Gender and Development

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Kyrgyz Republic

Building Partnerships and Understanding between Women’s Nongovernment Organizations — The Forum of Women’s NGOs of Kyrgyzstan

Background of the project

Women's nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in Central Asia face specific barriers due in part to the tense relationship between the government and the nongovernment sector. Capacity building is essential in order to develop the many nascent women's NGOs into mature and competent organizations capable of entering into dialogue and partnership with the government and with the private sector. An important aspect is to build partnerships and information sharing between women's NGOs so that they can more effectively perform the functions of lobbing and advocacy groups.

Recognizing such limitations, the Forum of Women's NGOs of Kyrgyzstan was established in 1995 to act as an umbrella organization to consolidate and strengthen women's NGOs in order to further gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's participation in public life. The forum works toward these goals through activities designed to build the organizational capacity of women's NGOs and to enhance their levels of active networking and information sharing. The forum has three main activities:

1. monthly seminars and national workshops
2. monthly newsletters
3. training to develop organizational capacity

With funding from the Asian Development Bank, the forum conducted a number of activities designed to build partnerships between women's NGOs in both the Kyrgyz Republic and in Central Asia. One pressing agenda item was to disseminate information and collate opinions, strategies, and recommendations with respect to the Beijing+5 Review and United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) held in 2000.

Project Components

The following project components were funded in line with these objectives:

• three national workshops and one Central Asian regional conference for representatives of women's NGOs and other relevant organizations
• information dissemination and follow-up activities with respect to Beijing+5 Review and UNGASS in 2000
• field visits to remote areas of Kyrgyzstan to build the organizational capacity of local women's NGOs
• formulation of common recommendations and strategies pertaining to the priorities and empowerment of women in Kyrgyzstan and across Central Asia as part of ongoing lobbying at the national and regional levels

Outcomes of the Project

As a result of the above activities, women's NGOs in the Kyrgyz Republic were able to do the following:

• achieve a better understanding of women's concerns and issues of gender inequality including in the more remote areas visited during the project
• identify common issues of concern
• develop a common plan in relation to the Beijing+5 Review and UNGASS

In addition, as an outcome of the Central Asian regional conference, women's NGOs from the region were able to develop a joint strategy representing their shared priorities and concerns. Furthermore, in all meetings, forums, and workshops, brochures and other publications were prepared for participants and for subsequent distribution.

Some of the common concerns and commitments that came out of these various activities included:

• concern with the declining socioeconomic position of women in Central Asia due to continuing economic and political crises
• commitment to the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action
• a call on all governments in the region to meet their obligations in relation to the Beijing Platform for Action
• a recommendation that Central Asian governments allocate no less than 30% of their budgets for projects directly related to women's interests
• establishing women's microcredit programs including introducing legislation to create a legal basis for such programs where required
• a commitment to the ongoing consolidation of women's NGOs, including the recommendation that women's NGOs need to work in partnership not only with each other but with governments and the private sector as well
• development of a joint information network of women's NGOs in the Kyrgyz Republic and regionally

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