Gender mainstreaming as a tool towards achieving women's welfare in kaffa zone, south west, Etiopia.

Abstract

The main objective ofthis research wasto assess in what extent gender mainstreaming of women children and youth affair gender mainstreaming can work for the welfare of the women. In order to meet these objectives, both primary and secondary data have been collected through the aid of instruments of: questionnaire, interview, checklist and document analyses. And the study employsPurposive sampling with the sample size of fifty. The data collected has been analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scienceversion 16 for windows has been used for data entry and Simple descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage analysis and others) has been used to analyze the data. The findings of the study showed thatthe study department can't have sectored plan and didn't properly use institutional machinery. The study also showed that due to lack of technical capacity horizontal and vertical linkages is weak at formal level in Women's Affairs Office.ln addition to this there is policy challenge orthey didn'tbelieve the importance of gender mainstreaming in some department.ln the study sector lack of commitment on the part of decision-making bodies. With regard to challenges, theycomplain that lack of political leadership support and lack of gender awareness and sensitivity takes the highest rank. The mere presence of policy and strategic documents only do not make sense as far as the issues of gender mainstreaming are concerned .Thus, in order to reach good result on welfare issue of women and to minimize gender gap in general, the need to implement gender mainstreaming practice, rules and strategy is essential with no choice. Therefore, to get those rules and regulation on the ground it is advisable toestablish gender mainstreaming committee at cabin level for the sake of influencing gender issue in general and women issue in particular and preparing sectored plan can decrease the problem.For paramount follow, training ofpolitical leader and planning expert long and short term trainingtobulled theirknowledge.