Women's economic contribution still unappreciated

Women's economic contribution still unappreciated

JAKARTA (JP): The poorer the family, the more important a
woman's contribution becomes, according to a participant in the
ongoing Asian Pacific women conference.

Minh Chau Nguyen, who represented the World Bank, told a
plenary session of the conference that many poor families in the
Asia-Pacific region depend entirely on women.

In India she said one third of the families below the poverty
line are headed by women. But even in male-headed households,
women's earnings are often critical to the economic survival of
these families.

Minh said that given the high proportion of the poor who are
women development programs which try to improve women's economic
participation and productivity are essential.

She cited Indonesia as a place where this approach is used.
After three years of participation in the Unit Desa (village
unit) financial service system, the percentage of clients below
the poverty line dropped from 15 percent to 4 percent, and
women's income rose two and half times.

Considering the crucial role women play in the survival of
families, governments and other policy makers should ensure that
changes in the economic and political structures do not harm
women's interests, she said.

She called on the governments of the Asia-Pacific region to
protect women's interests by sustaining or increasing
expenditures on social services.

She agreed with the conference's draft plan of action which
states that policy changes offer the potential for long term
growth and expanded employment opportunities for women in the
fast-growing region.

"However, some policy measures can have adverse effects on
some parts of the population, which may include women," she said.
She added that even economic incentives and opportunities
promised by such adjustments may elude women due to their
disadvantaged status in the overall economy.

Chaired by Indonesian State Minister for Women's Role Mien
Sugandhi, the conference is expected to ratify later today the
draft Jakarta Declaration and Plan of Action for Women which were
drawn up in a five-day preliminary senior official meeting.

During almost all of the sessions, some delegates have
attacked the conditions attached to World Bank and International
Monetary Fund programs.

Some also expressed opposition to trading agreements,
including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),
which they said place a greater burden on women in many
developing countries.

A representative of the United Nations Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM), Beti Astolfi, said her institution helps both
international bodies and countries to introduce gender-sensitive
approaches to development.

"These perspective will help avoid repeated failures of long
term benefits of programs for women," she said.

Her colleague, R. Linda Miranda, lamented the existing
national accounting systems which do not reflect unpaid work,
like domestic work, and indirectly make women unimportant in the
economy.

Recent surveys in developing countries have shown that unpaid
work, mostly done by women, makes up 30 to 50 percent of the
total national income.

The conference yesterday was marked by protests from an
unidentified group of women against the inclusion of France, the
United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands at the
event.

"We strongly object to the participation of these countries,
and in fact the unacceptable interference of France in defining
the rights of women of the Asia-Pacific region," said the "Women
of the Asia-Pacific Region" in a pamphlet.

"It's a shame....we are still controlled by the shackles of
history and colonialism" the statement said.

However, Makarim Wibisono, an Indonesian delegate from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deflected the accusation, saying the
four countries are full members of ESCAP and have the right to
attend the conference. (swe/anr)