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Huairou Commission Statement on
Legal Empowerment of the Poor - Gender
"Women represent two-thirds of
the world's poorest people.... The Huairou Commission considers that any
changes to improve the lives of the poor require a strong gender perspective if
they are to truly be effective in eradicating poverty."....
"The recommendations in this
report have been deliberated and presented by grassroots women leaders, often
with large constituencies."....
"While women suffer burdens of
poverty and lack of implementation of their rights, they also provide
innovative strategies and solutions."....
"Legal rights are an important
framework for women. Yet, these rights co-exist with cultural, social,
economic, and political realities that often obstruct poor women from enjoying
their rights. In seeking to strengthen women's access to and control over
assets, for example, traditional rights-based approaches often prioritize legal
rights and legal reform, overlooking the underlying power dynamics that exist
within families and communities that keep women from owning and controlling
land and businesses and overlooking women's successful practices at the
community level. Together, these perspectives can lead to tangible change at
high levels of government as well as community levels."....
The
Huairou Commission and the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor:
Putting Empowerment into Practice
Huairou Commission Reports from Legal
Empowerment Process |
Huairou Commission overall recommendations |
The Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor is carrying out a broad consultation process in several regions of the world. The consultations lead to consciousness-raising and national legal reforms
The Huairou Commission has seized the opportunity to partner with the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor to include the voices of poor women directly in their global consultation and legal reformation process. Legal Empowerment offers an important opportunity for the grassroots women to contribute their recommendations alongside other kinds of academics and experts. This grassroots participation truly puts empowerment into action!
The Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor aims to make the link between poverty and the inability of the poor to access acceptable, legal structures to protect economic assets and support economic activities. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto co-chair Legal Empowerment. Legal Empowerment is comprised of Commission members, many of whom are former heads of state and senior policy interns.
Common Issues Emerge as a Global Grassroots Platform
Common issues are evident from the Grassroots Academies held thus far.
Repeating the process in more countries will help to consolidate a global
grassroots platform of issues and recommendations. One common issue that stands
out from the three Grassroots Academies is that women are pushing for citizen
participation in the decisions made on the use of public land and natural
resources. They call for national legal structures regarding property rights
and access to justice to reach the local level through mechanisms such as
information dissemination and Training of Trainers. They also call for more
transparency around procedures for slum evictions. Regulatory reform and
support services are required to support women’s entrepreneurship and
simplification of bureaucratic procedures are necessary for women’s small
businesses to succeed, they say.
Successful Grassroots Academies Held in Kenya, Uganda and
Indonesia
Grassroots Academies, or grassroots women's consultations, were carried out by
local affiliates of the Huairou Commission in preparation for the Legal
Empowerment consultation process in their countries. Meaningful participation
of grassroots women in setting policy agendas require preparatory processes
that enable grassroots women to collectively determine their priorities, to
identify barriers to their development work and to frame their recommendations.
Grassroots women leaders from groups in poor urban and rural communities gathered. They:
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