E-Kantipur

In the wake of globalisation, the employment in the informal sector has risen rapidly in all regions of the world including South Asia primarily since most of the states have experienced a decline in formal wage employment. In the dualistic labour market in South Asia, as much as 90 percent of workers are engaged in informal economy characterised by a blend of relatively small, well protected formal sector and a large unprotected informal sector. 

Within the informal sector, women form the majority. “In South Asia the majority of economically active women are engaged in the informal sector,” argued Dr Neera Agnimitra from University of Delhi in a regional conference recently organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Kathmandu. She further added, “Over-representation of women in the informal sector worldwide has several explanations ranging from cultural norms of seclusion, lower status in society, subordinated roles both at home and at the workplace, lack of education and adequate skills and denial of opportunities in the formal sphere of employment.” Identifying and addressing the underlying causes of informality and the barriers to enter into economic mainstream with the promotion of decent work can considerably reduce the vulnerability of women. Strong legislation to address issues of recognition and protection of workers in informal sector is instrumental.

Women in war and peace

A discussion of women in Nepal’s public sphere is incomplete without delving into the recent conflicts. War affects men and women in different ways. While women remain a minority of combatants and perpetrators of war, they increasingly suffer the greatest damage. It appears that the agony of women in Nepal during and after a decade long internal armed conflict has not improved. Women face various forms of physical, social, economical, psychological and sexual violence in war-torn societies. Women are the first to be affected by infrastructure breakdown, loss of family members and loss of livelihood as they struggle to keep families together. Nevertheless, the stereotypical image of women as passive victims of war overshadows their agency and potential contribution to peace building. Women in their multiple roles as leaders, mothers, wives, sister and active members of society carries tremendous amount of patience, understanding, balance, forgiveness and resilience. I believe it won’t be unreasonable to argue that women are the most significant but invisible agents who actively facilitate the healing, preserving relations and protecting of social fabric of society that are essential for sustainable peace and preventing violence. Yet women remain an untapped resource in formal pace building and post-conflict reconstruction.

Encouragingly, Nepal is the first country to adopt and implement the National Plan of Action on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and Resolution 1820. Resolution 1325 reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in post-conflict reconstruction. It emphasises the importance of equal participation and full involvement of women in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. Resolution 1825 identifies sexual violence as a matter of international peace and security that necessitates a security response. Nonetheless these resolutions adopted are yet to be reflected in action. Still, the peace process in Nepal revolves around exclusively male committees, meetings and agreements. Changing women’s face from passive victim to acknowledging them as proactive agents of change requires social awakening together with a strong political will and commitment.

Women in decision making

The third point that needs to be discussed is a theme that dwells around women’s participation in decision-making. Facts from Nepal, for example, indicate a low representation of women in educational institutions, government and civil service despite a solid representation of women in the Constitutional Assembly. Quotas for women in parliament and signing different international human rights mechanisms and resolutions, no doubt, have symbolic value but these instruments become meaningful only when they are put into practice.

In most of the countries, despite educational advances, women are seriously under-represented in higher decision-making positions, including in educational institutions. This clearly indicates that very low participation of women in high-level economic, social and political decision-making even when they are socially and economically empowered or are equal or more qualified than men.

Our society, in general, has to come to the terms with the fact that women can play a bigger role in social, cultural, economical and political development. It is high time for the society to first recognise contributions of women and tap their potential by expanding the space for meaningful participation. Increased participation of women at all levels, not just as tokens, will certainly help promote positive changes.

After the people’s uprising of 2006, many seminars and conferences have been organised to encourage greater participation by women in public sphere. These initiatives help in generating fresh insight by using a gendered perspective in policy development. However, these efforts have not been able to significantly change women’s positions. A serious problem with the discourse is the lack of male participation. As a result, rather than bridging the gender gap — it appears that seminars and conferences like the one mentioned in the beginning reinforce the existing attitudes. Hence, the need of the hour is to adopt aggregated approach that brings both men and women to the discussion tables.

Shrestha is a volunteer at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Nepal

ritu shrestha    ritupiink1@yahoo.com

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