Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
achieve them. Again, this specifically includes most, if not all, parties to proposed
benefit-sharing arrangements (i.e. 'the private sector… research and academic
institutions').
Because women's subjective consciousness and objective life situation have
generally marginalized them from public politics, it is essential that strategies, pro-
cesses and mechanisms be empowering for women, and give them space and time
to speak their mind, ask questions and think things over. Instead of (or as well as)
big public meetings, small conversation groups for women only could be organ-
ized, facilitated by women. These are small but important steps that could eventu-
ally result in women gaining self-confidence and skills in political matters.
19
There are many examples around the world of relevant programmes that could
provide resources and models for interested parties to follow. The emphasis of
UNIFEM (the women's fund at the United Nations) has been on knowledge-shar-
ing and capacity-building in making indigenous women aware of their rights as
contained in the legal frameworks of their countries. Training in human rights,
leadership and participation has been successfully carried out throughout the
Andean region, for example (see UN Women
2004
). In 2006, Alliances for Africa
funded the Women in Governance and Decision Making capacity-building initia-
tive in Imo State, south-east Nigeria (evaluated by the British High Commission),
which was designed to contribute to the broader goal of empowering, in particular,
grassroots and urban poor women and advocating their full participation in gov-
ernance and decision-making processes and structures (Alliances for Africa
2006
).
In January 2007 the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
announced a funding programme for Aboriginal women's organizations 'to sup-
port the full participation of Aboriginal women in consultations and decision-mak-
ing processes' (Canadian Heritage
2007
). In Cambodia the World Bank has funded
a programme to conduct public forums and training sessions to enhance women's
leadership in decision-making at the local commune level (CPWP
2007
).
Increasingly, there are also specialist regional organizations dedicated to these
kinds of approaches to the issue, such as the Gender Training and Development
Network, based in Nigeria, which carries out community-based research and
19
For a discussion of appropriate strategies to facilitate women's participation in practice, see
Alvarez-Castillo and Feinholz (
2006
: 117-118). Such initiatives can have unanticipated benefits.
For example, when GenBenefit researchers met the women's leaders in Majengo, Nairobi, in
September 2007, they noted a sense of empowerment and solidarity among the women. During
the meeting one of the authors (Fatima Castillo) shared with them a problem faced by women in
sex work in other countries, which is that customers refuse to use condoms - and women who
insist on condoms often lose their customers because the men simply go to other women who
agree to sex without a condom. The Majengo women said that in their group, customers like
these were refused, and there was an agreement among the women in Majengo that not one of
them would cater to such a customer. The result is that sex workers' customers in Majengo have
to use condoms, which reduces the risk for women of contracting sexually transmitted infections.
See also Lavery et al. (
2010
).
