To succeed, AEC needs moves for gender equality

Sanchita Basu Das offers a realistic assessment of the current labour policy by stressing that the advent of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by December 31, 2015 is not going to change anything for the Asean labour market immediately.

From this perspective, one problem to be recognised on the list of priorities of Asean is gender equality. This is one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which acknowledges that societies where women are not afforded equal rights can never achieve sustainable development. Promoting authentic gender equality is a mandatory passport to prosperity.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratified by 188 countries including all 10 Asean member states, sets up a critical agenda for national action to realise gender equality. All parties to the Convention are required to enshrine gender equality in their domestic legislation, repeal all discriminatory laws, and adopt new laws to guard against any form of discrimination against women.

Ioan Voicu