Effective Urban governance needs social and political integration

December 17, 2003
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Kathmandu: The Municipal Association of Nepal, MuAN, and the German Foundation, the FES, organized a one-day training program on “”ender Sensitization in the Municipal Governance” here on December 13, 2003.

Altogether, 65 municipal authority from ten different districts attended the training course, it is learnt.

The chiefs from MuAN, National Association of Village Development Committee, NAVIN, and Association of District Development Committees of Nepal, ADDCN, joint Secretaries of the ministry of Local Development and Social Welfare Ministry participated in the meeting.

The meeting focused on the achievements in the field’s of women’s promotion, obstacles faced by duly elected women representatives, the need for essential reforms in legal fields and the challenged ahead.

The preconditions for gender-balanced urban governance formulated by the participants were: increasing the number of women in executive committees; strengthening of their participation through political, economic and administrative devolution of power, capacity building or elected and nominated women and development of an indicator oriented monitoring system. Unless women achieve parity “protective discrimination” should be continued seeking women’s increased representation in the local and the national governance.

Speaking from the chair, the president of ADDCN, Krishna Prasad Sapkota viewed that “there should be an equilibrium system between reservation for women and their competitiveness.

“Reservation does not guarantee political will, what is required now is political will among the women to participate in public life of the society”, said Sapkota.

Som Lal Dubadi, Joint Secretary, MLD, highlighted the government’s efforts towards making gender sensitive development. Dhruba Khadka, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare sought the cooperation of the civil society in making the urban governance effective to suit to the demands of the day.

Dev Raj Dahal, the head of Nepal Office of the FES argued: ” Urban governance is polycentric encompassing many competing and often overlapping centers of decision making in which MuAN shares one civic space along with a number of women’s organizations.

“Its effectiveness lies in applying the principles of subsidiary that is linking its local members to decision-making level and generating a system of check and balance between macro and micro institutions of governance”, said Mr. Dahal.

The capacity of the MuAN, according to Dahal, becomes stronger if there is an equal social and political integration of male and female in urban governance and capturing the development synergy that is both just and sustainable.

Three papers in all were presented on the occasion. Ms. Chandra Kala Sonar dwelt on Concept of Gender; Hari Phuyal on Application of Gender on Municipal Governance:; A legal Perspective and the Ms. Puspa Ghimire made her presentation on Gender Sensitization on Urban Governance.