in South Africa: A two part document on the current understanding and dimensions of inequality in health, gender and livelihoods

Author:
Nicola Deghaye, Tamlyn McKenzie, and Petronella Chirawu
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Recognising inequality is at the heart of the South African 'development problem', Oxfam commissioned the Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD) to produce this report, which is divided into two parts, to enable an understanding of the dimensions of inequality in South Africa and to provide Oxfam with a set of basic measures against which it could measure its success in dealing with inequality.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Health, and Food
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

339. Gender equality and land administration: the case of Zambia

Author:
Rachel Spichiger and Edna Kabala
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Land, and in particular agricultural land, is central to livelhoods in rural Zambia. Zambia is characterised by a dual legal system of customary and statutory law and by dual land tenure, with state land and customary land. A first wave of socialist-oriented reforms took place after independence in 1964, which abolished previously existing freehold land in favour of leasehold. Subsequent changes in government policies under the influence of structural adjustment programmes and a new government in 1991 paved the way for a market-driven land reform. The 1995 Lands Act introduced the privatization of land in Zambia and provided for the conversion of customary into state land, with the hope of attracting investors. However, the Act has been unevenly implemented, at least in rural areas, in part due to problems plaguing the land administration institutions and their work, in part due to opposition to the main tenets of the Act from chiefs, the population and civil society. Civil society, with donor support, calls for more attention towards women's precarious situations with regard to access to and ownership of land under customary tenure, but it still expresses a desire for customary tenure to remain. However, civil society also recognizes that customary practices are often also discriminatory towards women who depend on male relatives for access to land.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Gender Issues, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa

340. Gender Equality Concerns in Ghana's Land Reform: Current challenges and the role of donors

Author:
Rachel Spichiger and Paul Stacey
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Ghana has been implementing a land administration reform since 1999. The Land Administration Project (LAP), an ambitious programme supported by donors, aims to strenghten land administration institutions and increase land holders' security of tenure on both state and customary land. This working paper reviews the literature on this land reform process, with a focus on issues related to gender. At first absent from the 1999 Land Policy, gender concerns were later incorporated into the project and a gender strategy was developed in 2009, with the goal to mainstream gender in land-related agencies and activities. Although donors have contributed to the gender strategy, the inclusion of gender equality has not been at the forefront of their priorities.
Topic:
Agriculture, Gender Issues, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa