Women’s Rights

Advocacy
Toolkit
Women’s Rights Advocacy Toolkit

Written for Womankind Worldwide by Jessica Woodroffe

with Emily Esplen and Sharon Smee
Designed by Anne Metcalfe
October 2011

Funded by the UK Department for International Development

Womankind has also produced a training programme on women’s rights

advocacy based on this toolkit, which is available from Womankind’s website
www.womankind.org.uk

Acknowledgements
The resources section lists a number of useful toolkits provided by other
organisations. In addition to the specific tools which we have referenced
from these manuals, they also prompted some of the other ideas used in this
document.

About Womankind Worldwide

Womankind Worldwide is a UK-based charity entirely dedicated to improving
women’s lives and promoting women’s rights across Africa, Asia and Latin
America. We work in long term partnerships with 38 organisations in 15
countries and we pride ourselves on our partnership approach. We believe that
women are a powerful force for change and we are guided by the women we
work with and by what they want to change in their world.

Womankind Worldwide’s partners

With thanks to the following Womankind partners for their contributions
to this project and for their ongoing inspirational work to advance women’s
rights:
South Africa: The Women’s Legal Centre and Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy
Centre (TLAC), Zimbabwe: the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association
(ZWLA) and Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU),
Ghana: Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), Gender Studies
Human Rights Documentation Centre, and International Federation of Women
Lawyers (FIDA), Afghanistan: the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN),
Peru: Institute for the Defence of Women’s Rights (DEMUS) and Ica Women’s
Federation (FEPROMU), Bolivia: Centre for the Holistic/Full Development of
Aymara Women (CDIMA), National Network of Women Working on Media
and Communications (Red Ada), Nepal: Saathi.
Contents

Section One Introduction to the Toolkit

1. Why advocacy? 6
2. Advocacy works 6
3. Feminist advocacy 7

Section Two Understanding power

1. Different kinds of power 13
2. Implications of a power analysis for your advocacy 15

Section Three Introduction to Planning

1. What is good advocacy? 21
2. Why advocacy planning is important 21
3. The risks of advocacy 22
4. The advocacy planning cycle 23
5. Explaining the planning cycle 24

Section Four  What needs to change?

1. The issue 29
2. The aim or goal 31
3. What is your analysis of the problem? 32
4. Objectives – what must change? 43
5. Targets 46
6. Allies 50

Section Five Your role in making change happen

(strategy and planning)
1. Resources 55
2. Strategy summary 57
3. Organisational objectives 66
4. Core messages and asks 67
5. Activities and action plan 73
6. Monitoring and evaluation 80

Section Six Implementation

1. Choosing your methods 83
2. Preparing for the campaign 84
3. Influencing targets 90
4. Empowering groups and individuals to act 106

Contents

Section Seven Advocacy in context: national processes

1. An overview of the policy process 115
2. A gender checklist 116
3. National legal systems 117
4. National policies 120
5. Budgets 121
6. Elections 124

Section Eight Advocacy using international institutions

and processes
1. T he relevance of international institutions
to your advocacy 127
2. International and regional agreements,
commitments and research 128
3. The institutions as targets 139

Section Nine Resources

1. General toolkits and guides on advocacy 147
2. Resources specifically for women’s rights advocacy 148
3. Thematic resources 150

Annexes 1. Annex
 1 157
2. Annex 2 158
3. Annex 3 161

Country sections

1. Afghanistan
2. Bolivia
3. Ghana
4. Nepal
5. Peru
6. South Africa
7. Zimbabwe

ACRONYMS
AFF African Feminist Forum
APWLD Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
AWID Association for Women’s Rights in Development
AWN Afghan Women’s Network
BPfA The Beijing Platform for Action 1995
CAS Country Assistance Strategy
CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment 1984
CCF Community Constituency Forum
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women 1979
CERD Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination
CMW International Convention on the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989
CSO Civil Society Organisation
DAWN Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era
DVA Domestic Violence Act
ECOWAS Economic Community of West Africa States
EU European Union
EWL European Women’s Lobby
FEDO Feminist Dalit Organisation, Nepal
FGM/C Female genital mutilation / cutting
FIDA International Federation of Women Lawyers, Ghana
GBA Gender Budget Auditing
GBV Gender-based Violence
GEAR Gender Equality Architecture Reform campaign
GRB Gender Responsive Budgeting
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966
ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights 1966
ICPD International Conference on Population and Development 1994
IFIs International Financial Institutions
ILO International Labour Organisation
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union
KMG Kembatta Mentti Gezzima, Ethiopia
LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MOWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs
MP Member of Parliament
NDS National Development Strategy
NGO Non-Government Organisation
PR Proportional Representation
PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
RIPA Revised Regional Integrated Programme of Action
SAARC The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SADC Southern African Development Community
SALC South African Law Commission
SAP Structural Adjustment Programme
SAWNET South Asian Women’s Network
SIPA SAARC Integrated Programme of Action
SKA Safai Karmachari Andolan
SOA Sexual Offences Act
SRHR Sexual and reproductive health and rights
TCPL Total consumption poverty line
TLAC Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, South Africa
UN United Nations
UNDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNGASS United Nations General Assembly Special Session
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UNIFEM United Nations Fund for Women
UN-NGLS United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service
UNSCR UN Security Council Resolution
VAW Violence against women
VAWG Violence against women and girls
WB World Bank
WEDO Women’s Environment and Development Organisation
WfC Women for Change, Zambia
WFP Women on Farms Project
WGNRR Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights
WIDE Women in Development Europe Network
WiLDAF Women in Law and Development in Africa, Ghana
WiPSU Women in Politics Support Unit, Zimbabwe
WLC Women’s Legal Centre, South Africa
WLSA Women and Law in South Africa
WTO World Trade Organisation
WWW Women Won’t Wait
ZANU-PF Zimbabwe Africa National Union – Patriotic Front
ZWLA Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association
 Introduction
1
“
“
The hand that rocks the cradle
should also rock the boat1
Womankind Worldwide has prepared this toolkit because we believe
that the denial of women’s rights and the extent of inequality between
women and men is one of the greatest injustices the world faces. We
believe that advocacy, alongside programme work, is a vital way to bring
about the change that is so desperately needed.
With our toolkit, we hope to convince advocacy organisations that they
can (and should) campaign for women’s rights and equality, and to
support women’s organisations and other members of civil society who
want to advocate for change.

Definitions

Advocacy is a set of organised activities designed to influence the

policies and actions of others to achieve change.
Advocacy usually refers to attempts to change policy and practice.
In most of this toolkit we use examples of advocacy directed at
governments or other public bodies, but it can also be directed towards
communities or corporations.
Advocacy can also be about changing decision making processes, for
example to make them more democratic and to ensure that marginalised
people are able to participate and influence political agendas.
Advocacy may also empower people, so that those who are excluded
have the confidence and skills to participate effectively in decision
making, and to claim their right to do so.
Advocacy must always be about getting a change in actions, not just
in understanding. Attempts to raise awareness or educate are possible
methods to achieve an advocacy goal, but these will need to lead to a
change in behaviour to be effective.
In this toolkit, advocacy is defined broadly as covering the full range of
possible methods – from lobbying to activism. In section six, we look
in-depth at these methods.
The term campaign is usually used to describe a set of advocacy
initiatives – an advocacy project will be a campaign. In this toolkit we will
use both advocacy and campaigning to mean the same thing.

Introduction 5 Section 1
1. Why advocacy?
If you give a woman a fish she can feed her family for a day, teach her
to fish and she can feed her family for a year, but campaign with her for
the rights to the river and her family will have fish for generations2.

Meeting women’s daily needs through service provision is vital, and will
in itself provide space for women to fulfil their own potential. However,
the provision of services takes place within the constraints imposed
by local, national and international rules and regulations, and in the
context of social norms and values which ascribe women particular roles.
Through advocacy we can challenge these, and address the root causes
of the disadvantages women face.
Organisations promoting women’s rights are particularly aware of the
need to tackle and change the underlying causes of a problem, whether
this is women’s exclusion from politics, the gender division of labour
which ties women to the home, or the social norms which make women
believe they are responsible for being raped.
Advocacy can grow from small beginnings. Project work enables women
to join together as they try to change things in their own lives. They, in
turn, educate and support others to do the same; from a few actions
come many more. As this momentum grows, women’s voices get heard
more widely and bigger changes can result – within communities and
throughout society.
Despite the injustices they face, women around the world are standing
up to claim their rights and to fight inequality. Alongside these brave
steps, organisations should join with others to push for change nationally
and internationally. In this way, we help transform the big picture for
women, as well as improve their daily lives.

2. advocacy WORKS
A compelling reason for doing advocacy is that it works! With hard
work, good planning and a bit of luck you can achieve your goal and
bring about change.
Throughout this toolkit, there are examples of successful advocacy
resulting in changes which make a tangible difference to women’s lives.
Some advocates target legal reforms, others aim to empower individual
women to change their lives, some work in coalition, others alone, some
initiate major campaigns using the media, others run small campaigns
focused only on lobbying. What they all share is persistence and the

Section 1 6 Introduction
determination to make a difference. Three examples from Womankind
partner organisations show the success that advocacy can have.

The Albanian Centre for Population and Development and

Example
the Independent Forum of Albanian Women worked in
coalition with others for five years until the Albanian government finally
introduced a Gender Quota Law that mandates all political parties
to ensure that 30% of their candidates for election are women. The
real success came with the national elections in June 2009 when the
percentage of women in Parliament leapt from 7% to 16%.

In 2009, swift advocacy action by the Afghan Women’s

Example
Network (AWN) and Afghan Women’s Education Centre
(AWEC), together with two female parliamentarians, prevented a change
in the law which would effectively have legalised child marriage.

One Ethiopian campaign by Kembatta Mentti Gezzima

Example
(KMG) was an amazing success (see case study, section
two). Prior to KMG’s intervention, 97% of villagers said they would
have complied with tradition and circumcised their daughters. After the
campaign, the figure fell dramatically to 5%. The campaign successfully
challenged long held values so that uncircumcised girls were no longer
‘despised’ in their villages, and encouraged the community to ensure
the law against female genital mutilation and cutting was enforced.
Importantly, these changes in attitude were reflected in practice, and no
circumcision rituals were reported.3
Coalitions and international alliances have also achieved changes on
the international stage. The Convention on the Elimination of all forms
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979 was a
ground-breaking development which provided hope and opportunities
to advocates around the world. The newly created UN Women is the
product of years of advocacy by women’s groups globally. (See section
eight on international processes).

3. FEMINIST ADVOCACY

Women’s rights or gender advocacy is, at its simplest, advocacy to

promote women’s rights and gender equality.
Gender equality is the situation where women and men are
recognised as equal and are treated equally with the same status,
power, resources, responsibilities and opportunities for fulfilling
their potential.

Introduction 7 Section 1
Women’s rights are basic rights and freedoms that all women and
girls are entitled to as human beings. The concept builds on the notion
of human rights which are shared by all women, men, girls and boys,
and which are enshrined in international agreements and law. The
central concept of rights is that every individual is entitled to them
equally, whatever their status in society. The notion of women’s rights
started to be used because of the traditional bias against the exercise of
women’s and girls’ rights in favour of men and boys.4 It was seen that,
in the context of a society where women and men had unequal power,
women’s rights needed to be specifically recognised and fought for.
Many women and men advocating for gender equality and women’s
rights define themselves as feminist. There is no single definition of
feminism as it is a political movement and therefore any definition
becomes part of a political dialogue. Feminism is broadly about an
increase in women’s power relative to men’s. It analyses each individual
issue or problem in the context of a set of power relationships between
women and men.

‘Advocacy must be based on an analysis of what needs to be changed

and why... this analysis must be feminist because only feminism gives
an analysis of patriarchy and how it is linked to the structures and
relationships of power between men and women that perpetuate
violence, poverty — the crises that confront us.’ Peggy Antrobus,
Founder of DAWN, a leading feminist network in the global South5

Feminist advocacy explicitly aims to challenge unequal power relations

between men and women and end the unequal distribution of power
and resources that excludes women and other marginalised groups.
This requires bringing about changes in:6

l ho gets what – the distribution and control of resources

W
l Who does what – the division of labour

l Who decides what – decision-making power

l Who sets the agenda – the power to determine whose issues/priorities

come to the table for discussion.
Changes are needed to both the ideologies that justify and sustain
gender inequality (the beliefs, attitudes and practices) and the institutions
that reproduce unequal power between women and men – the family,
community, state, market, education, health, law etc.7

Section 1 8 Introduction
A better understanding of power will challenge you to think more
carefully about what change you want to achieve through your
advocacy and what methods to use. The next section will explore this
in more detail.

1 African Proverb
2 Adapted by Jessica Woodroffe from a traditional saying.
3 Haile Gabriel Dagne, “Ethiopia: Social Dynamics of Abandonment of Harmful Practices – Experiences in
Four Locations‟, Special Series on Social Norms and Harmful Practices, Innocenti Working Paper No.
2009-07. Florence, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009.
4 See Fran P. Hosken, ‘Towards a Definition of Women’s Rights’ in Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 3, No.
2. (May, 1981), pp. 1–10
5 Quoted in AWID - Association for Women’s Rights in Development, “An Advocacy Guide for Feminists”,
Young Women and Leadership Series, 2003.
6 Aruna Rao & David Kelleher, ‘Unravelling Institutionalised Gender Inequality’, Gender at Work, 2002
7 Srilatha Batliwala, ‘Women’s Empowerment in South Asia – Concepts and Practices’, FAO/ASPBAE, 1992

Introduction 9 Section 1
How to use this toolkit
In this toolkit we will:
l Help you understand how power affects your advocacy
l Guide you through the process of planning your advocacy campaign
l Give you ideas on how best to carry out your advocacy
l Suggest how to relate to national and international processes in your

advocacy
l Provide you with suggestions of more resources
Important: You don’t need to read this toolkit from start to finish
– use the bits that are useful to you.
This toolkit is intended both for advocacy organisations that want
to work more on women’s rights or gender equality, and for
women’s organisations that want to do more advocacy.
Good planning is not a tick-box exercise that you should complete
and then file away. Very few organisations would do all the
elements suggested in this toolkit in full. Decide which bits of the
advocacy planning process you most need to focus on (section
three will help with this). If you don’t have many resources then
do less….and do it better.
There are no right answers. This toolkit aims to share experiences,
suggest ways forward, and provoke debate. It is vital that you
use your own experiences, instincts and, in particular, your
knowledge of your own national or local context to shape the
advocacy work you wish to do.

Section 1 10 Introduction
 SECTION 2. UNDERSTANDING POWER l W
HAT POWER IS AND HOW IT IS
EXERCISED
HOW AN UNDERSTANDING OF
l 
POWER SHOULD INFLUENCE YOUR
ADVOCACY GOALS AND METHODS
SECTION 3. INTRODUCTION TO PLANNING
l REASONS TO PLAN
l THE PLANNING CYCLE
SECTION 4. WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
l UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
l THE EXTERNAL CONTEXT
l IDENTIFYING AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS

SECTION 5. YOUR ROLE IN MAKING CHANGE HAPPEN

l KNOWING YOUR RESOURCES
l DEFINING YOUR STRATEGY
l ACTION PLANNING

Now you have finished your strategy and planning, Section 6 will consider the methods that you will use

SECTION 6. ADVOCACY METHODS

l HOW TO CARRY OUT YOUR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES

Section 7 and 8 examine the context in which we work and how this will impact on your advocacy

SECTION 7. NATIONAL PROCESSES

l AN OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL POLICY MAKING PROCESSES

l DIFFERENT WAYS OF ENGAGING WITH THEM

SECTION 8. INTERNATIONAL PROCESSES

l W
HY INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS MAY BE RELEVANT TO
YOUR ADVOCACY
HOW TO USE INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, PROCESSES AND DATA
l 
TO FRAME YOUR ADVOCACY WORK
l AN OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL POLICY MAKING PROCESSES
l HOW TO INFLUENCE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Section 9 signposts helpful resources which you may wish to consult for further
learning or information as you make your way through the toolkit.

Introduction 11 Section 1
Using the icons

Throughout the toolkit icons are used to help you navigate your way.

Women’s Rights icon

Most of the toolkit is relevant whatever you are campaigning on.

However, campaigning on women’s rights can present its own
challenges. We have therefore included specific ideas relevant to this
work; both where you see this icon and throughout the text.

Tools icon

Some basic tools which many organisations use have been included in
the toolkit in case they are useful for you. We have also provided links to
websites which may be of use.

Tips and Caution icon

Alongside the basic ideas are tips and caution – some of these may
seem complicated – only use them if they are helpful to you.

Reality check icon

These are questions designed to help you pause and reflect on your
advocacy planning process and the effectiveness of your strategy.

Strategic choice icon

These are questions designed to help you make strategic choices about
where to focus your advocacy efforts.

Example Example icon

Examples are included from Womankind partners and many others

and will look like this

There is also an imaginary case study running through sections four to

six (in red) intended to illustrate the key points being made.

Section 1 12 Introduction
 Understanding power

2
This section will cover:
l What power is and how it is exercised
l H
ow an understanding of power should influence
your advocacy goals and methods
1. Different kinds of power

1.1 How is power exercised?

Power can be understood both as something negative to do with

exercising control over others and maintaining the status quo, and as
something positive linked to people’s capacity and agency to drive social
change.
Some power is formal
Power is most commonly associated with the state and formal political
institutions. Laws and legal processes create a formal system for the
exercise of this power.
Most advocacy by CSOs is directed at this formal or visible type of power.
Advocacy is seen as a way to use existing power structures to persuade
those with power to make changes to legislation, policies or the
allocation of resources. Tools such as lobbying, media work and public
campaigning are used to influence the actions of those in government.
Some power is hidden
Un-elected and un-accountable groups and institutions can also be
powerful, such as big corporations. These groups have hidden or
informal power to influence the formal decision-making processes and
can determine what gets discussed, who sits around the table, and
even what is decided. This often results in the concerns of less powerful
groups being excluded. Increasingly CSO advocacy has targeted those
who try to influence decision makers, such as corporate lobby groups.

More fundamentally, some advocacy is aimed at exposing these hidden

processes and opening up decision making processes so that those who
have been excluded can have a voice.
Some power is invisible
The least well understood way in which power operates is when it is
invisible. Values, beliefs and attitudes, and cultural norms and practices,
all reinforce the status quo and can cause people to accept their
powerlessness and even blame themselves for it, or fail to see that their
situation could be different.

For example, despite being against the law, the practice of dowry (the
payment in cash or/and kind by the bride’s family to the bridegroom’s
family) is still widespread in parts of South Asia. Laws (in the formal
arena of power) prohibiting the practice have not brought about the
change required in practice. Laws are not enforced both because

UNDERSTANDING POWER 13 Section 2

powerful groups with ‘hidden’ power do not see it as an important issue
or in their interests to enforce the law, and because strong social norms
mean most women themselves may accept the practice.
An analysis of different forms of power – formal, hidden and invisible –
suggests that unless women themselves are able to critically analyse their
situation, are aware of their rights, and can mobilise collectively to claim
them, changes in laws or budgets will not necessarily lead to changes in
women’s lives. For advocacy to have a truly lasting and transformative
effect it needs to go hand in hand with interventions designed to:
l T
ransform decision making processes by exposing the influence of
un-elected powerful groups and open up decision making processes
to make them more democratic, transparent and inclusive, for
example, of women’s groups and others representing marginalised
women
Strengthen the power of excluded groups so that they can claim
l 
a place at the decision-making table and influence the agenda, for
example through community organising
Empower marginalised people, for example through
l 
consciousness-raising and rights awareness, so that women and men
are able to critically question norms and practices, recognise their own
self-worth and their power, and envisage alternatives.

1.2 Where IS power exercised?

Power is often understood as occurring in the ‘public’ arena. But a key

part of gender analysis is recognising that power relationships occur not
just in political fora or the work place, but also within the household and
between individuals who are a ‘family’.

Three different levels of power interact in women’s lives8:

l T he public realm of power – workplace, politics, legal system

l The private realm of power – relationships within the family,
including within marriage and sexual relationships
l The intimate realm of power – self-confidence, self-esteem,
self-image

The rules of the public realm of power are designed by and for men, so
changing the rules in the public arena is vital, but it is not enough.
Even if women are formally entitled to equal opportunities in the

UNDERSTANDING POWER 14 Section 2

workplace or political life, their lack of ‘intimate’ power, caused by low
levels of confidence, may act as a barrier to claiming these entitlements.
Similarly, women may not use the legal redress available to them if
cultural values lead them to believe they are to blame for violations
against them. Advocacy which aims to promote women’s equality
through, for example, equal pay or representation in parliament, will
ultimately fail if it does not also address women’s lack of power in private
and intimate spheres which prevents them from seizing opportunities.

Barriers to women’s access to their rights9

Take the example of rape – while the laws of the land may have
been reformed to give women access to justice, there are many
cultural barriers she must cross to reach it. Firstly, the victim’s own
belief systems must be transformed to recognise that this is a crime
of violence, and not something to be hidden for fear of being
shamed or shunned by her family or community. Then, her family
must support, rather than hinder her, in filing a complaint with the
police and making the matter more public. The attitudes of the
police must be changed to avoid further harassment or shaming of
the victim, or to prevent their aligning themselves with the rapist,
if he is from a more powerful group, and refusing to take up the
case. She and her family need the support of the larger community,
whose traditional taboos against making such matters public need
to be altered. Then, she must have the resources – in terms of time,
money, etc. – to seek legal assistance. And finally, legal services or
courts must not only be available, but provide appropriate services
to the victim – such as closed hearings and sensitive judges.

2. Implications of a power analysis for your

advocacy

Recognising power relations and the need to challenge them will

influence your advocacy goals, the types of interventions you prioritise,
and the methods you use. It will also highlight the importance of careful
risk analysis and management to improve the safety and security of
women’s rights advocates. The lessons below will help you to:
l C onsider your own power and how you use it in relation to those you
work with
l  Ensure your methods do not perpetuate or legitimise unequal power
l  Assess whether your aims are the right ones

UNDERSTANDING POWER 15 Section 2

2.1 How you use your power
Taking a feminist approach to advocacy means being reflective about
how you use your own power, including questioning your legitimacy and
who you are accountable to. When deciding on your advocacy methods
and approaches, consider the following questions:
Is your advocacy:
l rooted in an analysis of power relations?
l grounded in women’s experiences and the struggles of women’s
movements?
l carried out in partnership with women and women’s organisations?
l people-centred – empowering women and girls to advocate on their
own behalf for their rights and interests?
l respectful of diversity and difference among women?
l committed to solidarity and building alliances among social change
groups and activists (for example, collaborating with advocates of
human rights, LGBTI rights, economic justice, the rights of people
living with HIV/AIDS, progressive men)?
l accountable, transparent, and inclusive?
l committed to crediting women’s contributions in achieving change?
One way to reflect on how you use your own power is by considering
whether your advocacy is ‘with’, ‘by’, or ‘for’ the people affected.
Advocacy by the people
Advocacy can be led and undertaken by the women who are directly
affected. They have the most direct and holistic understanding of
the problem and have the most legitimate voice. Outsiders, including
development NGOs, can have a role in supporting these affected
communities to be their own advocates. However they must be careful
not to control the process or use their knowledge as power. Leadership,
agenda-setting and decision making should stay in the community.
Advocacy for the people
People and organisations not directly affected by the issue, including
staff and supporters of NGOs in the global North, can do advocacy
and campaigning on behalf of those who are affected. This may have
advantages where the advocates have more influence on or access to
targets. It may also be necessary if human rights abuses mean that it is
dangerous for those affected to undertake advocacy themselves.
This kind of advocacy will have more legitimacy the more that affected
women are genuinely consulted on aims and objectives and advocacy
methods. Any differences of opinion should be openly discussed.

UNDERSTANDING POWER 16 Section 2

However, it will not directly empower the women affected and so will
ultimately have less impact on underlying power relations.
Advocacy with the people
Increasingly alliances are being made between affected communities
and external advocacy organisations. This kind of collaboration between
those with legitimacy and first-hand experience and those with access
to power can be beneficial. However it is easy for the latter group to
dominate and a real alliance will require joint decision making rather
than more tokenistic participation by affected women in front-line
activities organised by NGOs.
TIP Over the last twenty years many donor governments and
international institutions have responded to criticism by creating spaces
where a small number of groups are invited to participate, for example
by being on a delegation to a UN conference. This kind of access to
powerful decision makers can seem very appealing but the agenda is
usually already set and civil society participants often have little power to
control the outcome. Participation in these spaces can divert precious
advocacy resources which could be used for something else, and the
access may come at the price of forgoing criticism of the decision maker.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS Remember that when you are challenging
power there are risks involved, including the risk of violence. Risks are
particularly pronounced for women’s rights advocates because of the
challenges our advocacy poses to accepted gender roles and norms, and
to established power hierarchies. It is important to take steps during the
process of planning your advocacy to mitigate this risk and ensure your
safety and that of fellow activists (see section 5, 2.4) for more detail).

2.2 What you ARE aimING to change

An understanding of power will shape not only the advocacy methods

and approaches you adopt, but also the goals and objectives you decide
to focus on. Challenging unequal gender power relations requires
tackling the root causes of inequality, not only the symptoms. A useful
distinction has been made between women’s “practical” and “strategic”
interests, also sometimes referred to as the distinction between women’s
condition and their position.

UNDERSTANDING POWER 17 Section 2

 Strategic interests and practical needs
Practical gender interests are the immediate needs of women such
as access to food, water, shelter, and child care.
Strategic gender interests are the longer-term changes needed to
transform women’s status in society and end the existing unequal
relationships between women and men. These could include
women having more control over when and whether to have
children, greater voice and influence in political decision making,
or a more equal distribution of unpaid care work between women
and men.
Advocating for changes which meet women’s practical needs
is important but may only address the symptoms of women’s
inequality with men (such as women’s lack of access to resources).
Achieving women’s strategic interests gets to the heart of the
problem and can empower women and move towards an end to
gender inequality.

For most feminists, the ultimate goal is not only to win women the same
privileges and power as men, but to change the nature of the world we
live in. For example, advocacy on women’s political participation should
aim not only to achieve equal representation for women within formal
political institutions, but to change the culture and practice of political
institutions so that power is more equally shared and decision-making is
more democratic, participatory, transparent, inclusive and accountable.
Achieving these changes will require a long-term approach, with lots of
stepping stones along the way!

The case study on the next page about changing attitudes towards
female genital mutilation illustrates how an understanding of power can
shape the planning and design of advocacy projects.

8. VeneKlasen, L. and Valerie Miller, A New Weave of Power, People and Politics: The Action Guide for
Advocacy and Citizen Participation, 2007
9 Extract from Batiwala, S. 2008. Changing Their World: Concepts and Practices of Women’s Movements,
Association of Women’s Rights in Development: 15-16

UNDERSTANDING POWER 18 Section 2

Case Study – Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, whilst attitudes towards The strategy was to create a wave of

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting opposition to the practice. Four groups
(FGM/C) are changing, it remains a (below) were engaged in awareness-
widespread practice throughout the raising and sensitisation, with the aim
country. Kembatta Mentti Gezzima of encouraging them to change their
(KMG) an Ethiopian indigenous woman own practice as well as to put pressure
focused NGO, and INGO Womankind on other groups to change theirs.
Worldwide, implemented an advocacy
project in the Kembatta/Tembaro Zone Targets:
from 2000. The project illustrates many l Girls and young women -
of the factors to consider in advocacy empowered to resist FGM/C
planning.
FGM/C is a violation of human rights l Parents - not to practice FGM/C on
under international and Ethiopian law. their daughters
The current constitution and criminal l Community leaders - to speak out
code acknowledge the grave injuries against, rather than for, the practice
and suffering caused to women l Law makers and enforcers - to
and children by harmful traditional implement the law
practices. Yet despite the law the
majority of women have undergone A combination of methods was
some form of FGM/C. The laws are used. Firstly, direct awareness raising
not enough, and just force the practice and empowerment of girls was central
underground. By understanding to the strategy. Secondly, all members
the current policy position, KMG of the community - parents, community
recognised that what needed changing leaders and law enforcers – were
was not the law, but its enforcement. brought together to reflect on the
Moreover, they understood the social adverse implications of the practice
context enough to know that law and to identify their own proposals
enforcement would not be successful for change. This process was used to
without a change in the prevailing create peer and community pressure
community attitudes which continued to influence parents, leaders and law
to support FGM/C. enforcers. Finally, community leaders
The aim of the campaign was to were targeted to put pressure on
reduce the number of circumcision law enforcers.
rituals taking place. The objectives The role of influencers in this
were to empower girls to make choices strategy was central, with each target
about FGM/C, change attitudes among group also being seen as an influencer
the community so that members would of other target groups. Many of the
speak out against the practice, and participants were elders, religious
get the law enforced by the police and leaders, leaders of the edir (traditional
judiciary. community organisations) and
The campaign was based on an government officials (predominantly
understanding of power in the male) who had been identified as
community. Girls’ own power had the drivers of change. After five
to be increased, while the hidden years of work by KMG, nearly all the
power of social norms perpetuating edirs declared that FGM/C should be
the practice had to be challenged. abandoned and drew up a list of

UNDERSTANDING POWER 19 Section 2

 Case Study – Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Ethiopia

sanctions. The threat of expulsion Her passion and enthusiasm convinced

from the edir for those who failed to many community members to view
comply proved an effective incentive for FGM/C as a violation of human rights.
others to act. The campaign was based on a
Uncircumcised girls were especially good understanding of the local
effective at influencing peers, parents, power structures and awareness-
and communities. Girls were also raising activities were built on existing
more able to resist pressure from their community structures. They used a
parents both because community tool called Community Conversations
pressure was increasingly behind them, where discussions brought together
and because their parents knew the a wide range of people, including
activity was illegal. Different methods different social groups, religious
reinforced one another. The law was and community leaders, and local
an important component, providing government officials. The result was
legitimacy to those opposing the a mass of people prepared to speak
practice. High profile cases of police against the practice. They, in turn,
arresting violators of the law were also created public pressure which helped
useful deterrents. more families to abandon the FGM/C
The project demonstrated how convention, and put pressure on
important it is to understand what law enforcers. Activities included
motivates your targets. Communities community events and rallies, public
were not initially interested in the weddings for uncircumcised
concept of human rights and wanted girls, and public declarations.
to see practical change. KMG worked Working with local communities on
to meet women’s practical needs these activities required relatively
through the provision of services, few resources, but a lot of time and
so gaining their trust, before raising commitment from KMG.
issues around rights. Birth attendants Involving targets in finding
also explained why FGM/C would solutions and developing policy
have adverse practical implications for proposals was an interesting tactic.
women giving birth. However, it was This meant that sub-district and
also found that introducing a human district government officials who
rights context provided communities had been involved in the Community
with alternative perspectives and Conversation processes were obliged,
transformed the discussion. It also but also more willing, to take action
encouraged genuine reflection to enforce the consensus decisions
on gender roles and generated which emerged.
interesting and important discussion
within the community about other
traditional practices which harm
women and children.
A key element of success was found
to be the framing of the message
through the involvement of Dr
Bogalech (Boge) Gebre from KMG who
was brought up in Kembatta and was
circumcised herself as a young woman.

UNDERSTANDING POWER 20 Section 2