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Executive Summary of Project completion Report
The Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund (RDIF) (initiated by DFID, NORAD, AusAID and SDC) supported Renaissance Society Nepal (RSN) to implement the Women's Democratic Network (WDN) Project in 50 districts from October 2006 to September 2008. The Project objectives were……
Towards fulfilling these objectives, the Project has achieved the following key success indicators: (1) WDNs formed in district (53) and central level (one) for advocacy and lobbying with a common approach to increase the proportion of women leaders and cadres to some 33 percent or more in the parties and governments. (2) Political parties improved their attitudes, policies and programs with regards to the participation of women, indigenous communities and Dalits in the parties and governments. And (3) Political parties (13 nos.) have a five year strategic action plan for broadening their membership base among women, Madeshi, ethnic and Dalit communities.
The above results significantly contributed to bring the following impacts:
1. From among the WDN members, a total of 101 candidates contested in the Constituent Assembly elections (on direct election or proportional nomination basis) of which, 25 members have been elected in the constituent assembly.
2. Number of party district committee headed by women increased from six to nine.
3. Women's representation in district working committees increased for 8.3 to 22.2 per cent (on sample basis) against the target of 16 per cent. The women cadres’ membership base in parties, which was below five per cent at the time of project start, has begun to rise significantly in all parties.
4. Political parties have committed to up hold 33 per cent positions for women in all party committees, parliament and governments. (Notably the number of women in the Council of Ministers increased from one to five during the WDN implementation period).
5. WDN and political parties at all levels have launched their common strategic action plan (SAP) for women empowerment and inclusions in the areas of politics, governance, and socio-economic developments.
6. WDNs have set out to sustain their advocacy and lobbying on the base of (i) networks formed from central to district levels, (ii) SAP as agenda to implement, (iii) linkages party and government, and (iv) resources mobilizations from the local authorities.
The Project has achieved its six outputs which are more than targets presented as follows:
1. Produced survey report on inventory of cadres (29,546), and on issues and recommendations of district party chiefs and women leaders to set a baseline about the rates of participation, situation of empowerment and inclusion in political parties.
2. WDNs committees formed in 53 districts, Central and national levels, which involves a total of 710 women leaders from different parties.
3. Imparted capacity building opportunities to a total of 1,464 WDN members, party leaders, local government officials through interactions about the situation analysis, strategic action plan, network management, advocacy and lobbying, constituent assembly elections, state restructuring, resource mobilization etc.
4. Facilitated the analysis of party/ government’s policies and programs on inclusions.
5. Launched Strategic Action Plan on women participation, empowerment and inclusions for 13 different political parties and a synthesis document. Senior leaders of party central working committee/ political bureau have adopted the SAP for implementations.
6. WDNs from central to district levels provide a interface-mechanism with the parties, governments, civil societies and other stakeholders on women/ minorities’ rights, democracy and inclusion issues on a continuous/ sustainable basis.
The WDN has completed just a first stage of what could be a protracted engagement on “RDI” issues. The WDN institution and campaign need to be further developed along specific recommendations as follows.
1. Engagement of WDN to encourage the women at large in the economic production and social development processes, so that their political leadership filters up through this process.
2. Works by WDN to design policies for upward mobility of women work force to manage their institutions and enterprises.
3. Use of SAP to influence the parties’ forthcoming conventions to get elected in the meaningful positions, and to increase committee members up to 33 percent in all committees. Openness of the women politicians themselves to be more inclusive in political parties' rank and file.
4. Develop mechanism to deal with any cross-party alliances towards the common interest.
5. Draft provisions related to the gender and inclusion in the "Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal", and establish direct link of WDN with CA/ interim parliament.
6. Pressurize the party leaderships, government and parliament to hold the elections of local governments for the Interim Period, and to increase women's representations in the local governments.
7. Enhance the role of WDNs both at central and district level as a key stakeholder. Provide seed fund and other logistics support in their institutional developments.
8. Capacity building of networks and its members in aspects covering clarity on RDI issues, leaderships skills, cross-country experiences, resource generations, forms of struggles and tolerance, institution building, arts of governance, and social and economic development etc.
9. Unfold the WDN movement to the local government and community levels.
10. Continue the advocacy and lobbying with the political parties, government agencies and civil society organizations for full implementation of SAP, and for local resource mobilization for the networks sustainability.
The WDN is beginning to take up the above tasks. The concerned institutions support to WDN in such endeavors would catalyze the evolution of justice and democracy at the present stage of Nepal’s political developments.
Please download the following file:-
annual_progress_report_of_wdn_project.doc