The “Joint Program to Promote and Protect Human Rights of Women and Girls” involves all United Nations agencies, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sabanci Foundation and Sabanci University. The Joint Program has been continuing since 2006.

         Izmir             Kars            Nevsehir    Sanliurfa    Trabzon          Van

The United Nations “Joint Program to Promote and Protect Human Rights of Women and Girls” is a unique project in the sense that it is simultaneously supported by all United Nations organizations in Turkey. The project has been selected by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as one of the “Model Projects”. This case was included in a book entitled “UNFPA at Work” published in 2008. Please click here for the book.

BMOP 2009 Election Results

One of the main goals of the UNJP program is to increase the involvement of women in local government and decision making mechanisms. The results of the 2009 local elections indicates that we are making significant progress in this area:

• Compared to the 2004 local elections, there was a significant increase of women elected by almost 60%.

• Results show an increase in the election ratios of women for municipal, city, district and village councils in UNJP cities. Only Trabzon and Van show a decrease in number of women elected for village and district councils.

• All UN Agencies in Turkey (Program led by UNFPA)
• Ministry of Interior
• Sabanci Foundation
• Sabanci University

Donors

• Sabanci Foundation
• UN Agencies in Turkey
• Embassies/ Bi-lateral Agencies of: Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, England, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Norway

Governance of Program

• Steering Committee - All program partners
• Program Office - UNFPA, Ankara
• Local Coordination - Local Coordinators in Each Province
• Grant Program Coordination - UNFPA and Sabanci Foundation
• Purple Certificate Program - Sabanci Foundation

Project Cities/Provinces

• İzmir, Kars, Nevşehir, Şanlıurfa, Trabzon and Van

Joint Program Goals

• Eradicate gender inequality,
• Promote partnerships among UN, local and national government and NGOs,
• Secure equality in policies and services at the local and national levels,
• Create an enabling environment to promote and protect women’s rights,
• Create awareness around women’s rights,
• Promote economic, social and cultural activity of women,
• Increase women’s level of education, and
• Support projects which align with these goals and reflect priorities of Local Equality Action Plans in each city.

Main Activities

• Development of Local Equality Action Plans and Creation of Local Equality Commissions - These plans are developed together by NGOs and local governments with the aim to promote strategic and regulatory actions that promote gender equality in the program cities. Local Equality Commissions are established to monitor progress of these plans.
• Sabanci Foundation Grant Program - Funds projects in program cities which address the critical priority areas of the Local Equality Action Plans.
• Purple Certificate Program - Designed and implemented by Sabanci University, this training program aims to create awareness regarding gender quality in teaching and in the classroom among teachers.

For More Information:

www.bmkadinhaklari.org