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Engaging Men in “Women’S Issues”: Inclusive Approaches to Gender and Development

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Engaging Men in “Women’S Issues”: Inclusive Approaches to Gender and Development Critical Half Bi-Annual Journal of Women for Women International WINTER 2007 VOLUME 5 - NUMBER 1 Engaging Men in “Women’s Issues”: Inclusive Approaches to Gender and Development Involving Men in Gender Policy and Practice MICHAEL FLOOD “Gender Is Society”: Inclusive Lawmaking in Rwanda’s Parliament ELIZABETH POWLEY AND ELIZABETH PEARSON Combating Gender-Based Violence in Kenya: The Experience of “Men for Gender Equality Now” OKUMBA MIRUKA Gender Dynamics and HIV/AIDS: Engaging Ugandan Men in Disease Prevention ALICIA SIMONI Negotiating with Men to Help Women: The Success of Somali Women Activists SHUKRIA DINI IN THE FIELD: Women Are Not Islands: Engaging Men to Empower Women PATRICIA T. MORRIS BOARD OF EDITORS Alan Greig Independent Consultant, Berkeley, CA, USA Magda Mohammed El Sanousi Omer Oxfam GB, Beirut, Lebanon Wilbert Tengey Gender Development Institute, Accra, Ghana Taea Calcut Women for Women International, Managing Editor Critical Half is a bi-annual journal of Women for Women International devoted to the exchange of ideas and insight encountered by practitioners in the fields of gender, development, conflict, and post-conflict reconstruction. Each issue of Critical Half focuses on a particular topic within the field of gender and development. Past issues of the journal and calls for papers for upcoming issues can be found on our website at www.womenforwomen.org. The contents of Critical Half are copyrighted. They may not be reproduced or distributed without written permission. Commercial use of any material contained in this journal is strictly prohibited. For copy permission, notifications of address changes, or to make comments, please write to [email protected]. Copyright © Women for Women International Critical Half ENGAGING MEN IN “WOMEN’S ISSUES”: INCLUSIVE APPROACHES TO GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5 No. 1 Winter 2007 Reflections from the Board of Editors ALAN GREIG .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 In this issue of Critical Half ZAINAB SALBI ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Involving Men in Gender Policy and Practice MICHAEL FLOOD ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 “Gender Is Society”: Inclusive Lawmaking in Rwanda’s Parliament ELIZABETH POWLEY AND ELIZABETH PEARSON ................................................................................................................. 15 Combating Gender-Based Violence in Kenya: The Experience of “Men for Gender Equality Now” OKUMBA MIRUKA ................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Gender Dynamics and HIV/AIDS: Engaging Ugandan Men in Disease Prevention ALICIA SIMONI ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Negotiating with Men to Help Women: The Success of Somali Women Activists SHUKRIA DINI ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 33 IN THE FIELD: Women Are Not Islands: Engaging Men to Empower Women PATRICIA T. MORRIS ........................................................................................................................................................................... 38 4 WINTER 2007 Reflections from the Board of Editors ver the last decade, there has been a shift in highlighted last year during the trial and acquittal of development institutions’ focus from “women” South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma on charges O to “gender” that has sparked an explosion of of rape. While women protested the abusive treatment interest in working with men to establish gender equi- of the case’s complainant and struggled to be heard table societies. Whereas the “women in development” above the din of politicking surrounding the trial, many (WID) framework paid scant attention to men, the “gen- men’s organizations remained silent—in a country where der and development” (GAD) paradigm centers on gen- thousands of men have heard messages of gender equal- der relations, the transformation of which cannot be ity. The gap between South Africa’s extraordinary edu- accomplished without the participation of men because cational effort and men’s reactions when confronted with it is the relations between men and women that are the the chance to take a public stand against male violence, object of change. Conceptually, the GAD paradigm re- and the patriarchal ideology that underpins it, is instruc- jects the “boys will be boys” fatalism often implicit in tive. the WID framework in favor of a belief in men’s capa- Compare the South African men’s response with city to change. the courageous actions of Grupo de Hombres Contra The benefits of this paradigmatic shift are clear. la Violencia (GHCV) in Nicaragua, which publicly sup- GAD work has revealed that many men are capable of ported the stepdaughter of Daniel Ortega, Zoilamerica reflecting on their gender experience and are interested Narvaez Murillo, in her claims of sexual abuse by the in making changes in their lives for the benefit of women Sandinista leader and former Nicaraguan President. An as well as themselves. It has also drawn attention to the important difference may be that, while much of the different ways that men are harmed by gender roles; for gender equality work with South African men originated example, through the violence used to maintain hierar- in the sexual and reproductive health field, the men of chies among men. Above all, GAD work has revealed GHCV came together because of a shared political com- the heterogeneity of “men” as a category. Men may share mitment to ensuring that liberation from gender inequal- gender privilege, but such privilege is altered by differ- ity is central to the Sandinista struggle for political lib- ing levels of access to power and resources based on eration and social justice. class, ethnicity, age, sexuality, and faith. In response, some Arguably, it is this emphasis on political mobiliza- programs have mobilized men’s support for gender jus- tion that is frequently lacking in the burgeoning field of tice by helping them to relate their own experiences of gender equality work with men. In general, programs disempowerment to women’s experience of gender in- working with men shy away from talking about men in equality. terms of power structures—about men as both agents This analysis of men and gender in terms of power of gender power and as targets of other forms of op- relations is necessary for countering the tendency to pression, be it economic exploitation, racial oppression, create a false parallel that argues the need for work with age discrimination, sexual subjugation, or religious per- men because, like women, they too are harmed by gen- secution. If anything has been learned from the last 30 der. While gender socialization undoubtedly comes at a years of feminist struggle, it is the need to be clear- psychological cost for many men, it tends not to mate- sighted about power relations. Talking to men about rially disadvantage them as it does women. Therefore, power, gender justice as a necessary part of social jus- holding men accountable for the ways that they main- tice, and the shared interests and common struggles that tain gender privilege is critical. This approach does not join women and men together is an important way to blame men for the patriarchal systems in which they mobilize men for gender equality. If the first step is to were raised; rather, it asks them to make a commitment get men engaged, the next is to get men organized. to doing what they can to transform structures of male privilege and authority. Alan Greig One test of this commitment is men’s response to Independent Consultant male violence. Some of the implications of the test were Berkeley, CA, USA CRITICAL HALF 5 In this issue of Critical Half or individuals and organizations that work with struck by the inner turmoil that characterized their ex- conflict-affected women, as Women for Women planations. While I expected to hear accusations of the F International does, men are inevitably part of women’s “adultery,” many of the men’s stories focused programming considerations. More often than not, how- instead on their own feelings of failure and inadequacy ever, men in conflict and post-conflict societies are cast for having been unable to protect their wives from such simply as violent aggressors—leaders who encourage brutality. bloodshed, soldiers who use rape as a means of humili- Following these experiences, I was forced to confront ating their enemies, and husbands who beat their wives my simplistic stereotypes of men as aggressors, and re- to assert their authority at home as their community flected on how similar they were to the frustrating stereo- descends into chaos. Given these images, one does not types many hold about “passive” and “helpless” women. typically think of
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