Three Asian cities have been named as winners of UN-HABITAT awards for their women-friendly policies. The cities are Cebu and Naga in the Philippines, and Visakhapatnam in India. The award ceremony marking International Women’s Day was held with the mayors of the three cities on Monday, 8 March 2004.The three cities are the first winners of “The Gender Responsive Local Governments Asia-Pacific Contest” organised by UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for the Asia Pacific Region and the UNIFEM East and Southeast Asia Regional Office. It is aimed at encouraging local governments to establish innovative gender equality policies. Cebu was awarded the prize for playing a leading role in the field of gender policies in the Philippines such as increasing funds to solve gender-related problems and supporting local communities to better address domestic violence issues. Naga got the award for creating an ordinance aimed at promoting women’s public roles in society and realising poverty reduction. Visakhapatnam won the prize for implementing a programme to raise the literacy levels of women jointly with a non-governmental organisation. Two Japanese cities, Kanazawa and Matsue in Ishikawa and Shimane prefectures, respectively, and Capoocan in the Philippines were also given high achievement awards for implementing effective gender equality policies. Twenty-four entries from eight countries in the region were received. |
