WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS
Across Asia, there is a growing commitment to democratic principles of governance and citizen participation. However, in many Asian countries, women still face serious cultural, social, and legal barriers that constrain their full participation in democratic processes. The Asia Foundation works with local partners across the Asia-Pacific region to increase the number of women voting; improve the quality of women’s votes; encourage that elections are free and fair and ensure that women’s votes are counted; and help women to enter politics and become candidates and leaders themselves.
EDUCATING WOMEN VOTERS TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS
Elections are the starting point of a healthy democratic system, but without an informed electorate the potential for democratic transformation is limited. In order to participate effectively in elections, citizens need information on registration and polling processes, as well as on the records and platforms of candidates and parties. This is true for both men and women, but in many parts of Asia women cannot readily access such information due to low levels of literacy, cultural and social restrictions on their movement, and inadequate availability of substantive information. To ensure that women know their voting rights and understand the voting process, and to enable women to access relevant information, The Asia Foundation has organized major voter education programs tailored to women before elections.
Recent elections in Asia have demonstrated the importance of this approach. Prior to the 2004 election in Afghanistan, an Asia Foundation survey found that many voters were misinformed about a women’s right to vote. For example, 87 percent of respondents (both men and women) thought that women needed their husband’s permission to vote, and 72 percent thought women needed advice on who to vote for from a male relative. The Foundation used the survey to develop voter education programs that addressed voter’s misconceptions in culturally-appropriate ways. For the 2005 National Assembly elections, the Foundation and its partners developed a comprehensive program of broadcast and print civic education programs that targeted restrictive attitudes toward women’s participation as voters. The percentage of women voting increased to 43 percent of all voters.
In Thailand, the Foundation has supported face to- face voter outreach by local voter education volunteers who made house visits and provided materials to women unable to easily leave home. Another innovative approach to reach housebound women pioneered by the Foundation is to provide civic education to children in school, who were then encouraged to become voter educators in their own homes, specifically for those who cannot read or have no other access to information.
In the 2004 Indonesian elections, the Foundation supported a local partner, Hapsari, to broadcast 300 programs on the rights of women voters in Northern Sumatra. In addition, 1,040 public service announcements were broadcast on five TV stations targeted at women nationwide. On the island of Aceh, the Foundation supported a women’s rights organization, Flower Aceh, to disseminate 100,000 posters, 25,000 brochures, and 11,000 stickers with messages such as, “Don’t Tell Women How to Vote.”
Nationwide, Pakistan has very low rates of registration and actual voting by Pakistani women, particularly in remote areas such as the Northwest Frontier Province where historically only 1 percent of voters are women. In response, the Foundation has developed a comprehensive program to combat cultural and religious constraints for the 2007 elections. This program includes innovative civic education programs for rural semi-literate and illiterate women, and targeted information campaigns to tell when, how, and where to vote.
ENSURING FREE AND FAIR – AND EQUITABLE – ELECTIONS
An election that is not fair for women is not free and fair. Consequently, in election programs, The Asia Foundation collects data on prospective voters’ views and behaviors, and encourages ongoing analysis of campaign and election processes to determine the impact of policies on the participation of both men and women. Data from these analyses are then used in post-election advocacy to reduce the specific barriers that prevent active and effective participation.
The Foundation conducted a series of baseline democracy surveys in Indonesia to assist in the development and evaluation of election programs. These scientific surveys included a battery of questions to identify and quantify constraints on women’s political participation and their priority concerns (survey reports are available on www.asiafoundation.org). Data from the surveys enabled the Foundation and its partners to accurately target civic education programs to specific attitudes and beliefs that affect women’s political participation. This information is also useful to political parties in developing platforms and policies that are more responsive to women’s concerns.
During the 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan, the Foundation supported the international observation mission of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL). With technical assistance from the Foundation, ANFREL deployed teams of male and female observers and interpreters who were able to accurately assess the differing constraints on participation experienced by men and women. These findings informed future programs and advocacy.
TRAINING WOMEN CANDIDATES
Women worldwide are woefully underrepresented in public office and political life. But in many Asian countries, they are increasingly breaking down traditional barriers and becoming effective politicians and government leaders. It is critical that women serve as leaders alongside men so that they are present when decisions are being made, resources are being allocated, and laws and policies are being formulated so that decisions reflect their priority issues and interests. To increase the number of women standing for election and winning seats, The Asia Foundation supports programs to train women on how to run an effective political campaign, how to get their message out, and how to build constituencies.
In the 2001 national election in Bangladesh, the Foundation supported training for women candidates and eight Women and Elections TV shows that highlighted women candidates. The Foundation also facilitated substantive discussion on issues important to women before the election and supported an advocacy campaign that encouraged political parties to field more female candidates.
In Cambodia, The Asia Foundation worked with Women for Prosperity (WFP), a Khmer women’s organization, to train women as candidates for the 2002 local elections. A total of 5,527 women were trained. The election was a great success for women’s participation, putting almost 1,000 women into local office (from a previous total of seven) and increasing the number of women commune chiefs ten-fold. Of the total number of women elected, more than 64 percent had participated in this program. The Foundation then supported WFP-organized dialogue meetings to strengthen professional networks of women councilors, allowing women councilors from across Cambodia to share knowledge, experience, and new ideas on issues most critical to their council work.
ADVANCING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
Throughout Asia, legal and customary barriers limit women’s ability to fully participate in and benefit from economic pursuits. Even where laws establish equity for women, implementation and enforcement are often lax. Discrimination against women in the economic sphere affects women’s lives in critical ways, such as owning and inheriting property, receiving alimony and child support, traveling abroad, receiving lower wages than men for the same work, and being unjustly dismissed — such as for pregnancy. When women’s economic rights and opportunities are ensured, women, their families, and societies prosper. The Asia Foundation has had a dedicated program to help women improve their economic status across the Asia-Pacific region for over a decade. Foundation programs promote women’s economic opportunities by advancing their ability to:
- Own property and inherit family assets
- Access credit and start businesses
- Hold government accountable for implementing laws and policies that promote economic growth and ensure women’s equal economic opportunities
- Advocate employer compliance with labor laws that protect worker rights
- Acquire marketable skills
- Know and claim their legal rights
AFGHANISTAN: The Foundation supports vocational training for destitute widows in Kunduz province. Foundation partner, the Khahan Improvement Organization, provides training to women in skills that will enable them to find employment in the local economy. The Foundation also supports vocational training for older girls to help them earn a living once they leave school.
BANGLADESH: The Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) provides legal education, counseling, court representation, and referral of cases to an alternative dispute resolution mechanism based on the traditional shalish model. With Foundation support, BLAST established the first-ever specialty legal service clinic in Bangladesh focusing specifically on the economic rights of industrial workers. More than 1,000 women workers in Narayanganj - Bangladesh’s busiest trade center - are now aware of their rights and labor laws, grievance mechanisms, formal court procedures, and available support resources, and have improved their negotiating position with employers to oppose discriminatory practices. Nari Uddug Kendra trained more than 5,000 women likely to be affected by the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in effective job searching or prospects for safe migration to overseas employment.
CAMBODIA: Many Cambodian women are unaware of the need to ensure their economic security by registering births, marriages, and deaths in their family. In the case of death of their spouse or divorce, women who have not registered their marriages have no legal claim to inherit property or receive alimony or child support. Following a Foundation-supported advocacy campaign by Women for Prosperity, the government of Cambodia eliminated penalties for late registration of births and marriages, eliminated fees for registration of births and deaths, reduced marriage registration fees, and provided mobile registration units. These changes, combined with an awareness campaign, resulted in a dramatic surge of women’s registration over a six-month period — an important step enabling Khmer women to claim their legal rights. The advocacy campaign also resulted in changes to the draft civil code that strengthen women’s legal rights to child support and penalize polygamy.
CHINA: The Foundation supports policy reform dialogues on the rights of migrant women workers in China. Grants to three migrant working women service projects in the Pearl River Delta have enabled those workers to access health, educational, personal counseling, and legal aid services. The Foundation builds on these programs by organizing and supporting the development of worker-friendly labor rights and labor law educational and awareness materials and provides scholarships to help women factory workers secure better economic opportunities through education. The Foundation is taking lessons learned from its Pearl River Delta projects to implement a major nationwide initiative in worker protection and labor rights education.
INDONESIA: In Indonesia, where women own 35 percent of micro- and small enterprises, many woman entrepreneurs register their businesses in their husband’s name. They then encounter difficulties taking out a loan or risk losing their business in the case of divorce or the death of their husband. The Foundation supports the Indonesian Women’s Business Association to educate women entrepreneurs in six locations in Java, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Bali about the benefits of and procedure for registering their businesses in their own names at local one-stop business licensing centers. The Foundation also supports Nasyiatul Aisyiyah, the women’s wing of the mass-based Muslim organization Muhamadiyah, to organize woman business owners in East Java to improve their knowledge of financial institutions and how to access credit to grow their businesses.
NEPAL: Although the 1990 Constitution contains special provisions for gender equality, implementing legislation is inadequate in Nepal. Loopholes in the property rights law prevent women from using, investing, and inheriting property. Discriminatory legal provisions within employment laws affect women’s options and employment conditions. As a result of Foundation- supported advocacy by local groups, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repealed a discriminatory provision requiring women applying for a passport to get permission from a husband or other male relative. The government also reduced the fee women must pay to register property. This has contributed substantially to increasing women’s land ownership. As a result of public interest litigation filed by Foundation partner, Pro Public, sexual harassment is receiving official attention in Nepal for the first time. The Supreme Court issued a directive order to the government to formulate a law protecting women from sexual harassment.
VIETNAM: In cooperation with the Vietnam Women’s Union and the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women, the Foundation supports micro-credit programs to enable poor and disadvantaged women, including trafficking survivors, to improve their livelihoods or start and grow businesses. The Foundation also supports legal aid services to trafficking victims, who often find themselves in dire economic circumstances upon their return home. Through the Provincial Legal Aid Centers and their district branches, victims of trafficking are receiving legal aid and assistance in reinstating their land and/or house, re-registering their citizenship, and obtaining birth certificates for their children. Finally, the Foundation partnered with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor to assess women’s awareness of labor law and strengthen enforcement of the Labor Code. The Foundation also worked with the labor federations of Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong province to educate female workers in the textile and footwear industries on their legal labor rights.
ASIA-PACIFIC REGION: The expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) in 2004 has potentially dire consequences for millions of women who make up the majority of workers in the garment industry. To help Asian countries understand the impact of MFA expiration, the Foundation organized a workshop in 2004 to inform policymakers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka of reforms needed to allay negative impact from the changed trade environment. Following this workshop, advocacy by Foundation partners in Bangladesh resulted in the government of Bangladesh establishing a special unit for retrenched workers under the Export Promotion Board, obligating approximately $3 million to assist retrenched workers, and allocating approximately $5 million for training and job creation in alternative sectors for retrenched workers.
