PKKK
Women take the lead
Despite good intentions and a relatively progressive legal framework, women in general, but especially in rural areas, are discriminated against in many areas. The government lacks a general strategy to actually allow women to discover and develop their talents and potential. In addition, new challenges are constantly emerging, such as climate change, cheap imports of agricultural products due to free trade agreements and Covid, which means that the income of rural women is again becoming or remains precarious.
Lack of participation and support
PKKK tries to support women who have organized themselves in various ways. They map out specific problems or shortcomings and present them to policy makers, both at local and national level, such as the lack of childcare and health care and recognition of land rights. In theory, each level of government has resources to support specific women's projects, but the projects that are set up often fall short, due to a lack of participatory approach or incoherent policy. Sometimes it is also a lack of communication and the target group does not know anything about these measures.
PKKK supports hundreds of local women's groups so that they can draw up local demands for women's rights and advocate them with local politicians. They also receive practical information about new projects that they can set up. A strong determining factor is local leadership, which is necessary to create a positive group dynamic, for the development of the group and taking initiatives, such as making taboos, such as domestic violence or contraception, discussable. That is why PKKK also provides training in leadership.
The results
PKKK has built up a lot of expertise in supporting women's groups in areas that have been hit by severe weather, such as typhoons. This is happening more and more - unfortunately - and PKKK has specific expertise to help women get back to work very quickly by strengthening group solidarity and cooperation with specific government services. This way they can quickly earn an income again, and at the same time commit themselves to reconstruction. On the island of Samar, many PKKK groups have emerged stronger from these climate disasters.
