In 2014, the Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development of Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) undertook the issue-based project Improvement of people’s perception about women’s right on land access and issuance of Land Use Right Certificate with both names of wife and husband for ethnic community in case of Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province. With their accumulating experience, in 2015 CISDOMA in collaboration with Center for Social Research and Development (CSRD) launched the Support Gender Mainstreaming Coalitions in Policy Advocacy project, aiming at ensuring comprehensive integration of gender issues into the strategies, plans, and activities of six policy advocacy coalitions. Both projects are carried out under the Advocacy Coalitions Support Program funded by Department of International Development (DFID – UK) and managed by Oxfam.
From June to August 2015, CISDOMA and CSRD have jointly conducted the following activities: (1) Examining gender mainstreaming in the strategies and action plans of each coalition and in major documents of Oxfam; (2) Holding separate meetings with six coalitions to discuss gender mainstreaming in each coalition; and (3) Organizing a workshop on gender mainstreaming in policy advocacy and the roles of leadership. Through these activities, the levels of gender sensitivity and gender gap in each coalition’s programs, and the commitment to future project activities of member organizations are revealed.
In the remaining time from September to November 2015, CISDOMA and CSRD will carry out other activities, including (1) organize two training workshops on Gender Sensitivity and Women’s Rights, (2) provide instructions on gender mainstreaming and monitoring for focal points and other members, (3) compile a handbook for gender mainstreaming in communication and policy advocacy, and (4) contribute to planning and fieldtrip activities in two issue-based projects implemented by FORLAND and LANDA, and ensure that Gender Mainstreaming is taken into account in these projects’ outputs.
In addition to gender-sensitive projects, CISDOMA has been carrying out activities focusing directly on women and women’s rights such as capacity building for local Women’s Unions, and raising awareness for women of the legal system, the rights to receive legal support and the issuance of Land Use Right Certificate with both names of wife and husband. Although not a gender expert, CISDOMA holds gender in high regards and include gender in its activities.
Thanh Nha
