Civil society organisations (CSO) engaged in promoting gender equality and women rights issues are worried that the new modality of aid defined as a partnership between donors and recipients is affecting their work.
They are complaining that funding for their activities is increasingly declining as aid continues to be subjected to strict conditionalities.
The Convener of Women Manifesto Ghana, Madam Hamida Harrison, has denied claims by donors that the new aid modalities will be best for developing countries.
Madam Harrison was speaking at a CSO forum alongside UNCTAD X11 under the theme Women and Globalisation: Issues and Challenges for Advocacy Today.
It was organised by the Network for Women Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) in collaboration with the Gender Unit of the Third World Network Africa. A United Nations human rights study on the implication of the new global partnership points out that increased coordination by aid countries can work against development and erode the democratic processes in poor countries, she disclosed.
She noted that the rights of women who form 70% of the world poor are human rights, therefore an exclusion of women in the development agenda presents challenges to their development, adding that for over three decades the debate for women rights has been going on , not much has been achieved because when aid is given womens needs are put aside.
"We contribute to development so we have a right to demand that we benefit from the aid that comes in."
In her opinion, the relationship between aid and development should be based on human rights and not politics.
She argued that there is a variety of reasons why donors give aid to developing countries and that it is undeniably clear that there has been a long standing association between aid and politics, particularly when countries have been mistrustful of donors intention and agendas.
"The reality is that aid just doesn't come but come because donors have an interest. They have used aid as a vehicle for economic imposition. Political relationships between countries determine the amount of funding that comes in."
Madam Harrison deduced that influencing aid also comes from domestic politics. She explained that historically aid giving countries make decisions on the amount of aid based on specific national political norms of their own interest.
Further, she said the International focus on the so called war on terror is diverting funds from gender issues and seriously affecting a lot of women work.
The Millennium Development Goals is somehow taking the chunk of holistic gender issues such as Beijing platform and CEDAW convention.
She said another challenge to promoting gender equality is the insignificant and minimal government budget even for institutions that are tasked to see to issues of gender promotion as well as CSO.
According to the women rights activist, there is lack of transparency on the amount that comes in as aid which does not create openness to allow women participate even though the Paris declaration guarantees equal right to women participation.
There is the challenge that government full control over aid can undermine gender programmes. How do you ensure that government spends considerable amount on women interest?
She stated the need for women to continue to forge alliances internally and externally.
" We alone our voices are too small and they only we can maximize our voices is through collaboration."
A Social activist from South Africa, Ms Lebohang Pheko corroborated the argument that globalization versus development has caused growing disillusionment in the manner that the state relates to women.
She stated that when the state fails to play its role then there is a crisis for the citizenship of women.
"What is the purpose of citizenship right if it does not in any way contribute to our ability to live self fulfilled rights? We need to challenge the role of the state as our father, protector, defender and provider."
She said that currently there is a complexity of different forces of violence against women and that there is the need to move away from men exchanging power among them.
"How then do we advance in any way our citizenship as women? She asked. According to her, the biggest lie that globalization tells is that the entire world is part of one humanity. "
It is a connection of a horse and a rider because the cost of it falls on us. We deserve to be named and affirmed in terms satisfying to us. It is only when we begin to do this that our citizenship will have meaning," she stressed.
Ms Pheko said the worst thing about globalization is that it impedes legitimate human rights.
She urged women to create and walk in their own truth by forming a new definition of womanhood.
"We have to speak to the younger ones to come. We must tell them to rise above the half truth and myths."
A Gender Consultant Mrs. Rosaline Baatuolkuu-Obeng Ofori called on all and sundry who have the interest of women at heart to strive to make a difference for the number of women who are voiceless.
No comments:
Post a Comment