Strengthening  of Women Institutions for Gender Mainstream

Context

Women suffered greatly during Liberia's civil conflict, which exacerbated their historically disadvantaged position in society. Thousands of women were sexually, while many more lost their spouses and relatives. Many of these women have assumed the role of head of house hold in an economy devastated by the war and in the throes of a recession. There is a high illiteracy rate among women and girls due to the incidence of poverty and the impact of the war on educational infrastructure. present only 22% of women are literate compared to 54% for males. Women remain under-represented in Government and the private sector due to their low educational attainments and prevailing socio-cultural gender biases. Women constitute the majority of workers in the agricultural and informal sectors. Yet they have limited or no access to productive assets such as land, credit and appropriate technology.

Development Objective

To facilitate the engendering of the development process in post war Liberia in support of the Medium Term Plan of Government and the Beijing Platform for Action through the strengthening of institutions which are geared towards promoting gender equality and the advancement of women.

Expected impacts

A positive impact on Liberia's post war recovery and sustainable human development. The project will specifically provide an enabling environment by building the capacities of key actors at the national, sectoral, and local levels to reinforce their abilities to mainstream gender in national plans, programs and projects.

Equal rights, opportunities and access to productive assets and resources, equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by both men and women, as well as harmonious partnership between them, are critical to their own well being and the consolidation of democracy. The eradication of poverty through the provision of productive assets, the adoption of an IEC strategy and the equal participation of women and men leads to sustained economic growth and development.

The participation and contribution of all actors of civil society, particularly women's groups are critical elements to the for integrating women's concerns and perspectives in development. This should also stimulate policy and legal reforms for eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in both public and private life, and ensure effective implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action within the overall framework of the Medium Term Plan. These combined efforts should pave the way for gender based poverty alleviation and good governance.

Advocacy for gender analysis will increase the key stakeholders' creativity and confidence to participate in shaping the Medium Term Plan thereby curbing greater inequities in the development process. Studies of best practices have demonstrated that these are fundamental elements for the achievement of gender equality, peace and sustainable development.