NEPAL GENDER BRIEF – February 2019 INTRODUCTION Nepal is at an important development juncture with the establishment of a federal The World Bank announced its new Global Strategy for Gender government system and a new constitution Equality in December 2015 (World Bank, 2015). To support the Global in 2015. Nepal has recorded impressive Strategy for Gender Equality, the South Asia region launched its own results in poverty reduction (poverty rate Regional Gender Action Plan (RGAP). The RGAP calls for coordinated declined from 42% in 1996, to 25% in 2011)1. efforts across the Global Practices in three critical areas: human However, despite progress in reducing capital; economic empowerment; and voice and agency. the overall poverty rate, wide disparities based on gender, social background, and These efforts are particularly pertinent to the Country Partnership geography persist. For instance, female- Framework (CPF) for Nepal (FY 19-FY23) which informs the World headed households are more likely to suffer Bank’s development priorities and programs for the next five years in from poverty than other households. Nepal. This CPF has three key focus areas: Public Institutions; Private- Sector Led Jobs and Growth; and Inclusion and Resilience. Gender is Nepal ranks 105 out of 149 countries on the a cross-cutting theme across these focus areas and this is informed Global Gender Gap Index 2018 conducted through a comprehensive Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) by the World Economic Forum,2 indicating Analysis. that there is still a critical need to focus on 1 Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics [CBS], 2011 gender equality across various spheres. This 2 Global Gender Gap Index Report, 2018. World Economic Forum. brief presents a summary of the key gender https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018 issues in Nepal covering the areas of health, education, economic participation, political empowerment and gender-based violence. CONNECT WITH US @ wbg.org/Nepal @ WorldBankNepal @ WorldBankSAsia infonepal@worldbank.org HEALTH EDUCATION Nepal has made much progress over time in the reduction 82.9 % of adult women have completed primary of maternal mortality ratio, reducing maternal mortality by education, and enrollment gaps into primary almost three quarters between 1990 and 2015.3 Amongst low school have been almost closed; from 64.6 in income groups, the maternal mortality ratio dropped from 796 2000 to 96.2% of girls in 2016. However, only per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 479 in 2015. Life expectancy 30.7% of women have completed a secondary at birth for females has also shown a positive trend rising education. Female students tend to drop out from 63.4 in 2000 to 71.9 years in 2016. However, women’s earlier than male students because education share of the population aged 15 and above living with HIV has systems often do not consider the needs of registered an increase from 29.5 percent in 2000 to 37.5% in adolescent girls but also because of community 2016.4 Undernutrition has been slower to improve and there social norms that restrict older girls’ access are important inequalities in terms of access to services and to education.5 There has been some notable reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health, including progress made on literacy, as well as some between rural and urban areas. issues of equity and access but still, as of 2018, only 48.8% of women in Nepal are literate as compared to 71.7% of males. ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION Compared to other South Asian countries, Nepal has high rates of female In Nepal, laws and policies that guarantee labor force participation: 85.4% of women are in the labor force, though equal rights are not implemented effectively. there is still a severe gender wage gap in earned income. This high rate The Constitution grants right to obtain of female labor force participation is a result of high male migration and citizenship by identity of either father or may mask other issues such as low school enrolment for girls or delayed mother but it is still difficult for a single mother retirement for older women. In Nepal, women’s work in agriculture is mostly to pass her citizenship to her child or to her informal, insecure, or low-paid (CBS, 2015). Women and marginalized groups spouse. There are no laws that mandate equal are predominantly employed in the agriculture sector making them more remuneration for work of equal value, or that vulnerable to food insecurity and its adverse effects. Seventy-six % of all mandates nondiscrimination based on gender households in Nepal are agricultural households. While land ownership is a in employment, hiring or promotions (Women critical component for agricultural households, women and Dalits6 are also Business and the Law Data, 2018). This legal less likely than caste men to own land7 and they do not always have economic context makes it all the more challenging rights over their owned land (FAO Gender and Land Rights Database). Thus, for women to access high quality jobs and Dalit women face double marginalization in the agriculture sector, as men achieve economic empowerment through their tend to dominate the managerial and professional sectors (CBS, 2015). participation in the labor force. 3 https://www.unicef.org/health/files/Nepal_PEA_-_design_version_28May15.pdf 4 World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2018 5 UNESCO Report: Empowering Adolescent Girls and Young http://www.unesco.org/new/en/kathmandu/education/projects/joint-programme-koica 6 Approximately 15% of hill groups and 44% of Madhesis are landless (CBS, 2015) 7 FAO Gender and Land Rights Database; Quisumbing, Kumar, & Behrman, 2017 POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT There has been a significant increase in the representation of women at local levels of government, although stronger efforts are needed to promote women’s participation in the governance process. Nepal’s transition to a federal structure has created new opportunities for women’s increased engagement in political life. The 2017 local government elections resulted in the election of women to 41% of positions (or 14,352 women). This success Source: https://womendeliver.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Nepal-Womens-Political-Participation- can be attributed in Political-Parties-September-2013-.jpg part to the principles of equality, equity and nondiscrimination and participation that are explicitly included decades, but women are still in the 2015 Constitution, as well as due to mandates imposed significantly underrepresented in key by the Election Commission that required 40% of nominees in positions. the 2017 election be women. Men, however, continue to hold the majority of positions at all levels of government in Nepal. Similarly, the decision on the Women account for only 18 mayors (out of 753) and 64 ward availability of services for women and chairs (out of 6,742). As of 2018, there were 32.7% of women other socially marginalized groups in parliament, though there were only 3.7% of ministerial may differ according to the availability positions occupied by women (Global Gender Gap Index, 2018). of financial resources, priorities of SNGs, strength of women/civil society Newly-elected women do not receive the same level of advocacy, and political allies. The Local exposure and training on their roles and have to balance Government Operation Act 2074 (2017) unpaid domestic work with their careers. This makes it outlines functions of municipalities, challenging for them to understand and fulfill mandates.8 which includes gender equality and Recent research points to several capacity issues such as inclusion, responsibilities and planning balancing time, understanding and fulfilling mandates, processes. However, there needs maneuvering the socio-cultural environment within which to be further clarity on how such they have to operate, and infrastructure limitations that impact provisions will be implemented in women differently than they do men (Asia Foundation, 2018). practice. At the SNG level, officials Additional efforts are crucial to enhance the participation of need to be sensitized and trained on women in political life. Women also need exposure on how how to manage resources that focus to mitigate possible backlash towards the new system that on the needs and priorities of women ensures their participation. The autonomy given to sub- and the marginalized. Whilst the national governments (SNGs) may result in either the adoption changes to the enabling environment of inclusive policies or alternatively may create opportunities are encouraging, implementation to resist or counteract those very policy initiatives that are of policies and regulations remain pro-inclusion. Legal provisions such as election quotas have weak and there is limited institutional resulted in an increase of elected women than in previous capacity on the ground. 8 Asia Foundation, Nepal’s Locally Elected Women Representatives: Exploratory Study of Needs and Capacity, 2018. Retrieved at: https://asiafoundation.org/publication/nepals-locally-elected-representatives-exploratory-study-of-needs-and-capacity-assessment/ GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) GENDER In Nepal, GBV is the leading cause of violence-related deaths. In 2017, REFLECTED IN 149 people were killed as a result of GBV of which 140 were women. According to the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016, 23% NEPAL’S NEW CPF (AS INFORMED BY THE GESI ANALYSIS) of women have reported experiencing physical violence and 7% of women aged 15-49 have experienced sexual violence. Despite some GENDER IN NEPAL'S NEW CPF legislation to address GBV, there remain issues of weak capacity, inadequate response mechanisms and inconsistent implementation PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS of policies.9 Women who are employed are more likely to experience 1. Enhancing women's violence than women who are not employed; over 50 percent of access to public services; Nepalese women have experienced sexual harassment at work increasing accountability (Solotaroff & Pande, 2014). from service providers In Nepal, a 2012 GBV study (Nepal Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, 2012) revealed that 61.3 percent of women who PRIVATE SECTOR-LED JOBS had experienced violence had not shared their experiences with AND GROWTH anyone. Very few women reported seeking help from institutions 1. Expanding employment such as the police, the health system, and NGOs. Early marriage is also opportunities for women prevalent in Nepal which has one of the highest rates (for both girls 2. Improving technical and and boys) in Asia. Although the legal age of union for both sexes is 20, vocational skills more than a third of young women aged 20-24 report that they were 3. Reducing discriminatory married by the age of 18, and just over one in ten by 15 (CBS, 2015). practices in the workplace Whilst there has been some progress in legislation to address GBV, violence against women continues to be widespread, with weak INCLUSION AND RESILIENCE implementation of existing policies, nonfunctional machineries and 1. Reducing women and inadequate response mechanisms.10 girls' vulnerabilities to gender-based violence, health shocks and natural disasters CONCLUSION Findings from the GESI assessment highlight challenges that marginalized groups in Nepal face daily. It is evident that they are particularly disadvantaged with regards to participation in governance, accessing services, employment, and asset ownership. They also exhibit lower health and education outcomes. The findings of this analysis are reflected in the new CPF and will be incorporated into dialogue with clients at the country level —which will go a long way towards ensuring that the inequalities faced by women, minority ethnic and caste groups, sexual minorities, and others will be specifically targeted by forthcoming World Bank operations. For more information, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nepal 9 The Nepal Peace Monitor Annual Review 2017, Nepal Monitor 10 The Nepal Peace Monitor Annual Review 2017, Nepal Monitor CONNECT WITH US @ wbg.org/Nepal @ WorldBankNepal @ WorldBankSAsia infonepal@worldbank.org