Publisher's Synopsis
This book examines extent to which the Concluding Comments of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are incorporated into national development plans of South Asian governments. It also examines how far health statistics on each country are taken into account by South Asian governments while planning. The book argues health sections of most national development plans only partially take into account the Concluding Observations of CEDAW. The gaps were larger in countries recovering from conflict and where democratic spaces were lesser. The mismatch between Concluding Observations and national development plans were largest with regard to 'controversial' issues like providing treatment to survivors of violence against women, combating sex selection and providing legal abortion services. The gaps were also large for low priority issues like women's mental health or reproductive cancers. Further, the mismatch was wider with regard to health/sexual and reproductive health of 'controversial groups' like unwed adolescent girls/women and women who were married but in other relationships. Gender-intensified aspects of quality of care were other issues, like access to confidentiality and privacy. To address these gaps it is suggested that the CEDAW insists that governments incorporate comments on each sector into their national planning process, and report back. It is also suggested that the CEDAW and the national governments together identity gender and health experts, public health financing experts, women' federations and women's health rights groups who could be part of the planning process of the health section of the national development plan. Concluding Observations on health, critical analysis of gender and health statistics and national development plans must go hand in hand to combat gender inequalities in health in South Asia.
