Strategy 1

Networking

Steps recognizes the fact that in Bangladesh, profound social change cannot be achieved in an isolation from the cultural, social and structural factors impacting on gender relations. Therefore, Steps focuses on a strategy that reaches out all directions. Steps is attaining all the way down to individual activists working at the roots of communities, through local level NGOs and networks. On the other hand, it also reaches up to inform and influence national level policy makers. Steps builds networks with social activists, like-minded organizations and people, civil society, NGOs, government bodies at local, national and regional level. At present, Steps has networking with following collective platforms-

Gender and Development (GAD) Alliance

A national platform of Steps and 13 local networks and 2 Gender and Development Resource Centre (GDRC) at 18 districts working for a democratic and just society ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men. GAD Alliance develops social actors to promote gender equality, human rights and good governance and creates example at local and national level. It includes a total of 15 collective platforms of CSOs covering 18 districts and 68 sub-districts, in which 122 CSOs (female-headed 27, male-headed 95) are associated as local partner organizations. Main features of these collective platforms of the Alliance are:

• Shared resources to develop as gender and rights based organizations
• Minimized duplication of work
• Raising collective voice against any kinds of discrimination at local and national level
• Strong relationship with different govt., and civil society bodies
• Minimum cost-maximum impact
• It is a strong collective platform of the 13 networks and 2 GDRC as well as Steps at national level

Collective Platforms of Civil Society Organizations

A total of 11994 social actors (female-6605, male-5389) under 290 collective platforms are:

• Disseminating information and message to the community to develop responsive citizens for promoting gender equality and women's human rights
• Raising collective voice and actions against all kinds of discrimination against women and for social change at local as well as national level for policy advocacy
• Working as a pressure group at local and national level to protect women's human rights and ensure access to justice and rule of law
• Ensuring active participation in different social and local govt. institutions for pro-poor and gender-sensitive planning and budgeting

Local Trainers' Groups (LTGs)

At present, a total of 211 LTGs (female-, male-) are working to enhance skill and capacity of different social actors. By the year 2006, 79 out of the 122 organizations have developed gender policies and most of them have developed action plans to translate the policies into actions. LTGs have also developed a monitoring mechanism to see changes at organizational level. Some LTGs are also working as social volunteers as GCAs.

Collective Platforms of Women Activists (WAs)

A total of 5319 women are actively involved with the local networks and partner organizations at 182 working areas.

• 624 women are taking part in social development committee, village court to ensure women's human rights and justice.
• 1272 women are active in Education Monitoring Committees to work with School Management Committee (SMC) to ensure co-curricular activities on gender and rights
• 387 elected female members of local government are now better capable with enhanced knowledge and leadership quality and they are raising voices to ensure equal sharing of public resources.
• A total of 2487 women are now actively participating at the decision-making process in School Management Committees in different working areas to ensure co-curricular activities at school level on gender and rights

Collective Platforms of Student Volunteers (SVs)

A total of 2332 SVs (female- 1286, male- 1046) are disseminating information and messages through different school-based programs and door-to-door campaign to stop early marriage and violence against women.

• In 2003-2007, out of 1347 early marriage attempts, 747 cases were successfully prevented by Student Volunteers and GCAs in collaboration with local government and local administration.
• Students Volunteers are working to establish learning collaboration with dropped-out students and adolescents to continue their education.

Gender and PRSP Group (GPG)

For engendering the Bangladesh Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and supporting its formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, a group of 66 (44 individuals and 12 organizations) has been working for the last couple of years (formally since 2006). The group is strongly shedding a light on women's issues and concerns in different sectors (e.g. health, education, agriculture, local government etc.) under the PRS. GPG interventions have been able to hit on gender and women rights issues in drafting the poverty reduction strategy and different sectoral plans of action. Steps is using PRSP as an important instrument for implementing the program and policy advocacy e.g. Full ratification of CEDAW and implementation of 1997 national women's advancement policy, equal property rights.

Gender in Media Forum (GIMF)

A forum of 122 individuals including 12 organizations who believe in creating a gender-sensitive media and positive portrayal of women. GIMF works to:

• Disseminate information and message on gender and rights issues through printing and electronic media.
• Find and publish best practices and portraits of women and social activists.
• Raising collective voice and taking action against any kinds of discrimination for social change with social actors.
• GIMF is an active campaigner of gender sensitive media policy with practice.

Social Action Committee

A national alliance of 42 organizations to promote and protect women's human rights, protest incidents of violence against women. Steps regularly takes part in the collective movements initiated by this committee e.g. on the implementation of the National Women's Advancement Policy of 1997. The organization, in association with the Social Action Committee, protested the distortion of the policy in 2004 and is actively demanding restoration the 1997 policy.

CEDAW Committee

Steps is an active campaigner of CEDAW. It is one of the 14 members of a national committee to implement CEDAW in full in Bangladesh. Steps has been using CEDAW as an important instrument for implementing program, policy advocacy and law reform. (Example: PRSP, media and sectoral policies and laws on equal property rights and uniform marriage registration and divorce law.)

Strategy 2

Collaborative Partnership

With the support of networks, organizations and committed people, Steps is committed to building a system of learning collaboration from local to national level. These learning collaborations exist between and among civil society, media, service providers and community people. It required establishing collective platforms at both national and local level. These collective platforms have developed facilitators and social actors within civil society, professional groups, people's representatives, students and women activists. At national level it has developed collaborative partnership with MoWCA, ERD, finance, education, health and LG ministries for considering gender issues in their respective fields. At local level Steps has partnership with different service providers and govt. institutions (e.g. kazi office, health centers, schools) to make them responsive towards establishing a just society.

Collaborative Partnership with GoB

Social Actors of Steps have signed MoU with 9 districts and 65 sub-districts level government administrations as collaborative partners to stop early marriage and violence against women and ensure birth registration. The GoB officials include District Commissioner, District Education, Agriculture, Health Officers and Jatiyo Mahila Shamity at 18 districts and Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Thana Education Officer, Thana Health Officer and Agriculture Officer at 65 sub-districts. District and sub-district administrations are working as a supportive force of the civil society at local level, helping policy in practice and implementing the laws at local level, reform of laws (e.g. Uniform family law, law on eve teasing and domestic violence and compulsory birth registration).

Collaborative Partnership with Local Govt.

Steps' working areas spread over 5 City Corporations, 15 Municipalities and 81 wards and 101 unions. The local government administrations at the working areas like District Commissioner Office, Thana Nibahi Office as well as different committees (e.g. Social Development Committee, Nari Nirjaton Protirodh Committee) are now more active to increase birth registration, decrease early marriage and combat violence against women. A total of 1789641 birth registrations were completed by the local government bodies at the end of 2007.

Collaborative Partnership with Service-providers

With an aim of increasing gender-sensitive service-providers, Steps Towards Development has developed strong linkage with local service-providers like schools, kazi offices, health centers. Representatives of these service-providers regularly join our initiatives and are becoming more and more responsive towards upholding women's human rights in their respective spheres.