The University of Telafer through the unit on Empowering Women in it adheres to the implementation of its policy on gender equality. The Unit of Women Empowerment recognizes the continuing relevance of Telafer’s University Policy on Gender Equality both within Colleges of the University and in the non-stop cooperation with Telafer’s community. The University of Telafer remains committed to creating, with our partners, a better world, where inequality on any grounds, be it gender, class, race, or ethnicity, is finally overcome.

Goal and objectives 

Goal

The goal of the University of Telafer’s gender equality policy is to support the achievement of equality between women and men to ensure sustainable healthy society.

Objectives

The policy aims to:

• To advance women’s equal participation with men as decision makers in shaping the sustainable development of their societies.
• To support women and girls in the realization of their full human.
• To reduce gender inequalities in access to opportunities and resources.

Gender Equity

For the University of Telafer, gender equity means being fair to females and males in all university facilities, this includes achieving zero discrimination in the admission of students in the colleges and departments, in residence rights in university student housing, thus achieving equal basis  between male and female students in all privileges, rights and duties.

The University offers academic programs in nursing, basic education, education, and agriculture, equally for both (male and female) students to give chance for both, men and women to contribute to national, economic, social, and cultural development of the society, and to benefit from the results.

It is often believed that equality could be achieved simply by giving (male and female) students or staff the same opportunities. However, the same treatment does not necessarily yield equal results. Today, the concept of equality acknowledges that women and men may sometimes require different treatment to achieve similar results, due to different life conditions. Therefore, the University of Telafer guarantees granting pre-delivery leave for (21 days) to the female staff members at the university in full salary and undiminished terms, then guaranteeing giving birth leave for (51) days with full salary as well, in addition to a maternity leave for a full year.

Gender equality, therefore, is the equal valuing by society of both  similarities and differences between women and men, and the varying roles they play.

Principles

Telafer University’s Policy on gender equality, through its Unit of Women Empowerment, is rooted in the following principles:

1. Gender equality is considered an integral part of all Telafer University’s policies, programs, and projects. Addressing gender equality requires that women’s views, interests, and needs shape the development agenda as much as men. Moreover, the University development agendas always support progress toward more equal relations between women and men.
2. Achieving gender equality requires the recognition that every policy, program, and project affects women and men differently. Women and men have different perspectives, needs, interests, roles, and Those differences may also be reinforced by differences in age, class, race, or ethnicity. Thus, policies, programs, and projects must take into consideration all these differences and situations.
3. Achieving gender equality does not mean that women become the same as men. Equality means that one’s rights or opportunities do not depend on being male or

1- Empowerment

Empowerment is about students and staff, both women and men, taking control over their lives, setting their own agendas, gaining skills, building self-confidence, solving problems, and developing self-reliance. Empowerment is not only a collective, social and political process but an individual one as well, and it is not only a process but an outcome too.

Outsiders cannot empower women, only women can empower themselves to make choices or to speak out on their own behalf. However, institutions, including the University of Telafer, can support activities that increase female-student self-confidence, develop their self-reliance, and help them set their own plans for the future.

1. Women’s empowerment is central to achieving gender equality. Through empowerment, women become aware of unequal power relations, gaining control over their lives, and acquiring a greater voice to overcome inequality in their home, workplace, and community.
2. Promoting the equal participation of women as agents of exchange in economic, social, and political processes is essential to achieving gender equality. Equal participation goes beyond numbers. It involves women’s equal right to articulate their needs and interests, as well as their vision of society, and to shape the decisions that affect their lives in whatever cultural context they live in. Partnership with women’s organizations and other groups working for gender equality is necessary to assist this process.
3. Gender equality can only be achieved through a partnership between women and When choices for both women and men are enlarged, all society benefits. Gender equality is an issue that concerns both women and men, and achieving it will involve working with men to bring about changes in attitudes, behaviours, roles, and responsibilities at home, in workplace, community, and in national, and international institutions.
4. Achieving gender equality will require specific measures designed to eliminate gender inequalities. Given the existing disparities, equal treatment of women and men is insufficient to achieve gender Specific measures must be developed to address and change the policies, laws, norms, beliefs, practices, and attitudes that maintain gender inequality.
5. Telafer University’s policies, programs, and projects already contribute to gender equality. Gender equality results are actually incorporated into all of Telafer University’s international cooperation initiatives although the application processes vary according branches, programs, and

2-Gender Roles and Gender Division of Labour

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men. The concept of gender also includes the expectations held about the characteristics, aptitudes, and common behaviours of women and men. These learned roles and  expectations are changeable over time, and variable within and among cultures.  Gender analysis has increasingly revealed how women’s subordination is socially constructed, and therefore possible to  change, as opposed to being biologically predetermined and static.

Gender analysis is an essential tool for understanding the local context. It is particularly useful in project design as it helps planners identify constraints and structure projects so that objectives can be met and measured. The use of gender analysis, throughout the project cycle, provides information on:

1. The differential perspectives, roles, needs, and interests of women and men in the project area, whether it is a country, region, or an institution.
2. The relations between women and men pertaining to their access to, and control over resources, benefits, and decision-making
3. The potential differential impact of program or project interventions on women and men, girls and boys.
4. Social and cultural constraints, opportunities, and entry points for reducing gender inequalities and promoting more equal relations between women and men.
5. The capacity of institutions to plan and implement programs for gender equality.
6. The differences between women and men and the diversity of their circumstances, social relationships, and consequent status (e.g. their class, race, caste, ethnicity, age, culture, and abilities).

3-Practical Needs and Strategic Interests

Practical needs can be defined as immediate necessities (water, shelter, food, income, and health care) within a specific context. Projects that address practical needs generally include responses to inadequate living conditions. Strategic interests, on the other hand, refer to the relative status of women and men within society. These interests vary in each context and are related to roles and expectations, as well as to gender divisions of labour, resources, and power. Strategic interests may include gaining legal rights, closing wage gaps, protection from domestic violence, increased decision making, and women’s control over their bodies. To ensure sustainable benefits, both practical needs and strategic interests must be taken into consideration in the design of policies, programs, and projects inside Telafer University. Gender analysis provides information to determine the most effective strategies in a particular context and to identify results that support gender equality. Gender analysis is required for all University’s policies, programs, and projects. Application of gender analysis will vary according to the nature and scope of initiatives.

4-Practices that promote gender equality  at the corporate level

1- Senior management in Telafer University is committed to gender There are sufficient resources and knowledgeable personnel, along with an enabling corporate environment to promote gender equality.

2- There are accountability frameworks, which ensure that the gender equality policy is implemented.

3- Qualified gender equality specialists (especially locally-based ones) are employed on a regular basis.

4- Gender equality is treated as an objective in and of itself.

5- In the planning process

Gender equality is recognized as relevant to every aspect of international cooperation from macroeconomic reform to infrastructure.

Gender analysis is carried out at the earliest stages of the project or program cycle and the findings are integrated into the project or program.

Institutional weaknesses or cultural biases that could constrain the achievement of gender equality are recognized in policy, program, or project designs, and appropriate strategies are developed to address

Means are identified to ensure that there is broad participation of women and men as decision-makers in the planning processes.

Clear, measurable, and achievable gender equality results are developed in the earliest phases of the process.

Gender-sensitive indicators, both qualitative and quantitative, are developed (this requires the collection of baseline data disaggregated by sex, age socioeconomic and ethnic groups).

A clear strategy and appropriate budget is provided to support the  achievement of gender equality.

Partners and implementers are selected on the basis of their commitment and capacity to promote gender equality.

Gender equality specialists are involved from the very beginning of the planning process.

6- During implementation

1- Gender equality specialists are always part of project teams.

2- External support is sought from women’s organizations, key female and male decision-makers, leaders, and allies.

3- The objective of gender equality is not lost in rhetoric or in preoccupation with agency processes.

4- There are flexibility and openness to respond to new and innovative methods, and to opportunities for supporting gender equality that present themselves during implementation.

5- There is broad participation of women in the implementation process.

7- Performance Measurement

1- Gender equality results are expressed, measured, and reported using qualitative and quantitative indicators.

2- Data, disaggregated by sex, age, socio-economic and ethnic groups, is collected.

3- Qualified gender equality specialists (especially locally-based ones) are involved in performance measurement.

4- Information on progress in reducing gender inequalities is collected and analyzed as an integral part of performance measurement.

5- A long-term perspective is adopted because social change takes time.

6- Participatory approaches are used, where women and men actively take part in the planning and in performance measurement.

Gender analysis guidelines

Gender analysis: What to ask

• 1- Who is the target (both direct and indirect) of the proposed policy, program, or project? Who will benefit? Who will lose? Have women been consulted on the ‘problem’ and the intervention suggested to solve it? How have they been involved in the development of the ‘solution’?
• 2- Does the intervention challenge the existing gender division of labour, tasks, responsibilities, and opportunities?
• 3- What is the best way to build on (and strengthen) the government’s commitment to the advancement of women?
• 4- What is the relationship between the intervention and other actions or other organizations whether national, regional, or international?
• 5- Where do opportunities for change or entry points exist? And how can they best be used?
• 6- What are the specific ways that can be proposed for encouraging and enabling women to participate in policies, programs, and projects, despite their traditionally domestic location and subordinate position?
• 7- What is the long-term impact on women’s increased ability to take charge of their own lives, and to take collective action to solve problems?

Gender analysis: What to do

• 1-Gain an understanding of gender relations, the division of labour between men and women, and who has access to, and control over,
• 2- Include domestic (reproductive role) and community work in the work And recognize the ways women and men work and contribute to the economy, family and society.
• 3- Use more participatory processes and include a wide range of female and male stakeholders at the governmental and civil society levels including women’s organizations and gender equality
• 4- Identify barriers to women’s participation and productivity whether social, economic, legal, political, or cultural barriers.
• 5- Gain an understanding of women’s practical needs and strategic interests, and identify opportunities to support both.
• 6- Consider the differential impact of the initiatives on both men and women.
• 7- Establish baseline data, ensure sex-disaggregated data, set measurable targets, and identify expected results and indicators.
• 8- Outline the expected risks (including  backlashes) and develop strategies to minimize these risks.