South asia women's resilience index

99.9

Notable issues in this category include:

Women enjoy favourable economic environment with unhindered access to credit and financial instruments—96.8% of women have accounts at financial institutions
Women protected from discrimination in the workplace by legal provisions such as Equal Employment Opportunities Act, though wage inequality remains a feature of Japan’s labour environment.

Infrastructure and technology best-in-class: home to one of world’s most sophisticated disaster early-warning systems
2011 earthquake and tsunami led to further assessments of areas for development, and building codes are among the most stringent internationally

2011 Disaster Management Basic Plan places strong emphasis on specific vulnerabilities of women and need for their voices to be reflected in DRR planning
In practice, female leadership not mandatory or highly visible in Japanese DRR decision-making bodies

Signatory to Optional Protocol to the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Women live and work in an environment governed by patriarchal values but attitudes shifting: government has set a goal of raising the ratio of female managers in the workforce to 30% by 2020

Attitudes to women’s access to finance and employment opportunities addressed in Tenth Five-Year Plan (2008-13), which specified gender as a cross-cutting theme
Tradition of matrilineal inheritance means that over 60% of land title deeds are held by women

Early warning systems exist for glacial lake outburst floods and those from rainfall, but remain localised and are not linked to national or international systems.
Paved road network improved in recent years, but rural access remains challenging during the rainy season, particularly along the steep hillsides, which are prone to landslides

Bhutan lacks a national-level critical infrastructure plan and social safety nets are limited
Growing recognition of importance of gender issues in design of legislation and policy frameworks

More progressive social attitudes improve women’s mobility and access to education
Performance in this category further bolstered by high enrolment rates for girls in secondary school and low levels of child malnutrition.

Lowest poverty headcount ratio among the South Asian countries in the index
Majority of women rely on informal financing for access to credit and are primary beneficiaries of microfinance scheme—making up 92% of all borrowers

Communications infrastructure is relatively good by regional standards
Improved stability after the end of the civil war due to investments in transport infrastructure

Performs less well on “culture of safety” among institution
High degree of centralisation is a challenge in disaster risk management

Violence against women continues to be a pervasive problem
Low female participation in economic activities in part a result of women’s traditional roles as child-bearers and for domestic work, and lack of access to opportunities and information.

Access to formal bank accounts limited for both men and women; only 9.6% of women have loans at financial institutions.
Key objective of the country’s Microcredit Policy of 2007 was to drive access to credit for women and low-income families: in 2012, women comprised some 98.5% of borrowers.

Gaps exist in communications between national and community level emergency response, and transport infrastructure is underdeveloped
Gaps in communication mechanisms have hindered development of early warning system that is integrated on national and community levels

Growing recognition of gender issues in design of legislation and policy frameworks
Women are required to be represented on central and local disaster management committees under the 2009 National Strategy on Disaster Risk Management

Women enjoy equal rights in property ownership and inheritance
Patriarchal attitudes predominant: half of unemployed women in Nepal cite childcare and domestic duties as the reason for not pursuing work opportunities

Range of personal financing options available to women; has a more progressive labour environment than South Asian counterparts
Up to 10% of all programmes financed by the public sector can be spent on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation

Poor infrastructure for sanitation: only 36% of the population have access to sanitation, and just 25% of rural dwellers
Recent budgets have emphasised increased funding for transport infrastructure, but population is underserved by existing roads, ports, railways and airports

2005 Disaster Management Act established a National Disaster Response Force, but effectiveness hampered by a lack of training and resources
High-profile cases have raised awareness on the issue of violence against women, but it is not referenced either in local or national DRR policy

Gender inequality still pervasive, as exemplified by low secondary school enrolment rates for girls as opposed to boys
Socio-cultural beliefs and patriarchal attitudes hamper access to education opportunities for girls, limit access to healthcare and restrict physical mobility of women in many communities

Despite having the highest GDP per capita in South Asia, women have little access to credit or financial instruments
Constitution enshrines right to equal opportunities for work, but no schemes are in place to generate or promote employment opportunities for women

Performs well by regional standards on essential infrastructure for resilience (e.g. coverage of communications networks)
No national-level critical infrastructure plan, though some aspects are covered in the National Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, and a Strategic National Action Plan

Few initiatives exist to extend social protection or income-generation opportunities for women
Scant recognition of importance of gender issues in design of legislation and policy frameworks

Islamic tradition governs gender relations; while physical mobility does not appear to be highly restricted, domestic responsibilities have had implications for women’s participation in workforce
Sociocultural factors have a bearing on equality of opportunity for education—only 42.4% of girls enrolled in secondary school in 2011

Government funding for disaster relief (US$5.3 per person) is the highest of all the South Asian countries in the index
Poverty alleviation schemes target women, but they do not always enjoy decent work as indicated by labour conditions in the textile industry

Struggles with quality of and access to power; transportation and sanitation infrastructure, and low technology-penetration rates
Compliance a pervasive issue, as exemplified by collapse of a garment factory building in 2013 that led to 1,138 deaths, despite presence of a mandatory building code

National Plan for Disaster Management recognises vulnerabilities of women, though these do not necessarily trickle down into disaster-specific or local plans
Security and privacy concerns deter some women from shelters, and there is evidence of increased violence against women during and after disasters

Mobility for women in largely Muslim Bangladesh varies depending on social status, religious affiliation or whether they reside in urban or rural areas
Socio-cultural norms restrict a large proportion of women to domestic responsibilities and limited access to education and health

Women are highly restricted in their access to formal finance
No comprehensive employment schemes guaranteeing employment quotas for women or provision for equal wages to men exist at national level

Large swathes of the population lack everyday access to sanitation facilities and healthcare
Does have an early warning system in place, but dissemination systems and integration between national and community levels remain less developed than in other countries in the index

Relatively strong “culture of safety” enshrined in policy and planning documentation
2014 policy guidelines show a commitment to addressing specific needs of women in disaster management planning

A woman’s freedom of movement is governed by her socioeconomic class, region and whether she lives in an urban or rural setting
Restrictive social attitudes impede women’s mobility and access to education

Japan’s developed economy and sophisticated financial markets mean that women enjoy a favourable economic environment with unhindered access to credit and financial instruments—96.8% of women have accounts at financial institutions, according to the World Bank.

Japan’s infrastructure and technology are best-in-class: it is home to one of the world’s most sophisticated disaster early-warning systems.

In considering the needs of female internally displaced persons (IDPs), the 2011 Disaster Management Basic Plan requires the participation of women in running emergency shelters, and the participation of women in disaster-preparedness training.

Legislation to foster “family-friendly” policies in the workplace has facilitated the participation of women in the labour force, who make up 48.5% of workers. Attitudes are shifting of late: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set a goal of raising the ratio of female managers in the workforce to 30% by 2020.

Bhutan has an advantage over other South Asian countries for disaster resilience in attitudes pertaining to women’s access to finance and employment opportunities. Gender is specified as a cross-cutting theme in the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2008-13).

Early warning systems exist for glacial lake outburst floods and those from rainfall, but these remain localised and are not linked to national or international systems.

Government sources report that over 60% of land title registration deeds are held by women, given the customary practice of matrilineal inheritance, though tradition disadvantages women in the south of the country, where patrilineal inheritance is the norm.

Bhutan’s performance in the Social category is bolstered by high enrolment rates for girls in secondary school (76.1%) and low levels of child malnutrition (12.8%).

The majority of women rely on informal financing for access to credit and are the primary beneficiaries of microfinance schemes in Sri Lanka—they make up 92% of all borrowers. According to the World Bank, 19.4% of women have taken loans from financial institutions while 67.2% have accounts.

Mobile cellular subscriptions have a penetration rate of 95%, and significant improvements have been made to the early warning system in the wake of the devastating 2010 Indian Ocean tsunami in the form of a dedicated Disaster Management Centre.

Women make up 5.3% of the police force, and while women’s and children’s desks are now located in some police stations, no serious attempts have yet been made to increase the number and influence of female officers, despite high levels of violence and violence against women (VAW) in society.

While women face fewer restrictions on mobility compared with some other South Asian countries, low female participation in economic activities is in some part a result of women’s traditional roles as child-bearers and for domestic work, and a lack of access to opportunities and information pertaining to other work.

In 2012, women comprised some 98.5% of microfinance borrowers. Access to formal bank accounts is limited for both men (30%) and women (21%) in Nepal, while only 9.6% of women have loans at financial institutions.

Gaps in communication mechanisms— for example, just 36.4% of the population has access to television—has hindered the development of an early warning system that is integrated on national and community levels.

Women are required to be represented on central and local disaster management committees under the 2009 National Strategy on Disaster Risk Management (not yet passed into law).This policy calls for DRR training to be provided on a priority basis to women and other marginalised groups.

Patriarchal attitudes remain predominant in Nepalese society and have a bearing on women’s inclination to enter the workforce: half of unemployed women in Nepal cite childcare and domestic duties as the reason for not pursuing work opportunities.

Some 93.7% of microfinance borrowers are women in India, and such schemes remain the key channel by which Indian women have access to credit. There are a number of regional financial institutions that have designed programmes and financial instruments specifically for women, such as Gujarat’s Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) bank.

An early warning system has been established and monitoring systems are generally in place, though communication between the national and the local level can be variable across states.

High-profile cases of sexual violence have raised public awareness on the issue of violence against women (VAW), leading to calls for new legislation: parliament passed a package of laws in 2013 to deter sexual VAW.

While women have gained more visible representation and autonomy in past decades, gender inequality is still pervasive in India, as exemplified by low secondary school enrolment rates for girls (66.3%) as opposed to boys.

There is a very limited microfinance network in the Maldives. A number of government initiatives are in place to improve access to credit for women, but there is scant evidence of female participation in finance programmes or the availability of financial instruments to women.

Extensive communications networks (television, radio and mobile penetration) for this small population boost its infrastructural capacity for disaster resilience, though issues around information dissemination across the country’s many islands still pertain to its early warning system.

Key documents or plans do not include provisions for the needs of female internally displaced persons, nor is women’s inclusion specified in disaster preparedness training. Similarly, measures to address violence against women (VAW) are not included, despite VAW being experienced by an estimated one-third of women in 2007.

Islamic tradition serves as the basis for current gender relations, and while physical mobility does not appear to be highly restricted, domestic responsibilities have had implications for women’s participation in the workforce: only 21% of female household heads were economically active in 2006.

Women represent the majority of microfinance borrowers–90.1%— but their access to credit at both formal and informal institutions remains limited given the requirements for collateral. This is reflected in only 22.3% of loans being made to women at financial institutions, and women owning just 34.9% of bank accounts in 2012-13, according to the World Bank.

The country does have many aspects of an end-to-end early warning system, with improvements shown in the success of the response to more recent cyclones.

Planning documents provide for the needs of female internally displaced persons (IDPs) in that they encourage the building of separate facilities where possible and for the inclusion of women in the management committees of cyclone shelters. But security and privacy concerns continue to deter some women from shelters.

Socio-cultural norms restrict a large proportion of women to domestic responsibilities and limited access to education and health. In 2011 only 54.5% of girls were enrolled in secondary school

Of the large South Asian countries in the index, women’s access to microfinance schemes in Pakistan is among the lowest, at around 54.7% of borrowers. Women make up just 1.9% of those taking out loans at financial institutions and 3% of those with accounts in 2012-13.

Pakistan does have an early warning system in place, but dissemination systems and integration between national and community levels remain less developed than in other countries in the index, in part owing to the low penetration of television (60.2%) and radio (10.9%).

There are dedicated emergency response units in the police force, where women play a largely secondary role. Only 0.6% of police officers are female in Pakistan as of 2013, according to the Network for Improved Policing in the South Asia, and they face severe restrictions on their duties and roles.

Traditional practices have a bearing on the mobility of women in many communities, as exemplified by the low enrolment rates of girls in secondary education—30.9%—indicating that movement remains highly restricted for the majority of women.

For full country summaries and sources see the accompanying
white paper and downloadable Excel spreadsheet.

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