A programme for the advancement of women in Uzbekistan earned one of the 10 international Dubai Best Practice Awards in 2004. The programme was launched by the Business Women Association (BWA) to help reduce poverty.

In this former Soviet republic in Central Asia of 25 million, 27.5 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Women earn about 70 percent of what men get, and unemployment among them is also higher. This is in part attributable to a lack of necessary skills and knowledge, limited access to credit for women and low participation in establishment of new enterprises.

The BWA programme provided vocational training courses for 7,300 unemployed women. It also campaigned in Uzbekistan for new legislation favouring micro-financing credit and other benefits for women that was adopted by Parliament. The BWA maintains business contacts with other women’s organizations of Central Asia and promotes the exchange of knowledge and experience. The results of this initiative have proved to be sustainable, and BWA of Uzbekistan is actively engaged in replicating similar activities in neighbouring Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Clinics of “hope” for women in Rwanda

After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda the women survivors included large numbers of widows, many of whom had

suffered rape, torture, and a range of physical violence and psychological trauma. Many of the victims were infected with HIV/AIDS.

In 1995, the Church World Service and Witness (CWS)-USA, the parent organization of Rwanda Women’s Network opened the Polyclinic of Hope in the center of the capital, Kigali and in the town of Gitega. The two clinics are open for survivors of the genocide, victims of rape and violence, widows, child-headed households and people living with HIV/AIDS. They also provide trauma counseling to help women regain self-confidence through work and shelter.

The two clinics have helped more than 2,500 people with counseling and medical treatment, and provided homes for 130 families in Kigali, and hundreds of others in Gitega. They also provide vocational training and a youth assistance programme.

Transport to suit women in Spain

The City of Pamplona has introduced gender equality into its town planning, and brought novel changes into its

public transport system.

In a study conducted by the Sociological Research Team on the Evaluation of the impact of gender in Town Planning, the views of more than 300 women between 35 and 80 were solicited, that resulted in 57 measures being incorporated into the municipal transport system. These dealt with neighbourhood services and public transport routes, bus design, bus stop innovations, frequency, improved payments systems and a quality indicator service aimed at improving the attitude and manners of drivers.

Radio in Brazil

CEMINA is recognized nationally and regionally in Latin America as a focal point of women’s radio networks.

The organization has broadcast the program Fala Mulher daily since 1990 in Rio de Janeiro and provided training workshops for women radio broadcasters since 1993. It also founded a Network of Women’s Radio Programmes. Subjects of special concern include broadcasts on topics such as violence, health, education, work, political participation, citizenship, culture, child-mother relationship, reproductive rights, breastfeeding, children, and HIV/AIDS.

CEMINA was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization inspired by the need to promote women’s rights and vision in the media. CEMINA found radio to be the most effective means of communication to reach millions of women nationwide.

Empowerment in Nepal

The Women’s Empowerment Programme in Nepal conducts a unique literacy and savings-led empowerment village banking system in Nepal through a program that is sustainable and replicable. It has reached out to 123,000 women in southern Nepal.

In less than two years 110,000 women have learned to read and all WEP women began saving actively. More than 30,000 have loans, 55,586 have started micro-enterprises, and 45,467 are meeting their income targets. WEP women have taken 45,667 collective actions for social change. WEP uses an approach-based on Appreciative Planning and Action that encourages women to build on their strengths. It provides no traditional subsidies such as seed loans, subsidized interest rates, lanterns, books, etc., leaving the women provide whatever they need.

The programme is completely demand-driven, with women setting their own priorities and running their own projects. Simplified study materials eliminate the need for facilitators – the women teach themselves or recruit their own literacy volunteers if needed.

Learning by example in the Philippines

The Bantay Banay programme in the Phillippines responds to the needs of physically and sexually abused women and children. Over time, the programme has expanded to over 50 areas in Cebu and seven other large cities with plans to bring in 13 other cities. National, provincial, municipal, and city government agencies, as well as village leaders, have shown great support for the Bantay Banay groups in their respective areas. Different sectors (health, social welfare, religious, police, law and private sectors, to name a few) have coordinated and collaborated with the communities and government agencies to provide a range of services for victims and their families.

Through the involvement of other sectors, alternative resources have been tapped to sustain local initiatives. The communities educate themselves and practice what they have learned. They find innovative ways to care for one another through intervention, referral and monitoring systems. The Bantay Banay programs have broadened to include other important family and community problems. The experiences, learning and practices have generated a new perspective on women’s rights and entitlement which is grounded in vibrant support among women.