Women’s Empowerment and Positive Masculinity

INTRODUCTION

DCI, being formed and led by women for decades, is a firm believer of women’s equal participation in all spheres of life. Today, female-run businesses are steadily increasing in number all over the world. According to the World Bank, there are about 8 million to 10 million formal small and medium enterprises with at least one female owner in developing countries. Women are making significant contributions to national economies, contributing to poverty reduction and employment creation. DCIs has prestigious achievements under women’s empowerment and positive masculinity thematic area. Be it practical gender needs or strategic gender needs, DCI has thriven to uphold women and girls, and enabled them to mainstream in the society as an active and prominent partner of men. Key gains under this thematic area are listed below:

CORE INTERVENTIONS

  • Registered the unregistered rural women with the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) who had no identity and were issued National ID cards and were empowered to access justice, exercise their democratic rights and be able to cast votes.
  • Contributed to development of Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP) for Baluchistan province as part of Government’s commitment to women empower and gender equity.
  • Developed with USAID support, the only Legal Literacy Curriculum for Pakistan focusing on gender and women’s rights in Pakistan for the law graduates.
  • Trained a cadre of male lawyers as advocates for women’s rights to promote positive masculinity in judicial system and courts.
  • Inducted women law graduates as lawyers through nine months apprenticeship at law chambers. They became a role model for subsequent cohorts of women law graduates.
  • For active participation of women in democratic electoral system, initiated women-led movement that inspired other women to join the local governments as councilors.
  • Trained women on women’s rights and legal protection mechanisms.

IMPACT

  • Registered and issued National ID cards for women to cast the votes: 3,748
  • Contributed to Gender Reform Action Plan of Government of Baluchistan, Pakistan
  • Developed Legal Literacy Curriculum for gender and women’s rights.
  • Trained cadre of male lawyers as advocates for women rights in judicial system: 100
  • Inducted women law graduates as lawyers at the law chambers: 40
  • Initiated women-led movements: 2
  • Trained women on women’s rights and legal protection mechanisms: 500

COVERAGE

Pakistan: 3 Districts of Baluchistan Province

PARTNERS

USAID, UNDP, NADRA