On the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8th, we present a selection of the LIFT-funded projects that empower women, that reinforce Myanmar’s women's rights and that encourage the engagement of women in community development.

Studies have shown that women are the most affected by food insecurity. The majority of people who are malnourished are women and girls. Women act as “shock absorbers”, meaning that they eat less by letting the rest of the family eat first. Myanmar’s women have less access to technology, land and markets than men, and can be subject to gender stereotypes, in particular the belief that women lack the essential capacities to be effective leaders. Myanmar women’s participation in politics and decision-making is indeed particularly low. Only 6% of seats in the Parliament are held by women.

LIFT’s gender strategy (2012) aims to promote and expand gender equality through all LIFT-funded projects, in order to fulfill Millennium Development Goals 1 and 3, but also to take Myanmar’s cultural and ethnic diversity into account. LIFT and its donors strongly believe that Myanmar’s future depends on the participation of women and girls in the economy, in education and in political decision making.

LIFT promotes gender equality on two fronts: at the national level and at the community level.

LIFT partner, the Gender Equity Network (GEN) includes several local NGOs, INGOs and UN agencies which have the objective to impact pro women policy decisions at national level. GEN works with government to include issues of gender equality, women’s participation and violence against women in the political agenda. For example, GEN helped draft the National Strategic Plan for Advancement of Women (NSPAW, 2013-2022). The first priority of NSPAW is women and livelihoods, with the goal of developing enabling systems, structures and practices that improve women’s livelihoods and reduce poverty. Other priorities include: women and health (right to quality and affordable healthcare including sexual and reproductive health), women and the economy (employment, credit, resources and economic benefits), women and the environment, women and emergencies, women and education etc. GEN encourages gender-focused public debates, which are still lacking in Myanmar and aims to train more women’s leaders.  The Food Security Working Group (FSWG) has also conducted Community of Practice discussions on gender and food security at both  technical and strategic levels.

At the community level, LIFT’s gender strategy works to ensure that all LIFT implementing partners (IPs) are aware of gender, particularly when collecting data, monitoring the projects and organising trainings. IPs are encouraged to use gender-sensitive language in their activities, and data must be presented in a gender-disaggregated form. The chart below outlines some of the challenges that women face, and some of the solutions that LIFT has supported.

LIFT is aware that much more can be done to challenge gender discrimination, deconstruct stereotypes and promote female role models.  In 2015, the gender strategy will be reviewed and updated to make most of the new opportunities presented in LIFT’s refreshed strategy.

In support of Myanmar’s women, we wish you Happy Women’s Day!

In LIFT-funded activities, women represent:
•    95% of LIFT-funded trainees who established enterprises after training
•    86% of microfinance borrowers
•    42% cash-for-work workers
•    95% of beneficiaries of the savings and loans group in the Tat Lan Programme
•    LIFT –funded capacity development training has reached nearly a quarter of a million people - 48% are women
Challenges to Women in Myanmar Examples of LIFT-funded solutions
“When people think of farmers, they tend to think of men”: challenging the stereotype that agriculture and food security are male-dominated arenas. Forty per cent of the participants at partner METTA’s Farmer Field Schools in Shan and Kachin are women.  In upland areas, farmer fields are often located some distance from a village where field school training takes place; therefore the women in the village take the training and pass on the new knowledge to their husbands. This improves their position in the community.  
2012 Farmland Law: Women face obstacles in obtaining land tenure (including: registration, control, inheritance and participation in decision-making involving land).  GEN promotes equal rights of men and women in the content and language of the National Land Use Policy (NLUP).
Tackling the so-called “triple burden”. Women carry out IP community work, on top of household chores and work in the field. ActionAid’s Socio-Economic Development Network for Regional Development (SEDN) offers child care during women’s vocational training. SEDN also promotes women’s rights. A referral system allows women to apply for national identity cards, to access health services, and to learn about a variety of gender-related issues (from nutrition to anti-trafficking)
Often men will shy away from gender discussions. The Tat Lan programme in Rakhine State integrates gender discussions into training, for example at village savings and loans associations, village development committees and field schools. In this way, gender issues are aired and related directly to daily activities. 
Violence against women and livelihoods are linked. Poverty and insecurity increase women’s vulnerability to violence. GEN has recently published a report about violence against women. GEN’s report gives a voice to women who have previously concealed their traumatic experiences.
There tend to be low numbers of women in decision making bodies and women take decision- making roles only in groups or committees that are not dominated by men. The REVEAL consortium (Help Age International, in Mahlaing township, Magwe region) has a 40% women presence in the village development committee. Women and men have the chance to work together for the development of their community. While taking part to the VDC, women also receive training and become more confident.
Developing the confidence to speak up. ActionAid trains young community change-makers, called Fellows, empowering them to help steer community development. Around 65% of Fellows are women, who promote pro-women activities. 
GEN runs women’s leadership training programmes to develop their confidence.
Many children in Myanmar suffer from undernutrition, sometimes because of stereotypes around nutrition for newborns, babies and mothers. Save the Children co-produced a Myanmar version of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) 1000 Days video underlining the importance of good nutrition for mothers and children from conception through to a child’s second birthday. This has been widely disseminated.
Building a sense of ownership in the project ActionAid/Thadar Consortium has introduced rice banks as a form of social protection in the Delta and in the Dry Zone. These rice banks are entirely run by volunteers, the majority of whom are poor women. They decide what type of rice to buy, where to buy it, when to buy and distribute it, who is going to buy the rice, who is going to remind households to pay back the loan, which are the less privileged households that should receive free tins of rice in the village, and so on. 
Understanding women’s status in the village ActionAid - Thadar Consortium have developed village profiles or village books in hand with communities. A record of the women’s status in a village is recorded, providing a useful benchmark for development activities.