Women in East Timor
A pair of East Timorese women performing a traditional dance. | |
Gender Inequality Index | |
---|---|
Value | NR |
Rank | NR |
Maternal mortality (per 100,000) | 300 |
Women in parliament | 38.5% (2012) |
Women in labour force | 38.4% (2011) |
Global Gender Gap Index | |
Value | NR |
Rank | NR out of 144 |
Among the traditional practices challenging the status of women in East Timor or women in Timor-Leste include not being able to inherit or own property[1] and the cultural notion that women normally belongs to the home.[2]
Apart from these customary concepts, East Timorese women also confront domestic violence. Rape cases and sexual slavery were allegedly committed by East Timorese pro-integration militias during the September 1999 crisis in East Timor.[1] One of the organizations that promote empowerment and foster gender equality for the women of East Timor is the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).[2] In 2010, a law was passed making domestic violence a public crime, but the practice remained prevalent nevertheless. In a 2009–10 Demographic and Health Survey, 36% of married women reported having experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence from their husband or partner, but only 24% reported discussing this with anyone and only 4% reported seeking help from the police.[3] According to the same survey, 71% of men believe that the wife's neglecting children justifies the husband's beating her, while 72% of women believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she goes out without informing him.[4] According to activists in non-governmental organizations such as Asisténsia Legál ba Feto no Labarik, domestic violence is severaly under-reported and the punishments are not deterrent: in one case, a man who "stabbed his wife in the back of the head and struck her repeatedly with a block of wood, after an argument about feeding their children" only received a suspended jail sentence of seven months.[5]
See also
References
- 1 2 Women's Situation, East Timor
- 1 2 Crook, Matt. Women Learn the Political Ropes, Rights-East Timor
- ↑ "BREAKING THE CYCLE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN TIMOR- LESTE" (PDF). UNDP. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ "Timor-Leste strives to overcome culture of domestic violence". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ↑ "Domestic violence laws in East Timor failing to protect women, perpetrators often unpunished, NGOs say". ABC. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
Further reading
- Martins da Silva, Mira and Susan Kendall. Issues for Women in East Timor: The Aftermath of Indonesian Occupation, February 18–22, 2002, University of Sydney, Australia
- Violence against Women in Melanesia and East Timor: A Review of International Lessons, Office of Development Effectiveness, AusAID, Australian Government, 32 pages
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to People of East Timor. |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Market-women in East Timor. |
- Status of Women in East Timor, AusAIDvideo, September 7, 2009