Forum:
Human Rights Commission 2
Issue:
The empowerment of women in LEDC nations
Student Officer: Ata Chowdhry
Position:
President
Introduction
“There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women”. This quote
by the seventh Secretary General of the United Nations sums up the issue of empowerment of women.
Even though women living in the 21st century have seen improvements and have been given more
freedom than ever before, women still remain deprived of equality and the ability to have equal access to
basic rights such as education and healthcare and continue to face problems to do with economic equity.
For many years women have had to live in societies where they have not been given the opportunity to
excel, to contribute to their country or their community and have often been neglected. Although, it has
become clear that the empowerment of women in less economically developed countries is the key to
promoting development while alleviating poverty and addressing the world’s most urgent challenges, the
problem continues to be unsolved. It has been proven multiple times that empowering women to
participate in economic life is essential to build better economies, achieve international goals for
development, and improve the quality of life not only for women but also men, families and communities.
The global poverty project published a report stating that ‘Women make up half the world's
population and yet represent a staggering 70% of the world's poor. We live in a world in which women
living in poverty face gross inequalities and injustice from birth to death. From poor education to poor
nutrition to vulnerable and low pay employment, the sequence of discrimination that a woman may suffer
during her entire life is unacceptable but all too common.' This is especially true for women in LEDC’s
where they have been victims of discrimination in the workplace, extremely low wages and sexual
violence/harassment. For many years the work women have done has been made ‘invisible’ and
according to the United Nations, men are credited with performing three quarters of all economic
activities in developing countries, women actually perform 53 per cent of the work. According to the
UNDP Human Development Report, women in the continent of Africa represent 52 per cent of the total
population, contribute approximately 75 per cent of the agricultural work, and produce 60 to 80 per cent
of the food. Yet they earn only 10 per cent of African incomes and own just 1 per cent of the continent's
assets.
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The reason women face such problems in these developing countries is the conceptual thought
that women are incapable of carrying out the same tasks as men due to their responsibilities. This has
led to women not being able to take decisions, choose to be educated, and choose to contribute to the
economy and their community. In order to solve this issue women are facing in these countries, it is
important we realise that their empowerment is what will lead to not only women being given a basic
right but will benefit the entire society by allowing economic growth, alleviating poverty and long term
betterment of the economy.
Definition of Key Terms
Empowerment
This means providing an individual or a community with spiritual, political, social or economic
strength and often allows the individual or community to develop confidence in their own ability or
capacity. It involves having decision-making power of their own, having access to resources that can
help with improving personal power and ability, increasing one's positive self-image as well as
having positive thinking on the ability to make change and take part in growth processes and
changes.
LEDC’s
This stands for Less Economically Developed Countries, also referred to as ‘developing countries’.
These are relatively poorer nations that have lower living standards with high infant mortality, high
death rates, low life expectancies life and low levels of literacy. These countries have low GDP’s and
manufacturing is poorly developed as is the infrastructure of roads, rail, electricity, water treatment
and sewage disposal. They often rely on agriculture as their source of income and education and
medicine in these countries is not well developed. As a result, women face greater difficulties in
these nations.
Equality
Equality is ensuring that every person has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and
that no one should be discriminated against because race, disability, sex etc.
Gender Equality
This is ensuring that women and men have the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of
society, including decision-making and economic participation. When gender equality is achieved,
the different needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured.
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Economic Equity
The situation in an economy in which the allocation of resources or goods among the people is
considered fair. In the case of empowerment of women it includes the right that women should be
paid the same as men and the right that women should have work equally empowering as men.
Background Information
Women in the labour force
The participation of women in the labour force has also been a major issue over the past few
years. One example would be the discrimination certain women face within specific industries that
believe women are not ‘sustainable assets’. These industries tend to think in such a matter because of
their thought of women leaving work or not being committed enough to their jobs due to the
responsibilities of raising children and taking care of the internal dynamics of the household. In addition,
in comparison to men, women get paid relatively low, despite contributing more to the overall output. The
World Bank has estimated that ‘eliminating barriers that discriminate against women’s working in certain
sectors could increase productivity of labour by as much as 25 per cent.’ It is certain that by ensuring
women’s equal access to agricultural resources and financial credit there will be a dramatic impact on
food security and overall economic growth.
Education and the empowerment of women in LEDC’s
The world has recognized the vital importance of education as a main aspect of human security
and as a means to empower women. Although the level of education has improved over the past few
years in regions such as Africa, women’s access to this education remains limited. Either girls are
excluded from education or are being taught too little to prepare them for 21st century job markets.
Research states that ‘In 47 out of 54 African countries, girls have less than a 50% chance of completing
primary school’. The Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) emphasise equal access to education for girls and
boys, including actions to reduce drop-out rates among girls and equal access to education of the same
quality. As a result of enabling girls to have access to education, the world will allow them to be equal
participants with equal access to opportunities in society and an equal voice.
Women and the economy
Research has shown that women are more likely to reinvest profits back into human capital than
are men. When women have economic power and control of income they gain more equality and control
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over their lives, while contributing to their children's development and thereby indirectly to their nation's
income growth. Angel Gurría, the Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development, has stated that “Women are the most underutilized economic asset in the world’s
economy”. Many government officials have acknowledged the importance of women right’s within the
economic sector, to the point that economic development has become a primary gateway to the notion of
women empowerment.
It is estimated by a Bloomberg Business report that for the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and
China) and Next-11 countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam), greater investments in female education could yield a “growth
premium” that raises GDP growth by about 0.2 per cent per year. The report also stated that ‘Narrowing
the employment gender gap could raise income per capita 20 per cent higher than our baseline
projections by 2030.’
Major Countries and Organisations Involved
Sub-Saharan African countries
The continent of Africa has one of the highest rates of female labour participation; however,
vulnerable employment remains the norm. Women in Africa have been proven to work longer hours than
men and actually perform most of the household work. Research has shown that a woman’s daily hours
in agricultural work in four Sub-Saharan African countries averages to almost 467 minutes a day and
men, on the other hand, average to around 371 minutes a day.
Although many governments in Africa acknowledge the fact that the empowerment of women and
girls is a key contributor to economic development, sustained economic growth has become a challenge
as the fertility transition has been much slower than in other regions of the world. Access to education,
maternal health services as well as family planning will result in improved economic opportunity for
women. Some governments in Africa are implementing innovative ways to accelerate the demographic
transition. An example is Niger, where the fertility rate (7.6 children per woman) is among the highest in
the world, “School for Husbands”, is an education program that highlights the benefits of family planning
and reproductive health.
There remains a lack of access to education to women in this region of Africa and it is proven that in
sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 1.8 million children’s lives could have been saved in 2008 if their
mothers had at least a secondary education. This shows there is a need for an improvement in this
matter as educated girls with equal and adequate access to opportunities can grow into strong women,
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who can take on leadership roles in their countries and have a long term benefit to the betterment of the
country’s economy.
MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
MENA countries generally have lower levels of women's education and labour force participation
than other regions even though they have similar income levels. Men living in the MENA region are
more likely to have direct access to wage employment and control over wealth, whereas women are
largely dependent upon the male family members. Employment options for women have been limited to
a small number of socially acceptable occupations and professions, for example, teaching and medicine.
In the Middle East and North Africa, access to education has improved over the past few years,
and there have an increasing amount of trends encouraging girls' and women's education, however,
numbers still remain low. In certain countries in this region, women’s access to the secondary and higher
education that helps create a skilled and knowledgeable labour force continues to be limited; even where
access is available, the quality of the education provided is often low. The 2002 Arab Human
Development Report states that “The most worrying aspect of the crisis in education is education's
inability to provide the requirements for the development of Arab societies"
India
Despite the fact that the last few years have brought women the voting and property rights, and
equality in civil rights, equality still remains a prominent issue. Women remain victims of the customs of
female infanticide, child marriage, dowry system and the state of permanent widowhood. Previous efforts
have been made to get rid of such customs but they are still practiced in villages and poorer parts of the
country.
In a paper called “India’s Economy: The Other Half,” published last year by the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies, it is stated that ‘It has a lot to do with familial pressure and cultural
pressure. Once a woman gives birth, they’re expected to be home taking care of the family, and in many
cases they’re taking care of their in-laws as well. There are family expectations, and marriage
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expectations.” This is especially true in the poorer parts of India where there is lack of awareness and
there is a strong belief that state that the man of the family is the be-all and end-all of family decisions
and this belief is slowly spoiling the society of the country.
India currently has the world’s second largest workforce of 478 million people and yet the
proportion of women in the workforce is only 24 per cent. The number of senior-level female employees
is 5 per cent, compared with a global average of about 20 per cent, and almost half of all women stop
working before they reach halfway through their careers and this is many a time because even welleducated Indians cling to traditional views of women’s roles. In terms of education, research states that
while 82.14% of adult men are educated, only 65.46% of adult women are known to be literate in India.
China
China is one of the world’s developing countries in which the struggle for equality between the
sexes and demands for the emancipation of women are both among the most longstanding of political
concerns. Women till today lag behind in education, employment and health and remain victims of social
practices such as discrimination and even infanticide.
The status of women in China is linked to their decision-making capacity in all aspects of their
lives. In poor rural areas, this status is heavily constrained by unfavourable economic conditions and
limited access to credit compared with men and as a result of this, the social status of women remains
low. Women living in poor areas have easily become victims of poverty in many aspects of their lives,
especially maternal health and family planning. Improving the economic situation of poor women in
China is an important step towards improving their position; however, an improved economic situation
cannot be achieved without improving women’s health conditions and social attitudes towards women in
general.
Pakistan
Over the past few years, there has been a significant improvement in the lives of Pakistani
women and they are more empowered and emancipated then they were ever before and more and more
women are entering the workforce today, however, women are still facing many problems such as
discrimination and also harassment in the work place. Pakistan being a democratic and an Islamic
country, the issue of women empowerment faces new challenges. Muslim women empowerment is also
one of the key issues that are being spoken about not only within Muslim countries but in rest of the
world. Today, Muslim women are one of the least empowered segments of society.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
The UNFPA formerly known as The United Nations Fund for Population Activities is a UN
organisation that “promotes of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal
opportunity.” For over 30 years, UNFPA has advocated for women and girls all over the world, promoting
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legal and policy reforms and gender-sensitive data collection, and supporting initiatives that improve
women's health and expand their choices in life. The UNFPA considers empowerment and autonomy of
women and the improvement of their political, social, economic and health status as highly important and
believes in the full participation and partnership of both women and men including shared responsibilities
for the care and nurturing of children and maintenance of the household. This organisation considers
education as one of the most important means of empowering women and believes that knowledge,
skills and self-confidence are necessary to participate fully in the development process. In a published
report, the UNFPA have said that ‘Countries should act to empower women and should take steps to
eliminate inequalities between men and women as soon as possible.’
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
UN Women is an organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Over many decades, the UN has made major progress in advancing gender equality, including through
agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Through regional offices in Dakar
and Nairobi, UN Women implements programmes for individual countries, in collaboration with
governments, the UN and civil society. They aim to promote women’s participation in decision-making
include engagement with national electoral systems and political parties to provide an equal playing field
for women candidates.
Previous Attempts to solve the Issue and Possible Solutions
Over the past thirty years countries across the world have actively partaken in holding
conferences and campaigns to deal with the many problems women face in today’s world. Since 1975,
the United Nations has organised 4 four world conferences on women. These took place in Mexico
City in 1975, Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995. The 1995 World Conference on
Women in Beijing marked a turning point for the global agenda for gender equality. The Beijing
Declaration and the Platform for Action was adopted by 189 countries, and is an agenda for women’s
empowerment and is considered the key global policy document on gender equality. It sets objectives
and for the development of women and the achievement of gender equality in 12 areas of concern:
Women and poverty, education and training of women, women and health, violence against women,
women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision-making, institutional
mechanism for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and
the environment and the girl-child.
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The Millennium Summit of 2000 has established a platform for gender equality and women
empowerment, where most nations have made a commitment to ensure “equal rights for women and
girls by ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women”
Eighteen years after the fourth World Conference on Women, in 2013, the Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD V) took place and this was a high-level panel moderated by
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the focus of this conference was the importance
of gender equality and the empowerment of women in driving development in Africa. The conference
focused on identifying priority actions for closing gender equality gaps in Africa and ensuring that gender
equality is central to the post 2015 development agenda. It aimed to reach conclusions on how to
address challenges such as food security, sexual violence and barriers to women’s economic, legal and
political empowerment.
In attempt to solve the problems UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact gathered
‘The Women’s Empowerment Principles’ which offer guidance to the private sector on how to empower
women. The principles were as follows:

Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

Treat all women and men fairly at work—respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers

Promote education, training and professional development for women

Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower
women

Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy

Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality
There are a long list of solutions to the problems women are facing and various ways in which
governments and even individuals can help women gain empowerment and equality in Less
Economically Developed Countries. Here are a few solutions:

Member states of the United Nations should work together to vitalise and improve the
empowerment of women at all decision making levels in different institutions through setting
quotas for a balanced ratio of men and women in companies and encouraging actions that
increase the number of women holding significant positions in workplaces. This is fundamental to
nurture their self-confidence and empower girls and young women living in poverty to make
informed choices about their own lives as well as those of their communities.
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
Providing equal and adequate access to education, training and technology. Education is the first
step towards the empowerment of women in LEDC nations. Education and training will allow
women the opportunity to discover their abilities and their capacity and will give them the
confidence to contribute to their societies and communities and even voice their opinions.
Education will provide countries the ability to discover the hidden potential in women which they
can use for the benefit of their entire country and economy.

Raising awareness especially in rural areas of poorer countries to inform people of the current
situation and to educate people about the consequences of certain cultural practices and
customs and beliefs which women are victims of. It is necessary that people are also informed
about the prosperity that could be brought about as a result of women having decision making
abilities and larger roles in the economy.

Countries and government should be ready and able to provide women with access to clean
water, sanitation and healthcare and educate women on the subject of modern contraception and
birth control and give them the ability choose the number and timing of their births. This is a
major step towards the empowerment of women.

Ensure that women are not discriminated in places such as a work place or even in public and
monitor levels of pay, danger of work and sexual harassment of women. This is vital as this will
improve the security of women and will allow them to feel safe and to get rid of their fear when it
comes to decision making and voicing their opinion.
These are only a few solutions to some of the issues faced by women in developing
countries, although, it is important that efforts to empower women in LEDC’s need to go beyond
rhetoric and should involve policies and programs with measurable results. Governments should
start by making the empowerment of women a part of their national development plans and
should monitor progress toward those goals. Governments need to make an extra effort to
ensure that facilities for women are more accessible to low-income families and rural populations.
It is important that more economically developed countries are encouraged to help resource
poorer countries and help them to reach their goals as women’s empowerment is what is needed
for economic and social development, slowing population growth, and alleviating poverty in the
less economically developed countries of the world.
Relevant Treaties
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 18 December 1979
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PFA), 1995
UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, 2000
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Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals, 2000
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