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DataShiftGenderThematicForum:ExploringCivilSocietyDataandCitizen-generatedDataonGenderIssuesinNepal

Groupphotofromtheevent

Kathmandu,Nepal

9November2016

Submittedby

BeyondBeijingCommittee-Nepal

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TableofContents

AcronymsandAbbreviations 3

Abouttheforum 4

Whycitizen-generateddata(CGD)forgenderissuesinNepal? 5

StateofgenderdatainNepal 6Openingremarks 6

Panelsessionon“ThestateofgenderdatainNepal” 8A. 8B. 9C. 9

LinkinggenderdatatotheSDGs 11

ChallengesandopportunitiesaroundCGDforgenderissuesinNepal(aspresentedbydifferentpanellists) 13

ExploringcivilsocietyandCGDforgenderissuesinNepal 15

KeyrecommendationsforcivilsocietyandCGDforgenderissuesinNepal 17

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AcronymsandAbbreviationsBBC BeyondBeijingCommitteeNepalCBS CentreBureauofStatisticsCEDA CentreforEconomicDevelopmentandAdministrationCGD Citizen-GeneratedDataCSO CivilSocietyOrganisationDAO DistrictAdministrativeOfficeDDC DistrictDevelopmentCommitteeGBV GenderBasedViolenceGDI GenderDevelopmentIndexGII GenderInequalityIndexHDI HumanDevelopmentIndexINGO InternationalNon-GovernmentalOrganisationMDG MillenniumDevelopmentGoalsMoWCSW MinistryofWomen,ChildrenandSocialWelfareNFN NGOFederationofNepalNGO Non-GovernmentalOrganisationNPC NationalPlanningCommissionSDG/SDGs SustainableDevelopmentGoalsSNA SystemofNationalAccountsVAW ViolenceAgainstWomenVDC VillageDevelopmentCommittee

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AbouttheForum

DataShift/CIVICUS, together with Beyond Beijing Committee Nepal (BBC), NGO Federation ofNepal (NFN)/ Nepal SDG Forum and Tewa - Philanthropy for Equitable Justice and Peace,organised the multi-stakeholder gender thematic forum to explore the coverage, quality andcomparability of gender data in Nepal, and subsequently identify opportunities and challengesaroundusingcivilsocietyandcitizen-generateddata inparticularaspartofan integrated,data-drivenapproachtoimplementingandmonitoringSustainableDevelopmentGoal(SDG)5inNepal.

Followingwereobjectivesoftheforum:

1. Better understand the gender data ‘ecosystem’ in Nepal, regarding both the producersandusersofgender-relateddata,includinganassessmentofitscoverage,credibilityandcomplementarity.

2. Identify priority opportunities and challenges around improving the coverage, credibilityandcomplementarityofgenderdatainNepal,especiallyregardingcivilsocietydataandcitizen-generateddata.

3. RaiseawarenessonSDG5amongstcivilsocietyinNepalandotherrelevantactors.4. Assess the SDG 5 targets and indicators (and from other relevant SDGs as appropriate)

wherecivilsocietydataandcitizen-generateddatacouldhavethemostimpact.5. Supportadialoguebetweencivilsociety,governmentandotherstakeholderswhichbegins

toidentifyopportunitiesforworkingcollaborativelyontheformulation,implementation,andmonitoringofprogressonSDG5.

6. Provide recommendations from theNepali context that can support similarprocesses inothercountries.

The Forumwas a huge successwithmore than 70 participants from diverse sectors including,governmental organisations, bilateral organisations, academia, media INGOs, NGOs and CSOs.Fromthecivilsociety,representationfromindigenouscommunity,genderandgenderminorities,grassrootsgroups,childrightsgroups,women’srightsorganisations,Dalitorganisations,etc.werepresent in the room.The firsthalfof themeetinghad twoexpertpanels representingdifferentstakeholders,followedbyinteractivesessionsamongtheparticipantsthroughgroupwork.

Whycitizen-generateddataforgenderissuesinNepal?

Civilsocietyorganisationsproduceandusehugeamountsofdata.Thisdatacanbequantitativeorqualitative,structuredorunstructureddata,andopenorclosed.Itcomesinanumberofformats,rangingfromnumericaldatainspreadsheetstotext,audioorphotos.Thisdataiscollectedforanumber of reasons, including; understanding the experiences, perceptions and needs of thecommunitiescivilsocietyorganisationsworkwith(usingtoolssuchassurveys)andtrackingissuesandtrendssuchaspovertyor incomeovertime,tosupporttheimplementationofprojectsandprogrammes,andtomonitorandevaluatetheimpactofinterventions.

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Despite the largeamountandoftenhighqualityofcivil societydata, it isusually sector-specificandgeneratedthroughawiderangeofuncoordinatedinitiatives.Onlyarelativelysmallnumberof large internationalorganisationsarecurrentlyabletoeffectivelyaggregatedatagenerated indifferent local contexts. Utilising and aggregating the rich data generated by civil societyorganisations - includingdatacollectedat thesub-national level - isahugechallenge,giventhesignificantvarianceinfocus,formatandquality.

Citizen-generated data (alongwith civil society datamore broadly) should be seen as a usefulcomplementtoinstitutionaldata,ratherthanareplacementforit.Ithasthepotentialtoaugmentorfillingapsindatausedbygovernmentsandotherdecision-makerstoshapepolicies.Ascitizen-generateddataisoftenproducedinrealornear-timeandisfirmlygroundedinlocalcontexts,itcan help us better understand the highly specific needs of the communities they serve andtherefore deliver servicesmore efficiently, reducing waste and ensuring that they reach thosemostinneed.

There are a growing number of effective citizen-generated data projects in various locationsacross the globe, including on gender related issues, such as Little Sister and HarassMap. Yetchallengesstillexistsurroundingthecoverage,qualityandcomplementarityofcitizen-generateddata.FailuretoaddressthesechallengeswillpreventusfromrealisingthefullpotentialofCGDtosupport SDG monitoring and accountability, both in general and on gender related issues inparticular.

Under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), goal three sought to “Promote GenderEquality and EmpowerWomen”, setting an ambitious target to “eliminate gender disparity inprimaryandsecondaryeducation,preferablyby2005,andinalllevelsofeducationnolaterthan2015”.Under the goal, time and resourceswere invested in the empowerment ofwomen andgirls,particularlythroughgenderparityinprimaryeducation.Highlevelsofsuccesswererecordedin theprocess, however, other issues related to gender inequality emergedprompting calls foractiontoachievegenderequalityinallfields.

Nevertheless,womencontinuetoexperiencesignificantgapsintermsofpoverty,labourmarketand wages, as well as participation in private and public decision-making. The 17 SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)thereforeofferanunprecedentedopportunitytocatalyseeffortsandtackletheunfinishedbusinessoftheMDGs.This includesworkonSDG5focusedon“Achievinggenderequalityandempoweringallwomenandgirls”anditsconstituenttargetsandindicators.Theintegratednatureofthegoalsandtargetshowever,callsfornewinnovativeapproachesthatharness data through multi-stakeholder partnerships. Achieving SDG 5 is interdependent andconnected to tracking the progress in the achievement of gender specific indicators that areintegratedinallthe17SDGs.

This report showcases the existing issues around generating and using the CGDs from theperspective of producers and users of gender-related data in the Nepal context. It presentsongoingwork,plansandchallengesassociatedtothepreparationand implementationofSDG5focusedon“Achievinggenderequalityandempoweringallwomenandgirls”fromgovernmentas

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wellasnon-governmentbodies.

StateofgenderdatainNepal

ThesectionsbelowhighlightsthekeypointsonthestateofgenderdatainNepalpresentedduringdifferentsessionsandplenariesduringtheforum.

OpeningremarksMs. Sadhana Shrestha, Executive Director of TEWA, facilitated the forum and introduced theorganisers of the event. She invited guests on the panel for the opening includingMr. KrishnaGautam, senior vice president, NGO Federation of Nepal;Wenny Kusuma, UN-Women countryrepresentative;andMr.DavisAdieno,SeniorAdvisor,Datashift/CIVICUSWorldAlliance.Mr.KrishnaGautamduring theopeningremarkssaidNGOFederationofNepal iscommittedtoworkingwiththeCSOsandgovernment inachievingSDGs.HeemphasisedthatSDG5 isacrosscutting issue with other goals and issues and is thus to be addressed holistically with thecoordinationofgovernmentandCSOsratherthangovernmentandCSOsworking inparallel.Hefurther suggested that everyoneworks in collaboration for gender equality, under the premisethat the new constitution in Nepal guarantees the participation of women at all levels ofdevelopment.The followingspokesperson,Ms.WennyKusuma inherkeynote speech, sharedhowshe thinkstheUnited States (US) election thatwas happening at the time, relates to data and to genderequality, transformation and shift, and thus the discussion happening in the forum.During herspeech,shesaid,

‘Oftentimeswhenwetalkaboutart,weaskifartmimicslifeoriflifemimicsarts.Andwhenitcomestodataandknowledge,wequestionifdatacapturesourlivesasmenandwomenaccurately,orwhetherdataconveysourrealitiesaswelivedthem.’

Ms. Kusuma also shared her encounter with Ms. Hillary Clinton at the Beijing Women’sConferencein1995aftershedeliveredherspeechwhereshesaidinanelevator,“women’srightsare human rights”. She describes how the Beijing Conference became the foundation for theformation of the ministry of women and other women rights institutes, and how it providedopportunitiesforthedevelopmentofalegalframeworkaroundgenderequality.Duringthistime,women in theU.S. realised theneed for evidence-based advocacy to ask for legal reforms andotherwomen’s rights. At that time, stories ofwomen constituted the evidence andwere verypowerful.Storiesaroundtheworldwerebeingcollectedandwere looked into for thepatterns.However,thedataandhardfactsareneedednowtobackuptheadvocacy,shesaid.Whiletalkingabouttheneedtoproducedataaroundviolenceagainstwomen,theframeoflegalsupportmustalsobediscussed,shesaid.

“Oppression is embedded in our very culture through dimension of sexism anddiscrimination, that in the face of our institutional agencies which means our laws,

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mechanismsmirrorthesamevaluesandbeliefsthatarebehindtheperpetuationoftheviolenceinthefirstplace.”

KusumaalsohighlightedthepowerofCGDcollectedbypeople themselvesandhow itprovidestherealityoftheexperienceofwomenandmentothosewhoneedstotakethisintoaccountandmake decisions affecting our lives. She added that while talking about SDG 5, we only havecapacitytosupportthedatacollection,analysisandmonitoringofonly20%ofthe indicatorsofSDG5.Shestressedthatweneedtoask‘whatkindofworldwewomenwant’ inthecontextofSDG 5 and relating that to the U.S. election. She concluded her remarks by saying that thediscussionwithDataShiftthatishappeningintheroomisveryimportantbecausethereisan80%gapinmeasuringourprogressinSDGs.

Ms.WennyKusuma,CountryRepresentative,UNWomen-NepaldeliveringherkeynotespeechAfterMsKusuma’skeynote,Mr.DavisAdienointroducedparticipantstoDataShift,aninitiativeofCIVICUSandtheiraims.Afterclarifyingtheobjectivesoftheforum,hesharedwhatCIVICUShasbeendoinginNepalandaroundtheworld.HethenwentontopresenttheroleCGDcanplayinachievingtheSDGsandwhatCSOscandotoachieveSDGsusingCGD.HestressedtheSDGsslogan‘Leavenoonebehind’tohighlightthatthereisstillrequisitetounderstandneedsandprioritiesofdiversegroupsofpeoplewhoaredifficulttobereachedtomakethempartofthegovernanceanddevelopment.HeemphasisedthatCGDgivesusanopportunitytoreachthosegovernmentisn’table to reach, tomake informedpolicydecisionsand tomonitorongoingwork.Heencouragedeveryonetoworkwiththegovernmentandengagemeaningfullyas‘theeraofpointingfingersat

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thegovernmentalonewasinthepast’.Hefurthersaidthatforustoworkwithgovernment,weneeddataonwhatitisthatwearedoingandwhatgovernmentissupposedtodo.HealsosharedhownewtechnologycanbeusedtocreateCGD.

“Therearepeoplewhodonothavefoodtoeatbuthavecreditontheirphonetoaccesssocialmedia…Wehaveanopportunitytousecitizen-generateddatainacreativeway”

Panelsessionon“ThestateofgenderdatainNepal”Theexpertpanelon‘thestateofgenderdatainNepal’presentedtheexistingdataavailableinthecountrywith thechallengesassociatedwithgeneratingandusing thedata from threedifferentlens:CSOs,genderexpertsandfromgovernment.

A. Ms.ShantaLaxmiShrestha,Chairperson,BeyondBeijingCommittee

ThefirstpresentationwasbyMs.ShantaLaxmiShrestha,Chairperson,BeyondBeijingCommittee(BBC). In the beginning of her presentation, she highlighted some keymeasurements ofwhereNepal stands. In theHumanDevelopment Index (HDI), Nepal ranks 145th out of 187 countries(2014Humanwithvalue0.540).Similarly,inGenderDevelopmentIndex(GDI)ranks,thecountryisplaced102nd(2014withvalue0.912)andinGenderInequalityIndex(GII)on98th(2014withvalue0.479).Nepalranks110thintheGlobalGenderGapIndexwith0.661score,accordingtotheGlobalGenderGapReport 2016,World Economic Forum.One thing shemade clearduringherpresentation was that, Nepal has a lot of data through different national level surveys andadministrative reports across different districts, but there is no gender statistics in lifecycleapproach and system in national account. In addition, data that is available still lacks genderdisaggregation,whichiswhymeasuringprogressingenderequalityhasbecomedifficult.

“Whatisnotmeasuredisinvisible.Whatisinvisibleislost.Whatislostcannotbeactedorremedied.”UNWomen

Ms.ShresthaemphasisingtheSDGsmottoof‘Leavingnoonebehind’saidthattheoneswhoarefurthestbecauseofsocial,geographical,culturalandeconomicreasonsaredifficulttoreachandthatCGDisneededtoreachthem.Asnotedbythepreviouspresenters,theSDGsarestandaloneas well as intersectional and without meeting all the 197 targets and 230 indicators andobjectives,SDG5willbedifficulttobereached.Thus,formeetingthetargetsandindicators,SDGindicators are to be disaggregated, where relevant, by income, sex, race, ethnicity, migratorystatus, disability and geographical location, or other characteristics, in accordance with theFundamentalprinciplesofofficialstatistics(Generalassemblyresolution68/261).She also briefed everyone on the history of gender data in Nepal through Nepalese womenstatistical profile published in 1979 ‘The status of women in Nepal’ by Centre for EconomicDevelopmentandAdministration(CEDA)andemphasisedthattomeettheSDGs,anewapproachis tobeapplied, that is, engendering statistical systemsand systemofnational accounts (SNA).

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ShefurtheraddedthatengenderingSNAisimportantsothatthecontributionwomenhasmadeindevelopmentisnotexcludedfromthedataandthusthepolicydatabasereflectsthelivesofthosewhoareunseen.

B. Ms.IndiraShrestha-PioneeringenderdataMs. Indira,apioneer ingeneratinggenderdata inNepal,presentedherpaperon ‘TheStatusofWomeninNepal’andfromher35yearsoflivedexperienceworkinginthedevelopmentsectorinNepal. Her experience also included her personal struggle being part of the National PlanningCommission (NPC) for 10 years, coming from the CSO movement. She started by sharing theoutcomesofthefirststudyaboutthestatusofwomeninNepal,thatwasconductedfrom1977to1981,byCEDAofTribhuvanUniversity ineightdifferentdistricts/sites targetingdifferentethnicgroups. This proved to be a milestone study in Nepal, as well as South Asia, establishingsubstantivebasisofevidenceofruralwomen.Thestudyalsoinfluencedthenationallevelpolicyplanningforthefirsttimeinthe6thfiveyearsplanofdevelopmentandrecognisedtheimportanceof women in development. This further influenced and initiated programmatic and structuralchange in the country. Ten years after the study, another study called ‘Women DevelopmentDemocracy’ was conducted by Stri Shakti. The study covered the previously mentioned eightdistricts, with additional an eight districts, including urban and rural areas. The original studyincluded 182 households (24 in each), whereas the later one included 55 households in eachdistrict. Eighteen years later another studywas conducted, including all 16 districts covered inearlierstudieswithmoresamples,providingsubstantiveamountofSDGs.ThisincludeschangesinrolesandopportunitiesthatwomenhadfacedduringtheMaoist insurgency,populationgrowthoverthetimeandenvironmentdegradation.Theoutcomeofthestudywaspublishedlastyearintwovolumes.Shesaid thestudyconducted from1997 to2012,providesenoughscientificdatacollected by the community with a life-cycle approach. During her work at NPC, engenderingmacroeconomicplanwascaptured ingovernmentdocumentswiththesupportofheradvisors.Shesaid,“wedon’tneedtostartthewheelagain”.Shecriticisedthedevelopmentcyclefornotbuildingonwhatwealreadyhaveandstartingfromscratch.

“It’snotthatwedon’thavedata,butchangeintheattitudeisyettobedoneatthecivilsocietylevel.”

At the end of her presentation, she suggested that CIVICUS find out what already exists andmonitorsdatabasestocreatewidernetworksofmindstomakeadifference.

C. Mr.BharatRajSharma,UnderSecretaryofMoWCSW

Mr. Sharma presented ‘Initiation of Government on Gender Data and SDGs’. He provided thegovernmentperspective,ashehasbeen involvedwith theministry,andmore than13yearsofexperienceinCentreBureauofStatistics(CBS).Mr.Sharmasharedthatthemainsourcesofdatainclude;census,regularandadhocsurveysand

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official records. Population census in Nepal started in 1911, which wasn’t very scientific until1952/54.HemadeeveryoneawarethatNepalhasadecentralisedstatisticalsysteminwhichlocaland national bodies can collect data depending on their need. He highlighted the necessity ofstatistics and gender statistics. He presented what government has modified and improvedthroughout this time. In order to collect gender statistics data, huge mass campaigns werelaunched.Someofthemessagesthroughthecampaignsincludedinformationonmarriage,whoisthe head of the household, what are extended economic activities, property of women like;house,land,livestock,etc.,detailofabsenteepopulation,whoisinvolvedinsmallscalebusiness,information on disability, among others. He also shared that MoWCSW has started a healthmanagementinformationsystemandeducationmanagementsystemthatisyettobenamedandannounced.Along with the initiatives from the government, hementioned some challenges and gaps thatexistinthesystem.Thebelowsectionoutlinessome‘challenges’:For SDGs, targets and indicators of have been localised at national level but not yet at sub-national levelyet.Hesharedthatthereisnobaselinedataonsomeindicators,soahugegapinmonitoringexists.Inaddition,linkagebetweenSDGs,government’sannualandperiodplanisnotyetdone.Besidestheprimitivereportfromthegovernment,healsosharedhisconcernabouttheneedforpeopletobemadeawareofSDGs.

Panelistofthefirstsession(fromtheleft:Ms.ShantaLaxmiShrestha,Chairperson,BeyondBeijingCommittee-Nepal,Mr.BharatRajSharma,UnderSecretary,MinistryofWomen,ChildrenandSocialWelfare,&Ms.IndiraShrestha,FormerHon'bleMember,NationalPlanningCommission

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LinkinggenderdatatotheSDGs

Thesessionon‘linkinggenderdatainSDGs’consistedofthreepanellists.Mr.DayaSagarShresthafromNGOFederationofNepal, representingCSOs,Dr.BimalaRaiPaudyalasa formerNationalPlanningCommission(NPC)memberandMr.DavisAdienosharingexperiencefromtheworkofDataShiftinKenyaandTanzania.Mr. Daya Sagar Shrestha provided a brief history of how the SDGs came into existence byintergovernmentalnegotiations, throughvariousregionaland internationalUNprocessesduringand postMillenniumDevelopmentGoals (MDGs). In hiswords, the SDG processwas themostinclusiveandparticipatoryprocessthat isprogressiveandgendersensitiveincomparisontotheMDGs.Aspartofgovernmentinitiative,hesharedthatanationalpreliminaryreportwaspreparedin2015.Similarlyadaylongprogramme,‘EnvisioningNepal2030’wasorganisedinMarch2016inKathmandu.HealsoassuredthattheSDGshavebeenalignedwiththe14thNationalPlan(fiscalyear2016/17-2018/19).Likewise,NFNasthecoordinationbodyforSDGsForum,areundertakingregular meetings between the forum members. In the forum, constituencies and themes areidentified, and issue specific organisations are responsible for the particular constituencies andthemes. Likewise, a CSO assembly held early this year released a joint statement realising theneedtointensifyinvolvementofCSOsagendaonSDG.Therecentlyorganisedhigh-levelnationaldialogueonthe2030Agendawasveryimportanttoreachtothepolicymakers.ThesecondpresenterDr.BimalaRaiPaudyalprovidedherperspectivefromherpastexperienceattheNationalPlanningCommission(NPC)andaroundSDG5inNepal.Ms.PaudyalstressedthatworkingtowardSDG5-“Achievegenderequalityandempowerallwomenandgirls”meansitistobeincludedinothergoalsofSDGandthus,weneedtothinkbroadlywhenwetalkaboutSDG5.Sheadded,SDG5itselfisapoliticalagenda.Shesaid,genderdatameanstalkingaboutallthegoalsandindicators,andnotthegoal5onlyandshouldbeincludedinpolicy,planning,data,etc.becauseofitbeingapoliticalagenda.ToprepareacountryforSDGs,itisimportanttounderstandthatitisapoliticalagenda.She shared that Nepal has recognised that we need national level preparedness and needdisaggregateddatasetsalongwitharobustmonitoringandreviewprocess.NPChasmentioneddevelopingnational indicatorsandhascomeupwith indicators forall thegoalsandhasstartedintegratingitintonationalplansandpolicies(14thyearplan).Shesaid,thoughitisn’tmuch,butinthe recent budget of Nepal government, certain budget has been allocated for SDGsimplementation.Herobservation is that theagenda isyet tobediscussed inpublic forumsanddebates.There isalsoaneedtogeneratedataandevidenceto findwhereNepalstands, framestrategyprocessesandintegrateitintosectoralpoliciesandbudgets,andstrengthencoordinationandmonitoringmechanisms,shesaid.LookingbackatMDGs3,whichisaroundgenderequalityandempowermentofgirlsandwomen,whileindicatorsaroundprimaryeducationweremet,however,womenstillhaslowpaymentfor

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their work and wage gap still exists between men and women for the same work. Similarly,politicalparticipationofwomenwasincreasedintheparliamentin2010by1/3rdbutweareyettoseewhatwillhappennext.Ms.Paudyalsharedheranalysisthat,

“Issuesthatcanbefixedtechnicallyareeasytofixbutmattersthatrequiresdistributionofpowerisdifficulttoachieve.”

InherpresentationwhereshelinkedSDGsandgenderequality,shesaidmorethan50%ofNepalpopulationarewomenwhoaretheprimaryusersofnatural resources, likewaterandforestsothey are affected more due to climate change. Similarly, unless gender equality is achieved,poverty will not be reduced. She also said mainstreaming gender in governance andpeacebuilding,itisimportantbecausetheyareimportantpillarsingovernance,sustainabilityandpeacebuilding.In terms of preparedness and initiatives, the Nepal government is accountable to implement.Actionsthataretobetakeninclude:

1. Raisingpublicawarenessbeyondinsidegovernmentandfromcivilsociety2. Applymulti-stakeholderapproach3. SDGsaretobetailoreddowntonational,sub-nationalandlocalcontext4. Horizontal and vertical policy coherence: E.g.: We are talking about encouraging

migrationatoneend,whereasaddress foodsecurity issue in thecountry, this isnotclearenough

5. Budgeting is to be done considering risk and assumptions that is to be led bygovernmentwithmulti-stakeholdersapproach

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Ms. Bimala Rai Paudyal, Former Hon'ble Member, National Planning Commission

ChallengesandopportunitiesaroundCGD for gender issues inNepal (aspresentedby variouspanelists)

FormerNPCmember

1. ThenewNPCcommitteeisyettounderstandwheretostarttheworkaroundtheSDGs.2. Government hasn’t given responsibilities to any particular body to work on SDGs

specificallybecauseitisstillchallengingtoleadtheworkatnationallevel.Thereforethereisaneedforstrongcoordinationagency.

3. ImplementationisexpectedfromVDCsecretarywhohaslimitedcapacitytoimplementit;theircapacityistobestrengthened.

4. Intermsoffinanceandcapacity, it isnotthatwedon’thaveresources,butprioritisationandrealisationisimportant.

5. Thosewhoaremakingpoliciesarenotawareofdataandthusthepoliciesarenotusedasevidence-based.

6. Clarityonrolesandbuildingsynergiesamongtheagenciesisneeded.(ShementionedCBSisn’tpresentintheroom).Inaddition,politicalgroupparticipationisneedednotjustCSOsandbureaucrats.

7. Despite thehugeamountofdataproducedbycivil society,at theUN,governmentdataarepresented,sogovernmentandCSOsaretoworktogether.

8. Weareattheendof firstyearofpreparednessfor implementingSDGs,butweonlyseefewareaswhereintegrationisvisible,thustimeisrunningout.

9. An integratedapproach is required to implementSDGs,as thegoalsare interconnected.Class, caste, gender, ethnicity, disability status and other social elements are to be

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integrated.10. Data isvery importantandsensitive.Howeverweneedtomakesureourproduceddata

getscredibilityandvalidity. Ifwewantourdatatobeauthenticandreliable,weneedtoinvolvegovernmentauthoritywhileindecidingmethodology.

11. Mindsetofpeople in thegovernment system is tobechanged.Genderequality is tobeconsideredanissuetobeaddressedforbenefitofeveryoneandnotjustforwomen.

12. ThecapacityofCBSistobeutilisedandworkedontoincreasereliabilityandaccessibilityofthedataproduced.

MinistryofWomen,ChildrenandSocialWelfare

1. Thoughgenderdisaggregateddataareavailable,sexdisaggregateddataarenotavailablebyrelevantvariables,suchasincome,age,race,ethnicity,migratorystatus,disabilityetc.

2. Somesurveysareconductedonanadhocbasisandthedataarenotsupplementedonaregularbasis.

3. Even now, statistics related to gender-based violence (GBV), human trafficking anddomesticviolence,arestillnotavailablebecauseitcannotbefoundthroughsurveys.Themajor source of GBV related statistics are officially recorded by police or court but thecasesrecordedareminimal.

4. Sometimeusersarenotawareabouttheirneedandavailabilityofdata.5. Nodata use survey to findwhat users are using,what do theywant andwhat is being

produced.6. Lackofcoordinationbetweendataproducersandusersaboutwhatdataisrequiredtobe

producedandhowtomakeituserfriendly.7. Notuser-friendlydata. Example:definitionof childrenaccording to the law inNepal are

thosebelow16yearsbutourdataaremostlywith intervals like5-10years,10-15years,etc.withoutspecificdataaboutchildren.

8. LinkagesbetweenSDGs,annualandperiodplansofgovernmentistobedonewhichhasn’thappened.

9. Mostofthesurveyswehave,donothappenregularlysotheinformationproducedcan’tbeusedinlongterm.

NGO

1. Governmentlacksresourcesandcapacityforadequatedataanalysis2. Data quality, accessibility and dissemination are problematic – particularly for non-

governmentusers3. Donorsstillplayasignificantroleinofficialdataproductionandusebuteffortsareoften

narrowinscopeandpoorlycoordinated4. Ateverylevelofgovernment,managementcultureandexistingincentivesdonotpromote

evidence-baseddecisionmaking5. ThenationalSDGindicatorsdon’tmatchtheglobalnationalindicatorsandthereforetobe

re-framedsoastomonitorourprogressandreportonSDGsinfuture.

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Ms.RitaThapa,FounderTewa

Exploringcivilsocietyandcitizen-generateddataforgenderissuesinNepal

Stakeholdermapping:CSOsinNepalusesdifferentsourcesofdatafortheirwork.Someproducefirsthanddatathroughdirectengagementwiththecommunityusingmethodssuchas:baselinestudy, end-line survey/study, case studies, digital storytelling, in-depth study, record ofbeneficiaries, duringmonitoring visits, duringworkshopsandmeetings, throughpublichearingsand interactionprogrammes, etc.However,mostof themsharedusing secondarydata sourcessuchas:MinistryofHealth;CBS;journals;regularsurveys;studies/reportsfromUNagenciesandINGOs; local government bodies like VDCs, DAOs and DDCs; data from partner or localorganisations;media andnewspapers, socialmedia reviews;HH surveys; university dissertationandreferralsystemrecords.Participantsinthemeetingalsodiscussedtheexistinggapsandchallengestheyfaceinaccessingandusingthisdata.Theyarelistedbelowindifferentclusters:Typeofdata:limiteddatafromlocallevel;lackofissuespecificdata;lackofdisaggregateddata;lackofgendersensitiveinformation/data;dataisn’tcollectedonregularbasis;difficultyindoingadvocacy work because of disparity in data available; collection of data of sensitive issuesbecomesdifficult.Role of government: Government does not encourage CSOs to conduct studies in terms ofpermissionandownership;manyCSOsfinddatafromgovernmentunreliable,buttherealsoexistsinconsistency indataatVDC level andCBS; lack coordinationand information sharing from the

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governmenttoNGOs;CBSdoesn’treleasesdatatimely.Data fromNGOs: the same timedatageneratedbyNGOsdoesn’tmatchwitheachother;dataproducedbyNGOsandgovernmentdoesnotrecogniseCSOs.Reliability and validity of data: the government does not recognise qualitative data; there isconfusionamongdatausersonwhichdatatorelyon;verificationofdatafromthecommunityisalmostimpossible.Accessibility: accessing data is not always easy, mostly from government offices; authorisedpersons at government office to share data/information are difficult to reach or unavailable;recent/latest data is difficult to collect; available data are not always user-friendly; process toaccessdatacouldbelengthy;discriminationtodataseekersonthebasisoftheorganisationtheyrepresent, more attention is given to big NGOs and INGOs; data isn’t stored and recordedsystematicallymakingitdifficulttoaccess;lackoffinancialresourcesfordatamanagement.Users:Userslackscapacityinusingthedata;difficultyindoingadvocacyworkbecauseofdisparityindataavailable.Data generation: coverage is limited to accessible areas; consideration for ethical issues isn’ttakenseriously; languagebarrierswhilecollectingdata;communitynotawareaboutimportanceofgeneratingdata;datacollectionmethodsandtoolscouldbeirrelevantforthelocalcontext;nogood/trainedenumeratorsinsensitivekindsofstudiesdatacollectorslackingknowledgearoundconfidentiality; resource constraints in generation data and processing it (transcribing, etc.);women’sandmarginalisedcommunity’svoicenotheardandcollected;lackofknowledgeonhowtousethedatathathasbeencollected;Dissemination:Studydisseminationandsharingcultureisnotstrong,anddisseminationbecomesdifficultthroughmassmediasometimesbecauseoflanguagebarriers.

Opportunitiesandlessonslearntforimprovingthecoverage,credibilityandcomplementarityofcivilsocietydataandCGDforgenderissuesinNepalDatageneration:Needstobeparticipatorywithinthecommunity;enumeratorsaretobetrainedto work with the community; need to reach out to marginalised groups so that the datarepresentsallcommunities;Accessibility: Data need to be synthesised and the information must be distributed quickly;Governmentshouldbuy-intheprocess.Workingincoordination:Engagementofgovernmentinstudiestoincreasethecredibilityofdata;genderdataproducedbyvariousagenciesshouldbeintegratedandsharedwithUNagenciesandNGOs;avoidpossibleduplicationindatageneration;

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Useofdata:Needforcapacity-buildingonusingdataforadvocacy;needtousetheexistingdatainpolicymaking;CGDnotcurrentlyusedbygovernment.

Participantsoftheeventduringgroupwork

KeyrecommendationsforcivilsocietyandCGDforgenderissuesinNepal

Someofthekeyrecommendationsdrawnfromtheforuminclude:● CSOs includingUNagenciesandNGOsshouldcollaboratewiththegovernmentandvice-

versatogeneratecredibleandreliabledata.Establishproperrelationshipsandmediumsbetweendataproducersanddatauserstomakeitmoreaccessibleanduser-friendly.

● Datagenerationshouldconsidercommunitysentimentsandtheyaretobeinvolvedintheprocess,includingproperdisseminationoffindings.

● Worktowardschangingattitudeofgovernmentofficialsaroundgenderequality. ● SDGindicatorsaretobedisaggregated,whererelevant,byclass,caste,gender,ethnicity,

disabilitystatusandothersocialelementsaretobeintegrated. ● Targets and indicators of SDGs are to be localised at national and sub-national level as

well.Baselinedataandevidencearetobegeneratedforproperandtimelymonitoring. ● SDGs are to be discussed in public forums and spaces, including different layers of

bureaucraticsystemsandcivilsociety,andshouldbeintegratedintosectoralpoliciesandbudgets.