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Regional Overview
Although uneven throughout the region, there has been considerable overall progress in applying the CEDAW framework to the development of laws, policies and institutional planning, as a direct result of efforts by both governments and civil society.
Legislation reflects this progress – across the region, existing laws have been amended, or new laws have been enacted on domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape, and anti-trafficking. Several countries have overarching legislation or bills on gender equality, and many have also implemented, in the last decade, local and national legislation to improve women’s participation in decision-making, particularly in electoral and political processes. Many Southeast Asian governments are also committed to mainstreaming gender equality perspectives in national economic and social planning, requiring that national development plans include gender equality provisions, and allocating resources to develop national action plans focused on anti-discrimination and women’s empowerment.
Civil society groups have done much to help raise awareness about CEDAW and to monitor its implementation. Most countries have NGO networks that have successfully submitted independent reports to the CEDAW Committee, providing an important source of information on the situation of women. A number of these networks have become CEDAW Watch groups – many are now working on expanding to also include representatives from academia, the media, and government. (See Valuable Voices from the Ground – NGOs and the Shadow Reporting Process)
However, obstacles undoubtedly remain. Clarity is still lacking in many countries on the role of CEDAW in advancing women’s human rights. Confusion remains around what exactly is meant by ‘women’s empowerment’, ‘gender equality’ and ‘gender mainstreaming’. Many laws and policies do not conform to CEDAW standards for gender equality, and many, while seemingly focused on the advancement of women, fall short of their objectives because of poor enforcement, limited capacity, and weak accountability.
Duty-bearers (state organs of the Governments that have ratified CEDAW) lack sufficient technical capacity and expertise to implement CEDAW – for example, it is often regarded simply as a 4-yearly reporting obligation, and not fully understood or utilized as a comprehensive framework and implementation tool to advance the human rights of women which Governments have also committed to in the form of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and MDGs. Many civil society groups’ efforts to promote gender equality also fail to use the important rights-based framework that CEDAW provides.
Further, at the level of the rights-holder or individual, many women do not understand what their rights are, and how to claim and exercise them.
Discrimination against women is still deeply rooted in spheres of life such as culture, family and interpersonal relations. The persistence of strong gender stereotyping in these areas characterizes much of the region. Patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted practices regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in family and the society, help legitimize discrimination against women, and underlie women’s disadvantaged position in areas such as education, employment and public and political life. They are also a root cause of violence against women, a problem that is significantly widespread across the region.
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