Martin Mogwanja Humanitarian Coordinator, Pakistan United Nations Headquarters, New York 14 July, 2010

1. ECOSOC 2010 Humanitarian SegmentSide Event: Challenges for Gender Equality Programming in Humanitarian ActionGender Dimensions of Operating in Complex Security Environments Martin Mogwanja Humanitarian Coordinator, Pakistan United Nations Headquarters, New York 14 July, 2010

2. Background – Complex Security Environment • In Pakistan, complex security environment challenges ability to provide effective, predictable, timely humanitarian assistance to affected civilians • Scope, scale and nature of emergency contributes to level and degree of risks • Ongoing insecurity – but protection and assistance needs remain constant • Emergency situation progressively complex, not uniform in nature (rapid and large variations in phases, scope and nature of response).

3. Gender-related challenges in Complex Security Environments • Gender-related challenges exist in all emergency contexts - In Pakistan, operational and security complexities further exacerbated by sociological, cultural and traditional constraints in accessing women and girls and promoting their participation. • Challenge of promoting inclusion of the most excluded as partners in humanitarian response (multiple exclusion: gender, ethnicity, displacement). • Very little investment to ensure diverse interests of women and other groups are represented in policy/decision making fora. • Weak accountability mechanisms for ensuring gender equality integrated into humanitarian action. • Fragile sustainability of gender equality/women’s empowerment initiatives due to weak transition linkages between humanitarian and development programmes.

4. Gender-related challenges (….cont.) • Area-focused response prioritized over needs based targeted response. • Gender-related capacities among humanitarian staff and partners limited. • Availability and use of sex disaggregated data and gender analysis limited. “We are conservative and are suspicious that NGOs are using our women as a showpiece….talking of women and women’s rights. For this reason some are perceived as purveyors of immorality. NGOs should not focus on women.” Business Community Focus Group, Mingora town, Swat District, 2009.

5. Implications for working in Complex Security Environments • Limits ability to reach the most vulnerable people • Frequent suspension of support and assistance activities • Limits humanitarian field presence and contact with beneficiaries to advocate and explain gender issues • Difficult to uphold principles of fairness, neutrality, impartiality and independence when working through third parties, contractors, Implementing Partners • Increased operational costs – additional physical security protection measures

6. Adapting to Complex Security Environments

7. Strategies for Change: • Building capacity of partners on gender – in both humanitarian and development • Collaborate and work closely with existing service delivery networks to reinforce a gender equality dimension • Prioritize discussion on high risk implications for women and girls • Require CSO partners to report sex disaggregated data • Challenge standardized assistance models and promote participatory culturally sensitive approaches (i.e. Women in Tents) • Apply gender tools in coordinated humanitarian response: Gender Marker, Cluster Gender Equality Targets, Gender Task Force • Develop and propose channels for providing risk related information specific to women and to men