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Gender and Women’s Participation |
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(I) Introduction
People are the real wealth of a nation, thus men, women and children must
be the center of attention. In Cambodia, women comprise more than fifty
percent of the total population and are commonly recognized as suffering
many disadvantages compared to men. If development is to be by people and
for people, it must satisfy everyone’s needs and provide opportunities for
all. It should include access to income and employment opportunities,
education and health and a clean and safe physical environment It should
involve all aspects of life, so that people can express themselves freely
and creatively.
Although Cambodia’s Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP)
contains many references to gender equality and closing the gender gap, it
does not have a clear policy articulation on how women can be integrated
into development efforts and can contribute to poverty reduction.
Moreover, although problems such as violence against women and trafficking
are recognized in the I-PRSP, it does not provide concrete solutions in
terms of legislation or relevant policy measures to address these
problems. Further policy development is needed in these areas.
Many NGOs and others civil society groups in Cambodia have been raising
awareness on gender inequality, discrimination and domestic violence
against women in the society, so as to enable women to help themselves to
obtain their rights. Below are some of the concerns raised by NGOs working
on these issues.
(ii) Key Issues
Health
Maternal and infant mortality rates in Cambodia remain among the highest
in the world. Lack of access to safe family planning makes abortion a
significant cause of maternal mortality. Other major causes are hemorrhage
infection, toxemia and obstructed labor. All these problems could be dealt
with if only better medical and prenatal care was available. A national
survey reported that most Cambodian women, 84% of them, delivered their
children at their home, with the assistance of traditional birth
attendants. Harmful practices are carried out throughout the country. Only
38% of pregnant women have received some form of hospital care before
giving birth. A poverty forces poor Cambodian woman to work hard in
agriculture fields immediately after delivery their babies, sometimes
leading to sickness and death. The cost of health care and education is
too high for many women, often causing families to sell their land.
Education
In the academic year 2000-2001, the net enrolment ratio for girls in
primary school was 80.7%, falling to 13.7% in lower secondary school, and
further to 5.4% in upper secondary school. The removal of school
enrolment fees has encouraged parents to send their children to school.
However, there is still a high dropout rate for girls. This is most often
caused by poverty and the traditional responsibilities of girls within the
family. See the Education section of the NGO Statement for more
information on education and gender.
Violence against Women
The stress of poverty on families is experienced most powerfully by women
through factors such as domestic violence, husband or father’s drunkenness
and desertion. A national survey in 2000 showed that one-quarter of
ever-married women had suffered physical and sexual abuses from their
husbands.
The passage of the draft law on Domestic Violence is so far too slow,
while the rate of domestic violence appears to be increasing. Perpetrators
of sexual exploitation, trafficking and rape on women and children,
continue to escape from punishment of the law, due to corruption, lack of
legal protection, and ignorance of rights.
Economy
Any examination of the issue of women’s rights in Cambodia needs to look
at women in the context of current macroeconomic policies. Rapid
liberalisation is driving people from their land and from subsistence
agriculture. Young women bare the brunt of these policies, and are forced
to migrate to become garment factory workers, commercial sex workers or
beggars.
Much of the work that women do is invisible, despite its obvious
productive and social worth. The reason is that women are heavily involved
in small-scale agriculture, the informal sector and household activities.
Women’s work especially their household work often is unpaid. In Cambodia,
the majority of women are farmers working in rice fields, but they cannot
survive on this livelihood alone Families are dependent on access to
natural resources, but fishing lots and forestry concessions limit access
to these resources.
The aid industry’s proscribed solution to poverty is credit, but credit
schemes are rarely able to help the very poor and can sometimes drag
families into debt. It is the women who are left with the impossible task
of managing the family’s finances.
About 180,000 young women are serving in 200 factories where there are
severe working and living conditions. Most employers do not respect the
labour laws. There are no health-care clinics or child-care centers in
such the factories, as required by the labour laws. Pregnant women do not
have any chance to work in the factories. Disabled women who are skilled
have few opportunities to be employed. There is only one out of the 200
factories offering jobs to disabled women.
Leadership
The small number of women working in the civil service and in
decision-making positions is directly related to lower educational
attainment, low self-confidence and lack of support from the family and
society. There are only about 15,000 (8%) women among 169,000 public
servants. There is some evidence that women with capacity are usually not
allowed to use their skills, but are only appointed to administrative or
non-decision making positions within their ministry. Only 10% of National
Assembly seats and 13% of Senate seats are held by women. This year, for
the first time, 8% of elected commune council members are women. However,
this number is still low compared to their representation in the total
population (51%). The electoral procedures and proportional systems do not
offer women the opportunity to participate as independent candidates. The
experience of recent elections shows that although each political party
expressed their attention on women’s participation, few women’s names were
listed from the first to the third places within the candidate lists. (iii) Recommendations
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