Asien og Stillehavsområdet sakker bagud med hensyn til ligestilling, viser ny rapport fra FN.
The countries of Asia and the Pacific have not duplicated their economic success in the realm of gender equality, according to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, which found that discrimination and neglect are threatening the very survival of women in the region.
BARSKE FACTS
The region’s women suffer from some of the lowest rates of political representation, employment and property ownership in the world.
Nearly half the adult women in South Asia are illiterate, a greater proportion than in any other region in the world.
Women in South Asia can expect to live five fewer years than the world average of just under 71 years.
While agricultural jobs account for more than 40 per cent of women’s jobs in East Asia and 65 per cent in South Asia, only 7 per cent of farms in these areas are controlled by women.
Their lack of participation, the 2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report found, is also retarding economic growth.
KRAV OM LOVGIVNING
The launch of the new report, entitled Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific, coincides with International Women’s Day, 8th of March 2010.
It found that nearly half of South Asia’s countries and over 60 per cent of those in the Pacific have no laws in place against domestic violence.
The recommendations made by the publication include the removal of barriers to women’s ownership of assets, expanding paid employment and enhancing investment in high-quality education and health.
It called for reforming constitutions and progressively interpreting religious principles to recognize the equal value of all human beings.
The report pointed out that quotas to increase women’s political participation, along with sanctions for non-compliance, could be a helpful tool.
