Rosliwaty Ramly, Putrajaya – Timor Leste is one of the world's least developed countries whereby the majority of its women are illiterate, uneducated subsistence farmers who are marginalised in the social, cultural, economic and political sectors, according its country report.
Men make up about 80 per cent of the labour force, the report says, attributing this to the fact that women's traditional role as caregivers left them with less time and opportunity to pursue education and work.
In the present situation, the women also tend to be exploited in wage employment, having lower paid jobs with less security, says the report on Promotion of Gender Equality in Timor Leste presented at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Women, here Monday.
On the health aspect, it says recent surveys showed that knowledge about HIV/AIDS among the population is still very poor.
Available data suggest that gender-based violence, especially domestic violence, is serious and widespread, affecting both women and children, it adds.
Other major challenges to the ability of women to participate freely in the development of the society are traditional practices rooted in a patriarchal social system, which mostly give older men the power of decision-making.
Customary law related to issues such as land inheritance are discriminatory towards women, the report says, adding that this hinders women's access to and control over assets.
However, on a brighter note, the report says that Timor Leste's Constitution guarantees equal rights and responsibilities for women and men in aspects of family, cultural, social, economic and political life. It also contains an article on non-discrimination, which guarantees protection against discrimination based on sex.
The report says that the Constitution also mandates the state with the responsibility to ensure equality between women and men and that democracy is achievable only through the equal and active participation by women and men in public life. Timor Leste has been independent for close to two-and-a-half years after a transition of almost the same period under the United Nations Transition Administration for East Timor (UNTAET).
The report says the reconstruction and nation-building phases provided ample opportunities for the women's movement to influence the policy-making framework, in particular, that pertaining to women's participation in decision-making.
One of the important decisions made during the transition was the establishment of the Gender Affairs Unit within UNTAET which later gave birth to the Office for the Promotion of Equality (OPE).
The establishment of the OPE in 2001 is an example of the strong political will of the government to pursue its commitment to gender equality, the report adds.