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“Discrimination and neglect are threatening women’s survival in the Asia-Pacific region where women suffer from some of the world’s lowest rates of political representation, employment and property ownership. Their lack of participation in productive sector is depressing economic growth,” says the new Asia Pacific Human Development Report on Gender.

Launching the report, Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific, Hon’ble Binda Pandey, Chairperson of the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles Committee of the Constituent Assembly said, “Nepal has already made its way towards passing the bill on domestic violence in the legislative parliament which is a big leap in the right direction. Also the 33 per cent representation of women in the Constituent Assembly is noteworthy progress. However the big challenge of turning the Laws, Acts and Policies into implementation and practice requires change in attitude of all women and men in the country”.

Speaking at the launch event, UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Robert Piper stated, “Gender equality is good economics. Keeping women off the labour market simply costs money. Increasing their participation in the labour market will boost a country’s income, more so in countries with low current participation.”

The report focuses on three major areas of analysis illustrated in terms of Economic Power, Political Voice & Human and Legal Rights.

In the context of Nepal, the gap in women and men’s average daily earnings is alarmingly wide with women earning only 60% of what men earn while doing similar kinds of job in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sector. The report states that giving women economic opportunities also has an effect on gender-based violence – a problem common to the Asia-Pacific region. When women develop a stronger position to bargain and negotiate within their homes, it reduces their dependency on male relatives and frees them to make possibly different choices — including getting out of oppressive situations —that can improve their own welfare as well as that of their children and families.

The political voice of women has improved in Nepal with the recent secured 1/3 quota in the Constituent Assembly. In comparison, only about 1/3 of countries in Asia and the Pacific have quota systems to enhance women’s participation in politics. The report argues that the public policy decisions that the Governments make have fundamental implications on gender equality outcomes as they define the extent of opportunities and entitlements for women and men along with democratic space for civil society and for representing the interests of social groups with less representation, and effective delivery of social services.

Finally, with regards to rights, Gender-based violence is pervasive with more than one-tenth of women in the Asia-Pacific region reporting assaults by their partners. Nearly half of the South Asian countries lack laws on Domestic Violence. Nepal’s positive moves towards greater legal protection and equality for women needs to be continued.

By Sara Svensson

My name is Sara Svensson, and I’m from Sweden. Tomorrow is my 25th birthday, but I won’t be eating birthday cake this year.

I’ve been involved in different kinds of climate activism for most of my life. I studied International Project Management for Social Movements and NGOs, combined with environmental science.

I have committed to participate in Climate Justice Fast, an international hunger strike for climate justice. From today and until we meet again in Copenhagen, I will be eating nothing and drinking only water.

The end date of the fast is still open. When I break the fast depends on what happens in the climate negotiations and in the world. The only thing I can guarantee is that I will end the fast if our demands are met.

Climate change is the defining issue for my generation. Previous generations did not understand the problem, and for future generations it will be too late to do something about it. It is up to us.

I’m undertaking this fast out of love. Love for life, for our beautiful planet with all its species and future generations. There’s nothing more important I can do in my life than to contribute in the strongest possible way, with full devotion, to set an end to climate change and injustice and be part of the movement that will lead us to a sustainable future.

I’m showing how much I care. How much I’m willing to risk, how much I’m prepared to offer. How deeply devoted I am to this cause. I hope that it will inspire others and help the necessary shift to happen.

I love life and health, but I’m willing to risk it to secure the survival of others. Food is good, chewing is fun and I will miss jumping around full of energy. It will not be easy to abstain from something as essential as food.

Still, my personal sacrifice is nothing compared to the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of people who already die from climate change each year, and the many millions of people who would be suffering in the years to come if we would fail to solve climate change. Voluntarily abstaining from food is not easy, but it’s possible. Solving climate change is also not an easy task, but it’s possible, and we will.

This is the right thing to do at the right time. Turn to essentials, turn to emotions. The pure, the true, the real. Touch hearts. Push the limits, move on to the next level.

I will enjoy this peaceful time to reflect while others are busy. We will focus on the big picture while COP15 gets lost and stuck in a thousand details.

Now is the time to mobilise the movement for change.

We call on all people to get involved in the climate movement. We know the science. Educate yourself. Think about what’s most important? Change your mindset. Your goal in life can’t be a comfortable life where you consume everything you want. Widen your perspective. Think of the invisible consequences behind your actions. Challenge yourself.

No specific person is to blame. There’s no single enemy responsible for causing the problem. Yet climate change is happening, and it’s deeply unjust and immoral. With knowledge comes responsibility. We ask every single person on this planet to seek for solutions within themselves, and find the courage to act with global consciousness.

Hunger striking is a positive act of humble nonviolence that we are undertaking as extremely concerned citizens. Judging from the support we are getting, a lot of people feel the same way.

We’re not only in a climate crisis, but also a democracy crisis. We must highlight the failure of our democracies to reflect the best interests and opinions of their population.

Many species throughout history have polluted, consumed or overpopulated themselves into extinction. But if we as humanity fail to solve the climate crisis, we may well become the first species who has done so in full knowledge and awareness of its own actions. I believe in humanity, we can’t be that stupid.

Climate change is an opportunity to redefine our common values, and to create the just and sustainable world that most people everywhere want. “The world is ready for change”. This is the start of the sustainability era”.

To move into that era, we have to do all what we can, right now, when there’s still the smallest amount of time left. We must be able to look back and know that we did all what we could do. Maybe I’ll have children one day, and I must be able to look them in the eye.

(Awesome girls and climate campaigners Anna Kennan and Sara Svensson began a hunger strike urging world leaders to take serious and urgent action to solve the climate crisis and demanding an ambitious, fair and LEGALLY binding climate treaty at Copenhagen Climate Summit. This inspiring speech was delivered by Sara on November 6 at the press conference in Barcelona during UNFCCC Barcelona Climate Change Talks 2009. Please support them- whatever you can. You can find more at http://www.climatejusticefast.com)