The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation supports women in regions affected by war and armed conflicts. This support is needed not only during the heat of battle but also in the difficult work of building peace.

We are active in the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus. We are on site to support women’s organisations working to strengthen women’s psychological and physical health, enhance their self-esteem and ability to participate as a force in the building of a democratic society.

 

Equality between men and women is not simply a women’s issue but an important issue for society as a whole. Gender inequality is a major stumbling block for social development. Working towards greater gender equality is thus important not just to improve the situation of women but also for societal development. It would be a great success if all forms of developmental aid, peace building and democracy building projects would have a gender perspective. However, as this has proven not to be the case, it is necessary to do so-called gender equality analysis to ensure that planned interventions will benefit both men and women. Many of the societies that receive developmental aid are governed by men, and thus it is men who control the developmental funds. As we have become more aware of these unjust practices, we also have learned how to counteract them. If explicit rules, requiring that women are included at the distribution as well as the receiving end of developmental aid, are not included, this perspective is often “forgotten.” It is therefore important to plan implementation in advance, considering the affect it will have on women and how to prevent further discrimination against women. Prejudices and implicit presuppositions about gender differences are some of the reasons that developmental aid can come to discriminate against women. For example, it is often expected that the wealth within a family will be equally distributed between male and female members of the family. This is not the case in societies where men are considered more important than women. It has been shown that every dollar in developmental aid that is spent on women will benefit the children, the family, and thus also society to a greater extent than if this dollar is spent on men. The chances for creating a society where men and women can progress together are increased when developmental aid is channelled through women. In order to map the needs and the resources of women it is important to be aware of what to look for, to have a gender equality perspective. There is a need to be particularly aware of the risk, for example, that food distributed to a village may not reach households of single women as they are not part to the decision making body in the village.