In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

In the 1970s, Chou En-lai famously responded to a question about the impact of the French Revolution, “Too soon to tell.”  Now, more than two weeks after the May 14 Elections in the Philippines, we might well want to say the same thing since two of the three races I mentioned in the May 9th edition of In Asia are certainly undecided, and the meaning of the third is not yet clear.

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Many women and young girls are trafficked as they migrate from Vietnam to Cambodia or from rural to urban areas within Vietnam, seeking better economic opportunities. In response, The Asia Foundation is launching a $300,000 project to combat human trafficking in Vietnam over the next two years. The program will support public education on safe migration and peer counseling to prevent trafficking. Dramatic theatre performances, often staged by the communities themselves, will inform young girls about the risk of trafficking and how to avoid falling prey to traffickers’ false promises of jobs or marriage.  Girls are often trafficked by people within their own community and sometimes even by family members making it critical to involve communities as the first line of defense in preventing trafficking. 

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At the end of the Cold War, although the U.S. served as an anchor for Asian economies and was the top export destination for the majority of Asian nations, the countries of East Asia believed the United States looked at the region with “benign neglect” or indifference. Shortly afterwards, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad proposed an East Asia Economic Caucus that would comprise just Asian nations, but given U.S. objections, the proposed grouping was considered anti-western and a potential trading bloc. Thus, it never materialized.  For a five year period, the idea of creating some form of East Asian community remained dormant until the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998. 

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The international community has engaged with Afghanistan in profound ways since December 2001.  Billions of dollars have been pledged and provided to rebuild the country, put the state back together, and help Afghanistan take its rightful place in the world.  This has been a collaborative effort involving bilateral donors, multilateral donors, nongovernmental organizations, companies, investors, and governmental institutions.  Roads have been built; schools and clinics have been constructed; power-generation projects are underway across the country; agricultural projects are in process; water and irrigation projects have been launched; and there are more children in school than at any time in the country’s history.

What is missing in the development puzzle?  A broad-based commitment to invest in a comprehensive, long-term plan for reform and strengthening of Afghan institutions of higher education. 

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While Cambodia rarely makes international headlines except for endless accounts of past atrocities, there has been an emerging transformation occurring here over the past few years that has mostly gone unnoticed outside of this quiet corner of Southeast Asia.  The early signs of an urban middle class are beginning to emerge.  

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On Monday, May 14th, Filipinos voted for 17,889 different government positions at different levels, none of which included the office of President. For more than 50 years, Mindanao has had a reputation within the Philippines as having the worst electoral processes in the country.  The unresolved issues about the 2004 election revolve mostly around alleged cheating that took place in various places in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).  The regional Governor in the ARMM was quoted on Election Day 2007 as saying that “what is important is we can rectify the negative impression that here in the ARMM, there is cheating.”  And the ulama (religious leaders) have said that people must “rise against the sarcastic perception that the ARMM is the “˜cheating capital for elections.’”

Muslim citizen response this time around was quite vigorous. 

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Carol Yost is the Director for The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment Program.

In the last fifteen years, women throughout Asia have made significant gains in the political, social, and economic spheres. Growing prosperity has enhanced women’s positions in several countries, and there have been substantial investments in girls’ and women’s education, health, and overall social welfare, benefiting families. Women have made inroads in the political realm, particularly in local-level decision-making”despite under-representation of women in formal bodies. In part, this progress can be attributed to domestic and international forces that have first, challenged traditional gender stereotypes, and second, encouraged countries to adhere to universal standards for women’s rights.  However, much remains to be done.

There are three issues of central importance to women in Asia today: decentralization, economic development (especially small-medium enterprises), and gender-based violence. 

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Last week, The Asia Foundation launched The United States’ Role in Sri Lanka’s Peace Process, a study that analyzes the United States’ involvement in Sri Lanka’s peace process from 2002-2006. The report, released amidst renewed fighting in Sri Lanka’s civil conflict, was written by Jeffrey Lunstead, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka from August 2003 to July 2006.

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Currently, women in Indonesia are significantly under-represented in politics and government at all levels and the number of women members of the national legislature is now lower than a decade ago during President Suharto’s New Order era. Last week, The Asia Foundation announced that it has signed an agreement with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Indonesia for a three-year, $1.2 million program to increase women’s political participation and strengthen good governance in Indonesia. This award marks the first-ever collaboration between the Norwegian Government and the Foundation in Indonesia.

Today, women constitute less than 12 percent of members of the National Parliament and more than half the country’s 440 district legislatures have no women members at all.

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Media coverage of Filipino elections tends to focus, as it does all over the world, on immediate issues, such as who is winning the “horse race” ” in this case, between supporters and opponents of President Glorial Macapagal-Arroyo.  At the Senatorial level (where 12 seats are at stake) the slates are agglomerations of strange bedfellows, but are at least clearly labeled as “Team Unity” (the Arroyo supporters) and “Genuine Opposition”.  Predictions by the two organizations that do scientific public opinion surveys, Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia, are that opponents of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will win a majority of seats in the Senate.  Survey results generally show the Genuine Opposition picking up two or three more seats than Team Unity, while a couple of Independents not affiliated with either group are also in contention for entry into the top twelve.  

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