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Gender in Poverty Reduction

 

 (i) Introduction

 

Men and women often experience poverty differently because of their different social roles, responsibilities and resource management duties at the household and community level. They have different poverty reduction priorities and are affected differently by development interventions. If these differences are not sufficiently accounted for, and gender equality issues in each sector are not identified and addressed, poverty reduction interventions can reinforce poverty among women rather than reduce it. From an efficiency point of view, there is a need for gender equality considerations in any poverty reduction strategy. Greater gender equality correlates with greater poverty reduction and economic growth. Therefore gender inequalities can impose large costs on the well being of the poor, diminish their productivity, and reduce the potential for poverty reduction and economic growth.

The National Constitution contains explicit language in its provision for equal rights for women, equal status in marriage, and equal pay for work. The Constitution also provides for equal rights for women in property inheritance, divorce proceedings, access to education and jobs. However, cultural traditions continue to limit the ability of women to exercise their equal rights, as women are customarily seen as men’s subordinates. Cambodian women tend to suffer more seriously from the impacts of poverty and are generally in a disadvantaged position to enjoy their rights.

Gender equality and its link to achieving poverty reduction featured prominently in the different sectors of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS). Unfortunately, the progress made in 2005 towards the achievement of more gender equality, as outlined in the NPRS, is not satisfactory since little effective and practical actions have been undertaken. Although the RGC has made several policy and legislative reforms towards greater gender equality, such as the adoption of the law on domestic violence, its efforts towards full and effective enactment of the law and policies are not satisfactory. More effort is needed for effective implementation of the laws and policies.

For 2006, it is hoped that the strategies outlined in the new National Strategic Development Plan will be fully implemented and lead to the desired incorporation of the concept of gender equality in sustainable development in Cambodia.

 

 (ii) Key Issues

 

Health

Despite many initiatives undertaken by the RGC and other stakeholders, women are more vulnerable to health risks than men: throughout the country HIV/AIDS, illness, and injury are more common among women. In the rural areas, where more than 80 percent of the nation’s population resides, this gender disparity is even more extreme. In these rural areas there is limited access to education, basic health services (services for gynaecological treatment are especially rare) and broadcasted information. Poor services and high poverty levels in the rural areas lead to increased rural-urban migration. Unfortunately, migrant workers (especially females) are then often exposed to greater risks, such as poor living conditions, poor diets, HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, prostitution, sex trafficking and gender-based violence.

 

In 1995, with the introduction of the birth spacing policy, contraceptives have become widely available. Twenty-four percent of women are currently using contraceptives and Cambodia has experienced a period of fertility decline from 5.4 to 4.0 children per woman of reproductive age. The coverage of maternal health services still remains low and there is still an unmet need for birth spacing. At the same time, many women do not have access to safe abortions.

 

Every year, a huge number of women die and suffer from pregnancy related complications because of their poor access to maternal health care. The maternal mortality ratio in 2000 was 450 per 100,000 live births and the infant mortality ratio in 2003 was 97 per 1,000 live births. The main medical causes of maternal mortality include the following: Post partum haemorrhage, eclampsia, obstructed labour, unsafe abortion, sepsis, malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS.

 

Generally, health expenditure in the public sector is very low and only amounted to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2002[1]. The introduction of cost recovery in the health sector reduces the access of women in minority and low income groups to healthcare which further prolongs women’s vulnerability to health problems.

 

Education

Illiteracy is a barrier to the poor improving their lives. Illiteracy excludes women from development process. Compared to men, women are disproportionately overrepresented in illiterate groups both among youths and adults. Although boys and girls start on equal footing in primary school, dropout rates among girls increase faster than among boys at each grade, particularly after completion of the secondary level. The lack of education is detrimental to the fight against poverty as poverty rates are higher for households in which the head of the household has had either no formal education or only some primary schooling. In this light, RGC allocation (as a percentage of GDP) for education is too low. In 2002, RGC allocated 1.8% of the total GDP to education in the country. The share of education in household consumption expenditure of the poor is less than 1.1 percent.

 

In the year 2002/03, enrolment rates of girl students in primary and tertiary education were 91% and 2% respectively[2]. Women are generally underrepresented in enrolment figures of primary, secondary and tertiary education which explains the high female illiteracy levels of 35.9% of adult women (age 15 and above) and 21.1% of young women (ages 15-24). Net enrolment among girls in rural areas for lower secondary school is 12.6%; in upper secondary schools it is only 4.1%[3]. The literacy rate among rural women is 55.6% compared to a 77.5% literacy rate among their male partners. The proportion of female students in Grades 10-12 has remained approximately 34% from 1995 until now[4]. Only 2% of female students completing secondary school begin a tertiary education.

 

Access to education for girls is improving and the inclusion in the NPRS Action Plan of targeted scholarship for girls from poor families is welcomed. This commitment needs to be supported by the allocation of real resources to ensure it reaches those who need it most in an ongoing and sustainable fashion. At the same time, action needs to be taken to ensure that the high dropout rate for girls from schools is addressed.

 

Lack of public access to legal education is a serious issue in the country. A huge proportion of the population, particularly rural, poor women do not have any access to legal education and awareness, leaving them vulnerable to human rights abuses and exploitation. This is also the case in relation to access to RGC information and decision-making. Their poor access to government information, decision-making and legal awareness excludes them from development processes.

 

Gender-based violence

Gender-based violence in Cambodia is a serious issue and the number of reported cases of domestic violence, rape, and trafficking is rising. A forthcoming report of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) on domestic violence reveals that 25% of women have experienced some sort of violence by their husbands. Many socio-cultural factors, including poverty, lead to an increasing number of cases of domestic violence in the country.

 

After the passing of the law on domestic violence in the National Assembly on September 16, 2005, Cambodia has laws in place on domestic violence, rape and human trafficking. These laws are an important symbol of the RGC's commitment to reduce gender-based violence. However, passing laws is not enough to address gender-based violence and the effective enforcement of the laws remains a challenge. Generally, police and officials are reluctant to interfere in domestic violence and often refuse to investigate the cases of domestic violence, regarding them as a private matter. Similarly, substantial efforts have not yet been undertaken by the RGC to disseminate the law among the law enforcing agencies and the judiciary system. Traditional norms and moral codes disfavour women to fully exercise their rights preserved in these laws. Stigmas are attached with sharing domestic problems (domestic violence) outside their homes, and so, women are discouraged from filing cases of domestic violence with law-enforcement agencies.

 

Despite police actions like raids and temporary closures of brothels, human trafficking is still on the rise in the country. Human trafficking networks–run by powerful figures and their allies – many of them RGC officials, soldiers, or police officials, are not being prosecuted. Unfortunately, RGC provides little support to raise social awareness on this issue.

 

Women in leadership

Increasing the role of women in mainstream politics and decision-making in RGC ministries and departments in Cambodia, remains a slow process with only small numbers reaching a level of real power. Only 12 women (9.8 percent of total seats) were elected as National Assembly Members in the 2003 elections –an increase of 5 compared to the 1998 elections.

 

Following the 1998 election, there were only 2 female ministers among the 25 ministries and 4 female Secretaries of State out of a total of 50. At the time this was an improvement, though there are still no female provincial governors. Previously there were only 4 women in politically appointed positions and no female ministers, secretaries of state or provincial governors. Only 14 percent of senior officials and managers, and 33 percent of professional and technical workers in public sectors are women.

 

Prior to the 2002 Commune Elections there was discussion of developing a quota of 30 percent of seats for women. However, this suggestion was rejected and only 8.5 percent of the elected councillors were women. The involvement of a larger number of women in politics at the local level would be an important step in developing both a culture of acceptance of women in power, as well as fostering the empowerment of women who have a valuable contribution to make to the future of the country.

 

Economy and agriculture

In Cambodia 65 percent of agricultural labour and 75 percent of fisheries production are in the hands of women. Poverty cannot be reduced unless policies, programs and budget equitably address Cambodian women’s needs. Rural women are responsible for 80 percent of food production, and more than 65 percent of women are farmers. Half of those women are illiterate or have less than a primary school education. 78 percent are engaged in subsistence agriculture, compared to 29 percent for men. In rural areas, only 4 percent of women and 10 percent of men are in wage employment.

 

Women-headed households are more likely to work in agriculture than male-headed households, and yet they are also more likely to be landless or have significantly less land. Nearly 80 percent of these workers are primarily engaged in subsistence agriculture with women comprising 56 percent of the primary work force in subsistence agriculture, and 54 percent of the workforce in market-oriented agriculture. The majority of women are also unpaid family workers.

 

Access to quality extension services is a serious issue for both men and women farmers, and women have significantly less access to what little extension services and training are available. Agricultural research and extension are not focused on the activities of women farmers; even though men and women tend to specialize in different tasks. No strategy has so far been undertaken by RGC to mainstream gender in agriculture and agricultural extension services.

 

Although more than 70 percent of Cambodia’s population are employed in agricultural production, between 12 percent and 15 percent of them have no agricultural land. The access of the poor to other natural resources such as forest, fisheries and related resources is constrained.

 

Women with Disabilities

Persons with Disabilities (PWD) are discriminated against at all levels of society. This causes PWDs to live in isolation, excluded from mainstream society, and with no access to equal rights and opportunities. Disabled women face double discrimination – as women and as PWDs.

Disability issues seem to be ignored by the RGC. At the most recent Disability Day (December 3, 2003) it was said that less than 2 percent of Cambodian people are PWDs. But the World Bank estimates the number of PWDs living in Cambodia at 20 percent.

 

In water and sanitation, disabled women are most vulnerable. There is no appropriate toilet or bathroom for women with disabilities. In many cases they are living in an unhealthy environment.

 

People with seeing, hearing and speaking impairments have no access to education. Most of them cannot read or write. Moreover children with disabilities cannot go to school or stop going to school because the building have no ramps.

 

Disabled women suffer more from domestic violence. Their husbands often abandoned them after they become disabled. There are many cases of disabled women being exploited. Poverty can only be reduced when the needs of the most vulnerable groups are addressed –especially, women with disabilities.

 

Judicial system

The Judicial system lacks independence, competency and transparency. The country has made little progress in reforming its judicial system. High-ranking officials and political party leaders are not prosecuted even when they commit serious crimes. Police detains suspect and torture them, attempting to extract confessions from suspects without access to lawyers.

 

 Land issue

Access to land is a crucial factor for poverty alleviation and food security. Secure access to land, particularly for women, remains a pressing issue in Cambodia. Land confiscation continues to be a major issue throughout the country. Many land conflicts involve ownership claims by powerful groups and individuals. Concessions granted to private companies by RGC lead to increasing landlessness. Women, particularly of female-headed-households, are more affected than men by this policy and land grabbing.

 

 (iii) Recommendations

 

 

 

For more information on the issues raised in this paper, please contact:

The Gender and Development Network, Tel: 023 215-137, Email: gad@online.com.kh

 


[1] UNDP (2005) Human Development Report 2005, New York, UNDP

[2] UNDP (2005) Human Development Report 2005, New York, UNDP.

[3] National Institute of Statistics (2004) Report for the Cambodia Socioeconomic Survey 2004, Phnom Penh, NIS.

[4] UNIFEM et. al. (2004) A Fare Share for Women, Cambodian Gender Assessment, 2004, Phnom Penh, UNIFEM.

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