The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network

March/April 2012 | Vol. 6, No. 1

Working with women in conflict-affected areas: A gender advocates thoughts

by Uzma Altaf, National Implementation Consultant, Pakistan Resident Mission* Having spent many years working for gender equality in Pakistan, Uzma Altaf shares valuable lessons that have helped her reach out to women and communities. In a conflict-prone country like Pakistan, putting gender concerns at the forefront of the development agenda is a major challenge. The country is battling multiple problems and addressing gender imbalance is just one of its many concerns. The overall security environment commands much of the governments attention. In addition, the many natural calamities like the devastating earthquake and floods have negatively affected basic infrastructure services, and agriculture, which is the peoples main livelihood. Because of these, gender equality is often seen as a luxury for the country. It is still considered as a want rather than a need. Despite the countrys international and national commitments, gender is still considered as a donor-driven agenda, something that is imposed by external forces. Because of this, it becomes a harder task to convince the policy makers and decision making bodies of its importance. Gender advocacy becomes a challenge. In addition, the social environment in some areas is too conservative so it becomes more challenging to access and monitor development interventions. In previous assignments, I have experienced how tough it is to access beneficiaries and assess the impact of our interventions. Valuable lessons Over the years, I have learned that in order to meet these challenges, it is important to learn and adjust to the culture and norms of the local communities. In my experience, it was really hard to overcome these but with the passage of time, I learned the following useful lessons, especially when going to areas affected by conflict: One has to very adaptable and flexible to the local perspective and be fully aware of social norms and practices. It is also important to apply the task and relationship rule, i.e. you have to first build the relationship with the people and win their trust. With your positive behavior and attitude, you have to prove that you are "one of them". Be cautious in selecting the main entry point, i.e. selecting the most suitable focal person to access the locals. Always travel with the local people and respect their norms and culture. Never underestimate the knowledge and capacity of the locals. Always remember: "local problems, local solutions". Respect their suggestions and recommendations.
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This article was originally published in ADB Avenue in the section On the Frontlines

What inspires me Working to uplift the condition of the women for over a decade now, I feel that we still have a long way to go. Yet there are so many good experiences that inspire me, like convincing parents in the most remote and conservative parts of the country to bring their children, specifically girls, to schools. Another fulfilling experience was persuading the government and donors to pool their resources for girls education in one of the remotest district of Khyber Pukhtonkhwa, where the female literacy rate was only 6%. Similarly, it was indeed a precious experience to listen and encourage poor women in small fishing villages near Pakistans coastline to work together and effectively to improve their living conditions. Working with ADB has been a great opportunity to promote gender equality and to bring women into the mainstream of the development process. It is quite a rich and challenging experience to work with the diverse communities with different socioeconomic and cultural contexts and needs. I recently visited parts of Pakistans Sindh province where thousands of families lost their assets and livelihood to the devastating floods. It was heartening to see women playing an active and courageous role in rebuilding their lives against odds. Engendering development I have always believed that real development is not possible without appreciating gender roles and their contribution toward achieving development goals. This realization provoked my interest in gender. I became more curious to understand the gender relations in development. While working with the poor in remote communities in Pakistan, I saw that women are equally interested to become part of the development process but do not always get opportunities to do so. Over the years, I worked on various issues including child labor, health, education, and poverty. I found that all these aspects have a causal relationship with gender imbalance. These imbalances motivated me to work for gender equality and gender responsiveness. Moving forward, I would recommend more coordinated efforts among donors, government, and civil society to involve local women groups to promote gender equality particularly in conflict-hit areas, where women are the worst and most voiceless victims

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.