In the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia region and beyond, more than half the population — women — faces what is often egregious discrimination.
“Discrimination in education, and opportunity to learn to read and write; discrimination in access to nutrition and the chance to grow healthy and strong; and discrimination in the workplace, where women can be subjected to unwanted advances or have their work undervalued or unpaid,” noted a release.
Gender-based discrimination in these and countless other forms is a persistent problem across South-East Asia and throughout women’s lives. As much as gender-based prejudice and inequality violates human rights, stymies social and economic development, and crushes the hopes and dreams of millions of young girls and women, it also has a grave impact on public health and well-being.
“The region-wide practice of early marriage and pregnancy, for instance, is a direct threat to the health of young women and their children, especially in rural areas,” noted Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for South-east Asia.
She added that around six million girls aged 15-19 years give birth in the region every year, while in four of the region’s countries the adolescent birth rate is over 50 per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years. This causes immense danger to the health of young women — dangers that can be avoided via rapid social empowerment, including access to contraception, and implementation of laws against early marriage.
The release noted, “This International Women’s Day, let us acknowledge that gender-based discrimination exists and is a daily occurrence in each of the South-East Asian countries. Let us understand that it needn’t be this way, and that gender equality can be rapidly achieved with sincere, society-wide resolve.”
