Outcome TJK_D_1.1

Women and girls, particularly those from vulnerable groups, increasingly benefit from gender-responsive governance

This outcome was not fully achieved during 2021; that the governance systems are neither gender sensitive, nor they enable gender equality in Tajikistan. However, during the course of the year, significant progress was made through the development of national capacities and processes for gender mainstreaming at the national and local level with the support of UN Women: National Programme on HIV Prevention and its monitoring and evaluation plan that has been engendered and responded to all the urgent needs and requests of women living with HIV. To ensure continuous gender mainstreaming through its further implementation, 20 women activists, living with HIV enhanced their knowledge and skills in basics of M&E, for further involvement in the process of implementation of the National Program for HIV and AIDS Prevention for 2021-2025 in close coordination with the M&E department of the Republican Center for HIV/AIDS. National review on “Key barriers of women’s access to HIV treatment” conducted in Tajikistan. Gender inequalities, high level of stigma and discrimination, existence of discriminatory laws and policies and lack of information about HIV laws, the rights and obligations of people living with HIV have been identified as key barriers of women’s access to HIV treatment. The results of the assessment were presented to the wide range of partners, including the representatives of the Government of Tajikistan, National AIDS Coordination Authorities, civil society, women living with HIV, UN agencies, development partners, donors, and other stakeholders. The presentation generated great interest from the national HIV authorities, representatives of the World Bank and UNDP/GFATM and will guide them in addressing key barriers of women’s access to HIV services. National AIDS Coordination Authorities enhanced their knowledge and skills on integrating gender equality in HIV response by acquainting with the Beijing Declaration and SDGs; gained basic knowledge on gender issues: gender relations, roles, stereotypes, gender equality, gender transformation programs, strategic planning for an effective national response to HIV / AIDS, through gender prism, etc. They also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the HIV epidemic and the response. Thus, the thematic Technical Working Groups at the National AIDS Coordination Authorities became more gender-sensitized for their daily work and developing new HIV grant applications and programmes. WLWH are now better supported in their application and trials at courts: e ight professional lawyers, members of the established Network of lawyers on HIV/AIDS enhanced their knowledge in mainstreaming gender in justice sector, criminal, and civil cases, considering a human rights-based approach and consequences of HIV/AIDS, advocacy, and fundraising. Notably, four of them benefitted from the training on protection of women and girls from VAW using national standards of protection and use of strategic litigation and mentorship support in drafting and submission of individual complaints under the OP-CEDAW. Additionally, 40 WLWH enhanced their advocacy capacities, knowledge and skills in lobbying for change towards HIV stigma and discrimination, to engage constructively with the Government in combating HIV stigma and discrimination by advocating for their rights and policy change. 305,153 people were reached through the “Zero discrimination against women living with HIV” social campaign and got objective information about negative consequences of stigma and discrimination along with non-violence, support, tolerance, and understanding messages. To promote women’s leadership and participation in governance, UN Women has entered into a strategic partnership with the GoT, National AIDS Coordination Authorities, other UN agencies, national and international CSOs, experts and WLWH – all contributed to this result. Based on the progress done the ToC remains still valid, Impact-level changes will be visible in upcoming 3-5 years.

Women and girls, particularly those from vulnerable groups, increasingly benefit from gender-responsive governance

The Outcome was not achieved, but a significant progress made: The Third Alternative Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) prepared on status of Women Living with HIV (WLWH). The CEDAW will receive objective first-hand information on the status of WLWH: these women face high levels of stigma and discrimination, discriminatory laws, and barriers to services, including access to legal support. Sixty (60) women living with HIV, rural and urban, actively contributed to the report, justified by evidence, data and statistics with UN Women technical support. The report contains a set of concrete recommendations to the State. Forty-five (45) WLWH beneficiaries of the UN Women-delivered Transformative Leadership training (2021-2022) led this process. Office partnered with the Tajikistan Network of WLWH, the Network of Professional Lawyers, and NGO SpinPLus, whose key recommendations and inputs were factored in the Report. In the course of this work, UN Women has further strengthened its partnership with these CSOs. The Government submitted a List of suggested amendments to the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence (DV) to the Parliament . The key recommendations include: define DV as a crime; provide access to services and means of legal protection to victims and appropriate punishment for the perpetrator; apply for compensation for material and moral damage caused by DV; use free of charge the medical services for victims; ensure the Prosecutor Office, Child Rights Commission; CoWFA, local authorities and health and social protection institutions have the authority to prevent violence; introduce referral services for victims, including more clarity on shelters; and introduce local coordinating bodies on prevention. These amendments are a result of continuous advocacy by UN Women and partners. Technical expertise was provided by Office in 2019-2022 to identify key gaps and bottlenecks in the existing legislation and provide policy advice, based on the international best practices in line with CEDAW recommendations. Three Government Working Groups engaged in joint advocacy work, done in the frames of the Spotlight Programme. Office partnered with UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, OHCHR, and prominent civil society actors, who provided joint recommendations and inputs. In the course of this work, Office has strengthened its partnership with the legal department of the Executive Presidential Apparatus and other government entities. Prominent civil society actors provided key recommendations and inputs as well. Tajikistan strengthened national Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) through two projects: Financings SDGs in Tajikistan and Supporting Families Left Behind in Khatlon. This was accomplished through: i) development of the “Gender responsive budget analysis of pilot ministries programs and policies in Tajikistan”; ii) signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Academy of Public Administration (APA) on mainstreaming gender equality and GRB; iii) establishing a Centre for capacity-building for talented women and women in decision-making; iv) development and institutionalization of the training module for civil servants on GRB; v) 17 trainers, 83 civil servants and 114 members of the workings groups under the National Development Council increased their capacity on gender and financing SDGs; vi) development of the “Practical guide on GRB implementation”; and vii) providing recommendations on piloting GRB. Through these results, Office established itself as a key actor on GRB in Tajikistan and was included in the national working group (WG) on mainstreaming GRB and SDG marker. This WG at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) developed, with inputs from UN Women, the draft Law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2024" and instruction on the development of indicators for the State Budget 2023-2025. Twenty (20) state and non-state service providers and CSOs run an effective, confidential and gender sensitive SGBV response mechanism due to the UN Women-designed and piloted SGBV Localized Referral Mechanism rolled-out by Migration Programme. The Committee of Women and Family Affairs (CoWFA) developed the mechanism in the frames of the Spotlight Programme, which has proved to be a successful tool in providing client-centered services to the women and girls. Almost 320 women/girls applied to the local Department of the CoWFA and were referred for services since the mechanism’s operationalization in August 2022 which is now active in two pilot districts of the Migration Programme. The Government of Tajikistan increased its commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment through policy development, coordination efforts, and practical initiatives to promote women’s rights. In particular, these commitments are now reflected in the draft National Migration Strategy which has been gender mainstreamed. The Government’s adoption and implementation of this Strategy 2030 will be an important political step for Tajikistan. The draft Strategy now responds to the needs of women, related to their social protection, support, and economic activities, with the Office’s support. It should be noted, the initial draft of the strategy was gender-neutral and relevant gender aspects were poorly highlighted in various sections. UN Women’s recommendations included: changes into the overall structure of the strategy to better reflect gender issues; gender analysis of key trends in the fields of labor migration; suggested gender disaggregated/or gender-specific indicators to the Monitoring and Evaluation Section; changed text from gender-neutral into gender-sensitive; introduced gender-specific actions. The Deputy Minister of Labor, Migration, and Employment of Population Minister (MoLMEP) recognized the role of UN Women in supporting the legislation at various stakeholders meetings. The Government is expected to adopted the Strategy in 2023. Office also partnered with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF, IOM, and FAO to ensure that the draft Strategy incorporated the multifaceted nature of women’s vulnerability and addressed them in a comprehensive way. Prominent civil society actors provided key recommendations and inputs to the draft Strategy. In the course of this work, Office has successfully strengthened partnerships with the above state and non-state partners. Women’s vulnerabilities were discussed and addressed through economic solutions at the Women’s Economic Empowerment Symposium. Representatives of relevant ministries and departments, business associations, private sector, development partners, experts, and media representatives participated in the Symposium which was held in the framework of Migration Project in close partnership with the State Committee on Investment (SIC) and Women’s Entrepreneurship TaskForce under the Government of Tajikistan. Over 120 women, especially from vulnerable groups, youth and people with disabilities, exchanged information and developed specific recommendations in order to create opportunities for promoting women’s entrepreneurship and discuss ways to overcome problems and obstacles in these areas. This was through a platform created by UN Women in partnership with UNDP, USAID, local financial institutions and CSOs . The Government of Tajikistan, the SIC, the Secretariat of the Advisory Council under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, and the CoWFA recognized the role of UN Women in organizing the Symposium and its contributions to the development of women’s businesses. Report and recommendations from the Symposiums presented to the Government by the SIC in its annual report for 2022. Notably, under the guidance of the Regional Office, the new ToC 2023-2026 was developed in 2022. The new ToC informed by all good practices and lessons learned and reflects recent developments in the country and in the region.