A training that requires workshops and processing has raised the need to widen the outreach of mainstreaming gender issues in the community to prevent further problems related to misunderstanding about each other’s gender issues.
One participant in the training held in Marawi City in September expressed this concern after he participated in the training organized by the Enterprise Development.
The Enterprise Development is a program of MARADECA.
The training on gender mainstreaming was held in Barangay Cabasaran, Marawi City on September 19-20 this year and 12 men and 13 women participated. Another training was held in Barangay Unda Dayawan for the barangay and including the town of Masiu on September 25-26. This was attended by 19 men and 19 women.
A third training was held in Barangay Sandab in the town of Butig on September 29-30 and had the most participation, by three men and 52 women.
The training was represented by Ompongan o mga Bae sa Ranao (OBAERA) and Ompongan O MgaTaribasok Sa Ranao (OTR) and their organized communities. It aimed to popularize gender issues in the communities and wanted to help address issues and concerns of men, women, boys and girls.
The trainings hoped that in all programs, activities and interventions in the community by nongovernment organizations and civil society organizations, “no one would be excluded as part of the development process”.
“This is also a good strategy in making women and men’s concerns and experiences be an integral part in the planning, designing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and social spheres so that inequality between men and women are not perpetuated,” the Enterprise Development said.
The training was a participatory approach “that ensures high participation of attendees”. There were workshops, inputs and processing afterwards to ensure that lessons were properly understood.
The training has also become venue for participants to raise and express their ideas and opinions regarding gender issues and concerns that bring them hope for development.
”Gender issues must be addressed because if not it will become a problem over a period of time and if this remains a problem is creates more problems that makes us more under developed. That’s why the importance of gender is very significant that everyone should understand it,” one participant said.