Addressing a two-day conference
on ‘Women, leadership and the economy in South Asia’ organized by the South
Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF), he said, “By opening new economic
opportunities, pursuing equality at work, and ensuring protection and voice, we
can bread barriers and close divides.”
The former PM remarked that the
patriarchy across South Asia had narrowed the
span of economic possibilities and said that fewer women in business meant
products not made, taxes unpaid, and jobs not created.
He quoted a recent study by the
McKinsey Global Institute which concluded that if women participated in the
economy on a par with men, annual global output would increase by nearly 30
trillion dollars in 2025, and said that to realize these gains the societies
should shift in social norms, expand quality education and build an enabling
legal and institutional architecture.
According to Deuba, in South Asia , women owned less than 10 per cent of small
and medium enterprises while over three fourths of working women were engaged
in jobs that are vulnerable.
Speaking on a different note,
Deuba said that the new constitution had affirmed improved gender parity in
education, health and social protection.
“While several provisions will
no doubt be reformed over time through democratic process, this constitution is
the most progressive in Nepal ’s
modern history of nearly 250 years,” he said.
He stated that every woman had
equal right to lineage without discrimination and the constitution had
guaranteed right to property, safe motherhood, and protection from violence.
Deuba said that the women’s
participation in politics would help improve governance.
“When the laws of the land nudge
talented women to join the political process for change, our governance will
improve, people’s trust in the institutions will grow and our diverse national
life shall be enriched,” he said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat
said that the women should be provided with equal opportunities in every walk
of life, including business and economic activities.
“If we leave women behind, we
many not be able to harness the full potential of SAARC region,” he said.
President of SAWDF Pramila
Acharya Rijal said that the objective of the conference was to provide an opportunity
to build a common strategy for promoting women’s economic empowerment and
entrepreneurship in South Asia .
She said that poverty could be
alleviated through private sector development and urged that the women should
be enabled to take up their own business initiatives.
Senior rural development
specialist for the South Asia Region at the World Bank Melissa Williams said
that the region needed better jobs.
“Thousands of new workers enter
into the market every day. In order to address the unemployment, governments
should help the micro-enterprises to grow,” she said.
She urged to identify the
knowledge gaps and move the women’s agenda forward.
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