The response to natural disasters focuses on providing assistance and protection to people: women, girls, boys and men, during the most traumatic moments in their lives. Yet the needs, concerns, priorities, constraints and capacities vary from one group to the other, and according to the socio-cultural context. In fact, it has been proved globally that responses to emergencies cannot achieve their objectives if the needs, constraints, interests and priorities of women, men, boys and girls are not well understood. These priorities if not emphasized can create a vacuum between the relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation process and practice.
Chairman ERRA Mr Altaf Muhammad Saleem in his opening remarks reaffirmed the commitments of ERRA to gender equality. He said that the overarching efforts of ERRA in establishing eight district gender networks has guided interaction for enhancing public and professional understanding of inter-relationship of gender and development and its importance in rehabilitation and reconstruction activities. These 8 networks have served as an alternate sharing mechanism for women and men from different organizations/sectors/regions to learn from each other.
The participation in the networks of district official’s from line departments and civil society organizations based in earthquake affected areas reflect their readiness to build synergies and alliances on the crucial theme of gender equality in the October 2005 earthquake response.
More importantly the presentations today by PERRA, SERRA, Ibn-i-Sina Afghanistan, NRSP and BSR consulting reflect the lessons learnt and outcomes of networking processes in the bi-monthly network meetings, dialogue forums on
gender and health or gender and education and research on economic opportunities for women.
By sharing organizational gender practices about ‘what worked and what did not’ facilitated dialogue spaces which demonstrated how a small amount of project funding can sustain a strategic intervention. Also the deliberations highlighted how networking can be a bridge connecting policy makers and communities.
The networking conference on gender equality today is the culmination of the ERRA/UNIFEM Project. The representatives from donors including UNIFEM, UNICEF, WHO, GTZ etc. and also of the top policy makers and senior decision makers from AJK and NWFP like Minister of Social Welfare and Women Development Departments AJK and NWFP and key Federal, Province and State government officials were also present.
Alice Shackelford, Country Programme Director, UNIFEM in her concluding remarks said that the ERRA/UNIFEM project has essentially supported gender mainstreaming interventions as it demonstrated what is feasible and opened new avenues, including strengthening capacity through mutual sharing and learning , an alternative or complementary approach to traditional training sessions.
After attending the event, the participants were appreciative of ERRA Gender Management Team consisting of Ms Fareeha Umer.