Empowering Elected Women Representatives in Local Governance
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The elected women representatives (EWR)in local governance have to be targeted to address effectively the issues encountered in the process of women empowerment. The EWR being the legal representatives of the rural poor especially women, if endowed with good leadership, knowledge and practice of governance at the gross root and gender sensitivity in development will become an effective and efficient stake holders by which they can lead, guide and associate with ordinary womenfolk in strengthening the process of empowerment. Against this background, SEEDS succeeded in getting sanction the Hunger Project (THP) covering 129 gram panchayats across two districts Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram- Thiruchuli and kariapatti and kamudi blocks in respective districts. Other major components of the project are federating the EWR, equipping their managing skill and promoting participation besides integrated development initiatives in PRIs.
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Key activities undertaken are:
Federation meeting at Block Level : the importance of this meeting is learning through experience sharing among the EWRs, for better performance in their respective panchayats and passing of meaningful resolutions and its transformation into reality.
Panchayat Level Meetings : Prioritization of issues and various successful endeavors by other EWRs on issues of development, governance, social and gender justice, can be replicated in respective Panchayats.
Need Based Workshops : Capacity building of EWRs, sensitizing EWRs of their roles and responsibilities, effective role play in the community will be addressed dealt with.
Interface Meeting with the Block Administration at Block Level : This aids in building a professional working relationship between public office holders and bureaucrats, thereby facilitating fund flow in Panchayats, knowledge enhancement of new government programmes and acceleration in implementation of development programmes.
Potential Leadership Workshop : These workshops provide necessary skills to present themselves as a candidate, learn nuances of a leader, get a grasp on communication skills, put together their previuos years work in a presentable format, learn trechniques of campaigning and many more things.
SWEEP Direct Outreach : These are various other interventions that are used to reach out to the different members of the communities to create awareness about the compaign as well as increasing womens participation in the election process.
Meeting with media at District Level : Networking with the media forms an important part of the strategy of the campaign. In this forum EWR federation will share the steps taken by them to attain their demand and insist the support of media to ensure violence free elections and to encourage women leadership. the media interface conducted at the district level.
Federation meeting at Block Level : the importance of this meeting is learning through experience sharing among the EWRs, for better performance in their respective panchayats and passing of meaningful resolutions and its transformation into reality.
Panchayat Level Meetings : Prioritization of issues and various successful endeavors by other EWRs on issues of development, governance, social and gender justice, can be replicated in respective Panchayats.
Need Based Workshops : Capacity building of EWRs, sensitizing EWRs of their roles and responsibilities, effective role play in the community will be addressed dealt with.
Interface Meeting with the Block Administration at Block Level : This aids in building a professional working relationship between public office holders and bureaucrats, thereby facilitating fund flow in Panchayats, knowledge enhancement of new government programmes and acceleration in implementation of development programmes.
Potential Leadership Workshop : These workshops provide necessary skills to present themselves as a candidate, learn nuances of a leader, get a grasp on communication skills, put together their previuos years work in a presentable format, learn trechniques of campaigning and many more things.
SWEEP Direct Outreach : These are various other interventions that are used to reach out to the different members of the communities to create awareness about the compaign as well as increasing womens participation in the election process.
Meeting with media at District Level : Networking with the media forms an important part of the strategy of the campaign. In this forum EWR federation will share the steps taken by them to attain their demand and insist the support of media to ensure violence free elections and to encourage women leadership. the media interface conducted at the district level.