State Response to Women Affected by the 1997 Crisis: A Gender Analysis of the Social Investment Fund Programme (SIF)

SIF, a crisis management programme, uses the Social Capital concept in community development expecting that the sub-project implementation by the community will help increase social capital and lead to community awareness raising and bring about political engagement. SIF introduces communities to the processes of Social Capital identification, community linkage and civil society. (Social Fund Office 2002) SIF works directly with the grassroots. What is needed is a formulation which will respond to women's long-term needs and thereby lead to gender equity. The 37 month- progress report showed that women highly benefited from SIF. However, a high number of women as beneficiaries is not a sufficient indicator for success. It is important to look into how gender was considered in the project implementation, and how women's participation can contribute to an enlargement of their power base and political resources to change gender relations in the long run.