The Gender Question
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As the first South Asia-wide analysis of gender issues, the Report focuses on five areas of concern to gender equality: law, economics, education, health and governance. The Report explores the disproportionate share of the burden of deprivation that is borne by South Asian women, finding that women are bearing the brunt of the region's increasing poverty; colossal human deprivation; poor governance; discrimination based on customs and tradition; and civil and military strife. Among the number of poor people, illiterates and the unemployed in South Asia, women form the majority. Women hardly have a voice in the decision-making forums in the regions. They work from dawn to dusk, but their work is not counted. Five years after the Beijing Conference on Women, much remains to be done in improving women's capacities, providing them with opportunities for income-earning and political participation, and ensuring legal justice. The Report received wide media attention resulting in editorials in leading newspapers in India and Pakistan and is used as a reference in many universities across South Asia. Year: 2000 |
