Deadline: 14 September 2019

Women’s Voice and Leadership- Bangladesh (WVLB) is a project of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) funded by Global Affairs Canada.

MJF is seeking proposals from Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), Women Coalitions, Women Networks working to advance the empowerment of women and girls, promote gender equality and protect the human rights of women and girls.

The project will directly reach WROs and networks in Bangladesh through multi- year funding.

Project Goal, Outcomes 

WVLB project will achieve results in two levels (Intermediate and Immediate) and MJF’s effort will contribute to attain WVLB project goal and outcomes.

Goal: Enjoyment of human rights by women and girls and the advancement of gender equality in Bangladesh.

• Intermediate Outcome
  • Improved management, programming and sustainability of local women’s rights organizations in Bangladesh, particularly those representing vulnerable and marginalized women and girls.
  • Enhanced delivery of quality services and advocacy by local women’s rights organizations to advance gender equality in Bangladesh.
  • Increased effectiveness of national and sub-national women’s rights platforms, networks and alliances to affect policy, legal and social change in Bangladesh.
• Immediate Outcome
  • Improved skills and knowledge of local WROs on financial and organizational management.
  • Strengthened skills and knowledge of WROs to advocate for gender equality and women’s /girl’s rights and to deliver services.
  • Increased ability of WROs to collaborate and network at sub-national, national, regional and international levels.

Note: Goal and outcomes of applicants’ proposal will contribute to achieve intermediate, immediate outcomes of WVLB project those are interconnected.

Strategies

This project recognized several strategies are:

• Strengthening Women’s Coalition/Forums/Networks/Community Based Organizations
• Awareness and Challenging Social Norms
• Working with Public Institutions
• Support for network and alliance building

Priority Areas (not limited to)

• Changing social norms which support gender inequality through engaging men and boys.
• Women leadership building to advance the protection of women and girls, particularly those representing vulnerable and marginalized women and girls.
• Social mobilization and creating movement against discrimination and violation.
• Immediate response to violence victim and support to receive medical and legal services.
• Linking with resources/opportunities.
• Advocacy for Law and Policy formulation, revision of discriminatory laws and its i
• Issues might be SGBV, women’s labour and employment rights, particularly in the informal sector; women’s political participation; women’s sexual and reproductive rights; women’s land and property rights; and, combatting the structural and social norms that underpin discrimination against women and girls and perpetuate gender inequality.
• Engagement of men and boys in project interventions.

Funding Information

MJF will announce funding application, designed for different grant size e.g. micro, small and medium size grant.

• Micro: Up to 10,000,000
• Small: From BDT 10,001,000 to BDT 15,000,000
• Medium: From BDT 15,001,000 to BDT 20,000,000

Duration

Applicants will apply for the multi-year grants to MJF for the duration of 4 years (subject to effect on the date of agreement signing to Dec’2023) and the budget will be for same period.

Geographic Location 

MJF encourages application from all over the country.

Eligibility Criteria

• Application will be based on supporting GE and the empowerment of women and girls according their organization mandate and program experience.
• The Executive Director/Head will be a woman and all the members of governing board should be women.
• At least 50% of staff has to be women in organization.
• Applicants will be registered as NGO (by District Social Service Office/NGO Affairs Bureau).
• Applicants will demonstrate experience appropriate with the size of grant. For example, micro and small grants will require at least 3 years’ experience and medium grants will require 5 years’ experience.
• Applicants will demonstrate basic level of financial management and technical capacity.
• Applicants will demonstrate willingness of collaborating with other WROs to advance GE and the empowerment of women and girls.
• Applications will be accepted from networks or formal/informal consortia of WROs, which may include women-led groups, community based women groups that are not registered, do not have the required years of experience and/or are less experience in terms of financial management and technical capacity. In all cases, however, a lead WRO who must meet all eligibility criteria will sign the agreement with MJF. This lead WRO will be accountable to MJF for funds management, program delivery and reporting.
• Applicants will represent national and local level WROs, networks and coalitions.
• Applicants will represent, and advance the rights and interests of, marginalized and vulnerable women and girls, such as women heads of households, survivors of SGBV, migrant workers, commercial sex workers, free trade zone workers, domestic workers, women and girls with disability, older women, indigenous women in plain land and CHT, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women etc.

How to Apply

• Applicants can submit proposals through email in PDF at the address given on the website.
• Proposals can be written in Bengali or English.

For more information, please visit http://www.manusherjonno.org/index.php?Key=-1&notice=46