Results Women’s Rights & Gender Equality 2014

ELIMINATE VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
AND GIRLS

Over 149,500 women with
improved leadership skills

Output

At least 2,850 health
and law enforcement
personnel trained
91 organisations
better equipped to deal with
violence against women
More than 142,000 women
and girls, men and boys reached with
awareness training and
life skills education

Input

LEADERSHIP &
POLITICAL POWER

PEACE &
SECURITY

481 policy and
legal reforms

Outcome

Impact

Dutch investment: €49 million

FLOW
NAP 1325
Women on the Frontline
Human Rights Fund
MFS

3,270 organisations with
stronger capacity for advocacy

ECONOMIC
EMPOWERMENT
6,155 laws and regulations
to remove barriers to women as
economic actors

More than 30,000 women
trained to participate in
processes to shape the future
of their countries
Stronger promotion of
women's role in peace and reconstruction
activities by 132 organisations

Access to productive resources
land, water, credit, technology,
provided to more than
20,000 women

Almost 500,000 women
producers and wage workers
helped to raise their income

Diplomacy efforts to promote
women’s rights worldwide

Results Women’s Rights & Gender Equality 2014
The context
Nearly 20 years ago, the world came together in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on
Women to adopt a road map towards gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights
for women and girls. Much has been achieved since, but much more needs to be done. Progress has
been slow and uneven. Globally, the majority of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty are
women, and millions of women and girls are victims of physical and sexual violence or other forms
of discrimination. Women are still largely excluded from processes to resolve conflicts and to shape
the future of societies.
Alarmingly, resistance to equal rights for women, in particular their right to decide about their
sexuality and whether or not to have children, is growing among conservative forces. The ideal of
equality enshrined in international agreements has to be continuously defended. The Netherlands
seeks to help create a world in which men and women have equal rights and opportunities. The
world will make no progress if half its population suffers discrimination. The energy and talents
of women and girls are needed to ensure lasting peace and prosperity for all. The Netherlands’
commitment to improving the position of women is encapsulated in the following four goals:
•
the elimination of violence against women and girls;
•
equal participation in politics and government;
•
economic empowerment and self-reliance;
•
a fair share in peacebuilding and reconstruction.

The instruments
The Netherlands pursues these goals through a three-track approach.
First, we allocate financial resources to women’s rights organisations through the grant scheme
Funding Leadership and Opportunities for Women (FLOW), in support of the implementation of UN
Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
Second, we work to ensure that women benefit from investments in trade and development
cooperation, for instance in subsistence and market-oriented agriculture, drinking water and
sanitation, renewable energy and business development.
Diplomatic work is the third dimension of the Netherlands’ efforts to promote women’s rights
worldwide. As a UN member state, we work towards consensus among nations on norms and
measures to achieve gender equality and ensure governments’ compliance with universally agreed
principles. We also advocate for observance of women’s rights with our development cooperation
and trading partners, governments, corporations and civil society.

Results
Elimination of violence against women and girls
The Fair Wear Foundation, supported by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, works
to stop harassment and violence against women workers in garment factories in Bangladesh and
India. Over 3,500 workers in 24 factories received training in 2014, while 15,000 workers were
reached via peer-to-peer education. Representatives of workers, management and NGOs took part
in 20 active anti-harassment committees, which recorded an increase in reporting of harassment.
Participating in these committees as workers’ representatives has made women more confident,

and an increasing number of them have been promoted to supervisory roles since the project
started.
Equal participation in politics and government
UNDP activities helped increased women’s representation in the Senate of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo in 2014, from 8 to 26%. In Senegal, UNDP helped increase women’s representation in
local councils from 15% in 2009 to 48% in 2014.
Economic empowerment and self-reliance
Action Aid, a FLOW grantee, is dedicated to food security and female leadership. In Rwanda and
Ghana the organisation helped 5,400 women improve their agricultural practices. In Rwanda 75%
of the beneficiaries now have two meals per day. There are now 180 female group leaders and
advocates for sustainable agriculture, water and child care.
A fair share in peacebuilding and reconstruction
Women on the Frontline, a programme initiated by the Dutch government, is designed to enhance
women’s participation in political processes in the MENA region. It is strengthening the capacity
of 28 organisations in Syria, Iraq, Bahrein, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Especially now that
extremist and fundamentalist groups are gaining influence and political repression is mounting,
women’s voices need to be heard by those in power. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on
women, peace and security demands that women be included in both analysing conflicts and
negotiating solutions. Women on the Frontline helped create the UNSCR 1325 Alliance in Iraq,
which now consists of 25 Iraqi and Kurdish CSOs. In 2014, the Alliance started discussions with the
governments in both Erbil and Baghdad.

Challenges
Measurement and reporting of results in women’s rights and gender equality remain weak in many
organisations. Sound monitoring and accountability systems will be a requirement in future grant
arrangements.
Thanks to FLOW, the Netherlands is now the largest supporter of women’s rights organisations
in the world. Lasting change requires substantial, long-term commitments by donors and a wider
range of stakeholders, including recipient governments and corporations. The Netherlands will
continue to advocate for more engagement on their part.