Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 11 of 20 BACK | NEXT Executive summary Introduction Gender and development issues in the Asian and Pacific region Overview of Bank policy and operations on WID (1985-1996) The need for a revised policy on gender and development From WID to GAD Experience of the World Bank and other agencies Experience of DMC governments International agenda for women The Bank’s revised policy on gender and development

Policy on Gender and Development : The need for a revised policy on gender and development

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C. Experience of DMC governments

66. Most DMC governments now have national policies and plans for action to improve women’s economic, social, and political status. To assist with the coordination and implementation of these policies and plans, national machineries have been created as either stand-alone ministries/ departments of women’s affairs, or as part of other sectoral ministries. Many DMC governments in the Asia and Pacific region are also signatories of international conventions on the rights of women. To date, 23 ADB DMCs have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Likewise, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was unanimously endorsed, and most ADB DMCs made commitments in Beijing to accelerate improving the status of women.

67. As follow-up action of the Beijing Conference, many DMCs are currently in the process of implementing the commitments made and targets set for women’s advancement by the year 2000. For example, in the Philippines the 1996 General Appropriations Act (Section 27) requires all departments, bureaus, offices, and agencies to set aside 5% of their 1996 appropriations to be used for projects designed to address gender issues. The Philippines also has in place the National Plan for Gender Responsive Development and the Women in Development and Nation Building Act.

68. Many of ADB’s other DMCs are also renewing their commitment to women: Bangladesh is currently in the process of preparing a National Policy and Plan of Action on women as part of its Beijing follow-up activities; the Kyrgyz Republic is preparing to mobilize resources and establish a mechanism to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; the PRC is to establish a monitoring system on women’s conditions, and to improve laws and regulations for the protection of the rights of women; the Pacific island states have prepared a Pacific Plan of Action on Gender and are currently in the process of developing concrete actions for implementation; India will set up a Commissioner for Women’s Rights to act as a public defender of women’s human rights; and Cambodia established a Ministry of Women’s Affairs to coordinate and implement the National Action Plan for Women. Similar activities are under way in many ADB DMCs. Some DMCs have enacted legislation to specifically address gender inequities such as the antidowry legislation in Bangladesh and India, the Domestic Violence Act (1996) in Malaysia, and the Anti-Rape Bill (1997) in the Philippines.

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