AID grant agreement no. 493-2750-G-00-3455-00 to The Asia Foundation in support of its proposal, entitled `Promoting women"s political participation in the Asia-Pacific Region : a proposal to the United States Agency for International Development ", dated June, 1993

The project, which will be implemented in Bangladesh, Nepal, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand, will enhance the skills of potential women leaders, provide opportunities for women to develop contacts with their peers in the region, and strengthen women"s advocacy organizations and those that promote women"s participation as voters, officeholders, and activists. Project activities will be appropriate to the position of women within the seven project countries, which will be divided into two groups: Group I, including countries in which those women"s status is low (Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Pacific Islands); and Group II, comprising those countries with medium-to-high rates of women"s participation in civic life (Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand). In Bangladesh, TAF will provide training and exchange opportunities for elected women officials, increase awareness of women"s issues among male leaders, and develop the capacity of selected NGOs to train prospective women leaders; institutions to be supported include the Centre for Analysis and Choice, the Parliament, and various women"s advocacy NGOs. In Nepal, TAF will focus on increasing women"s advocacy regarding a broad range of issues (beyond the traditional women"s issues such as equitable property rights) and on creating linkages between Nepali and other Asian advocacy organizations. Institutions to be supported include the Center for Women in Development; Shri Saktir, a research organization which has organized a large voters" education program for women; and Asimita, a feminist publishing house. In the Pacific Islands, activities will include a national conference on women"s issues (including the increasingly serious problem of domestic violence), a workshop on reporting on women"s issues, a study tour of women"s programs in the region, and a regional conference on women and the environment. In Indonesia, TAF will support establishment of a new parliamentary association of women legislators, and will support the association"s studies and educational and networking activities. TAF will also lay the groundwork for establishment of an Indonesian League of Women Voters. Activities in the Philippines will seek to increase the accountability of legislators to women. TAF will support efforts of the Congressional Research and Training Service to provide nonpartisan legislative and constituency support services, conduct research on policies affecting women, and conduct workshops to improve NGOs" understanding of budget and policy making processes and enhance their ability to monitor legislation; TAF will also support research by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on policies affecting women, as well as Women in Nation-Building"s grassroots political development efforts. In Sri Lanka, TAF will strengthen the advocacy and monitoring capabilities of such women"s groups as Women in Need, the Center for Women"s Research, and INFORM; facilitate the development of new networks for politically aspiring women; and support efforts of the Women"s Bureau, the Ministry of Women"s Affairs, and the Women"s Lawyers Association to monitor government progress in implementing the Women"s Charter. In Thailand, TAF will support training in finance and administration for women political leaders at Chiang Mai University"s Women Studies Center, women"s national policy seminars at the Thailand Gender Development Research Institute, and increased production of Institute"s magazine, Gender Watch. Finally, TAF will support regional networking activities, including conferences, workshops, and exchanges on women"s political participation. TAF will use its own funds to finance attendance by seven Asian women leaders at the Association of Women in Development (AWID) Conference, in Washington in Fall, 1993, followed by visits to U.S. policy advocacy organizations; this project is expected to serve as a model for a possible panel at the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing. A concluding conference of project participants will review and assess project accomplishments.