Completed project
provided by CIDA
- Mali’s Ministère de la Fonction Publique et de la Réforme de l’État (MFPRE)
- Mali’s Ministère de la Justice Groupe Pivot / Droits et Citoyenneté des Femmes (GP/DCF)
- Coordination des Associations et Organisations non gouvernementales Féminines (CAFO)
CECI has focused on equality between women and men for many years now and is particularly active in several women’s networks and associations in Mali. Since 2007 the CIDA-funded PROJES initiative has been supporting institutions and organizations involved in promoting gender equality and lending financial support to projects that defend women’s rights in health, the law and governance.
In particular, the PROJES project’s institutional strengthening activities include collaborating with the Mali’s Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme de l’Enfant et de la Famille (MPFEF) in developing a national policy for equality between women and men (Politique Nationale d’Égalité Entre les Femmes et les Hommes). It has also helped three government ministries¹ and their partner civil society organizations² to promote equality between women and men by systematically integrating gender issues into their various activities. As a result, local partners of the project that are integral to the Malian social fabric have made concerted efforts to promote more equitable relationships between the sexes.
As the project’s scheduled end in October 2011 is quickly approaching, all parties concerned can clearly see the positive impacts of the experience. Significant progress has been reported in many sub-projects, but the biggest success is without a doubt the adoption of the national policy for equality between women and men on November 24, 2010, after 3 years collaboration with the MPFEF.
Despite the long road to gender equality that lies ahead, CECI and its partners can congratulate themselves on having made significant strides toward that end.