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Gender in Timor-Leste - A Thematic Overview
Since the vote for independence in 1999 in Timor-Leste, change to gender relations has been actively pursued through activism and advocacy, policy formation and program activities. The most common approach to gender has been an attempt to address the conditions of women’s lives. Even in these instances men tend to be often involved in learning practices and socialisation, not least as many Timorese women often demand that men must be involved in such gender-based activities in order to ensure longer-term transformation.
At a formal state level the pursuit of these goals has been evident through a range of activities. This has been evident for instance in a comparatively stronger representation in parliament by women, key articles in the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Articles 17 and 50), and gender mainstreaming strategies for poverty reduction in the National Development Plan. There has also been the establishment in 2001 of the Office for the Promotion of Equality which is located in the Prime Minister’s office, as well as the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Beyond the state, many East Timorese non-government organizations and community groups, often working in tandem with international organisations, have identified gender-focused change as essential to their work.
This critical mass of activity undertaken at state, government, civil society levels builds upon a long history of women’s activism and organising in Timor-Leste under the conditions of war, colonialism and occupation.
Our research is interested in understanding the impact of such activities, inquiring into where and how policies and programs have worked, and the kinds of effects that they have had on gender identity more generally. Many challenges remain. Despite the various attempts at transforming patriarchal structures and changing the nature of gender relations, many women remain limited in terms of their access to education, suffer poor standards of reproductive health, and severe problems with regards to gender-based violence. Even where changes have been made through state-policy and legislation, many women continue to identify the need to achieve effective social, economic and political participation of women in reality.
In 2006 Timor-Leste experienced a socio-political crisis that saw a significant degree of the population internally displaced. This has shifted the program work of many NGOs to a humanitarian response and even at an early stage it has been clear that the impact of the crisis has had significant implications in regard to gender.
Considering the 2006 crisis and the process of nation-formation in Timor-Leste generally, the aim of our research is to build upon existing knowledge so as to understand if and how perceptions of gender have changed. The key concerns that guide our research on gender include:
. engaging with ideas of nation, community, culture and tradition in regards to gender roles,
. disparate access to power, resources and formal institutions between women and men,
. limitations to women's spatial mobility due to security concerns and gendered social obligations, and
. linguistic, class, local and cultural differences between East Timorese women.
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