Yerel Yönetimlerde Kadınları Güçlendiriyoruz

BACKGROUND

According to KA.DER's "Local Policies for Gender Equality Report", women are represented by only 2 percent in municipal assemblies and provincial assemblies. Only 18 (0.6 percent) of the 3,234 mayors are women. The low representation of women in local governments poses a risk in terms of the sensitivity of services to women's demands. For women to benefit equally from rights and opportunities in all areas of social life and to become stronger, their participation in the city's decision-making mechanisms should be increased, and egalitarian and inclusive local policies should be implemented.

PROJECT GOALS

• A five-day training of trainers on topics such as Local Governments and their Legislation, Why Local Politics Matter for Women, Gender, Women Friendly Cities, Gender Responsive Budgeting etc. will be given to 14 municipality personnel, one from each municipality dealing with social policies.
• 14 trainers will provide neighbourhood-based two-day dissemination trainings for a total of 420 women, and the participants will be encouraged to participate/candidate to participatory mechanisms in local governments.
• Municipality-NGO network will be established.

Testimonials

“Though we were already providing gender equality courses, spending at least five days on this project helped us prepare an educational module ourselves. We had to delve into research on the matter, seek out sources, and prepare presentations on many subjects. By doing this, we eventually noticed our own shortcomings.” Municipality Personnel

“The Equality Department was established after the project to formulate an Equality Plan and to sustain these training programs. My friend, who is both a sociologist and psychologist, will contribute on this process. As this is our first experience in such a project, we want to contact other sister municipalities that have already prepared a Local Equality Action Plan to discuss their experiences.” Municipality Personnel