Economic Justice
Under this thematic area, NETRIGHT specifically focuses on how women’s livelihoods are affected by economic policies and development interventions.
NETRIGHT’s economic justice work revolves around development financing and development effectiveness, national and district development policies and plans. Others are the informal economy in particular cross border and local trade as well as market spaces. NETRIGHT’s activities are geared towards working to impact macro-economic and social policies in order to secure and enhance women’s livelihoods.
STRENGTHENING WOMEN’S AGENCY FOR EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND DEVELEOPMENT
As part of efforts to promote economic justice for women, a project was initiated in 2013 which built the capacity of women leaders and district assembly officials and members to promote gender-responsive development plans and budgets at the district level. This led to the development of gender policies by the Juaboso and Bia West District Assemblies in the Western Region as a guide to enhance their efforts in ensuring gender responsiveness in their operations including the mid-term plans and budgets for the district. In addition, existing women groups in the districts formed women’s advocacy platforms to enable them engage the district assemblies as a collective. A weekly radio program slot was secured for the Bia West Women’s
Advocacy Platform to discuss critical issues of concern to women in their district.
STRENGTHENING GENDER RESPONSIVE POLICY PROCESSES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
The project on ‘Strengthening Gender Responsive Policy Processes in the Agricultural Sector’ funded by USAID Ghana Feed the Future (FtF) Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP) sought to empower women and women’s rights organisations(WROs) to actively engage in gender- responsive policy advocacy in the agriculture sector to enhance livelihoods. The project focused on strengthening the capacity of a critical mass of women’s rights organisations (WROs) focusing on women’s rights and agricultural issues to engage in policy discourses in the sector from a gender perspective. NETRIGHT in collaboration with the Directorate of Women in Agriculture Development (WIAD) set out to create awareness among WROs including mainstream CSOs and other key stakeholders in the agriculture sector on the Gender and Agricultural Development Strategy II (GADS II). This was to ensure that all stakeholders were conversant with GADS II to facilitate the achievement of its intended results.
STRENGHTENING THE VOICE OF RURAL WOMEN FARMERS FOR IMPROVED LIVELIHOODS
The project seeks to empower rural women farmers to actively engage in policy spaces in the agricultural and land sectors to enhance their livelihoods through targeted gender responsive advocacy in order to effect change. The project has so far strengthened the capacity of women in agriculture and women’s rights organisations (WROs) working on agriculture and land issues to track the implementation of GADS II at the district level.
Through several interventions and initiatives, women farmers and WROs are able to monitor gender aspects of the land bill and advocate for its passage as well as the spousal and property rights bills including other pending women’s rights bills. Further, regional women’s rights/gender advocacy platforms are being strengthened to engage policymakers and other critical actors at all levels.
The project is funded by the African Women’s Development Fund and being implemented in partnership with FIDA Ghana, ATCWAR and the Widows and Orphans Foundation.
Rural Women’s Rights and Voice Initiative (RUWORAVI)
The project is funded by the Commonwealth Foundation and being implemented in partnership with the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (Gender Centre) and the Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA). The RUWORAVI project seeks to amplify and empower rural women by strengthening their collective voices to engage and influence policy spaces at all levels. The project targets women’s groups in Nyanyanyo Kakraba, Gomoa Amoanda, Gomoa Potsin, Nyanyanyo, Fetteh Kakraba, Apra, Bubumduram, Adzetetem,Mampong, Dampase and Nkwatanan all within the Gomoa East District of the Central Region.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME
NETRIGHT builds the capacity of women’s rights organisations (WROs) to effectively engage in
and influence socio-economic policy debates from a gender perspective through our Economic Justice and Capacity Building Programme (EJCBP). The network also monitors government’s responses to regional and global instruments and protocols on women’s rights and gender equality.