South Asia Research Conference-2013-NIRD

Background Note South Asia Research Conference on Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance 20-22 March 2013 Venue: National Institute for Rural Development, Hyderabad, India Objective: UN Women Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka has been implementing a programme, ‘Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance in India and South Asia’ supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, since 2009. The first phase of the programme concludes in June 2013. The programme is being implemented in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Research constitutes one of the three major attributes of the programme, the other two being capacity building and the creation of a Regional Centre of Excellence. A number of research reports have been published under the programme in Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. All of them address the overarching question framed under this programme, ‘What is the cost of constraining women political decision-making in local governance’? Some of UN Women’s important research partners under the programme thus far include, the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), The Norwegian Institute for Regional and Urban Research (NIBR), the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB), the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), the National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD), the National Gender Centre of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), and others. Initial ground work on creating a body of knowledge on women’s political leadership and governance in India and South Asia has been achieved during the current phase of the programme. It is time now to further consolidate the work. Towards this end, UN Women strives to establish a South Asia Regional Research Network on Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance. This South Asia Research Workshop is a step towards that direction. Main Focus: The South Asia Research Workshop on Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance in India and South Asia attempts to bring together researchers and key practitioners to discuss the body of research work developed under the programme; identify new research themes; establish new research partnerships; and set up a prelude for a global event on women in politics in Oslo. Participants: The participants at the South Asia Research Workshop on Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance in India and South Asia will include Heads of research institutes working on gender responsive governance; independent authors and contributors; journals on gender responsive governance; NIRD, SIRDs (State Institutes of Rural Development); gender centres and gender resource centres; select invitees – UN Women partners in national governments across South Asia; key women politicians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Expected Results: This event will contribute to the establishment of a regional research institutional system, linked to the Regional Centre of Excellence on Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance in India and South Asia and satellite institutions, for demand-driven research and policy advocacy on elected women representatives in South Asia on gender responsive governance.