|
HRH Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and ministers
from 15 Asian countries, attend the first East Asia Gender
Equality Ministerial Meeting at a Tokyo hotel June 30, 2006.
(L-R first row) Bounpheng Mounphoxay of Laos, Meutia Hatta
Swasono of Indonesia, Zhao Shaohua of China, HRH Princess
Masna of Brunei Darussalam and Kuniko Inoguchi of Japan (L-R
second row) Kim Hak-Su of UNESCAP, Kerry Flanagan of
Australia, Ha Thi Khiet of Vietnam, Myrna Yao of Philippines
and Nanaia Mahuta of New Zealand. AFP
Bandar Seri Begawan - Her Royal Highness
Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade, attended the East Asia Gender
Equality Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo, Japan from June 30 to
July 1.
The meeting, opened by Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi,
Minister for Gender Equality and Social Affairs, Japan, was
attended by representatives from 16 countries and two United
Nations agencies.
Her Royal Highness delivered a statement on
the theme: "The Progress of Gender Mainstreaming in Each
Country and Problems to be Solved".
She said the Brunei government's policy of
providing both girls and boys equal access to education has
enabled women to take up employment opportunities in various
specialised professions.
Over 90% of the females are literate and
numerate. In terms of economic activities, about 59% of women
are active and women own more than half of the small and
medium enterprises, which contribute to 92% of employment
opportunities in the private sector.
Nearly two-thirds of the beneficiaries of
financial assistance schemes are women and that women in
Brunei Darussalam have achieved life expectancy of 77.5 years
and maternal mortality rate of 0.3 per thousand live births,
she said.
Her Royal Highness stressed on the role of
the country's mass media in promoting and increasing awareness
on the effective involvement of women in the national
development and the impact they have on modern economic life.
On Brunei Darussalam's regional and
international commitment on gender issues, Her Royal Highness
said the country had achieved almost all of the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and acceded into the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations
Against Women (CEDAW).
She reiterated the country's commitment to
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and other
regional and international declarations.
Her Royal Highness also emphasised on the
need for collecting quality data as well as conducting more
research and analysis on gender issues to allow for more
effective policy formulation.
The meeting exchanged views on the importance
of work-life balance and gender equality, functions of
national machinery and further promoting gender equality.
It issued a Joint Communique, which stressed
equal partnerships between women and men as a prerequisite for
the achievement of gender equality.
The meeting highlighted the importance of
formulating specific policies on gender mainstreaming and
called for adequate legislation, sex-disaggregated data and
gender sensitive budgeting to promote gender equality.
___________________________________________________________________ | 