Resources
Elanor Jackson
- Womankind Worldwide (December 2015) ‘Creating new spaces – Women’s experiences of political participation in communities,’ This research in four countries: Ghana, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, focused on the spaces created for women by the Government or more usually Womankind’s partners, to explore what these mean to women. It explored how women access the spaces, what they learn, what benefits they get from them and how far their participation enables them to organise and make demands on Local Government for better service provision. While each space was different and shaped by both the political context and women’s realities, a number of key findings emerged, some positive and others challenging.
- Womankind Worldwide ‘Freedom to Walk together with Others’ (Nepal). The research in Nepal as part of the Womankind research, explored how Dalit women engage in different spaces to bring about positive change in their lives and use the opportunities provided by these spaces to participate in decision-making and to raise issues with decision makers. It focuses on the Dalit Women’s Groups (DWGs) formed at community level by Dalit women with the support of Womankind’s partner, the Feminist Dalit Women’s Organisation (FEDO), a women’s rights organisation and social movement.
- Womankind Worldwide ‘Now we can speak out. Women’s experiences of political participation in Ghana ’ In Ghana, the research focuses on a quarterly meeting space established by Womankind’s partner the Gender Centre, where they bring women representatives of different community groups and associations together with District-Level decision makers and women District Assembly (DA) members and other women professionals aspiring to leadership roles, to enable women to raise issues with decision makers and to promote women’s leadership.
- Plan UK (July 2014), ‘Research on discriminatory social norms in relation to violence against women and girls from the perspective of girls, boys, women and men in Bangladesh, Egypt and Pakistan ‘ (lead author). This report presents research carried out to understand the challenges in three countries where Plan works (Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan) and explore the fundamental structures that shape attitudes and behaviour around gender roles and potential. The research asked how communities themselves see the current situation and what women and girls, men and boys want to see changed; what Plan wants to achieve and how staff undertake work in this area; and what is actually changing in favour of women and girls in the communities studied. The focus of the report is on what people themselves experience and think, especially adolescent girls, and their aspirations for the future.
- Feinstein International Center, TUFTS University (2011), ‘The Role of Education in Livelihoods in the Somali Region of Ethiopia’ This report describes a qualitative study on the role of education in livelihoods in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, conducted over 18 days in April 2011.
- ChildHope & Consortium for Street Children, March 2005 Child Protection Policies and Procedures ‘Toolkit: How to Build a Child-Safe Organisation’ (co-author). The Toolkit outlines and explores some of the key principles and issues relevant to child protection/safeguarding, as well as outlining the steps that are needed in order to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate child protection policies and procedures. The tools can be used by those with overall executive responsibility for an organisation or by a designated person or group within the organisation with responsibility for child protection issues.
- Consortium for Street Children (March 2005), ‘Police Training on Child Rights & Child Protection: Lessons Learned and Manual’ (written contributions and co-design of research project component)
Kanwal Ahluwalia
- Derbyshire, H., Dolata, N. and Ahluwalia, K. (2015) ‘Untangling Gender Mainstreaming – a theory of change based on reflections and experience,’ Gender and Development Network Briefing Paper. This paper, produced by the Gender and Development Network (GADN) Gender Mainstreaming Working Group, explores the concept and practicalities of gender mainstreaming. It draws on learning from staff with responsibility for gender mainstreaming in 9 UK based INGOs and their Southern based partner organisations; wider discussions with GADN members and women’s rights activists; as well as the personal experiences and reflections of the authors. It elaborates a Theory of Change setting out the component parts of gender mainstreaming, how these relate to each other, and how they collectively contribute towards the wider goal of gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights.
- Ahluwalia, K. ‘Looking Beyond the Numbers: reducing violence against women in Ghana’ in Wallace, T. and Porter, F. (Eds), (2013) ‘Aid, NGOs and Women’s Lives’, Practical Action. The Nkyinkyim Anti-Violence programme stands out as a beacon of good development practice and resulted in significant improvements in the lives of women and girls in Ghana. The programme focused on achieving changes within the lives of predominately poor, rural women and girls experiencing violence and the changes in attitudes and behaviours of those around them. The programme took a bottom-up, responsive approach and enabled women themselves to determine what needed to change. Women themselves shaped, altered, and benefited from the programme. However, this approach became increasingly ‘at odds’ with donors in the UK who were under pressure to demonstrate success through quick results for large numbers of women. The challenge for the NGOs involved was how to remain true to the principle of enabling women to lead the changes in their own lives whilst trying to comply with every changing and increasing donor demands.
- Wallace, T., Ahluwalia, K., Hendriks, and S., Munive, A. (2013) ‘Gender Equality Self Assessment – Guidelines for all Plan’s offices’ and ‘Gender Equality Self Assessment – Toolkit,’ Plan International (internal). These guidelines support Plan International offices to undertake a Gender Equality Self-Assessment (GESA). They highlight the core elements to be addressed by a GESA. They explain what a GESA is, why it is important, and how to undertake the process. The guidelines emphasise the participatory and reflective nature of the GESA process.
- Swarup, A., Dankelman, I., Ahluwalia, K. and Hawrylyshyn, K. (2011) ‘Weathering the Storm – adolescent girls and climate change,’ Plan International. This report demonstrates not only how climate change disproportionately affects girls, particularly adolescent girls, but also how girls’ agency is crucial for tackling future challenges of climate change adaptation. Given the space and voice, girls are capable of identifying and taking actions that will help to protect themselves and their communities. In order for this potential to be realised, organisations working on women’s and girls’ rights must be given the opportunity to contribute. Acknowledging women and girls as vulnerable groups is not enough. Planners need to allocate climate change adaptation funding to enable girls to be effective agents of change.
- Ahluwalia, K. (2009), ‘Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation- step-by step guidelines to some participatory methods and tools for WOMANKIND partners working on the Nkyinkyim Anti-Violence Project, Ghana,’ (internal). These guidelines were compiled for use by Womankind Worldwide partner organisations on using participatory methodologies throughout the project cycle for the Nkyinkyim programme to reduce violence against women in Ghana.