Resource information
This National Gender Policy 2014 rests on the principle that women and men are equal in all respects. All forms of discrimination based on sex and gender should be eliminated. The reasons for revising the National Gender Policy of 2000 are the need to address persistence and emerging gender related issues such as the impact among women of climate change (Chap 4). The Policy aims at: providing for regional and international instruments on gender and development in order to ensure gender responsive policies and laws; increasing the participation of women in decision making at all levels of development in the public and private sectors; increasing access to quality education and skills development for all; increasing equitable access to affordable renewable energy, clean and safe water as well as sanitation services; reducing extreme poverty and destitution among vulnerable groups especially women and girls; reducing all forms of gender based violence (GBV); promoting equitable allocation of productive resources to women and men; creating opportunities, in the expanding tourism sector, which facilitate equal participation and benefits to women and men; promoting equitable access to and ownership of housing and related infrastructure between women and men (Chap 5).Agriculture has remained a priority sector for fostering sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The dependency on agriculture is notably high in the rural areas where 87 percent of the women and 85 percent of the men find livelihood in agriculture, which includes forestry and fisheries (2.3.3). The tourism sector has been identified as having a high potential for growth which would result in a substantial contribution to GDP. This sector has the potential to provide entry points of livelihoods for women and men. Besides employment, it can create self-employment in small and medium size income generating activities, thus creating paths towards the elimination of poverty in local communities (2.3.13).The high levels of extreme poverty and vulnerability, which usually affect more women than men, provide a strong justification for the need for social protection. This system of social protection enables poor people to cope with present needs and have some readiness for emergencies they might have to face in future. These include food security packs and social cash transfers (sec. 2.3.7).There have been several attempts to decentralise local governance but none of them have been fully implemented. The current Decentralisation Policy was launched in 2013 and it is focused to empower provinces and districts to manage their own affairs for effective social and economic development. Decentralisation in its fullest sense is aimed towards empowerment of people to take charge of developmental priorities and ensure inclusiveness. Women are better informed and well acquainted of local needs as they are primary responsibility holders at household and community levels. More importantly local government provides a platform for women to enter politics which may not be possible for them at higher levels (2.3.14).
