On 2 Dec, parallel session on ‘Inclusive Social Development: the Challenges for Including the Excluded – Gender Dimensions’ was held during the International Conference on Addressing Poverty and Vulnerability in the Hindu Kush Himalayas in Nepal. The panelists discussed how gender consideration can be accounted in times of rapid change, both in terms of physical changes as well as the changing aspirations and identities of mountain people and women. One of the panelists, Chandni Joshi from Nepal discussed the issue of exclusion, the need to engender census and bring about change in the mindset of people that women are not only ‘poor’ and ‘incapable’. Another panelist Manjari Mehta from India discussed the aspirations of mountain women and asked if our development approach match with their aspirations. The panel also discussed the need for a collective voice for women’s issue and listening mechanism within the policy making process.
The Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approach, which gives priority to identification of key barriers for women’s participation and ways of overcoming and systematically addressing them, was given as a concrete example of successful inclusion of women in development. Some panelists and audience members also questions why gender issues were discussed in a parallel session and not in the keynote session of the workshop.
On 4 Dec, during the closing session Dr. David Molden, ICIMOD Director General, launched a website on roster of women professionals and gender experts www.icimod.org/gender/wgem/roster . Women professionals and gender experts are requested to register to be listed on the roster.