In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

Yesterday, countries around the world marked International Migrants Day in recognition of the 214 million migrants on the move across the globe in search of better economic opportunity. No where is this recognition more important than in a place like Nepal…

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On November 25, Nepal’s government released a report on gender-based violence that revealed some disturbing findings:  nearly half of the women respondents have experienced violence in their lifetime. Launched by the Gender Empowerment and Coordination Unit (GECU) in the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) with support from The Asia Foundation [...]

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In President Obama’s speech at the Clinton Global Initiative this year, he called on all Americans and the world to take a broader, more comprehensive view of combating human trafficking of all kinds. He outlined how the U.S. is strengthening law enforcement through improved training…

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In Nepal’s Chitwan District, a 40-year-old widow and mother of two was burnt alive by her family on Feb. 18, 2012. A local shaman and her family members had accused her of using witchcraft to make another family member sick.

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At the opening day of the South Asia Women Parliamentarians’ Conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dr. Miria Matembe, former member of parliament from Uganda, voiced an increasingly common theme: “The issue of women’s participation in politics is no longer in contention. What is central to the debate now is how to make their participation effective enough to influence the governance agenda and make it responsive to women’s interests, needs, and concerns.” But, despite what seems like a growing consensus around this idea, still just 19.5 percent of the world’s parliamentarians are women.

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Around midnight on May 27, when most Nepalis were waiting for the new constitution to be unveiled, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai announced a fresh election for Nov. 22, 2012, from a hurriedly put-together press conference at his residence.

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Last week, Nepal’s Constituent Assembly (CA) members drafted citizenship provisions in the country’s long-awaited constitution, causing much consternation and almost guaranteeing that approximately 2.1 million persons out of an estimated population of nearly 30 million will remain stateless. The specific draft provision that is deeply problematic and regressive refers to how a child may obtain citizenship by descent in the new Nepal: a child would be granted Nepali citizenship if both mother and father prove they are Nepali citizens.

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Burma (also known as Myanmar) may be on the verge of a dramatic expansion of international assistance. After last month’s parliamentary by-elections, there is likely to be more support for easing sanctions and increasing foreign assistance to the country to support the changes underway.

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What motivated you to enter the field of women’s rights?

As a woman, working for women’s rights has always interested me. Both of my parents are lawyers and involved with nonprofits so we always end up talk about human rights issues at family gatherings.

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Over the years, international development assistance in Asia, as in other parts of the world, has included a focus on law and justice as a means for addressing a range of development goals, including poverty reduction, economic growth, and the advancement of human rights. A variety of rationales have been used to try to explain how law and justice interventions contribute to these broader development objectives, including asserted links to peace and stability, state legitimacy, and citizen empowerment. Most recently, the World Development Report 2011 highlighted the role of justice in breaking the cycles of violence, conflict, and fragility that continue to undermine our collective development efforts.

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