GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN MYANMAR A SITUATION ANALYSIS GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN MYANMAR A SITUATION ANALYSIS Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO license (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) © 2016 Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Asian Development Bank United Nations Development Programme 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City One United Nations Plaza 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines New York, NY 10017 USA Tel +63 2 632 4444; Fax + 63 2 636 2444 Tel +95 1 542910 to 542919; Fax +95 1 545634 & 544531 www.adb.org; openaccess.adb.org www.undp.org United Nations Population Fund United Nations Entity for Gender Equality 605 Third Avenue and the Empowerment of Women New York, NY 10158 USA 220 East 42nd Street Tel + 1-212 297 5000; Fax + 1-212 370-0201 New York, NY 10017 USA http://www.unfpa.org Tel +1 646 781 4400; Fax +1 646 781 4444 www.unwomen.org Some rights reserved. Published in 2016. Printed in the Philippines. ISBN 978-92-9257-340-9 (Print), 978-92-9257-341-6 (e-ISBN) Publication Stock No. RPT167874-2 Cataloging-In-Publication Data Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Gender equality and women’s rights in Myanmar: A situation analysis. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2016. 1. Gender equality. 2. Women’s rights. 3. Myanmar. I. Asian Development Bank. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or their Board of Governors or the governments they represent, or that of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), or the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), or the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). 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Contents Boxes, Figures, and Tables vi Preface viii Foreword x Acknowledgments xii Abbreviations xiv Executive Summary xvi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Myanmar’s Social, Economic, and Political Context 2 1.2 The Reform Agenda 3 Governance reforms 3 The peace process 7 Communal tensions 11 Economic and social reforms 11 1.3 Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Myanmar: An Overview 17 Gender equality and women’s rights in the government’s reform agenda 17 Signposts of progress on gender equality and women’s rights in Myanmar 18 National Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Women (2013–2022): A significant milestone 21 1.4 Purpose of This Publication 23 Methodology 25 Chapter 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Rights to Poverty Reduction, a Livelihood, and Full and Equal Participation in the Economy 29 2.1 Significance of Women’s Full and Equal Right to Participate in the Economy 31 2.2 Gender-Based Trends in Poverty, Secure Livelihoods, and Participation in the Economy 33 Poverty in Myanmar 33 Gender equality and women’s rights in labor markets and employment in Myanmar 39 Gender equality and women’s right to decent work 41 Employment by sector 42 Gender analysis of women’s work in agriculture, industry and/or manufacturing, and services 47 Services 64 Trends in women’s labor migration: International and internal 70 iv Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Myanmar 2.3 Enablers and Obstacles to Women’s Full and Equal Participation with Men in the Economy 75 2.4 Conclusions and Recommendations 80 Chapter 3: Gender Equality and Women’s Right to an Education 85 3.1 Significance of Women’s and Girls’ Equal Access to Quality Education 87 3.2 Trends in Gender Equality and the Right to an Education in Myanmar 90 Trends in women’s and girls’ access to quality formal and nonformal education and training 90 Trends in early childhood care and development and primary and secondary education 91 Trends in nonformal and monastic education 96 Trends in higher education 98 Trends in technical and vocational education and training 100 From education to employment 101 3.3 Enablers and Obstacles to Women’s and Girls’ Right to Quality Education 102 Coverage of early childhood care and development, primary education, and secondary education 102 Enablers and barriers to higher education 107 Factors specific to technical and vocational education and training 108 3.4 Conclusions and Recommendations 109 Chapter 4: Gender Equality and Women’s Right to Good Health 115 4.1 Significance of Women’s and Girls’ Equal Access to Health-Care Services and Enjoyment of Good Health and Well-Being 117 4.2 Trends in Women’s Health in Myanmar 118 General health 118 Reproductive health 121 Health-seeking behaviors 123 Prevalence trends in HIV and AIDS 123 4.3 Enablers and Obstacles to Women’s and Girls’ Right to Health Care and Well-Being 126 4.4 Conclusions and Recommendations 134 Chapter 5: Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Right to Freedom from All Forms of Violence 137 5.1 Significance of Women’s and Girls’ Right to Live Free from Violence 139 5.2 Trends and Basis for Prevalence of Violence against Women and Girls in Myanmar 141 Data deficits 141 Forms of violence, attitudes, patterns of reporting, and level of services 141 Harmful traditional practices 145 5.3 Conclusions and Recommendations 149 Chapter 6: Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Political Processes and Governance 151 6.1 Significance of Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Political Processes and Governance 153 Contents v 6.2 Trends in Women’s Participation in Politics and Governance in Myanmar 155 Women’s representation in the Union, region, and state parliaments 155 Women’s representation in Union parliamentary committees 159 Women’s representation in government ministries and public administration 159 Women’s representation in political parties 163 Women’s representation in the Union Election Commission and region and state subcommissions 165 Women’s representation in the security sector 166 Women’s representation in the judiciary and other judicial and quasi-judicial bodies 167 6.3 Enablers and Obstacles to Women’s Improved Representation in National and Local Governance and in the Security and Justice Sector in Myanmar 171 6.4 Conclusions and Recommendations 178 Chapter 7: Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in the Peace Process in Myanmar 181 7.1 Significance of Including Women and Their Priorities in Peace Processes 183 7.2 Trends in Women’s Situation in Conflict and in All Aspects of the Peace Process in Myanmar 184 Gender-based vulnerabilities and capacities in conflict situations and the peace process 184 Women’s participation in government peace-related institutions and parliamentary committees 187 Women’s participation in political decision making in ethnic armed organizations 188 Women’s participation in ethnic armed organizations as negotiators, technical advisors, and observers at the peace table 189 Women as conflict monitors 190 Role of women civil society groups in the peace process 190 Women as peace builders 191 Women’s priorities in peace agenda 191 7.3 Enablers and Obstacles to Including Women and Their Priorities in Myanmar’s Peace Process 193 7.4 Conclusions and Recommendations 196 Chapter 8: Conclusions and Recommendations 199 8.1 Myanmar’s Mixed Gender Equality