Womankind welcomes Jo Cox Memorial Grants and Strategic Vision on Gender Equality

Image source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/07/jo-cox-memorial-grants-women-communities

At Womankind we have worked for almost thirty years to support women’s rights organisations and movements around the world.  For the past decade we have led calls for more and better funding for those organisations, led by women and working at all levels, from the community to the global, to advance women’s rights. Today’s announcement by DFID is another important step forward, in making sure that the organisations who have the expertise, the experience and the ideas, also have access to some of the funding they need to drive their work forward and make change happen.

Jo Cox Memorial Grants

We will never forget feminist MP Jo Cox, murdered by an extremist in 2016 whilst carrying out her job of representing the people of her constituency. She is much missed, and she is one of many women human rights defenders who are killed around the world every year. That these grants are made in Jo’s memory is a fitting tribute to a woman who was committed to creating a better world for women.

The grants will provide important funding for the women that Jo supported – women’s rights activists and leaders who work to end violence, ensure women’s voices are heard and change the social norms and behaviours that perpetuate gender inequality.  We know that around the world women’s rights organisations struggle to fund their work, and are often unable to access the large sums of development aid that comes from donor governments, usually channelled through much larger, international organisations.

Importantly then, some of the Memorial Grants will be made directly available to smaller women’s rights organisations working on the ground, in amounts that give vital impetus to their work without overwhelming their finance and reporting systems. Other Memorial Grants will be directed towards building the vital networks and movements that allow women to speak with a united voice at international levels.

Strategic Vision on Gender Equality

In tandem with the Department for International Development’s Strategic Vision launch, this is good news for women’s rights organisations and movements, and a lead by the UK government that others should follow.  A Call to Action demands strong partnerships, at global, regional and national levels for a global response to gender inequality.

We particularly welcome the recognition by the government that:

“Many countries are witnessing shrinking civic space, creating additional challenges for women’s rights organisations and movements. Women’s organisations are critical to achieving DFID’s ambition for girls and women, but they are often stigmatised and targeted with violence. Supporting them to speak out and tackle gender inequality becomes all the more urgent in these contexts – for example, by promoting national platforms where women’s organisations can engage with government, alongside more effective coordination, information-sharing, and protection mechanisms to develop resilience.”

The addition of women’s political empowerment as a key pillar of the strategy is also a welcome move, advocated for by many in the gender and development sector. It accompanies the existing but expanded commitments to women’s economic empowerment, girls’ education, sexual and reproductive heath rights, and ending violence against women and girls. These are the foundations of a world where women’s rights are respected, valued and realised.

A step in the journey, not the end of the road

Today, the announcement of funding and focus on women’s rights organisations and movements is very welcome.

It is however, a step in the journey, and as with all commitments to women’s rights, the key is in the implementation. We need to see wholesale buy-in and support for the values and principles of the Strategic Vision informing policy and funding decisions across DFID, including at country office level. The Memorial Grants, whilst great news for women’s rights organisations, need to be seen as a step in creating a global system of sustainable funding for women’s rights organisations and movements.

As we have said for so long, there is a force for change in women’s lives – a movement of people who are standing tall and challenging the status quo, pushing boundaries and questioning power. Women’s rights organisations and movements are the champions of the change we need to see and the Jo Cox Memorial Grants are a vital contribution towards making change happen, the change that she so strived for.