case studies undp: zenab for women in development, sudan

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Sudan

ZENAB FOR WOMEN INDEVELOPMENT

Empowered live

Resilient nation



UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize’ , a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Sean Cox, Larissa Currado, David Godrey, Sarah Gordon,

Oliver Hughes, Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma

Mary McGraw, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding

DesignSean Cox, Oliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Loren

de la Parra, Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude Zenab or Women in Development, and in particular the guidance and inputs o

Fatima Ahmed. All photo credits courtesy o Zenab or Women in Development. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2013. Zenab or Women in Development, Sudan. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New Yo

NY.

http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf


http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858





KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2012

FOUNDED: 2008

LOCATION: Gedaref, Sudan

BENEFICIARIES: Over 3,000 women in 53 rural communit

BIODIVERSITY: Sustainable agriculture, tree-planting

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 7

Biodiversity Impacts 9

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 10

Sustainability 11

Replication 11

Partners 11

ZENAB FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENTSudan

PROJECT SUMMARYZenab or Women in Development mobilize and empowerwomen, through the organization o local cooperatives intoa larger union o women armers. Established in 2005, theunion has grown rom 300 women in six communities to3,000 women in 53 communities across the state o Gedare,Sudan. The union provides a platorm or women armersto improve agricultural productivity and exchange goodenvironmental practices. Training is provided in organicagriculture, crop rotation and the use o biological ertilizers. The organization has raised awareness o deorestation,distributed cooking gas to reduce the elling o trees orrewood, and engaged union members in reorestationand tree planting activities.

In addition to strengthening the land tenure status o women, the initiative oers extensive health educationprogrammes which raise awareness about maternal health,amily planning, HIV and AIDS prevention, and emalegenital mutilation. Union revenues are invested in ruralprimary schools, sanitation services, and resh water accessprojects.



4

Gedare, Sudan

Gedare State, together with Kassala and Red Sea State, comprise the

egion o East Sudan. The state – bordered by Kassala and Khartoum

tate to the North, El Gezira State to the West and Sennar State to the

outh – has a population o approximately 1.35 million people, with

n annual growth rate o 3.87 per cent. Though more than two thirds

the state’s population live in rural areas, it is well connected to

egional centres o Sudan and to some Ethiopian cities via a network

highways. A number o Sudanese tribal groups are represented

n Gedare’s population, among them Shaighiyas, Beggaras, Dinkas,

urs, Nubas and Massalits. The state is also home to a large number

oreign diasporas including Kurds, Armenians, Indians, Greeks,gyptians, Copts, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis, Nigerians and

Chadians. The concentration o so many ethnicities and nationalities

n Gedare can be attributed to an agricultural boom that swept

he state, transorming it into a major centre o trade and attracting

eople rom neighbouring states and countries. In the 1980s and

990s, war and amine in Ethiopia and Eritrea ooded Gedare with

arge numbers o reugees, many o whom still live in reugee camps.

Environmental decline, poverty and confict

Agriculture is the main economic activity in Gedare, with around

0 per cent o the state’s population engaging in agriculture as

ome part o their livelihoods. The agriculture industry, however,aces a number o challenges. Unsustainable harvesting techniques

nd agricultural practices have degraded ecosystem unctions

o the point that soil and water quality are, in many places, no

onger sufcient to support or sustain agriculture. Overgrazing and

verharvesting have resulted in the loss o vegetation which has in

urn led to land degradation, transorming much o the potentially

ertile land into desert. Slash-and-burn agriculture has become so

widespread that it has consumed and destroyed more than two

hirds o Sudan’s orests. Soil erosion near major rivers has increased

ooding, contaminating drinking water and spreading water-borne

diseases like cholera, which takes a heavy toll on a popula

already weakened by malnutrition. So too, many armers

become over-reliant on single crops, which has negatively ae

arm productivity, particularly in light o increased climate varia

and the crop loss that comes with pest and parasite inestation

Environmental challenges are urther exacerbated by poverty

a lack o agricultural extension services to train armers in mo

agricultural techniques and better land management pract

Many smallholder armers lack access to improved seeds and ca

aord the labour necessary or ploughing, seeding and wee

Financial impediments disproportionately aect women arm

who oten require hired labour to undertake heavy manual wAs a result, soil ertility is deteriorating, arm productivity is low

rain water is not adequately managed. Environmental degrada

has also served to exacerbate long-standing political and reso

conicts within Sudan. A civil war lasting over 50 years betw

Sudan’s northern and southern regions ended in the signing

peace agreement in 2005 and the secession o South Sudan in 2

while conict continues in Darur, western Sudan. These con

have displaced millions o amilies, creating tensions over land

urther stretching already-depleted natural resources.

Women in rural Sudan

Women make a sizable contribution to Sudan’s agricultural seand most Sudanese amilies depend on women’s arming or

ood and income. Gedare is no dierent – the state provides a

portion o Sudan’s sorghum, millet, groundnuts and vegeta

through an agricultural economy driven to a large extent by

contributions o women armers whose role is severely underva

While women armers in rural areas play an active role in susta

the region’s agricultural economy, they are routinely negle

by policy makers and excluded rom accessing the services

resources they need to manage their land eectively.

Background and Context



55

Critically, women have a difcult time securing land tenure and

roperty rights, a signicant challenge given the composition o

he agricultural workorce. Women constitute more than 80 per

ent o the labour orce in the traditional (non-irrigated) agricultural

ector yet hold only one per cent o registered land titles. Only ve

o six per cent o land titles are held jointly by men and women. As

consequence, the majority o women armers are unable to use

heir arms as collateral and, thereore, are unable to access credit.

Without access to nance, women cannot purchase the arm inputsecessary to manage their arms – never mind make balanced and

normed choices that prioritize sustainable practices – or pay or

ired labour to assist in land preparation and harvesting.

n Gedare, it is common or men to migrate to cities in search o

mployment, leaving women to provide or their amilies and

manage their land. Women, in act, have ew economic opportunities

utside o agriculture; it is the occupation o 97 per cent o women in

he state. For lack o mechanized equipment, women tend to weed,

ow and harvest by hand, while ertilizers, pesticides and herbicides

re generally unaordable or them. Despite these barriers, women

armers manage the majority o ood crops, as well as retaining

esponsibility or collecting resh water and uel wood.

Zenab or Women in Development

he central role o women in both economic development and ood

ecurity is undervalued in Gedare, as it is across much o Sudan.

Agricultural extension services provided by the government are also

naemic, leaving women with ew options or agricultural training,

echnical services or access to credit and savings programmes.

enab or Women in Development was ounded in 2000 to improve

he status o women in Sudan, with the stated objectives o

mproving the livelihoods o women, enabling women to advocateor their rights, and contributing to sustainable development in rural

reas and those regions aected by complex conicts and natural

isasters. The initiative began as the work o a local academic, and

was named in honour o her mother, Zenab M. Nour, a pioneering

ative o Gedare who was the rst woman rom the state to receive

ormal education. Carrying on the eorts o Zenab, the initiative’s

work was initially supported by a number o small project grants

rom organisations such as the Arican Women’s Development Fund,

UNIFEM (now UN Women), the international women’s rights NGO

MADRE, and the Irmas Foundation, as well as private donations rom

within Sudan and the international Sudanese diaspora.

rom its outset, the initiative has taken a multidimensionalpproach to empowering women, identiying appropriate unding

pportunities and entry points or interventions across the human

evelopment scale. In practice, this has meant a broad portolio

programme areas, incorporating: projects to improve women’s

teracy; inrastructure investments in rural primary schools;

mproving livelihood opportunities and ood security or women in

marginalised areas; enhancing access to rural health services with

ocus on women (including combating harmul social practices

uch as FGM and violence against women, awareness-raising on

HIV/AIDS, and providing inormation on reproductive health);

providing legal aid services and logistic support or vulne

communities, including the promotion o women’s rights;

education encouraging women’s participation in political proce

as community leaders, and in conict-resolution; and program

that aim to oster values o peace and democracy.

Since 2000, Zenab’s work across these programme areas has spa

a diverse range o partnerships, target beneciaries, and geogra

ocuses: although the organization began its work in Gedare, iexpanded to work in other parts o Sudan, including Darur. A

indication o its broad range o impacts across the developm

spectrum, Table 1 provides an overview o the ways in which

initiative’s past programs have advanced progress towards

Millennium Development Goals.

Women Farmers Unite

Since 2005, Zenab’s agship programme has been its women ar

union, the rst o its kind in Sudan. This initiative – ‘Women Far

Unite’ – has been supported by MADRE, a US-based internati

women’s movement that partners with grassroots initiatives aro

the world in support o women’s empowerment. Zenab bega

conducting a needs assessment survey o 20 rural communiti

Gedare to get a sense o the predominant challenges acing wo

armers and village primary schools. This survey highlighted

interconnected challenges o climate variability, droughts,

conict recovery, and the disempowerment o women that

acting to restrict the livelihoods and wellbeing o women arme

Based on the ndings o this survey, the organization designe

intervention with the aim o increasing and diversiying the inco

o women armers. Participants were supplied with seeds

arming equipment, including ploughs and, in some cases, a tra

Along with agricultural extension services on issues such as rotation and adapting to the eects o climate change, women

been provided with human rights trainings, medical supplies,

education targeted at improving literacy and computer skills.

holistic package o support and training has empowered wo

to organize in women armer groups, which are each mem

within the women armers’ union. Testament to both the suc

o the programme and the demand or the services and plato

provides, the union grew rom 10 groups in a single network a

two municipalities in 2008 to a remarkable 585 groups in 58 netw

across 12 municipalities in 2012, serving around 3,000 women.

Organizational and governance structure

Participatory and democratic principles are central to this w

Each women armer group elects a member to be represented i

strategic discussions o the union’s assembly. Women underta

work on the ground are directly involved in the planning

implementation o programmes, creating a eedback loop to en

that projects are demand-driven and responsive to local ne

Rather than passive recipients o development support, women

become drivers o positive change in their communities, leading

sense o empowerment and collective accomplishment.



6

enab currently oversees the work o the women armers’ union,

long with the other projects in its portolio, rom two main ofces

ocated in the cities o Khartoum and Gedare. Its sta members

nclude nine paid workers, including an administrative and nance

manager, executive secretary, accountant, and consultants on the

agricultural programme and human rights issues. The rema

ten members – including the ounder and president, as we

the coordinators o the initiative’s health and women’s econ

empowerment programmes – are volunteers. Ten sta posit

including most o the senior roles, are held by women.

Table 1: Zenab activities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)Goal Activities

MDG 1:

Eradicate extreme poverty

and hunger

• Worked in reugee camps and across Gedare to distribute seed varieties and hand tools

improved agriculture

• Beneted at least 1,500 women armers via a women armers’ union through the provision

micro-credit and training on nutrition

MDG 2:

Achieve universal primary

education

• Supports ten pupils each year (seven girls, three boys) rom poor amilies to attend primary sch

by paying registration ees; advocated or the waiving o school ees

• Renovated ten classrooms in rural schools, distributing school materials or 500 students and

school meals to 200 poor students

• Improved sanitation and water access in primary schools; installed gates and made inrastructimprovements to improve accessibility or disabled children

MDG 3:

Promote gender equality and

empower women

• Conducted education programmes and symposiums on gender issues in dierent villag

bringing together community and religious leaders;

• Led training workshops and capacity building or more than 300 women leaders, and encoura

political participation via workshops (reaching a total o 250 women)

• Led campaigns to raise awareness o violence against women

• Conducted adult education programmes or women, and empowered women armers throu

the women armers’ union

MDGs 4 & 5:

Reduce child mortality and

improve maternal health

• Initiated programmes to combat the maternal mortality rate in Southern Sudan, one o

highest in the world• Organized 30 workshops throughout Gedare to raise awareness on the issue o FGM, target

midwives in particular

• Held “medical weeks’ in Gedare city and in displaced peoples’ camps, with more than 500 child

and 200 pregnant women examined

• Distributed ree medicine

MDG 6:

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria,

and other diseases

• Organized symposiums to mark World AIDS Day

• Supported the Sudan National AIDS Programme and the Ministry o Health’s Educat

Department to give 3-day training courses on HIV prevention or 100 women rom across Ged

• Ran poster and brochure campaigns in schools and reugee camps to raise awareness o HIV/A

• Targeted specic training or hospital cleaners and midwives to help them avoid HIV/AIDS

hepatitis transmission

MDG 7:

Ensure environmental

sustainability

• Installed drinking water systems and sanitation improvements in schools in rural areas

• Integrated tree-planting and environmental education in programmes in dryland areas to com

desertication

MDG 8:

Develop a global partnership

for development

• Organized events on international days or AIDS, women, and poverty eradication to raise lo

awareness o these issues

• Established networks o NGOs in both Gedare and Khartoum, and participated in networks ac

on a range o issues



77

Key Activities and Innovations

Zenab or Women in Development ocuses its activities on our key

programme areas: agriculture, education and reproductive health

ncluding child health, emale genital mutilation, and HIV/AIDS),

nd peace-building. The common thread uniying the organization’s

work is promotion o women’s rights and activities that will empower

women to raise their status in Sudanese society.

Empowering women in agriculture

he women armers’ union is the chie means through which Zenab

or Women in Development achieves its aim o empowering women

armers to improve and diversiy their agricultural income. Activities

nd interventions ocus on improving the productivity o land androps, overseeing agricultural cooperatives, providing agricultural

raining and capacity building, and acilitating access to nance.

When the initiative began in 2005, women armers in the villages

o Wad Daie, Wad Assayed, Wad Assanosi, Al Hamra, Abunnaga and

Ginan were the target population. The group has since expanded to

upport over 3,000 women armers in 12 municipalities o Gedare.

he organization uses support groups to mobilize local women

armers. Zenab or Women in Development oversees the management

nd governance o support groups, networks and the union itsel.

ach network is responsible or providing their members with

raining, access to agricultural inormation and advocacy services.

ach women’s support group, meanwhile, maintains a bank accountontaining unds which are used to nance agricultural projects

nd other capacity building activities. Access to credit has been an

mportant aspect o the agriculture programme. Zenab or Women

n Development serves as a de acto guarantor or women armers

who would otherwise not be able to access credit or provide needed

ollateral. As a result, more than 60 per cent o women participating

n the programme have been able to access unds which are put

owards renting larger areas o arable land, planting cash crops (like

esame and cotton), purchasing livestock, and diversiying their

ncomes in other ways that increase their sel-sufciency.

The growing network o armer groups is also leveraged to pro

network members with agricultural training in land product

conservation arming, livestock rearing and more. The organizat

ramework is a ‘train-the-trainers’ programme, through which

than 40 agricultural extension ofcers have been trained to pro

outreach and support in their respective communities. Exten

ofcers provide both technical and ollow-up support, ensu

ongoing assistance and responsiveness to local needs. Among

trainings provided are the use o improved seed varieties (t

adapted to short rainy seasons), crop rotation, ploughing

organic composting.

The organization has also used its agricultural extension ofceintroduce new vegetables and crops like groundnut and suno

and to disseminate seeds, hand tools, ertilizers and weed killers

stoves have also been distributed to reduce reliance on rew

with training that emphasizes orest conservation, tree-planting

responsible waste management. Workshops have been develo

to help women armers adapt to climate change by prov

inormation on new weather patterns, instruction on how to ad

soil preparation, planting and harvesting accordingly, and tra

in how to harvest rainwater and dig shallow wells in villages.

Education and reproductive health

One o the obstacles to improving girls’ educational attainmerural areas was clear dissatisaction with the inrastructure, up

and quality o primary schools. Many schools had allen

disrepair and were perpetually underunded and underequipp

meet the educational needs o students. Zenab has responde

implementing maintenance programmes which have constru

additional classrooms and school houses, improved the quali

toilets and sanitation services, and acilitated access to clean drin

water. At present, the organization is overseeing the constructi

a primary school or girls in a rural Gedare community, spons

by Zain, a leading regional mobile telecommunications oper



88

t is hoped that these investments will increase the willingness o

arents to send their daughters to school in a region where social

ressures already serve as a barrier.

he organization has also responded to local demand or support

ervices in reproductive health. Awareness-raising campaigns in

artnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have

elped sensitize the local population to the dangers o HIV/AIDS.

he group has also campaigned aggressively against emale genitalmutilation, also aiming to bring the issue to the attention o young

women. Other topics covered in educational campaigns include

iolence against women, early marriage and amily planning.

n one current project, Zenab is helping to provide training to 60

ural midwives in Gedare, Kassala, and Red Sea States on standard

bstetric care to reduce mortality rates or mothers and children.

ducation has also been extended through the provision o legal aid,

acilitating access to justice, and establishing a permanent legal aid

entre in Gedare city in cooperation with UNDP, all o which aim to

etter represent marginalized social groups in the Sudanese justice

ystem. Zenab has also partnered with the National Endowment or

Democracy to conduct workshops on basic human rights and laws

hat hinder gender equality and injustice.

Peace-building, confict resolution and disaster relie

udan is currently in an interim transitional period ollowing the

005 signing o a comprehensive peace agreement. As the country

ebuilds, Zenab or Women in Development provides local women

with civil education and training in how to take advantage o their

ull rights and play an active part in democratic processes. Through

he armer networks, the group provides in-depth training to women

ouncillors in order to help them represent their constituencies

ectively. To encourage women and young people to vote, Zenabor Women in Development distributes pamphlets explaining the

role o citizens in the election process, and promotes voting and

importance o women’s participation using local mass media

organization has also targeted human rights education to wom

prison, in particular about their right to legal aid.

Zenab or Women in Development has also established a wom

leadership centre where workshops and orums are held on con

resolution and women’s empowerment. This has been a orum

training women councillors on the Sudanese constitution, lawpolitical processes, leadership, nancial management, and wom

rights. Workshops held by the organization have provided a ne

platorm where women rom dierent political parties can put a

partisanship and ocus on the creation and cultivation o netw

that will put women’s rights on the political agenda.

Two projects that reect this ocus include working with the U

Sudan Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Program

(SDDRP) on social re-integration or emale ex-combatants, a

recently-concluded project in South Darur that trained 15 vil

midwives and supported 200 women armers by raising aware

on HIV/AIDS and o new agricultural techniques, co-unded

UNFPA, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), and

Swiss Agency or Development and Cooperation (SDA).

The organization has also been actively involved in the distribu

o ood to communities in need and the provision o humanita

assistance to communities displaced by violence or natural disas

The Gash River oods every rainy season, driving many people

their homes. The ghting and violence in Darur have also le

a substantial number o reugee camps and displaced peopl

some reugee camps – like that set up in Sheri – the organiza

distributed educational materials, gave out toys and built unctio

latrines or local children. In both post-conict and post-disa

zones, the group has conducted peace-building training.



9

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

With a ocus on women armers, as well as a balance between

mproved livelihoods and environmental sustainability, Zenab or

Women in Development has had wide-ranging positive impacts

on local biodiversity and ecosystem health. Agricultural training

ctivities coordinated by the women armers’ union ocus on

mproving soil and water quality so that women armers can improve

he productivity o their land, much o which has been degraded

hrough years o poor management and overuse. Population growth

n Sudan, and in this region in particular, has put a serious strain on

oil quality and water resources. Land and soil are under signicant

pressure to produce enough ood to keep pace with local demand.

Taking these development drivers into consideration, Zenab

encourages the planting o a diverse range o vegetables and crops,

with a particular emphasis on those that return nutrients to the soil.

The group also promotes crop rotation and the use o groundnut

s an organic ertilizer to ensure that the land does not become

depleted. Training is provided in soil preparation and maintenance,

nd workshops have been given on environmental conservation and

he value o trees in maintaining soil quality and water unctions.

Tree planting constitutes an important aspect o the organization’s

overall conservation practices and environmental stewardship.

Zenab or Women in Development works with women armers tomaintain ‘green belts’, planting trees in areas where deorestation is

most clearly aecting soil and water quality. The growing network

o women armers also plants trees near schools, in household

gardens and along main streets. In the village o Hamra, or example,

group o women have established a tree nursery, which is being

developed to expand to the point where it will be capable o eeding

ree-planting eorts across the state.

The organization also actively distributes propane gas stoves

trains local women in their use. The stoves are promoted a

alternative to wood burning stoves, which are the most com

orm o cooking stove amongst the local population, but w

require signicant inputs o time and energy to locate uel

which have a negative impact on health when used indoors. Th

o propane gas stoves, by contrast, has reduced pressure on

orests, which were being overharvested.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The socioeconomic impacts o Zenab or Women in Developm

work are wide-ranging. Among the most successul outcoo their programmes, training and interventions have been

improvements in ood security, household incomes, sc

inrastructure, and the access o girls and young women to o

education. The network approach that underpins the wo

armers’ union has helped to build social cohesion and empow

impressive number o previously marginalized women to bec

active agents in positively transorming the local economy and

development trajectory o the traditional agricultural sector

initiative is also based on democratic principles o representa

and participation, which bode well or its prospects o long-

sustainability.

A large percentage o the women who have beneted engagement with Zenab or Women in Development – whe

through agricultural training, tree planting or livelih

diversication – are heads o their respective households.

evolving trend in the region has been or men to travel to c

and urban centres in search o work and improved vocat

opportunities, while the women are let behind to manage

amily landholdings and raise the children. A troubling numb

men are also increasingly being drawn into the various ace

Sudan’s long-running civil war and armed conicts.



Land tenure security and access to credit

Women hold primary responsibility or managing the traditional

agricultural sector, as well as collecting water and rewood or

household consumption. Despite these substantial contributions to

domestic lie, sustenance, and amily health and wellbeing, women

armers continue to ace important barriers to owning land and

accessing the nancial services that would make possible small-

cale entrepreneurship or the kinds o local ingenuity that can leado pathways out o poverty. Women contribute more than 80 per

cent o traditional agricultural sector labour, yet the overwhelming

majority o arms are held in the names o male amily members, and

a negligible ve to six per cent o land titles are jointly held. With no

egal claim to the land they arm, women are prohibited rom using

heir land as collateral to access credit.

Zenab or Women in Development has made land tenure

ecuritization and access to nance priority areas o their

programming. The organization provides micro-loans to women

armers so they can purchase the tools and labour that will make

possible improvements in the productivity o their land and rental

o additional land to expand their agricultural outputs. They havealso acted as guarantors on loans or women applying or credit

rom banks. This advocacy and support is leading to a change in the

normative orientation o lending in the state, importantly towards

a credit climate that is more avourable to and inclusive o women.

Agricultural extension services

Exclusion rom land ownership and ormal credit systems are not the

only barriers aced by women in rural Sudan. Equally oppressive and

economically debilitating has been the inability o women to access

agricultural training, technical support, and extension services.

Zenab or Women in Development aims to ll this gap in service

provision, primarily through the eorts o the women armers’ union

t helped to establish.

Training is provided to women armers on crop diversication,

ncluding the introduction o cash crops such as cotton and sesame,

which combine with more traditional crop varieties to provide a

broader income base and make the armers less dependent on

ingle crops. The organization also works through a train-the-

rainers programme to provide agricultural extension services that

enable women to access improved seed varieties and ertilizers. The

esult has been substantial improvements in local ood security,

agricultural outputs, and household incomes. These new sources o

ncome have been invested into school ees, textbooks and uniormsor children – a noteworthy investment in a region where amilies

oten cannot send their children to school because the costs are

prohibitively expensive relative to meeting sustenance needs.

mproving access to education

n addition to raising household incomes, which have had spill-over

eects on school enrolment, Zenab or Women in Development

s active in removing the obstacles and disincentives that exist

or parents to send their children – especially girls – to school.

Importantly, the organization has leveraged its network

construct wells and toilets at primary schools that previously la

these basic acilities to ensure a higher standard o potable w

access and sanitation. They have also arranged or the installati

water storage tanks to ensure students have reliable access to c

drinking water. Provision o these services has been compleme

by eorts to build schoolhouses and additional classrooms.

an improved educational environment and unctioning sanita

acilities, parents are much more likely to send their childreschool.

Empowerment o women

Perhaps the most signicant impact o the organization’s work –

in particular the women amers’ union – has been the empowerm

o women, and the creation o social cohesion that has resu

rom the development and growth o the network o wo

armers groups. These groups have been catalytic in changing

women are perceived and treated in their communities, ser

as an instrument o positive social change and transorma

Women are now able to access micro-nance and bank lo

previously only available to men. This has had positive implicaor land management and productivity, which has impro

women’s livelihoods and economic security. Gains in indiv

earning capacity have translated to improvements in comm

inrastructure – many women have voluntarily invested in crea

gathering spaces or women’s groups to hold meetings and

actions to address persistent environmental, social and econ

problems. The women o the Wad Dee community, as ano

example, invested in bringing electricity to their village. Cruc

the women in Zenab or Women in Development networks are

better inormed o their rights and more aware o how to acces

services and assistance they are entitled to. Beyond its agricu

networks, the organization has empowered women through its

training – educating women on democratic processes, Sudan’s

and constitution, women’s rights and the importance o wom

participation in elections both as voters and candidates.

POLICY IMPACTS

Through its engagement with women’s participation in Su

electoral processes, Zenab aims to have an indirect impac

policies aecting its women armer constituents. In the run-u

the landmark reerendum in 2011 that led to the creation o S

Sudan, Zenab played a leading role in ostering women’s pol

participation in Gedare. Over three months, Zenab helped to

awareness around the Southern Sudan Reerendum and encoua peaceul and eective voting process. This included conduc

two three-day workshops or women leaders in the states o Ka

and Gedare and acilitating ten orums taking place across Ged

state encouraging women to take part in the voting pro

Collectively, these gatherings produced 50 participants traine

local observers, 40 o whom were women. All observers were tra

to observe polling, counting, and tabulation processes. Zenab

members were trained as trainers, and were involved in trai

representatives rom political parties across Gedare, Kassala

Red Sea states.

10



11

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYenab relies on unding and other support rom a number o key

artners as outlined in detail below. Although not nancially sel-

ufcient, the network model o women’s sel-help groups acilitates

mutually supportive programming whereby women armers are

ositioned to assist each other without relying too heavily on

xternal inputs. Zenab is in the process o working to expand its

upport base to include local government authorities and NGOs.

A key element o Zenab’s organizational sustainability is the

nvolvement o women armers not only as recipients and

eneciaries o its activities, but as the principal actors and agents o ositive local change. A participatory approach ensures that women

re involved in all stages o planning and implementation o Zenab’s

ctivities. The majority o activities are undertaken specically

ecause they have been prioritized by participating women.

REPLICATION

he growth o Zenab’s network, particularly since 2008, has been

mpressive. Beginning with an association o 10 women’s groups

ormed into a single network across two municipalities in Gedare,

enab has since expanded to include 585 women’s groups in 58

etworks across 12 municipalities. The rate o growth and theuccess with which replication has been achieved is nothing short

phenomenal. The multiplier eect can be attributed, at least

artially, to Zenab’s train-the-trainer programme, which provides

echnical and capacity building training to women leaders rom

ndividual villages who are then enlisted to serve as extension

fcers and support workers in their communities and beyond. To

ate, the networks have been conned to Gedare, but the model

as shown potential or replication in Darur and could be adopted

n other agricultural provinces.

Zenab also participates as an active member in a numbe

knowledge-sharing and advocacy networks in Sudan, illustr

the power o collective bargaining or bringing about cha

Among these networks are the Human Rights and Legal Aid Net

(HRLAN), the Sudanese Network or HIV/AIDS and the Suda

Network or FGM Eradication, as well as national CSO netw

or Darur, poverty eradication, and civic education and elec

monitoring. Regionally, Zenab is a member o the Strategic Initi

or Women in the Horn o Arica (SIHA), a network o CSOs

Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djib

and Uganda.

PARTNERSZenab maintains partnerships with key donor and implemen

agencies, including UNFPA, UNICEF, FAO, UNDP and UNIFEM. O

supporters include the National Endowment or Democracy

Swiss Agency or Development and Cooperation (SDA), the Cana

International Development Agency (CIDA) and the embassie

Finland, Japan and France, among others.

Zenab’s agricultural programme receives support rom M

Cash, Madre, Arican Women’s Development Fund, the OPEC F

or International Development (OFID) and the gender equ

programme o the Association o the Netherlands Municipa(VNG). VNG also provides support through its gender e

programme to improve the leadership skills o rural women,

encourage them to run or election on local councils.

The Ministry o Agriculture and Forestry and the Province o Ge

support the organization in the provision o technical assist

and improved seed varieties o certain cash crops. Zenab also w

with UNDP Sudan on the provision o legal aid, civic education

capacity building.



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o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

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FURTHER REFERENCE

Zenab or Women in Development website: zenab.org

Zenab or Women in Development Equator Initiative prole page on equatorinitiative.org

Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

http://www.zenab.org/

http://www.zenab.org/

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/90/casestudy/case_1370356330.pdf

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348151578.pdf

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/165/casestudy/case_1370356763.pdf

case studies undp: zenab for women in development, sudan

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