Earlier this year, WaterAid Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) to strengthen the leadership and capacity of elected women representatives of LGIs. The partnership aims to deepen their understanding of relevant acts, rules, and guidelines; enhance their leadership and negotiation skills; and enable their active participation in decision-making processes.
In continuation of this commitment, capacity-building trainings were organised in under the GO4IMPact programme. It brought together elected women representatives from 39 Union Parishads of Naogaon and Satkhira districts. Through this collaboration, GO4IMPact programme is enhancing the leadership capacity, governance skills, and confidence of elected women representatives to actively participate in local-level decision-making processes and promote gender-responsive local governance.
The trainings covered essential topics including leadership development, the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act 2009 and Union Parishad (Power & Special Duties of women members of reserved seats) Rules 2016, standing committees, gender action planning, climate change adaptation, integrated water resource management, and solid waste management. Sessions were participatory, involving group discussions, case studies, and hands-on exercises, allowing participants to connect governance principles with real-world application.
Discussions underscored that empowering women at the grassroots is crucial for effective and inclusive local governance. Participants shared that enhanced understanding of local laws and planning processes would allow them to represent community needs better, particularly in water and waste management sectors. In both districts, participants committed to develop gender action plans. These plans will guide their future engagement in Union Parishad planning processes. The sessions also explored social and institutional barriers to women’s participation and strategies to address them through collective advocacy and peer support.
The trainings concluded with renewed commitment among participants to champion gender equity and accountability in local governance. They expressed confidence that the training would enable them to contribute more effectively to climate-resilient, inclusive, and transparent service delivery in their communities.