A Model for Successful Women Empowerment for Participation in Governance

Farung Mee-Udon and Apiradee Donornbao 17th November 2014

• Brief details about • Aims of USAID Sapan Program • National network of Women’s group • Methodology • Process and activities • Impact

Thailand

Was also known as ‘Siam’, but its name was changed after colonialism.

77 provinces, size 198,456 square miles, roughly the size of France. population in 2017 was approx. 65 million. Thailand: an anthropologists‘ perspective

John F. Embree (1950 ) Thailand –A Loosely Structure Social System An article in American Anthropologist in 1950 Some important time lines

•Democracy 1932 •Modern development 1960s •Students uprising movement 1970s •Nics 1980s •Economic crisis 1997 •Political turmoils ...1992, 2006, 2010… Some interesting statistics

•Sex of Members of Member of Parliaments •Sex of Members of Subdistrict Administration Organisations -SAOs

Aims of USAID Sapan Program

To empower women for political participation To access to the needed information's and skills To encourage women to access to the Women Empowerment Fund’s policy

National network of Women’s group**

1. Voluntary Women’s Group - 2. Sri Song Kwai Women’s Group – 3. Office of Health and Social Development (OHSD) - 4. Nature Protection for Life Foundation - 5. Friends of Women Foundation – 6. Association of Muslim Women - Nakhon Si Thammarat (AMW) 7. Women for Peace - Yala

**From four major regions in Thailand: North, Northeast, Central and South.

Methodology

• Focus group interviews –Members • In-depth interview -Key informants

Input • Leadership skills training • Budget Literacy • Good governance monitoring tools (Community Scorecard) • Female citizenship program i.e. gender roles in public policies • Public polices development • Project development • Communication and facilitator skills • Techniques and policy advocacy campaigns.

Process

Applying into local governance monitoring 1. Voluntary Women’s Group from Chiang Mai engaged in Budget Literacy participated in local meetings, forums and in Local Administrative Organizations’ (LAOs) information accessibility for administration procedure and in local budget and development plans. Process

2. Sri Song Kwai Women’s Group from Phitsanulok employed the Community Scorecard to promote their Local Hospitals’ services delivery making improvements on personnel competency, decreasing of the best services waiting time and the system.

Process

3. Office of Health and Social Development (OHSD) from Khon Kaen applied Social Audit onto LAOs’ public health services delivery monitoring with significant public participation for co-improvement directions. Process

4. Nature Protection for Life Foundation in Ubonrathcathani promoted local, women-led groups to work on improvement of pipe water quality, road improvement and waste management employing Community Scorecard. Process

5. Association of Muslim Women from Nakhon Si Thammarat (AMW) applied Citizen Charter to improve their local Day Care Centers to meet the best practices and results.

6. In Yala, the Women for Peace Group promoted the quality improvement of the Day care Centers by Citizen Charter to have the greater quality of teaching process and teachers’ capacity, Day Care Program improvement and the Centers’ environmental and safety improvement.

Results

• Women gathering together for doing public work to help the society, women , children, and the underprivileged groups. • Women roles should not be limited for just domestic activities, women should also do social work with their abilities and according to the opportunities they might have. Results

Most women preferred to do social works without any political position involved, but some women started considering that holding position in local politics would allow them to take more important parts in public decision. Results

Leaving the politics issues for just men might result in no progress of Thai politics. Same problems would remain, such as, corruption. Significant Impacts

1. Women had perceived the knowledge of good governance and learned about good working system and the means to operate and monitor the work of various local organizations efficiently, such as: Social Audit, Community Scorecard, Citizen Charter and Budget Literacy for good governance. Significant Impacts

2. Networking for women’s groups in the nearby areas had been created and extended, which could be clearly seen from the case of AMW in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Women’s group from different regions had the opportunities to work with women’s group of their surrounding areas. Significant Impacts

• 3. Women obtained confidences and dare to participate in local politics. Empowerment and promotion of women leaders to access to all necessary knowledge, techniques, skills and information make the greater participation of these women’s roles. Examples

Women Groups’ members in Ubon Ratchathani and Chiang Mai were elected as their communities’ political leaders in their Sub- District Councils. Significant Impacts

4. Improvements in the monitored agencies i.e. their Sub-district Administrative Organizations (SAOs), the Sub-District Hospitals, Day Care Centers in Khon Kaen, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phitsanulok and Yala have Significant Impacts

Demanding of women participation in governance monitoring has been obviously increased and demanded by localities on the similar issues. Significant Impacts

Women were able to improve their self-potential, attitude and behavior in various aspects, such as, gaining confidence in giving public speech and opinion, having the sense of being accepted by others/society, respecting themselves and other women, taking pride in being a part of social development. Some of the women’s words

“From zero/didn’t know what to say/answer. Now, I’m able to talk and think about the subjects better”.

“The participation in activities turned me from no one to someone just like spoiled coconut milk had been simmered and turned to be coconut oil Some of the women’s words

“It’s better to have more knowledge to get accepted also in society;not only in the kitchen.”

Barriers to Women’s Political Participation

“ if the women became the head of the villages, how could they set up the tent or chase/catch the thieves?”