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News from the Field: Argentine women against corruption

MEI started their project with a public information campaign to raise awareness about the gender dimensions of corruption and to promote the visibility of the project. Two public presentations were organized, producing a notable impact in media and the community of women's organisations, the first in the United Nations in Buenos Aires and a few days later, a second launch event took place in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in presence of the Regional Director of UNIFEM, Ms. Ana Falú. The project team immediately started the monitoring of political parties financing activities. Electoral manifestos, training activities, parties' websites and internal standing orders and rules have been analyzed, to highlight how they deal with substantive gender issues; how women participation as candidates running for public office and internal party leaders is bolstered (or not).

Law 24012 passed in 1991 provided Argentina with one of the at that time most progressive legal frameworks in the world on gender balance in political representation. Before an electoral list is approved by the authorities, it needs to contain 33% of women. These positions have to be realistically eligible, i.e. it is not allowed to place female candidates at the bottom of the electoral list, where only the top tier of male candidates would be elected. One result has been balancing the Senate, from 2% to 40% of women between 1995 and 2005. Nevertheless, the women's movement still criticizes the fact that this minimum of 33% has become a maximum, women rarely occupying more than a third of the posts.

A survey has been conducted asking party leaders to assess their organization's practices in matter of women leadership training, inclusion of gender issues in male and female political party leadership training syllabi and use of gender-sensitive language in public information, outreach and training materials. A second survey was conducted to ask Members of Parliament and political party leaders about their views on gender equality policies.

The pillar on access to public information has been developed under the label "women on the edge of information". A roadmap has been drafted for individuals and NGO on how to request information from public agencies about financing and enforcement of gender policies. A format of municipal law to foster Access to Information (A2I) and standard letters to Governors and Mayors are the elements of the A2I toolkit. For instance, in one province where the governor had cut down the gynaecological services in health centres "for lack of budget", MEI and their local partners found out that the budget was been used for other purposes. A similar situation was one where a Mayor decided to invest a transfer from the Province in building a "Malvinas Veterans' House", while the budget was meant to finance a programme against domestic violence. MEI has managed in a number of such cases to advocate in favour of the original purpose of the budget and was successful in getting the relevant authorities to rectify.

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