UCLG ASPAC’s Standing Committee on Women in Local Governments was formed in December 2013. It is currently headed by the Mayor of Banda Aceh, Ms. Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, succeeding Ms. Felicity Ann-Lewis who recently completed her Mayoral term of Marion City, Australia.
Women’s political representation is essential to achieving gender equality and genuine democracy. Generally, the direct engagement of women in decision-making contribute to greater attention on women’s issues. However, gender-responsive reforms in institutions and policies are not guaranteed solely by having women in political positions. Responding to the low level of women’s representation in the Asia Pacific region, it is the express goal of the Standing Committee to reach a 25% representation of women in the UCLG ASPAC Council which will hold elections in Jeollabukdo, and in the UCLG Congress in Bogota.
Meanwhile, Sustainable Development Goal 5 to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” emphasizes the leading role of local governments in identifying and tackling violence and harmful practices against women. It also notes how local governments can mainstream gender equality across all areas of their work in order to tackle the multiple barriers to women’s empowerment.
The aspirations of the Standing Committee on Women are aligned with this international agenda, and specifically, holds as a top priority the increase of women’s participation in political positions (as Mayor, Vice-Mayor, Council Member) and in senior-level positions in various departments. Additionally, it advocates towards the integration of gender perspectives into different themes of local development, such as public space and safety, local economic development, disaster risk reduction and management, and education, to name a few.
Through organizing consultative meetings, seminars, as well as linking partners to develop programs, the Standing Committee will strive to offer recommendations to local government associations and their members on how they can contribute to the goals. Members have also expressed a desire to attend trainings on gender-responsiveness (ex. gender-sensitive budget) and on skills enhancement of women leaders. The Committee will also actively campaign for engendering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and raise the important of gender equality in the New Urban Agenda which will be soon adopted in Quito in October this year.
___
In its over two years of existence, some wins of the Committee include the appointment of UCLG ASPAC Secretary General as a member of the Advisory Group on Gender Committee of the UN-Habitat. Also, it held several sessions during the UNESCAP 6th Asia Pacific Urban Forum and the High-Level Regional Preparatory Meeting (October 2015, Jakarta) wherein it was able to deliver key messages to the latter, increasing pressure on the New Urban Agenda to highlight gender issues.
Upcoming Event
Meeting of Standing Committee on Women in Local Governments will be announced as soon as possible. Members and potential partners are invited to attend.
Call for Submission of Best Practices
The Standing Committee on Women in Local Governments invites UCLG ASPAC members and partners to submit a write-up on best practice/s focused on gender mainstreaming. Contributions will be featured in UCLG ASPAC’s website and monthly e-newsletter disseminated to all readers.
Guidelines:
We welcome write-ups between 300-600 words in length, with 2-3 photos. The article should highlight and describe a policy / project / activity on mainstreaming gender, its goals / achievements / impact, as well as key lessons learned from both setbacks (if any) and successes.
Potential topics of interest, as it relates to gender, include: public space and safety, local economic development, disaster risk reduction and management, youth empowerment, education, health, etc.
Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please submit it to cdt@uclg-aspac.org and info@uclg-aspac.org. We look forward to receiving your contributions!
