OSCE Office in Tajikistan supports seminar on gender-responsive budgeting

DUSHANBE, 23 June 2010 - A seminar supported by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan on gender-responsive budgeting and planning for 15 key officials from the Ministries of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Economics and Education as well as from the Parliamentary Committee on gender issues started in Dushanbe today.

The three-day event will focus on the importance of gender-responsive budgeting to help advance gender equality, which entails identifying the needs of men and women and the necessary interventions to address gender gaps. Gender-responsive budgeting is also an accountability tool that offers clear indicators to monitor and track the progress of expenditures for the implementation of state programmes and laws.

"Research in several countries showed that budget allocations affect men and women differently and budget cuts in the social sphere profoundly affect women. For example, women are often the first to suffer from budget cuts in education, which can result in increased costs for the family and often the withdrawal of girls from school," said Ambassador Ivar Vikki, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajkistan.

"This problem is very pressing in Tajikistan. It is therefore critical that gender-responsive budgets are developed and applied to guarantee the implementation of national programmes and laws aimed at achieving gender equality and the fulfilment of women's rights."

An expert practitioner from Austria is conducting the seminar with the support of national trainers from the Government Civil Servants Training Institute who have just completed a train-the-trainers course.

The Office in Tajikistan has co-operated with the Government Civil Servants Training Institute since 2005 to integrate gender considerations into civil service work with the ultimate aim of ensuring good governance. A comprehensive gender programme with several modules has been developed and taught countrywide to raise the awareness of policy makers and government officials at the national, regional and local levels. The expansion of the gender-responsive module will help strengthen these efforts to date.

After the seminar, selected trainers will conduct courses at the regional and local levels, thus helping to ensure the ownership and sustainability of the programme.