ADB to Study Gender Equality Among Ethnic Minorities in Lao PDR

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (18 August 2004) - ADB will help to address issues of gender equality relating to land and natural resources among ethnic communities living in the Nam Ngum River Basin of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), through a technical assistance (TA) grant approved for US$250,000.

The TA, from the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund, financed by the Government of the United Kingdom, will be carried out in three provinces covered by the Nam Ngum River Basin Development Project - Xieng Khouang, Xaysamboun Special Zone, and Vientiane.

These provinces have high levels of poverty and a large percentage of their populations are from ethnic minorities with a variety of cultures and traditional systems.

"Poverty in Lao PDR is most pronounced among rural populations, especially ethnic minorities," says Manoshi Mitra, an ADB Senior Social Development Specialist.

"Women play an important role in the economy and are primarily responsible for meeting their households' food requirements, health, and well-being. However, gender gaps exist in several areas and these are particularly wide among several northern ethnic minorities."

Ethnic minority cultures in Lao PDR assign women heavier workloads than men for food production, income generation, domestic work, and maintenance of cultural traditions.

The Lao Constitution provides for equality of men and women with regards to land rights among other aspects. However, women often lack equal rights particularly to productive assets, and this is related to among other factors, lack of gender sensitivity among local governments, lack of awareness of the law among rural women.

For instance, women lose out during land use planning and allocation programs, by not having their names included in a variety of land related documents. Local customs also prohibit them from inheriting land, although they do have access to land for food and livestock production, and collection of forest produce.

In addition, policies and programs related to restricting traditional ethnic minority agricultural practices, relocation programs, etc. are increasingly impacting adversely upon the ability of ethnic women to meet their households' need for food security.

The Government has stressed the importance of ADB mainstreaming gender in agriculture, which is a priority sector for poverty reduction.

As a first step, the TA will examine the issues surrounding gender inequality in access to land, forest, and water resources for livelihood and food security among the ethnic minorities and then design solutions.

The TA's findings will be disseminated to the Government, mass organizations, nongovernment organizations, and other stakeholders, while the lessons learned will be incorporated into the counterpart project as well as future projects.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will execute the TA, which is due for completion in May 2006. The Government is contributing $45,000 toward the TA's total cost of $295,000.

Read the full TA report

About ADB