Lotus Circle founding member and advisor, Masako Shinn, with her son at the first annual Lotus Leadership Awards Luncheon in New York City.

The Asia Foundation’s third annual Lotus Leadership Awards luncheon takes place this week on June 6 at New York’s Boathouse in Central Park, and In Asia sat down with Lotus Circle founding member and advisor, Masako Shinn, who joined the Foundation’s board in 2012, and is a partner of Graphis Inc., and founder of Graphis Asia, a publisher of books and magazines on Asian design.

Why create The Lotus Circle?

Asia is thriving, but women and girls are still not encouraged to be leaders. They are also seriously at risk and vulnerable to violence, ill health, and poverty. The statistics are sobering, but to me they serve as a motivation. I was born in Asia and was lucky – I was educated and encouraged. But it could have gone another way. Early on in my life in Japan, I had my options severely limited by my circumstances, and eventually had to move to the U.S. to carve out my own life. That is not possible for so many women. When I met Carol Yost, who heads up The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment Program and is a true pioneer in her field, I was very moved by her enthusiasm to improve the lives of women. When she talks about women creating change and the future in Asia, Yost lights up. This is a person who has worked on the ground for more than 20 years. She’s still a believer that improving women’s lives can change the world. I knew in that first meeting I wanted to work with her and learn from her. I haven’t been disappointed.

How does it work?

We are a group of people focused on a single goal: to support The Asia Foundation’s ability to help women and girls reach their full potential. We like to say that we: “tell her she can.” Our contributions fund small, cutting edge-work and pilot projects. If it’s a pilot, and it works, field staff at the Foundation then explore how to replicate that kind of success on a larger scale. It’s thrilling to know that your contribution is being used to find new and fresh ways to empower and encourage women and girls. Our gifts are also used to solicit matched funding. Last year, The Asia Foundation and National Geographic Society matched funds we raised to help world-renowned educator Sakena Yacoobi‘s work with Afghan girls. Dr. Yacoobi created the first learning centers inside refugee camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and she risked her life to run illegal home schools for girls during the Taliban reign.

Why did you choose to work with The Asia Foundation?

The Asia Foundation is the premier international development organization improving lives in Asia today. There is an unusual depth of local knowledge at the Foundation, and the local field staff work as partners for local reformers and path breakers. That’s unique. I also don’t know of any other international NGO with so many bright, dedicated, and hard working people on the ground. They’re shaping the future of development. For example, the Foundation helps solve complex problems like trafficking by addressing the issue at all levels – from grassroots to national – and from every angle: by working to prevent trafficking in the first place, by protecting victims, and working to prosecute perpetrators. The Foundation also works closely with governments on the ground, and between government and civil society to help institutions address the issues of safe migration and legal rights for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations, especially women and girls.

The third annual Lotus Leadership Awards luncheon is in New York City tomorrow. What is your vision for this issues-based sold-out event?

We have a lot to do at one special luncheon, and we need to raise funds for new projects that will protect and embolden women and girls. We will honor Silicon Valley entrepreneur Chong-Moon Lee, who has so generously and courageously funded a multi-year, multi-country initiative to combat the trafficking of women and girls in Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. We will also award the Honorable Sapana Pradhan Malla, a lawyer, advocate of Nepal’s Supreme Court, and leading women’s rights activist, who helped pass the country’s landmark Human Trafficking Act, now a model for the region. She’s a trailblazer. We also need to discuss, plainly, the crime of human trafficking in Asia and worldwide with our guests. Lynn Sherr, who has reported on women’s issues for 30 years as an ABC News correspondent, will interview U.S. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, director of the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. I have to say I’m also delighted with our Young Lotus Circle members, and I’m excited to see them get very involved in the issues. They are not shy about sharing their passions, and even using social media like Twitter and Instagram, which gives a new voice to our cause. I love to bring my college-age son to the Lotus Luncheon and pass on our Lotus Circle values to the next generation.

Follow @Asia_Foundation on Twitter for live updates from the Lotus Leadership Awards Luncheon.

Ahead of The Asia Foundation’s third annual Lotus Leadership Awards luncheon on June 6 in New York, which highlights work to end human trafficking in Asia,

Research indicates that human trafficking is among the fastest growing criminal industries in the world, with many Asian countries both the primary sources and destinations for the victims of trafficking. What are the root causes of this?

Political and economic marginalization along class, caste, and gender lines is forcing women and men to explore other livelihood options which entail internal and external migration. As migration processes are not always well managed by the state, it puts them at risk of exploitation and abuse. Lack of adequate safety nets in the migration process fueling trafficking of persons are common in most societies in the world; though more pronounced in societies where legal and political systems do not include gender sensitive policies and regulations.

Labor migration has become one of the core foreign currency earning sectors for Bangladesh and Nepal. You recently wrote in this blog that the development of this sector is being challenged by the lack of a rights-based approach and inadequate policies. Can you elaborate on the challenges and obstacles in this area?

Globalization has had many impacts, good and bad. One impact of globalized economies is the greater interdependence among countries for economic growth and development which has lead to integration of economies and societies with increased mobility of human capital. In essence, globalized open labor markets have created a global work force that has made employment less secure at home and mobility away from home risky, because open labor markets do not necessarily operate within the framework of good governance. This has created outsourcing and subcontracting chains which do not always work within the legal framework, and in the absence of effective monitoring and control, contribute to trafficking and labor exploitation.

In Nepal, where 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate is at a high of 46 percent, labor migration to places like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Malaysia is emerging as a real economic option, particularly for women. What are the pros and cons to this?

Roughly 2.6 million Nepalese are working abroad right now, mostly in the Middle East. The Government of Nepal estimates indicate that remittance from labor migration makes up approximately 22 percent of the country’s GDP.  According to the Central Bank of Nepal projection for FY12/13 it is estimated that the approximately $4.23 billion will be received in remittance income. Unfortunately, despite huge economic contribution of labor migration there are numerous instances of abuse during the process of recruitment and in the destination country. The problem is aggravated when government policies become restrictive instead of protective. For example, the recent ban by the government of Nepal on women below 30 years from going to gulf states as domestic workers actually increased the likelihood of illegal migration. The  government perceives the ban as a way of protecting women from exploitation, but migration for domestic work to the gulf countries is an economic reality and need for many young women from Nepal. The ban has only proved counter productive as many women are now going through extralegal routes via India and therefore remain undocumented and even more vulnerable.

The Asia Foundation will soon publish a South Asia regional research study of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh to better understand what triggers or influences the choice and route of journey for the migrants. What are some of the biggest surprises that you discovered?

The study – “Labor Migration Policies and Practices in Nepal and Bangladesh Identifying Gaps and Challenges” – found that migrants are mostly driven by what they perceive as ease of movement. They rarely weigh their choices against available information on legal or illegal migration. For example, we found that many Nepali migrants are using India as an exit point to circumvent delays or obstacles related to legality of their movement. They find that it is easier and cheaper to exit through India and there are more organized operations that can facilitate extralegal migration. The issue is to see if countries can collectively address the gaps and loopholes that support illegal or extralegal migration. How do we strengthen the policies and operational structures within the country that support legal migration? We need to reverse the lens through which we are looking at the issues. Instead of focusing solely on reducing illegal migration we are focusing on promoting legal migration – a shift from a restrictive approach to a more positive approach which recognizes the reality of labor migration.

In recent years, the global fight against human trafficking has been criticized for focusing only on issues surrounding women victims of trafficking in the sex industry. While this obviously remains critical, what do you think has been missing in the fight?

Traditionally anti-trafficking work has focused mainly on sex trafficking or trafficking for prostitution which involved movement of women and girls into certain demarcated sites of sexual exploitation, and the trajectory of movement and intent was predefined for the trafficker at the onset. However, more recently, with the rapid growth in globalized markets and economies, trafficking has become a more fluid and less easily definable process, and it involves both men and women. The one clear and consistent aspect is the intent to profit through movement and exploitation of people. Today there is even greater need and opportunity for labor mobility. But if this need and opportunity is not supported by equitable socio-economic and political process and systems then it will increase risks and vulnerabilities toward trafficking. In this context we need to look at anti-trafficking interventions that go beyond addressing just the criminal context of trafficking and focus on strengthening the related socio-economic and cultural constructs that contribute to trafficking in the first place.

Can you describe The Asia Foundation’s approach to anti-trafficking? What are its signature strengths?

In all of our anti trafficking interventions, we take a multi-pronged approach to addressing human trafficking. The Foundation is looking at addressing trafficking within the larger context of gender-based violence and socio-political and cultural context of the countries and regions we are working in. We do not limit ourselves to addressing trafficking from a crime reduction perspective, but instead focus on both systems building and perspective building. For example, we work with law enforcement agencies to build specific crime investigation skills, and we back that up strongly with training on gender and jurisprudence that enables a victim a humane, rights-based prosecutorial process. We have worked with governments in Nepal and Cambodia to create an engendered and rights-based policy environment by developing National Minimum Standards for Victim Protection and Care and Standard Operating Procedures. We back these up with direct support to survivors of trafficking and by working with different community-level stakeholders to address issues of stigma and discrimination so that reintegration of survivors back into the mainstream community is possible.

While working on trafficking we also have to be cognizant of the real-time aspirations and desires of the people from economically less privileged or marginalized classes to have the same opportunities and economic benefits as those well off classes. Our work aims to help them actualize that aspiration without the risk of exploitation and fear of failure. To ensure this, we also provide requisite professional and educational skills to vulnerable populations to economically and socially empower them and reduce their risk of exploitation.

Cambodian migrant workers sent home $256 million in remittances in 2012, 1.8 percent of the country’s GDP and the fourth highest percentage in Southeast Asia, according to a new report from the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Latest Cambodian Ministry figures indicate that the number of workers migrating abroad legally has more than doubled over the last few years: from 53,160 in 2009/2010 to 130,000 in 2012.

Youth clubs received training in human trafficking and safe migration, which included group discussions and group exercises. Photo/Tamara Lowe

Despite steady economic growth, many Cambodians, especially young people (more than half the population is under 25), struggle to find jobs, which has driven the rise in migration to other countries for work. While Thailand has long been one of the most popular destination countries for Cambodian workers (followed by Malaysia and Korea), the numbers are steadily rising as a result of the Thai government’s  introduction of a new minimum wage of 300 baht per day ($10), compared to 18,000 riel ($4.50) for unskilled laborers in Cambodia. While this does offer job opportunities for Cambodians, a major concern now is that a greater outflow of labor migration among young people is taking place predominantly through irregular channels which are often illegal and dangerous. These channels are low cost and fast compared to channels that use private recruitment agencies formally registered with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MoLVT). It is estimated that as many as 500,000 young Cambodians are working in Thailand now, and anecdotal findings indicate that this, along with movement to Malaysia, is where much of the irregular migration happens.

The irregularity associated with labor exploitation and trafficking are predominantly reported from Cambodian migrants working on fishing industry in Thailand (In 2011 and 2012 alone, the International Organization for Migration reintegrated more than 100 Cambodian  male trafficking victims, most from Thai fishing boats). But alarming abuses are also reported from female migrants working as domestic helpers in Malaysia, where 34,000 documented Cambodian migrants reported working during 2007-2010.

The Cambodian National Committee to Combat Trafficking organized a national workshop in March to address the issues associated with labor migration including labor exploitation and human trafficking. Hundreds of representatives from relevant ministries and agencies, provincial departments, commune councilors, and youth attended. The participants raised concerns on the sharp rise of youth labor migration, both through regular (documented) and irregular (undocumented) channels. Participants, including trafficking victims themselves, also discussed the  high costs and the time-consuming process for registering through the regular channels, and spoke candidly about the fact that there’s not much evidence that registering through a regular channel is beneficial to them compared to irregular channels. The lack of visible protection, facilities, and tangible benefits that distinguish regular from irregular migrants undermines prevention efforts to change the behavior of labor migration from irregular to regular migration.

Her Excellency You Ay, Cambodia’s ambassador to Thailand, echoed this concern, pointing out that registered agency fees in Cambodia are often as high as 10-month worth of salary, or about 20,000 baht ($667), compared to just a 6-month salary for Burmese workers.

Due to an increase in malpractice being committed by recruitment agencies, in 2011, the Cambodian government introduced a new policy, the Sub-Decree 190 on Management of Sending Workers Abroad, which aims to better regulate these recruitment agencies. In 2012, the MoLVT went a step further, announcing it would create seven ministerial orders (known as Prakas) designed to provide comprehensive, supplemental guidelines to the sub-degree 190. As of February 2013, three ministerial orders which define specific standards for recruitment and pre-departure training have been signed by the MoLVT. The remaining other four Prakas are still being drafted and will cover issues such as complaint mechanisms, rewards and penalties for private recruitment agencies, service of private recruitment agencies on site, repatriation, and the inspection of private recruitment agencies. These remaining policies are expected to be enforced later this year.

On March 28, 2013, Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced at the national workshop that recruitment agencies would be required to reduce their recruitment fees to 12,000 baht ($400), the equivalent of a 6-month salary, instead of the 10-month salary amount. He also unveiled the government’s pilot passport-making office which opened in April in Battambang province in the northwest, to help potential migrants obtain legal passports closer to their home and will reduce travel costs.

Despite efforts, Cambodians aged 15-30, who make up roughly 32 percent of the population, and who are most vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation, still have limited awareness of the dangers and steps they could take to prevent themselves from becoming victims. To address this critical problem, The Asia Foundation has been working since June 2012 in partnership with the National Committee to Lead Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labor and Sexual Exploitation (S.T.S.L.T), and the Youth Council of Cambodia (YCC) to implement a new initiative that promotes smart labor migration among youth in Siem Reap and Prey Veng provinces.

The initiative builds youth club leaders’ capacity on trafficking and labor migration and supports them to play a proactive role in their communities by engaging them as leaders of change. The trained youth club leaders conduct outreach activities trainings, and public forums with peers and local authorities to discuss challenges and concrete steps young people should take before they decide to migrate and what steps to take if they are trapped at the destination country.

The existing efforts from civil society in particular are helping to reduce risks and increase knowledge, but it is a challenge to reduce patterns of labor migration. One of the best ways to keep migrants from going abroad would be for the Cambodian government to offer a similar minimum wage to that in Thailand, and provide competitive benefits that attract workers’ interest. Cambodia is an agricultural country, where 75 percent of people are farmers, so improving irrigation systems for example to enable farmers to grow rice twice a year, would attract potential migrants to continue farming. Milled rice export is on the rise in Cambodia, and the government aims to reach 1 million tons of milled rice for export by 2015.However, many are concerned that the significant rise Cambodian workers going abroad will result in a serious workforce deficit that will threaten the government’s plan to become a leading rice exporter in the region. To respond to the growing labor deficit, the government is working to promote more favorable job conditions through increased regulation, the recently introduced national social security fund, paid transportation allowance, and from May increased the monthly minimum wage from $61 to $80. The government is also considering introducing a healthcare insurance scheme and retirement pension funds for workers by 2015.

In the end, the government, civil society, youth, and the private sector must work together to ensure that Cambodia’s migrant workers know their rights and are free from dangerous, vulnerable conditions. Fortunately, these recent efforts seem to be pointing Cambodia in the right direction.

Lim Siv Hong is The Asia Foundation’s senior program officer in Cambodia. She can be reached at hlim@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Fourteen million girls under the age of 18 are married every year – one every three seconds. The rates are highest in South Asia, where 46 percent of girls marry before they reach 18. Child marriage can be one of the most devastating forms of violence and discrimination against women. Young brides are more likely to be beaten by their husbands, forced to have sex, and pulled out of school. Girls who have a child before they reach 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. Their children are 60 percent more likely to die before the age of one. As such, many of these girls are essentially invisible in their societies.

14 million girls under the age of 18 are married every year – one every three seconds. The rates are highest in South Asia, where 46 percent of girls marry before they reach 18. Photo/Karl Grobl

Child marriage was one of the urgent, sobering issues discussed at the 3rd Global Conference of Women Deliver, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 28-30, 2013. Featured speakers Melinda Gates, Chelsea Clinton, and UN Women Acting Head Lakshmi Puri, among others, joined 4,500 delegates, representing 2,200 organizations from 150 countries gathered for the largest global event of the decade in support of the health and empowerment of women and girls.

Young girls’ issues figured prominently in the agenda, largely because adolescent girls, aged 9-19, have been conspicuously missing from the global development agenda. As Nike Foundation President and CEO, Maria Eitel, pointed out in a session on Investing in Girls, adolescence is a critical juncture in a girl’s life when things can go right or wrong. For example, the leading cause of death for young women between 15 and 19 in the developing world is pregnancy, while 66 million girls across the world are out of school, and one in seven girls marries before the age of 15.

In one generation this could all change, if more investments are made in girls. Education can be the pivotal force. The World Bank found in a study of 100 countries that every one percent increase in the proportion of women with secondary education boosted a country’s annual per capita income growth rate by about 0.3 percentage points. Girls who have one more year of education than the national average earn 10-20 percent more, on average – even more than the increase for boys. When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries on average four years later. Educating girls and women also fosters democracy and women’s political activity.

Though adolescent girls were not present at the Women Deliver conference, their voices were certainly heard. The Girl Tree on display at the conference tells the story of 250 girls from all over the world, representing the 250 million adolescent girls who live in poverty. Each leaf on the tree reveals a hand written message from one of these girls, articulating what she wants for the world and her future. The messages are powerful and disturbing, yet inspiring.

“I want to become a police woman and stop the atrocities on women,” wrote Ruksar, age 14, from India. “I wish to be very selective in choosing my husband when I get married,” 11-year-old Yani from Indonesia, and “I hope I can run a hairdresser’s when I grow up because I want to make the wishes of those who want to become beautiful come true,” wrote Yan Yan, age 12 from China.

The good news is that it seems these voices are beginning to be heard. Their voices help to inform the Girl Declaration, which will define concise goals, such as improving health systems so they work better for adolescent girls and eradicating child marriage, to be launched on Oct.11, 2013, on the “International Day of the Girl.”  On May 30, The High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda released “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development.” This much-awaited report recommends new development goals and targets toward 2030. One of these goals is to “Empower Girls and Women and Achieve Gender Equality” and includes important targets to: prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against girls and women, end child marriage, ensure equal right of women to own and inherit property, sign a contract, register a business and open a bank account, and eliminate discrimination against women in political, economic, and public life.

Women Deliver, The Girl Declaration, and the outcome of the High Level Panel Report are testimony to the fact that investing in girls is smart development. As the Girl Effect says so well: the end of poverty starts with a girl.

Anthea Mulakala is The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Malaysia and senior advisor, International Development Cooperation. She can be reached at amulakala@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

These were the elections which many did not expect to see in Pakistan. Despite persistent and widespread rumors right up until the actual day of elections that they would be cancelled or postponed, Pakistan’s General Elections took place as scheduled on May 11. Around 50 million citizens took part in this historical event: the first time (with the new federal government expected to assume office at the beginning of June) that a successful transition from one democratically elected government to another has taken place. The turnout was the highest since 1970, as millions defied terrorist threats of polling day violence, already the bloodiest election campaign in the country’s history, and bravely waited in line to vote. Violence did disrupt elections in a few parts of the country, notably in Karachi, and contests in some polling stations will be re-run. But in the great majority of constituencies, polling took place peacefully.

According to early figures, almost 60 percent of the 86 million registered voters cast their votes in the 2013 elections, and while detailed gender disaggregated data are not yet available, female participation in the electoral process is reportedly higher than in the past. Photo/DFID

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), almost 60 percent of the 86 million registered voters cast their votes in the 2013 General Elections, and while detailed gender disaggregated data are not yet available, female participation in the electoral process, both as candidates and voters, is reportedly higher than in the past. Overall, the elections attracted double the number of candidates compared to 2008, and although pre-poll violence targeted some parties more than others, hampering their campaigning and throwing the “level playing field” into doubt, the issues at stake in today’s Pakistan clearly galvanized an unexpectedly large number of citizens to cast their votes. Civil society organizations supplemented official efforts to register voters, particularly women, and spearheaded voter education.

A young Pakistani voter displays the distinct ink-mark that signifies she voted.

But the greater engagement of the electorate in the polls, the large participation of younger and other first-time voters, the official recognition, among the most marginalized of groups, of transgender voters and the many debates and discussions among friends, workmates and even family members, attest to the increasing interest among the citizens of Pakistan in the political process and to more serious efforts by the political parties to reach out to them. Of course, there are still improvements that can be made to ensure that future elections are run more smoothly and engage an even greater range and diversity of Pakistan’s population. For example, more needs to be done to enable and encourage women to vote – there are still polling stations where no female votes were recorded, reports that women were actively barred in a few areas, and the number of successful female candidates remains very small.

Allegations of poll rigging have been made, and at the time of writing, a large number of cases are before the ECP. It may take time to resolve these, but the evidence of the 41,000 observers deployed throughout the country by member organizations of the Free & Fair Elections Network (FAFEN), currently being sifted and collated, will be crucial in determining just how free and fair the elections have been. But as voters proudly display the indelible ink-mark on their thumbs which prove that they have voted, and many have their individual stories to tell about how they came to vote as they did, one voice lingers vividly in the mind:  “Today I am a proud Pakistani –in spite of all the difficulties, these elections did take place, and that gives ground for hope.”

Gareth Aicken is The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Pakistan and Ameena Ilahi is the deputy country representative there. They can be reached at gaicken@asiafound.org and ailahi@asiafound.org, respectively. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual authors and not those of The Asia Foundation.

When the Afghan government quietly appointed Shah Bibi Saeedi to what may be the most dangerous job in Afghanistan, it was an easy decision: she was the only person who had dared to apply.

On Saturday, the 44-year-old doctor became the new director of women’s affairs for the eastern province of Laghman. The previous two directors were assassinated within a matter of months. Saeedi, an obstetrician, has not shied away from dangerous working environments. She operates a clinic in Logar province, which is rife with insurgents, but says she has had no problems with the guerrillas.

“I think they know I’m helping people, which is why they don’t bother me,” she said.

Laghman province may be different.

In July, Hanifa Safi, a former women’s affairs director for the province, was killed when a magnetic bomb attached to her car exploded. Her replacement, Najia Siddiqi was shot dead in December while riding to work in a motorized rickshaw.

No one has taken responsibility for either killing and while several arrests were made, no one has been convicted. Laghman officials blame the Taliban, who placed severe restrictions on women during the time the group was in power.

Whoever carried out the assassinations sent a resounding message: when the job was posted, no one applied. Finally, Saeedi volunteered.

“The reason [for the assassinations] is they don’t want the development and improvement of the country,” said Sarhadi Zwak, spokesman for Laghman province’s governor. He said the government is taking additional security measures to ensure Saeedi does not meet the same fate.

The local government needs to do more, said Georgette Gagnon, the human rights director for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Women in Laghman province were more reluctant to seek help and report abuses than before the killings elsewhere, and the local government needs to make clear that it will protect both the new director and those who seek her help, Gagnon said.

“In the area itself and internationally it has become [symbolic] of the situation facing women in Afghanistan and particularly those who do try to participate in public life,” she said.

While Saeedi says the risk is worth the opportunity to help women in a rural area where domestic abuse is common and there are few employment opportunities for women, she is not cavalier about the threat to her safety. She’s pressing the provincial and national government for more security before she starts working in Laghman’s capital, Mehtar Lam.

“Women are mothers, they are sisters, they are equal to men,” she said.

Women still face widespread abuse and discrimination in Afghanistan, according to a U.N. report issued the day after Siddiqi was killed. The report stated that Afghan women are still often imprisoned for running away from home and that authorities rarely pursue perpetrators of violence against women.

The problems are greatest in rural areas, where forced marriage is still common and families often settle disputes by offering girls as wives.

“Women face every risk, from killing, abuse, sexual harassment,” Afghan women’s rights activist Shahla Maihandost said. “Despite that, the Afghan women have not given up and have continued to fight against all these challenges. Even in Kabul, women don’t feel safe, so you can’t imagine what is going on with the women in the provinces.”

Maihandost praised Saeedi for her decision, saying she is an inspiration for women.

“Dr. Shah Bibi deciding to become the director of women’s affairs is a great honor for all women and we are proud of her decision,” she said. “It’s a very hard job out there.”

Raised in the eastern city of Jalalabad, Saeedi taught after high school before studying literature at university. In the early 1990s, she fled to Pakistan with her husband during Afghanistan’s civil war. There, she and her husband studied medicine before returning to Afghanistan in 2001 after the U.S.-led invasion.

Saeedi soon went into politics, winning a seat on the Nangarhar provincial council and then getting appointed as a senator for the Afghan parliament, where she served from 2004 to 2009.

Part of a tiny minority of Afghan women who have gained access to higher education, Saeedi sees lack of schooling as the biggest barrier to women attaining greater rights. Without education, women have no way to earn a living and are trapped in their homes, she said.

“Everything depends on economics, and economics depends on education,” Saeedi said.

Those realities are most stark in largely rural provinces like Laghman, where many families are still engaged in subsistence agriculture. Illiteracy is rife and continuing violence still keeps many from education.

Despite her visceral dislike for the Taliban’s policies, Saeedi said she’s ready to sit down with insurgents if it can help girls and women in Laghman province.

“If the Taliban are OK for a discussion, I’m ready to talk to them and explain to them that I’m just here to help women,” she said.

Saeedi, who has seven children, speaks optimistically about the future for women in Afghanistan. But she demurred when asked if she sees a future in Afghanistan for her four daughters.

“I don’t think so, because they need higher education and enough possibilities, and I don’t like the violence that is still going on here,” she said.

Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report.

The Asia Foundation supports Dr. Shah Bibi Saeedi and 25 other Director of Women’s Affairs in the Provinces as part of its Ministry of Women’s Affairs Restructuring and Empowerment project. Read more about The Asia Foundation’s work in Afghanistan.

Gender-based violence (GBV) affects nearly half of women in Nepal, according to a recent survey by The Asia Foundation. The results of the survey, included in a recent field report from Asia Foundation program officer and Give2Asia’s field advisor to Nepal, Diana Fernandez, showed that 48 percent of women have experienced GBV in their lifetime, and over 25 percent in the last 12 months. Of women who report experiencing GBV, nearly three-quarters report that the perpetrators were intimate partners (including husbands).

Gender-based violence was again brought to the forefront of civil society issues in Nepal at the end of 2012, when reports surfaced of an especially egregious case of rape and robbery committed by a Nepali immigration official and a Nepali police officer. The victim was a Nepali migrant worker returning from work abroad. The event sparked a massive street movement to demand justice not just for this isolated case, but for widespread cases of GBV and other human rights abuses in Nepal.

In this field report, we have identified three critical ways to help achieve gender equality in Nepal:

1. Ensure Access to Justice
2. Raising Awareness and Media Attention
3. Reducing Vulnerability Through Entrepreneurship

Download a complete copy of the report, “Current Civil Society Needs in Nepal.” This article was originally published by Asian Philanthropy Advisory Network blog, a project of Give2Asia.

Malaysia’s 13th general elections must be called by June 2013. After the ruling Barisan Nasional lost its two thirds majority in the 2008 elections, the big question in the minds of citizens and political parties is whether BN will recapture its majority or lose further ground to the opposition.

Political analysts predict that the “fence-sitters” will be a decisive factor in the election outcome. Women make up a large portion of this undecided electorate. Given that women comprise 49 percent of Malaysia’s 13.3 million voters, it’s astonishing that political parties aren’t trying to capture this vote by fielding more women candidates.

Women’s political representation in Southeast Asia averages about 18 percent, which is below the global average. In Malaysia, women’s representation based on the 2008 elections is 10 percent, the second lowest in the region. Despite high female membership rates in political parties – and a very strong United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) women’s wing – the number of women leaders nominated to stand and elected into office has been dismally low.

Various factors contribute to this regional trend, including:

• High levels of education do not always ensure political participation. Malaysia ranks high (61st) on UNDP’s Human Development Index. For every 10 male university graduates there are 13 females. These highly educated women, however, are not entering politics. Parliamentary representation among women remains low.

• Democratization doesn’t necessarily increase women’s political participation. Vietnamese and Lao women have the highest levels of formal political participation in the region. Both countries have implemented special measures to increase women’s representation.

• Family-run political enterprises often serve as a pathway for elite women to participate in politics, leaving little space for ordinary women to emerge as candidates. It is not uncommon in our region for sisters, wives, widows, or daughters of former leaders to enter the political arena.

In fact, according to a 2012 report from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and other research, women’s political representation in the region is influenced more by cultural, customary or religious gender stereotypes about women’s role, entrenched resistance (sometimes violent) to women’s participation in public life, lack of access to resources (wealth, knowledge, networks), and the challenges women face in juggling domestic responsibilities, employment, and community activities, leaving little time for politics.

High levels of education do not always ensure political participation. Malaysia ranks high (61st) on UNDP’s Human Development Index. For every 10 male university graduates there are 13 females. These highly educated women, however, are not entering politics. Photo/Amir Shariff

Last year, as part of The Asia Foundation’s National Youth Survey, we asked Malaysian youth if they would accept a women as prime minister. While more young women than young men said they would accept a female prime minister, overall only 50 percent were in favour of the idea.

Malaysia clearly has women who are politically sharp, influential, and capable of holding office. There are active women’s wings of political parties and strong commitment from the current prime minister to address women’s issues. So where are the women candidates and parliamentarians to support and deliver this agenda?

According to Michele Bachelet, Head of UN Women, half of all countries in the world have implemented some form of electoral quota in the past 20 years. Of the 33 countries that have achieved 30 percent women’s representation, 28 have achieved this by implementing gender quotas. In 2011, Prime Minister Najib announced that Malaysia would achieve 30 percent female representation on corporate boards within five years. However, no such quota has been set for women’s political representation.

Will the 2013 elections result in stronger showing of women candidates? Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the opposition coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim, has promised to appoint 10 female ministers if they are elected to government, surpassing the BN’s appointment of two in 2008. At the same time, however, PR has admitted that it is having trouble finding female candidates to run. Despite lobbying efforts from civil society organizations, the potential for Malaysia to boost women’s representation remains low.

Quotas aside, many Malaysian women find politics “dirty,” and prefer not to expose themselves. Until the enabling environment for women’s participation improves, women are unlikely to come forward as willing candidates. If Malaysia is unable to close the gender gap both politically and economically, it will struggle to avoid or escape the middle-income trap and achieve its development vision.

Anthea Mulakala is The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Malaysia. She can be reached at amulakala@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

In Vietnam, a remarkable 95 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have access to the internet, with social networking growing so rapidly that Vietnam is Facebook’s fastest growing market in the world, with an estimated 8.5 million users, according to a We Are Social report. No doubt, rapid economic growth in the past two decades has contributed to tremendous social transformation in Vietnam, while global integration and the communications revolution have connected young Vietnamese to outside information and views like never before. Despite these trends, a brand new survey reveals that traditional gender roles remain deeply embedded in Vietnamese society and institutions, permeating work, home, and the public arena.

While a rapid increase in access to the internet and social media has connected Vietnamese youth to outside information like never before, a new survey reveals that traditional gender roles remain deeply embedded in Vietnamese society. Photo/Karl Grobl

While discussions on gender issues in Vietnam are on the rise, they are often static and focus on symptoms rather than examining the drivers of inequality. Seeking to recast the gender conversation in a way that engages Vietnamese youth, over the past six months The Asia Foundation has been working with two Vietnamese NGOs, the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy, and Environment (iSEE) and the Research Centre for Gender, Family, and Environment in Development (CGFED), to develop and implement an interactive online survey and discussion forum called “Youth and Gender in Vietnam.” This initiative explores Vietnamese youth’s gender conceptions and the impact on their lives – from their choices of careers and partners to their vision of leadership.

The response to the survey and forum has been exciting. Within just two days of the launch online in early January 2013, 2,100 young people from all over the country had responded. While we are still in the process of analyzing the results, initial findings from the survey and in-depth interviews have produced some surprises with sobering implications for gender equality in Vietnam. In all, over 2,500 people took the survey, which was conducted through three popular websites; News.zing.vn, VOZ forum, and Lamchame forum. We explored the results in greater detail through in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions with students in the North and Center of Vietnam. Eight interviews and two group discussions have been held so far. More are planned, with further interviews and group discussions engaging young people in the South, informal workers, and teenagers.

Vision of leadership

The survey reveals strong preference among young people for leadership characteristics most commonly associated with men. More than 80 percent of respondents believe that a leader needed to be “decisive,” while 62 percent voted for “strong.”

Respondents also overwhelmingly identified those characteristics as being male rather than female characteristics. There was very little difference in response whether the respondent was male or female, whether they were from a rural or urban area, or whether they were already working or still in school. In follow-up focus group discussions held in universities in Hanoi and at a teacher’s training college in Phu Yen province in February, male students voiced very strong views against the idea of having female leaders. One respondent in Phu Yen critically stated, for example, that, “It’s fine if they are talented women, but I still prefer a male superior.”  Given that these students are being trained to become teachers who will inculcate ideas about gender roles to future generations of young Vietnamese, the strong gender bias they hold is a cause for concern.

Career choice

The survey data conveyed gender prejudice around career choice, as well. While over 80 percent said that being a university professor was suitable for both men and women, far fewer – around 50 percent – of respondents stated women should pursue careers as government leaders, economic experts, or entrepreneurs. Interestingly, the 50 percent who said that these careers were unsuitable for women were evenly split between male and female respondents.

Partner expectations

Famously, in 1965 President Ho Chi Minh said that the heroic, indomitable, generous, and responsible contributions of Vietnamese women should be honored. Often repeated, these became the idealized characteristics for the next generations of Vietnamese women. According to the survey, perceptions on this don’t seem to have changed. Skillfulness (66%), hardworking nature (63%), and self-sacrificing/long-suffering (33%) remain the key expectations of a female partner among young Vietnamese men. Meanwhile, Vietnamese women overwhelmingly identify stereotypically male traits in their perfect partner, with 81 percent wanting their partners to be “strong.” One quality both young men and women wanted to see in their partners was dynamism – identified by 50 percent of both sexes.

These preliminary survey results show that Vietnam’s younger generation, a group that is often held up as being very open and liberal, hold on to traditional gender roles. These views will have direct impact on the choices they make in their careers, relationships, children, and friends, and how they perceive leadership and power. Despite all the rapid changes in Vietnam, it seems that a spiral of “gender bias” continues to be passed from generation to generation, embedded in social values and norms. The survey is just the first stage of our work. We will use the results to generate debate among young people on key issues such as characteristics for leaders and partners, sharing the burden of domestic work, and domestic violence. We will use both online engagement through the gender forum run by CGFED and off-line events in universities and workplaces to get young people debating and challenging stereotypes. A full report on the project will be published later this year but the occasion of International Women’s Day presents an opportune moment to consider how policy-makers and gender activists can adapt their approaches to tackle the deep roots of gender inequality more effectively.

Read more about The Asia Foundation in Vietnam, and learn how you can support our Vietnam Scholarship Program for Disadvantaged Girls.

Nguyen Viet Ha is The Asia Foundation’s senior program officer for Social Development and Women’s Empowerment in Vietnam. She can be reached at nvha@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

For International Women’s Day, the UN declared 2013 a “time for action to end violence against women,” as the theme of the annual global event. In the lead up to IWD, on February 14 tens of thousands of events were held in 207 countries across the globe, including here in Bangladesh, for V-Day’s ONE BILLION RISING – the largest global action in history to end violence against women and girls.

On February 14 tens of thousands of events were held in 207 countries across the globe, including here in Bangladesh, for V-Day’s ONE BILLION RISING. Above, residents form human chains across Dhaka to demand an end to violence against women and girls.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Bangladesh ranks fourth among the world’s nations with respect to violence against women. Almost every day, women in Bangladesh are subjected to different forms of violence, including rape, murder, acid attack, trafficking, domestic abuse, forced marriage, torture related to dowry, and abduction. Since 2001, there have been 184,422 reported cases of violence, according to the police headquarters. And it is well-documented that most cases are never reported. In 2012 alone, there were 19,617 reported incidences of violence against women in Bangladesh.

ONE BILLION RISING began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls. American playwright and activist Eve Ensler, who founded ONE BILLION RISING, said before V-Day: “When we started working on this issue 14 years ago, we had the outrageous idea that we could end violence against women. Now, we are both stunned and thrilled to see that this global action is truly escalating and gaining force, with union workers, parliament members, celebrities, and women of all backgrounds coming forward to join the campaign. When we come together on February 14, 2013, to demand an end to violence against women and girls, it will be a truly global voice that will rise up.”

And indeed it was. All over Bangladesh participating organizations held events, film screenings, made human chains, and arranged flash mobs. In Dhaka, colleagues from our office joined the human chain in protest of violence against women in front of one of the busiest intersections in the capital. With extraordinary solidarity, women and men, from all walks of life, from factory and office workers to reporters and university professors, formed human chains for a half hour from 1 to 1.30 pm in 42 locations throughout Dhaka city, as well as in all 66 districts of the country. The longest stretch of the human chain was formed from Mirpur to Asad gate moving up to the Parliament building, where Parliamentarians and MPs joined together in red shirts, hoisting red flags and banners. Women and men joined across the country in numbers larger than ever before, for a cause that has been long overdue.

In Sylhet district in northeast Bangladesh, The Asia Foundation arranged a special book donation to mark the occasion, including teachers, students, and educational specialists from 38 schools. It was a poignant celebration, with students enacting a mini-play on the theme of child marriage, a gross human rights violation that remains a serious issue in Bangladesh: according to a UNICEF report, 63 percent of all women from 20–24 years old were married before the age of 18. There were also songs of freedom, poetry, and speeches, and a screening of Eve Ensler’s film, “Man Prayer,” translated into Bengali. The program ended with all the audience chanting and vowing to do their bit in protecting women against all forms of violence.

I felt proud to be alongside these men and women across Bangladesh not only to show solidarity but also to stress the fact that women’s rights are not secondary, personal, or isolated. February 14 is not an end, but rather a starting point and a step forward for future discussions and action on violence against women. Organizations can now use this platform to consolidate and coordinate efforts and challenge discriminatory practices and laws through awareness-raising activities, training, outreach, and advocacy.

Eeshita Azad is The Asia Foundation’s head of Communications in Bangladesh. She can be reached at eazad@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.