Table of Contents - East and Horn of Africa Human Rights ...

Regional Workshop on Women and Minority Human Rights Defenders
H. Mainstreaming Gender into Human
Rights Defenders Work
Ms. Jacqueline Asiimwe, the Wellspring Advisor in Uganda elucidated the concept of gender
in depth. She began her presentation on the assumption that human rights and fundamental
freedoms are inherent in the human person but that this is not always the case. She cited the
actuality that mainstream human rights approaches have long insisted that human rights are
gender neutral. However, that the exclusion of women’s experiences perpetuates inattention to
gender specific abuses predominantly suffered by women. She alluded to the fact that gender
mainstreaming today is a strategy for development practitioners in addressing a gender blind
approach to development and ensuring that women too benefit from development.
The presenter defined gender mainstreaming as a commitment to ensure that women as well as
men’s concerns and experiences are integral to the design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of all legislation, policies, programs in all areas and at all levels so that both sexes
benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. As such mainstreaming is not about adding a
"woman's component" or even a "gender equality component" into an existing activity. It goes
beyond increasing women's participation; it means bringing the experience, knowledge, and
interests of women and men to bear on the development agenda. It may require changes in
goals, strategies, and actions so that both women and men can influence, participate in, and
benefit from development processes. The goal of mainstreaming gender equality is thus the
transformation of unequal social and institutional structures into equal and just structures for
both men and women.
14 | P a g e
Influence of Patriarchy
More often than not,
women’s understanding is
conditioned by the
cultural, religious and
traditional norms and
context in which they live.
These norms are often
shaped by patriarchy
which bestows more
powers on men while
seeking to enhance the
subordination of women
to men.