Asia and the Pacific region: Rural women’s equality challenges

Achievements in gender equality differ considerably throughout Asia and the Pacific region, reflecting the overwhelming diversity in economic and human development indicators among and within countries. Within the region’s complex resource environment, and amid the debate on trade versus self-sufficiency in food for sustainable food security, the gender equality scorecard is marked by disparity, as illustrated in the human and gender development index rankings in Table 1. Most countries in Asia that fall in the low and medium human development rankings also recorded lower achievements in the gender development index. Yet ranking gains for Asia are noted in the reporting periods of 2001 and 2004. HDI ranks of Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Lao PDR and Nepal have improved from low to medium. These countries also recorded improved rankings in GDI. Although, as is to be expected, countries at the high end of the development continuum (such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea) score very well on these indicators, lately countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines and Sri Lanka have lost in relative terms with lower rankings in GDI compared to 2001. It should be noted that many countries in Asia that ranked medium in terms of HDI both in 2001 and 2004 recorded improvements in GDI ranking in that period. Hence, there seems to be gains in indicators such as life expectancy, adult literacy rate and enrolment ratio at various levels of education and a decent standard of living. In relative terms countries in South Asia (such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Nepal) that are predominantly represented among low income food deficit countries, are notable for their low performance in gender related development indicators.

The aggregated HDI and GDI indicators do not differentiate between urban and rural women. The progress achieved by a large number of urban women across Asia disguises the low human development indicators and extreme gender inequality among rural women in many parts of the continent, especially in South Asia. The South Asian countries struggle under the burden of persisting rural gender inequality although women directly contribute to food production as cultivators, labourers and family workers in the agriculture sector. Rural women continue to struggle with dual responsibilities of economic production and domestic labour, and most are confronted by poverty, illiteracy, high health risks, inadequate access to productive resources, health and sanitation services and denial of market access in the profitable food sectors. Indeed, it has been observed that “[f]or many, being female and living in rural Asia is doubly discriminatory” (Bloom et al., 2001).

Table 1. Relative status of human development and gender development in selected Asia and Pacific region countries¹

Notes:

¹ HDI and GDI data are not available for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu for HDR 2001 and HDR 2004. HDI Data for Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands and Tonga are available for HDR 2004 only.

² The Human Development Index (HDI) measures average achievements in three basic areas: a) a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy); b) knowledge (measured by adult literacy rate and combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio); and c) a decent standard of living (measured by GDP per capita (purchasing power parity in USD).

³ The Gender-related Development Index (GDI) adjusts the average achievements measured by the HDI to reflect inequalities between men and women in the same areas.
Source: UNDP Human Development Report, 2001, pp. 212-213, 241-242.
Source: UNDP Human Development Report, 2004, pp. 139-142; 217-220.

“Over the last decade some positive trends in HDI and GDI emerged in countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Lao PDR and Nepal. In relative terms countries in South Asia (such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan) that are also low-income food deficit countries, are notable for their low performance in gender-related development indicators.”

In general, the situation of rural women across Asia and the Pacific region is shaped more by customary laws and social sanctions than by the universal norms of equality that are promoted in the global development agenda. The relative gender equality gains of women in East and Southeast Asia - particularly when compared to South Asia - can be attributed to social norms of equality fostered by the region’s political philosophy, ethnic culture and educational achievements. The visible presence of women in the public realm in East and Southeast Asia tends to mask hidden inequalities in their struggle to provide for their families. In Central Asia, reforms impose new demands on women’s roles in economic and social spheres.

“In general, the situation of rural women across Asia and the Pacific region is shaped more by customary laws and social sanctions than by the norms of equality that are promoted in the global development agenda.”

The Human Development Index for women and men in the Pacific Islands is presented in Table 2. Although most Pacific Island countries (such as the Cook Islands, Fiji and Palau) have achieved significant progress in human development indicators in recent decades, others like Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu lag behind considerably. In terms of gender equality, the differences between the situations of women and men in Pacific Island countries are generally less pronounced than in Asia. Although care should be taken in generalising about indices because of the complexity of gender relations in the Pacific, it is nonetheless noteworthy that women outscore men in the human development index (indicated by a score of more than 100 in the gender ratio column) in some Pacific Island countries.

The differences between the situations of women in Asia and the Pacific Islands may be related to the fact that rural and urban communities in the Pacific are more homogenous than in Asia. In general, women in urban and rural parts of the Pacific Islands have similar employment options and choices. In addition, where major urban areas are developing in some Pacific countries (such as Fiji, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea), strong networks have also emerged linking people in the towns with those remaining in rural areas.

Table 2. Human Development Index (HDI) in the Pacific Islands (1999)

Source: UNDP, Pacific Human Development Report, 1999, p. 23.
Note: n.a. Not Available.

A macro analysis of women throughout Asia and the Pacific depicts diversity, characterized by disparity in women’s economic achievements, political participation, educational advancement and social articulation. This regional diversity and the prevailing urban-rural duality are a reflection of differences in national priorities for the advancement of rural women, as well as differing policy and resource commitments for interventions to support gender parity in development. It is crucial to acknowledge that although there is an implied recognition that rural gender inequality impedes economic and social progress in predominantly agriculture dependent countries, the commitment to action through a comprehensive policy framework that explicitly advances rural women’s economic and social rights is rather weak.

Overall, the central equality challenges confronting the advancement of rural women in the region are to:

1) achieve gender equality gains for women in agriculture and rural communities that are parallel to the gender gains made among urban populations;

2) create opportunities for rural women to be the principal agents in poverty eradication for food security in the context of the declining importance of agriculture within national economies;

3) achieve household food security with gender equality within the nexus of current intrahousehold economic and social realties;

4) prevent further marginalization of rural women in the context of the accelerated pace of global economic integration and the commercialisation of the agriculture sector; and

5) empower rural women with the capacity to function effectively in an increasingly complex world that is shaped by new technologies in the agriculture and information and communications sectors.

Overall, the situation of women in Asia and the Pacific region can be summed up as “duality”, characterized by the coexistence of urban gender equality gains and rural gender equality gaps, set in the context of the economic dualism of contemporary prosperity and persistent dismal poverty. The foremost obstacle to the advancement of rural women in the Asia and Pacific region remains the persisting traditional perceptions of women’s lower social status.

“Overall, the situation of women in Asia and the Pacific could be summed up as “duality”, characterized by the coexistence of gender equality gains and gender equality gaps, set in the context of the economic dualism of new prosperity and persistent abject poverty. The foremost obstacle to the advancement of rural women in the Asia and Pacific region remains the persisting traditional perceptions of women’s lower social status.”