BANGLADESH S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSALS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000141 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/GWI VVIKMANISKELLER, SGHORI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN PREL EAID ECON PHUM SOCI BG SUBJECT: BANGLADESH S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSALS REF: A) 09 STATE 132094, B) STATE 12531 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Mission Dhaka received more than 20 submissions from Bangladesh organizations for the S/GWI small grants program. The proposals addressed the full range of women's issues, including projects to advance political rights, human rights, food security and entrepreneurship for women. A committee that included representatives from Mission Dhaka's Political/Economic Section, Public Affairs Section and USAID reviewed the proposals and selected five proposals that met S/GWI priorities and reflected Mission objectives. We hope S/GWI will award grants to one or more of the Bangladesh proposals, and we look forward to working with S/GWI on this exciting initiative. FIVE NOMINEES FOR WOMEN'S ADVANCEMENT PROJECTS -------------- - ¶2. An overview and justification for each of the five proposals nominated by Mission Dhaka's committee follows below in order of priority. Mission Dhaka has worked successfully with each of the five NGOs that submitted these proposals. We will send the full project proposals to S/GWI by email. BUILDING POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AMONG WOMEN -------------- ¶3. (U) The Bangladesh Alliance for Women's Leadership (BDAWL) proposes to improve women's political empowerment by developing a network of women leaders in Bangladesh and South Asia and by training women involved in politics and governance on international best practices for leadership. A political leadership curriculum would form the basis of an on-going women's leadership "academy" to help advocacy groups, political parties and Parliamentarians with women's development initiatives. BDAWL hopes to partner with a parallel women's organization in India to re-vitalize the South Asia Network on Women in Politics, established in conjunction with the 1995 Beijing Conference on the Status of Women. BDAWL would also develop a mentoring program, Who's Who directory of women leaders and website to foster an on-going network of women political leaders in Bangladesh and beyond. ¶4. (SBU) BDAWL's project would support two of the top USG priorities in Bangladesh, strengthening democracy and governance and promoting Bangladesh as a responsible regional partner. Training and networking as proposed by BDAWL would empower women political leaders to play a greater role in policy- and decision-making. Bangladesh is beginning to make progress in improving relations with its neighbors, particularly India, and BDAWL's intention to re-activate a network of South Asian Women Leaders would promote further regional cooperation. PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY FOR ETHNIC MINORITY WOMEN -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Caritas Bangladesh proposes to improve food security among indigenous women in northwestern Bangladesh by training them to cultivate climate change sensitive crops and household gardens. In addition to teaching these traditionally ultra-poor women about crop diversification, drought resistant crops and sustainable agriculture, Caritas Bangladesh would also support the women farmers to develop networks for learning about business management and market access. ¶6. (SBU) Caritas Bangladesh's proposal ties into numerous USG priorities, including food security and climate change. In addition, the focus on indigenous women would mean reaching a marginalized population in one of Bangladesh's poorest regions. Finally, extremist ideologies have in the past gained traction in northwest Bangladesh, including the area covered by this proposal, and we are continually looking for ways to promote economic development in this region as a means of combating extremism. ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ACID VIOLENCE VICTIMS -------------- ¶7. (U) Odhikar, Bangladesh's leading human rights organization, proposes to help victims of acid and dowry violence by improving their access to legal aid. Odhikar plans to build capacity at the local level to respond to cases involving violence against women (VAW),raise awareness about the threat of VAW and organize collective action against the perpetrators of attacks. Central to Odhikar's proposal is empowering women and the authorities to act against domestic violence by utilizing Bangladesh's strong legal framework, which criminalizes such violence. ¶8. (SBU) As the nation's leading human rights organization, Odhikar is an effective critic of human rights violations in DHAKA 00000141 002 OF 002 Bangladesh and is an internationally-recognized force for protecting the interests of all victims of human rights violations, including women. For these reasons some in the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) have tried to restrict or marginalize Odhikar. Supporting Odhikar's proposal would achieve two goals, providing real support on the ground to victims of domestic violence and demonstrating to the GOB our support for Odhikar's work more broadly. BUILDING NETWORKS AMONG WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS -------------- ¶9. (U) The Bangladesh Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) seeks to boost entrepreneurship among poor women in ten different areas of Bangladesh by helping budding entrepreneurs organize into artisan groups and then training the groups on business management and product development practices. BWCCI would also support entrepreneurs from the groups in gaining access to markets and participating in trade fairs. Once organized, the groups would continue to receive support and counseling from BWCCI. ¶10. (SBU) BWCCI seeks to boost entrepreneurship among women, a key focus of President Obama's initiative to foster entrepreneurship among Muslim majority nations like Bangladesh. By focusing on poor entrepreneurs, this project would help women make the leap from micro-credit to larger enterprises. BWCCI already works with USAID on an anti-corruption project; funding this proposal could amplify both our entrepreneurship and our anti-corruption messages. EMPOWERING WOMEN VIA EXPORT MARKETS -------------- ¶11. (U) CARE Bangladesh seeks to develop the skills of ultra poor women in northwestern Bangladesh by training them to make rugs for export. CARE Bangladesh would support the training of women who would not normally have access to employment in an export-oriented business. After training the beneficiaries in rug-making, workplace expectations, and workload/household management, CARE Bangladesh would place the women in jobs with a company that produces rugs for export to Germany. ¶12. (SBU) CARE Bangladesh's project would provide skills and employment to a group of women who would not on their own be able to obtain a job with an export manufacturer. CARE Bangladesh already runs such a program here; funds from S/GWI would allow CARE Bangladesh to reach more women in a poor region of northwestern Bangladesh, which, as mentioned above, is vulnerable to extremism. MORIARTY