The status of womens right s in East and southAsia

Greater female involvement in politics is impeded by the way candidates are recruited as well as entrenched attitudes that see women’s primary role as that of wife and mother. Gender stereotypes that favor males over females are often reinforced in school textbooks and are sometimes encouraged by religious teachings. For example, Buddhists still believe that rebirth as a woman rather than a man indicates that less merit was accrued in past lives. Southeast Asian Islam has traditionally been very tolerant, but over the last 20 years there has been greater stress on “correct” dress (notably head covering) and public behavior. Although all Southeast Asian countries except Laos and Vietnam have signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and have made advances promoting gender equality, it is difficult to change the preference for sons, especially in Vietnam with its strong Confucian heritage.

There is a growing appetite on the part of business and civil society to collaborate beyond immediate concerns around employment, education and skills. Forward-looking businesses, smart governments and innovative civil society organizations all want to see women and girls enjoying the same rights and opportunities as their male counterparts. But to achieve that, we need to involve businesses in change beyond the workplace and the classroom in East Asia.

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