Mingalarbar!
Welcome to the January 2020 Edition of the GEN Monthly Newsletter! Let us wish you a happy new year first. May this new year bring you joy, prosperity, and happiness. At GEN, everyone is back from the holidays and ready to start the new year afresh.
We always request a GEN member, friend or staff to provide some insight into their participation with GEN. This month, we request Ma Kyawt Kyawt Khaing who is an active TRP GEN/SC member to share her feelings and experience with GEN.
Mingalarbar!
Wish you were happy and accomplished all of your tasks in 2020.
Our Gender Equality Network was established in May 2008 with the collective strength of members and partner organizations and it’s been twelve years in 2020 that we have been working hand in hand with the values which are equality, non-discrimination, and inclusion. Our vision that Myanmar is a society in which there is gender equality at all levels and in all sectors, and where human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
We faced a lot of difficulties and challenges since inception. However, with collective strength, we are working to establish the institutional mechanism for gender equality, to form an active network with the competent and confident members, to include meaningful participation of women in leadership and public affairs, to eliminate gender-based violence, to improve the lives of women and to eliminate social norms and customary practices.
In the beginning of 2020, the PoVAW law draft which is the result of the collaboration of members and partner organizations has come out. Let’s cooperate together to make it a more protective law for women in the future.
GEN’s Highlights
Three-day Report Writing Training was conducted for the GEN-CU staff from 12th to 14th January at the GEN’s office. Trainers from Capacity Building Initiative facilitated the training and the participants learned the challenges and benefits of reporting, how to analyze a report, effective writing methods, responsibilities of a writer, improving clarity in report writing, reporting writing process, data gathering method, organization, data presentation, summarising and logical relationship in report writing during the training. (LIFT)
The EU Grant Signing Ceremony for making an agreement contract between Gender Equality Network and EU Grant Awardees was successfully conducted at the Sule Shangrila Hotel on 16th January 2020. There were 15 Civil Society Organizations that are eligible to receive the EU Grant Award and 3 CSOs from Karen state, 3 CSOs from Mandalay region, 4 CSOs from Shan state and 5 CSOs from Kachin state were included. (EU)
The Grant Orientation Workshop was conducted by GEN & DCA-NCA under the project “Empowered Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities promoting gender equality in Myanmar” with the support of EU funding on 17th and 18th January 2020 in Sule Shangrila Hotel. There were 15 CSOs in total (4 CSOs from Shan State, 5 CSOs from Kachin State, 3 CSOs from Kayin State and 9 CSOs from Kachin State) and two representatives from each CSO attended. The workshop aims to deliver clear explanation on related topics as human resources, financial management, Communications & visibility guideline, Admin & Logistic-procurement for smooth operation in their activities so that they can implement the plan on how to relate with gender equality promoting in their state/region which is clearly defined in the grant proposal. (EU)
On 29th January 2020, Gender Equality Network held a training on gender and gender-based violence in Kyauckphyu, Yamar Waddy Hall with 47 Participants (Male 25 ...Female 22). Opening Remark was provided by Deputy Director of Kyauck Phyu Township General Administration Department, U Kyaw Nu and welcome speech by Director of Department of Social Welfare for Rakhine State, Daw Yin Yin Pyone. The training was conducted for two days in Kyauckphyu with an objective of dissemination of gender and GVB related knowledge, progress on NSPAW Implementation and structure of MNCW at the township level. (IDRC, LIFT and Christian Aid)
Members’ Highlights
RfP-M 3rd Advisory Forum; Women’s Empowerment and Participation
Religions for Peace-Myanmar conducted the 3rd Advisory Forum on 14th to 15th November 2019 at Nay Pyi Taw. In this Forum, Standing Commissions were allocated under these main topics; Education, Equal Rights and Responsibilities for All Ethnic and Minority Groups, Women's Empowerment and Participation, Youth Empowerment and Engagement, Identity, Diversity and Common Challenges in Rakhine State, Freedom of Religions. Among them, in the Women’s Empowerment and Participation Commission were mainly focus to discuss on the issues of raising knowledge, training them on ToT, publishing ToT handbook on civil rights and law, CEDAW & NSPAW, legal awareness on protecting to women, peace and prevention on community violence, and additionally enhancement of women participation. These facts were intended to implement in Women of Faith Network further activities or projects.
On 23rd January 2020, WaterAid Myanmar, GEN’s member organization, held a half-day meeting on WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and Gender at Gender Resource Center. The meeting was attended by representatives from women organizations and networks, disable organizations, labor organizations, youth networks, and community-based organizations from the dry zone. The Working Group was initiated by WaterAid with the intention of raising gender issues in WASH collaboratively to facilitate inclusive WASH sector in Myanmar. Participants actively discussed their experiences on barriers to access WASH services for diverse target groups and brainstormed possible solutions to overcome these barriers. The next meeting will be held on coming March and interested member organizations can contact WaterAid Myanmar at 09 40044 3874 for further information.
Meetings and Workshops Attended by GEN’s Representatives
Director of Gender Equality Network, Daw May Sabe Phyu, delivered a speech named “Gender Inclusion for Lasting Peace” at the opening of the regional roundtable for Women, Media and Peace Process organized by Internews on 16th January 2020 at the Green Hill Hotel. This roundtable is aimed to learn from and share experiences and perspectives in promoting women’s role in the peace negotiation process among regional counterparts.
Director of Gender Equality Network, Daw May Sabe Phyu, participated in the discussion of BBC Myanmar Friday Live with respect to the forming of the new Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC). During the discussion, the panelists expressed their expectations on MNHRC reform from the perspectives of human rights advocates and former political prisoners. (LIFT)
Director of Gender Equality Network, Daw May Sabe Phyu, was one of the 11 invited guests from Myanmar, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, and Nigeria to attend Women’s Coalition Workshop hosted by the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID). On the second day of the workshop, she presented the situations of marginalized ethnic and religious women in Myanmar jointly with Sayama Katheleen Thein from "Ingyinmay Hindu Women Association”. It was a four-day workshop from 21st January to 24th January 2020 and the participants shared the propositions of their country context of the relationship between gender and religious marginalization, identified commonalities between the country cases, and developed a research plan with the provision of facilitators and partners.
On 23rd January 2020, director of Gender Equality Network, Daw May Sabe Phyu, joined as a panelist at the IDS Seminar series on "Religious inequalities in development: What about us?" at which she emphasized presenting "Why examining the situation of minority women in Myanmar is essential for the future of Myanmar?". The Seminar was part of the Women’s Coalition Workshop and it happened at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. (LIFT)
GEN’s Advisor participated in the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) retreat on 15 January 2020 to review the activities on gender equality and women empowerment in Myanmar and to develop a work plan of activities for GEWE members. The retreat was participated by about 40 representatives from UN agencies, Partners in Development, INGOs, and NGOs. The participants agreed on priority activities to be focused in 2020.
GEN’s Advisor participated in the meeting of the Kayin Committee for Women on 22 January 2020, led by the Kayin State Social Minister. It was participated by 150 representatives of the Committee, UN agencies, INGOs, local NGOs and CSOs. The meeting is the first meeting for 2020 and organized with the aim to review the activities of the Committee and to find an alternative solution to accommodate more local level organizations to contribute to the work of the Committee. (LIFT)
GEN’s Advisor participated in the "Roundtable Discussion on SDGs and Gender Equality: Prioritizing Actions for the Next Decade" organized by IDRC and the Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD) in the afternoon of 23 January 2020. The advisor joined the panel together with members from the academic institutions, private sector, public sector, and CSOs and discussed how Myanmar is performing in terms of addressing gender-related issues and highlighted the localization effort of Myanmar in developing the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP).
GEN’s Advisor participated in the panel discussion organized by Oxfam on "Delivering Shared Prosperity in Myanmar" on 25 January 2020. The panel focused on discussing the key issues that Myanmar could emphasize to reduce poverty and inequality in order to achieve sustainable, prosperous and equitable development goals. A photo exhibition was held and the new report on "Time to Care: Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis" was launched at the event.
GEN’s Advisor will participate in the Refresher "Workshop on Social Accountability and Governance" to be held in Hpa An, Kayin State, from 28-30 January 2020. The aim of the refresher workshop is to review the gender perspectives of engaging in public administration and governance and how the CSOs can contribute to promoting local governance and gender inclusion. (EU)
Featured Resource
Pathways to Influence: Promoting the Role of Women's Transformative Leadership to Achieve the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific by the United Nations.
Interview summaries: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Life_Journeys_of_Transformative_Leaders_1.pdf
