Page 20 - IB March 2018 Edition

Special Feature

Some gains, some losses healthy development into adulthood is
side swiped and her chances of achieving
her full potential are placed at serious risk.
on women in the Pacific Pacific Supplementary titled ‘I am not a lost
In the United Nation’s Population Fund’s
cause- Young Women’s Empowerment
and Teenage Pregnancy in the Pacific’
states that early pregnancy can impede a
for girls and 75 per cent for boys. girl’s rights, including her rights to educa-
In 2012 Tonga achieved 100 per cent tion and social supports.
for both female and male while Tuvalu Child marriage, coercive sex, and gen-
reported 100 per cent for female only and der- based violence are often key elements
French Polynesia had 96 per cent female in the context in which a girl becomes
and 94 per cent male. pregnant and all are human rights viola-
By Mereseini Marau-Totoka For Melanesia, Vanuatu had 84 per cent tions, as are denials of access to sexual
women and 41 per cent girls while men and reproductive health information and
WOMEN including girls in the Pacific still were 86 per cent and boys 37 per cent for essential services.
got some way to go to improving their 2009 to 2012. Under these circumstances, the conse-
status in the islands although a lot of Papua New Guinea on the other hand quences of pregnancy in her teenage years
gains have been achieved especially in the had 74 per cent for females and 67 per cent can be felt throughout her life and carry
area of education and health for some of for males in the age group of 15 to 24 year over to the next generation.
the countries and territories in the region. olds from 2008 to 2018. In the Pacific Community’s Beijing Plat-
In education for example, girls are doing In 2009 Solomon Islands reported 79 form for Action review, recommendations
better than boys although only three out per cent for women and girls over 15 were suggested to improve girls’ education
of ten students of the 270,000 students years of age. that includes adopting measures that:
tested from 14 countries in the Pacific on Efforts to provide free and compulsory • Ensure that girls have equal access to
literacy and numeracy skills have dem- education have proven to be effective tools primary, secondary and tertiary edu-
onstrated the skills expected at their level in improving access. cation, especially in rural and remote
of schooling. Despite these important gains, at the areas, and in areas of great hardship
From the same test, five in ten students secondary and tertiary levels concerns • Promote respect for the safety of
failed to reach the expected standard of remain relating to unequal access to women and girls in the school environ-
numeracy. education and training for boys and girls. ment, including measures to prevent
Three in 10 girls demonstrated the Several countries reported that difficul- as well as to respond to sexual and
expected literacy skills compared to two ties in meeting the costs associated with gender-based violence
in 10 boys. education such as uniforms, lunch, statio- • Put in place inclusive policies to accom-
For numeracy, five in 10 girls are dem- nery and transport were common across modate pregnant young women and
onstrating the expected numeracy skills, their communities. mothers to complete their education
compared to four in 10 boys. Fiji and Samoa have made efforts to • Review school curricula and all teach-
Based on the Pacific Islands Literacy and subsidise transportation and reduce ing materials in order to eliminate
Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) 2012, it school fees. gender stereotypes and all forms of
was established that girls of the Pacific are Samoa initiated a school fee grant discrimination
performing significantly better in schools scheme for primary schools in 2010, and • Disseminate data regarding Pacific
than boys in both literacy and numeracy. extended it to secondary schools in 2014. women’s access to education and to
This was one of the critical areas faced Solomon Islands reported that access to support initiatives that address all
by women and girls as reported by the secondary education by girls was problem- barriers – civil, political, social, cul-
Pacific Community in their review of the atic, with a decrease in girls’ enrolments at tural, economic and physical – faced
progress in 20 years of implementing the the senior education level when compared by women, young women, and girls,
Beijing Platform for Action in the Pacific. to the junior levels. including those with disabilities, to
When it comes to education and train- This gap is attributed to gender norms, access all levels of education
ing of women, it was highlighted that including the prioritisation of boys’ educa- The Pacific has acknowledged that
most countries and territories are close to tion: rather than sending their daughters gender equality is an integral part of its
achieving universal primary education. to school, some disadvantaged families economic, political, cultural and social
In 2014 Palau for example achieved will send girls to work as child minders development.
universal primary education of 80 per cent for relatives in urban centres. According to the Pacific Community,
for women and 85 per cent for girls while Girls are often expected to work and since the adoption of the Beijing Platform
it was 70 per cent and 75 per cent for men remit their earnings to their parents. for Action, majority of the Pacific Island
and boys respectively. But several Pacific Island countries and Countries and Territories have ratified
In 2013 New Caledonia recorded 100 territories have reported that adolescent the Convention on the Elimination of all
per cent for both boys and girls, Samoa pregnancies constituted a significant ob- Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),
for girls and boys between the ages of 15 stacle to girls’ education and professional and have engaged in the regular reporting
to 24 recorded 98 per cent and 95 per cent training. of their progress towards full compliance.
respectively, while Nauru had 61 per cent When teenage pregnancy occurs, a girl’s Across the Pacific region, initiatives

20 Islands Business, March 2018