1. THE SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT 2014 RURAL COUNCIL OF ANDRAMASINA
INSTITUTIONAL COE
RURAL COUNCIL OF ANDRAMASINA
MADAGASCAR
Presented by: RAVAOZANANY Blandine

2. SYNOPSIS
BEFORE:
Women’s role in the society was not given much importance
Women were considered as weak and fragile human beings, needing care, their place is at home.
Achieving gender equality was like impossible.
NOW:
Gender equality has become achievable, the perception of gender has improved and people begin to understand its objectives
Women is beginning to take responsibilities.
Collaboration between women and men is strengthened.
EVIDENCE:
Statistics of women candidates
Stele proving the engagement of the council towards gender

3. 50/50 AMIN’NY TAONA 2015: LAMINASA MATY PAIKA AORIAN’NY TAONA 2015
OBJECTIVES
Increase the rate of children going to school, especially girls
Promote the participation of women through:
Participation in different events organized
Express their opinions in public
Integrate and become leaders of associations
Reduce gender violence to 50%
To strengthen women’s capacity in income-generating activities and reduce the number of people rolling around without any activity so that men and women contribute together to economic development.
50/50 AMIN’NY TAONA 2015: LAMINASA MATY PAIKA AORIAN’NY TAONA 2015

4. PLANTATION OF GERANIUM
Promote women and children health :
Help mothers cope with their children’s health problems in the best way
Increases the number of vaccinated children and follow pregnant women’s health as closely as possible
Promote gender equality in service delivery at the council level: to give priority to both women’s and men’s interests in all council programmes.
PLANTATION OF GERANIUM

5. BACKGROUND
The council is convinced of the importance of mainstreaming gender because: women are more numerous than men in the council (55,79%)
The women are the ones who are mainly in charge of production activities
Collaboration between men and women is more beneficial (in the household, in the society and in the governance
Testimony : RAKOTOMANGA Ralaiary Andrianarisaina, mayor of the rural council of Andramasina

6. KEY ACTIVITIES (1)
Give support to FRAM teachers (whose salary is to be paid by pupils’ parents) who have not been paid yet.
Celebration of 16 days of activism against violence
Parade along the Council streets
Inauguration of a stele in front of the Council office sensitizing people to fight against violence
Celebration of March 8: various activities to recall women’s Rights
Improvement of the market place
to lessen the difficulties encountered by women in looking for and transporting the equipment they need to present the products for sale (most of the sellers are women) .
to help women have a better presentation of goods (all the goods are presented on stalls not on the ground anymore)

7. KEY ACTIVITIES (2) Construction of a Primary Health Center.
Construction of 8 secondary health centers
Partnership with the PROSPERER for training and capacity building related to income-generating activities
Extraction of essential oil (Women: 21 Men: 39)
Management
Floriculture (Women: 20 Men:10)
Improved free-range chicken farming( Women: 20)
Sewing (Women:10)
Carpentry (Men: 10)

8. Sensitization sessions on gender issues : during every public meeting (16 days, 8 March, civil wedding ceremonies)

9. RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS
Amount in (Ar)
Amount in Rand
Gender specific allocation  
3 310
Gender in mainstream projects (please specify)  
4 414
Amount contributed in cash or in kind by partner organisations (please specify)
  (50 000 Ar were given by donors; cement, bricks and gravel)
662
TOTAL
  Ar
 8 386

10. CHALLENGES Lack of (human, financial and material)resources
Lack of communication:
The Council villages are far from each other.
Even if mobile phones are available, their owners have to pay the communication expenses on their own, which they can’t always afford; besides, there are connection problems.
The Council doesn’t have a website
People don’t have the same way of thinking : it’s sometimes difficult to sensitize people who still stick to stereotypes:
Women’s place is at home
Some men do not let their wives take part in activities which do not generate income for the family
Women are underestimated

11. RESULTS THE CHANGES REFLECTED IN SERVICE DELIVERY
The Council supports and encourages women’s participation in all the events they organize
Decision-makers take women’s opinions into account (improvement of the market, the use of toilets, the construction of Primary Health Care Center I)
Land ownership processes are the same for men and women: they are equally treated
There is an introduction of gender issues during civil wedding ceremonies : Joint property regime should be adopted, husbands and wives should help each other
All council programmes about infrastructure building are gender- sentitive: both men and women can benefit from them.
The Council carries out an annual work evaluation

12. WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT (capacity building and training) Training on:
Management
Production of essential oils
Improved free-range chicken farming
Horticulture and nursery gardening
Sewing
Production of economical stoves
Family planning

13. MEN FOR CHANGE
After the training on Gender has been given, men’s support was substantial:
For the celebration of March 8, they helped in fund collecting, negotiations with donors, implementation and animation of the event (sound, transport equipment, volley-ball playing)
During the preparation of 16 days, Council male employees painted the stele, wrote the sensitizing slogan and actively took part in the parade

14. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Introduction and awareness raising on: Gender
The importance of collaboration between men and women
Encouraging men to let their wives take responsibilities
Gender Based Violence
Encouraging women to denounce violence
Explaining GBV and women’s Rights

15. A space for pregnant and breastfeeding women created.
CHANGES AT THE WORK PLACE
A space for pregnant and breastfeeding women created.
The gardening work done by women employees has made the environment surrounding the council office more pleasant.
The work place is clean
A social service structure which is beneficial for both Council’s male and female employees set up.

16. Project to create a newsletter on gender
OUTREACH THROUGH THE MEDIA
Collaboration with the national radio (RNM)
Project to create a newsletter on gender

17. CHANGES AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
Husbands and wives work together in the household
Husbands and wives give more interest to their children’s upbringing
There is much more discussion between husbands and wives and they make decisions together
Women are given more freedom to attend various events outside the home and their husbands come with them
Husbands and wives treat each other’s relatives the same way

18. More and more women are interested in entrepreneurship
WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION (training and capacity building)
More and more women are interested in entrepreneurship
Women participate actively in events organized
Women gain experience is leadership, public speaking and advocacy

19. Gender stereotypes are not noticed in work place
CHANGES IN ATTITUDE
Priority was given to pregnant women, women with babies and old people
Gender stereotypes are not noticed in work place
Women employees are no more considered as weak human beings
There’s no discrimination among the council’s employees

20. CHANGES AT A POLICY LEVEL THAT HAVE COME ABOUT AS A RESULT OF THE COE WORK
Gender sensitive policy: infrastructure, training, reduction of violence cases, promotion of women’s participation
Evidence:The stele in front of the office
OTHER CHANGES
Women are more and more interested to politics (last election)

21. LESSONS LEARNED
Collaboration between men and women is the key to successful activities.
In order to achieve goals, we need:
Self-commitment: taking initiatives but not always waiting for other to motivate
Unity, solidarity, capacity to listen to each other
Communication

22. LEARNING AND SHARING WITH OTHER COUNCILS
The stele built in front of the council office raised discussion among other councils. It is an opporunity for us to share the council’s engagement towards gender equality

23. SUSTAINABILITY AND REPLICATION
Evaluation of work done
Identification of the gaps to be addressed
Continue and improve the good practices
Improvement of efforts done
Monitoring
The work done by Andramasina Council can be replicated in other Councils if :
Awareness raising and training about gender are done
The councils’ decision-makers are willing to implement gender approach in their work.

24. KEY PRIORITIES FOR 2014 Reduction of gender violence
Increase the number of women in decision-making positions in:
Governance
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Improve and increase the number of infrastructure that take into account gender specificity
Protection of environment
Increase the rate of schooled children through encouraging parents to send their children to school, especially girls

25. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION