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ASIA-PACIFIC - POWER, VOICE &
RIGHTS - TURNING POINT FOR GENDER EQUALITY - UNDP ASIA-PACIFIC HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2010
Direct Link to Full 155-Page UNDP
Report:
UN News Centre
ASIA-PACIFIC HAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
LARGEST GENDER GAPS - UNDP
8 March 2010 – The
countries of Asia and the Pacific have not duplicated their economic success in
the realm of gender equality, according to a new United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) report, which found
that discrimination and neglect are threatening the very survival of women in
the region.
“Empowering women is vital for achieving development goals overall and for boosting economic growth and sustainable development,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, who unveiled the publication in the Indian capital, New Delhi, today.
The region’s women suffer from some of the lowest rates of political
representation, employment and property ownership in the world. Their lack of
participation, the 2010 Asia-Pacific Human
Development Report found, is also retarding economic
growth.
In her address, Miss Clark pointed out that 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, she said,
can also 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.
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.
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.
“Discriminatory laws need to be changed, and the laws will need to be
enforced,” the UNDP head stressed.
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.
“Changes like those recommended in the report require steadfast political leadership,”
Miss Clark emphasized. “They also require men and boys to help foster attitudes
and take actions which empower women.”
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