Gender is an important and frequently cited area of discourse and activity in contemporary Timor-Leste. Many organizations work in a range of ways to challenge the disparities that women experience in terms of access to rights, wellbeing, services and power. Gender is also regularly connected with major themes of MAPPING THE PURSUIT nation-building and associated development processes, and many attempts are made to ensure that women actively participate in and benefit from nation- building processes. Some activists and advocates have drawn attention to the of Gender Equality:MappingTimor-Leste the Pursuit Non-Government and International Agency Activity in history of women’s activism and organizing in Timor-Leste under the conditions of colonialism and war, and have endeavoured to articulate a unique role for women OF GENDER EQUALITY in shaping the national history of Timor-Leste. In doing so, there is an attempt to recognize women’s contributions to guerrilla and clandestine fronts, at least in part so as to create opportunities for women to influence contemporary nation- building processes. Hence, the history of East Timor is re-framed to advance the status of women within the new nation. Members of the Oan Kiak co-operative in their garden, Luro, Timor-Leste, 2007 Non-Government and International Agency Activity in Timor-Leste Anna Trembath and Damian Grenfell The Globalism Institute, RMIT University, with support from the Office for the Promotion of Equality and Irish Aid ISBN 978-0-646-47770-1 Gender-based violence referral network poster, Dili, 2006 Mapping the Pursuit of Gender Equality Non-Government and International Agency Activity in Timor-Leste Anna Trembath and Damian Grenfell The Globalism Institute, RMIT University, Australia The Office for the Promotion of Equality, Prime Minister’s Office, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Irish Aid August 2007 Melbourne, Australia The information contained in this report is freely available for use by participating organizations and other interested parties. Where information is quoted or used, the authors request that this report is cited. For commercial use, this document is copyright © 2007 the Globalism Institute Published by the Globalism Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne, and Irish Aid, Dili. http://globalism.rmit.edu.au and http://www.timor-leste.org Mapping the Pursuit of Gender Equality: Non-Government and International Agency Activity in Timor-Leste 1. Trembath, Anna 2. Grenfell, Damian ISBN 978-0-646-47770-1 Third Edition, printed in Melbourne, Australia, August 2007 (English) First Edition, printed in Dili, Timor-Leste, July 2007 (Tetun) Second Edition, printed in Dili, Timor-Leste, July 2007 (English) Cover image: photograph taken in suco Liurai, near Maubisse, in 2003 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 4 List of Acronyms, Abbreviations and Tetun Terms 6 1 Introduction 8 Project Partners 8 Project Background 9 The Pursuit of Gender Equality in Contemporary Timor-Leste: An Overview 11 2 Organizational Gender Profiles 16 Alola Foundation 16 Asia Foundation 19 Asosiasaun Mane Kontra Violensia (AMKV) 20 Caritas Australia 23 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) 24 Caucus Feto iha Politika 27 Centro Baucau Buka Hatene 28 Concern Worldwide 33 Feto Kiik Servisu Hamutuk (FKSH) 35 Forum Komunikasi Untuk Perempuan Timor Lorosa’e (FOKUPERS) 38 Forum ONG Timor-Leste (FONGTIL) 41 Grupo Feto Foinsa’e Timor Lorosa’e (GFFTL) 42 Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP) 44 Women’s Justice Unit 45 Victim Support Service (VSS) 47 Juristas 49 La’o Hamutuk 50 Oan Kiak 52 Organização da Mulher Timorense (OMT) 54 Organização Popular da Mulher Timorense (OPMT) 55 Oxfam Australia 57 PRADET Timor-Leste 59 Progressio 62 Prontu Atu Serbi (PAS) 64 Rede Feto Timor-Leste 65 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 68 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 70 United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) 73 World Bank 77 3 Organizational Contact Information 80 4 Resources about Gender in Timor-Leste 84 5 Appendix 1 99 Results of Challenges and Possibilities: International Organizations and Women in Timor-Leste, International Forum, Melbourne, 2005 6 Appendix 2 101 Summary of Relationship Building between the Office for the Promotion of Equality, NGOs and Agencies, Workshop, Dili, 2007 Acknowledgements The effects of the crisis across 2006 and 2007 meant that the challenges and demands facing organizations working on gender-related programs were even greater than usual. Despite this, we received enormous encouragement from many organizations and individuals, and we would like to thank everyone who gave their time and effort to supporting the publication of this report. In particular, we deeply appreciate the participation of those organizations who have been documented in this report. We believe that people working in academic institutions can play a role in social change, not least by researching and investigating those problems that practitioners typically have limited time and resources to consider. To establish new types of working relationships between academic and non-academic institutions requires courage, and several people deserve special acknowledgement for their support for this process. From the Office for the Promotion of Equality (OPE), Director Maria José Sanches has provided endless encouragement and guidance. We would also like to thank Maria Domingas Alves Fernandes, the former Advisor to the Prime Minister on matters of gender equality, and Aurora Ximenes as the current Advisor, for their continued support. In addition, Sara Negrão deserves recognition for her enthusiasm for the project and commitment to the pursuit of gender equality in Timor-Leste. We would also like to thank our other friends and colleagues from OPE who helped us with this project. The funding for this project was shared between Irish Aid and the Globalism Institute, RMIT University. From Irish Aid, we thank former Chargé d’Affairs Carol Hannon for her foresight and current Chargé d’Affairs Charles Lathrop for his constant understanding of the challenges involved in writing a report such as this. We thank our Globalism Institute colleagues in Timor-Leste, Mayra Walsh and Kym Holthouse, for their collegiality and solidarity, and Paul James as Director of the Globalism Institute for his support for the project. To our good friends Teresinha A. Soares and Natalino de Jesus Gusmão Soares, we owe a special debt of thanks for their professional assistance, thoughtfulness and ability to guide us through a difficult terrain. We would also like to thank Pia Smith, Zeca Branco and Câncio Noronha for their aid with vital copyediting, formatting and translation tasks. The East Timor Development Agency (ETDA) and interpreter Fidelis Magalhães worked hard to ensure the success of the workshops conducted with OPE staff, NGOs and international organizations. Finally we extend a particular acknowledgement to our many friends in Timor-Leste who continuously teach us so much about life in this country. OPE’s desire for involvement in this project was twofold. OPE wanted to establish baseline data that could inform their own practices and engagement with NGOs and agencies; further, OPE was also keen to make a broader contribution to society by highlighting the many organizational initiatives that seek to promote gender in Timor-Leste. We hope that any future updated versions of the report will occur with greater civil society input, not just in terms of making a contribution to the material but also in the exercise of its gathering and analysis, and in shaping the material as a whole. We faced many logistical and research-related challenges in writing this report. We tried to contact as many organizations as we could to invite them to contribute to this project—some we could not locate, some did not respond, and others we did not have the resources to visit. Hence, we understand that this report is not complete: it concentrates largely on organizations based in Dili and, despite our best efforts, will still contain errors and gaps in information. We hope, however, that it represents a good sample of organizations working in the area of gender in Timor- Leste—from large, well-resourced international agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs) to well-known national NGOs and smaller NGOs with little public profile. We also hope that this baseline study is an important contribution that will be extended and broadened in time. Finally, this report stands as a tribute to the dynamism, courage and sheer volume of activity in the field of gender in Timor-Leste. Acronyms, Abbreviations and Tetun Terms ADB Asian Development Bank AMKV Asosiasaun Mane Kontra Violensia (the Association of Men Against Violence) AusAID Australian Agency for International Development AVI Australian Volunteers International barlake Gift exchange that traditionally accompanies marriage rites, often referred to as the ‘bride price’ CAS Country Assistance Strategy CCODP Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW SEAP Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women South East Asia Program, UNIFEM CEO Chief Executive Officer CIIR Catholic Institute of International Relations CNRT National Council of Timorese Resistance; from 2007 National Council of Timorese Reconstruction CRS Catholic Relief Services CSO Civil Society Organization CSP Consolidated Support Program, World Bank DNAT National Directorate for Territorial