Improve the participation of women and other vulnerable groups in governance (GHTNS0003)

Commitment ID

GHTNS0003

Commitment Title

Improve the participation of women and other vulnerable groups in governance

Problem

Women face several challenges due to cultural, religious and societal stereotyping that limits their involvement and activeness in decision making processes. In the same vein, Persons with disabilities face greater challenges due to their special and unique needs that limit their ability to engage actively in social interactions to influence policy priorities. Social and economic felt needs of these groups are mostly given less attention or left unaddressed due to the dominance of the male counterparts in many decision-making spaces. For instance, the General Assembly which is the highest decision-making body of the Municipal Assembly, made up of 43 members has only 1 person with disability (2%) and 11% women representation. Equally, at town hall meetings and most social accountability platforms, a derisory 20% of women are represented. The level of unequal representation affects the number of gender and vulnerable based programmes and activities contained in the plan and budget of the Assembly. There is also a challenge of inadequate logistics and low commitment of officials to implement, adopt and enforce policies to improve the level of participation of women and the vulnerable groups in governance process. There is however the need to address the situation through rigorous education and sensitization, adoption of a different, accessible and responsive approach to entice women and the vulnerable to accept public roles and engage in social interactions.

Status quo

Currently, efforts have been made to factor in the Assembly’s plan and budget more gender-responsive and social programmes that economically empower women and the vulnerable. The Assembly as part of efforts to improve the lives of the vulnerable, is implementing the government-initiated Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty programme (LEAP) by providing cash and health insurance incentives to extremely poor households.

There is also a dedicated toll-free line for receiving and addressing issues related to women and the less privileged. However, there are still gaps especially with regards to the inclusion of these special groups in the planning, adoption and implementation stages of policy making processes. The issue of equality and equity is not well addressed, and a lot more needs to be done at all levels of decision-making to eliminate the cultural and traditional boundaries to well equip women and the vulnerable.

Action

Develop and operationalize a public participation framework relevant to women and persons with disabilities to ensure a 30% and 10% respective representation in all social accountability platforms.
Empower women and persons with disability through sensitization, training, and capacity-building programmes on human rights, local governance, and legal frameworks to encourage them to take up roles and positions in governance.
Create an easy and accessible platform to provide secure participatory opportunities to vulnerable groups to enhance their inclusion in social interactions and decision-making.
Enhance the quality of participation and inclusion by identifying and nominating Ambassadors/Role Models among the women/disability groups to build their confidence level, and provide leadership and motivation.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

Expected Outcomes

1. Increased participation and inclusion of women and persons with disability in public engagements, local governance and decision making.
2. Empowered women and persons with disabilities in leadership positions.
3. Reduced society and traditional stereotypes among the vulnerable groups.
4. Reduced discrimination among gender and vulnerable groups.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

The commitment relates to the National Policy Framework i.e. Agenda for Jobs to Ensure the protection of women’s access, participation, and benefits in all socioeconomic-related issues. Improve access to education, health, and skills training in income-generating activities for vulnerable persons. Ensure compliance with Disability Act to enhance inclusion in decision-making and protection of all forms of discrimination.

Primary Policy Area

Inclusion, Safety Nets & Economic Inclusion

Primary Sector

Cross-sectoral

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?