Volume 4, Number 1
April 1998

Gender Analysis and ICIMOD

The promotion of sustainable development in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the overall mandate and mission of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Develop-ment (ICIMOD). Gender is one aspect that is closely linked to sustainable land use and alleviation of poverty, which is fast becoming more femininized in the region. Due to the tre-mendous diversity of cultures, agroecological zones, farming systems, and constraints and opportunities in this mountain region, policies and plans for the incorporation of gender perspectives in sustainable development programs must be based on local realities. As yet, the data on the gender dimensions of land use in the region are fragmentary, giving an incomplete picture often colored by a lowland perspective. In addition, most institutions (including NGOs) involved in agriculture and natural resource management in the region have not formally incorporated gender concerns into their research, extension, and training programs. Many of their staff exhibit a gender blindness that leads to the widespread exclusion of rural women from participation in research and extension activities. The common problems of women--heavy workloads, low levels of education, little access to financial and health services and new technologies, and limited control over resources--go largely unaddressed by those institutions respon-sible for rural poverty alleviation through improved land use.

Through its mandate to provide documentation and information exchange, applied and problem-solving research, training and advisory services, ICIMOD is in a position to influence policies and strategies for gender-balanced sustainable development. In 1996, ICIMOD embarked on a program, "Capacity Building for Incorporating Gender in Sustainable Development Policies, Strategies, and Programs in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region," with the assistance of the Dutch Government. This program includes a package of activities that will enhance the capacities of institutions, both governmental and nongovernmental, to incorporate gender in the policies and programs of their institutions. The program has four major components.

Training--The program will offer an annual training course on "Gender and Organizational Development for Sustainable Mountain Land Use" for staff of selected partner institutions involved in agricultural and natural resources management institutions. The first such course was held in 1997. From fact-finding missions initiated in 1996, ICIMOD collected informa-tion on organizations and individuals involved in gender and land use in each of the eight member countries. Two or three partner organizations that demonstrated a commitment to in-corporating gender issues were selected in each country. Women and men in key positions to guide policies and strate-gies of the institutions participated in the training course. It is expected that these participants will act as catalysts for change according to the action plans they developed in the course.

Case Studies

A study of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in northern Pakistan was prepared as a teaching case study for the course. As part of the course, all participants conducted case studies with the beneficiaries of their programs, as well as organizational analyses of their own institutions. The first part of the course offered instruction on participatory methods of gender analysis and organizational analysis. Upon completion of the case studies, participants returned to ICIMOD for instruction on how to use this information for gender planning, and to develop action plans for organizational change.

Gender Resource Centers

The Program will offer follow-up support to each participant through the establishment of Gender Resource Centers, designed to meet the needs of individual institutions.

Strengthening Gender within ICIMOD