Leveraging Policies and Laws that are Pro-Women and Girls ...

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Leveraging Policies and Laws that are Pro-Women and Girls to Decrease Inequities in Health and Development Outcomes

Final Report

December 2016

About this Project

Across a wide range of global health and development priorities, the past two decades have yielded

significant progress for women and girls. Yet the persisting gender gaps in numerous areas, including

education and employment, reveal the need for further work and new approaches—including a better

understanding of how national laws and policies shape economic opportunities and health outcomes at the

population level. Well-designed and implemented laws and policies that guarantee equal treatment and

prohibit discrimination can transform whether all women and girls have equal chances to access institutions,

lead healthy lives, and fully participate in their societies. With the invaluable support of the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation, this project aims to accelerate equal chances for women and girls by identifying the key

laws and policies most critical for gender equality globally, illustrating how those laws can be instrumental in

strengthening programs and bringing effective solutions to scale, and outlining opportunities to leverage

quantitative law and policy data to advance the gender equality aims of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition, this project includes an in-depth analysis of the current laws and policies to support equal

chances for women and girls in India, as well as opportunities for reform, and a mapping of information for

Sub-Saharan Africa.

The components of this report that focus on India and Sub-Saharan Africa build on the contributions of

members of civil society and intergovernmental organizations from those geographies, who were invited to

speak from their experience and expertise and not asked to represent institutional positions. Summary

recommendations and any errors are the responsibility of the authors. We gratefully acknowledge members

of the following organizations for the time and insights they contributed: African Child Policy Forum, Landesa,

Partners for Law in Development, UN Women, Lawyers Collective, Safetipin, Association for Advocacy & Legal

Initiatives (AALI), Centre for Advocacy & Research (CFAR), Know Violence in Childhood, Population Services

International, International Labour Organization (ILO) Decent Work Team for South Asia, McKinsey Global

Institute, Centre for Equity Studies, Institute for Human Development, Alliance for Right to Early Childhood

Care and Development & Mobile Crèches, Pratham Education Foundation, Department of Integrated Child

Development Services (ICDS) Bihar, Institute of Social Studies Trust, Giri Institute of Development Studies,

Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, and Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya (MV) Foundation.

About the WORLD Policy Analysis Center

The goal of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) is to improve the quantity and quality of comparative

data available to policymakers, citizens, civil society, and researchers around the world on policies affecting

equity, development, human health, and well-being. WORLD is committed to making its broad, globally

comparative findings publicly accessible to inform and encourage improvements in legal and policy

frameworks worldwide, allow nations to learn from the approaches taken in other countries, facilitate studies

of the feasibility and effectiveness of laws and policies in critical areas, and support global and local civil

society in their efforts to hold decision-makers accountable.

Contributors to this Report

The core WORLD team that worked on this project included Aleta Sprague, Senior Legal Analyst; Willetta

Waisath, Senior Research Analyst; Nicholas Perry, Outreach Coordinator and Senior Research Analyst; Amy

Raub, Principal Research Analyst; and Dr. Bijetri Bose, Senior Research Analyst. Every member of the core

team was involved in each stage of the project and worked collaboratively on all the visual and written

products contained in this report, and the entire WORLD team was instrumental in building the data and

providing research support for this project. Dr. Jody Heymann, Founding Director of WORLD and Dean of the

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, oversaw the project in its entirety.

The following core WORLD team members brought particular contributions to the work. Aleta Sprague

provided legal analysis, led some of the in-depth interviews, and substantially contributed to the writing and

editing of the full report. Willetta Waisath provided project leadership and served as the principal researcher

for the qualitative studies in India in collaboration with WORLD team members and in-country contributors.

Nicholas Perry oversaw the development of the data visualizations, collaborated on outreach and external

communications, and led some of the in-depth interviews. Amy Raub helped conceptualize the project,

provided data analysis, and collaborated on the development of the data visualizations. Dr. Bijetri Bose

provided data analysis, assisted with framing the qualitative studies undertaken in India, and led the

prioritization study focused on India. In addition, Dr. Rachel Kidman, Assistant Professor of Family, Population

and Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook School of Medicine, led the global policy prioritization analysis, and

Dr. Alissa Koski, Postdoctoral Fellow with WORLD, contributed original analyses focused on subnational

variation in education policy in India.

Final Report: Leveraging Policies and Laws that are Pro- Women and Girls to Decrease Inequities in Health and Development Outcomes

The WORLD Policy Analysis Center was asked by the Gates Foundation, in furtherance of its

commitment to place women and girls at the center of health and development efforts, to:

1) Develop an actionable framework that captures consensus on what needs to be done at the

country level to improve gender equality;

2) Use existing global policy data to examine what progress has been made to date, identify

lagging policy areas, and assess gaps in knowledge in priority geographies of the Foundation;

3) Look in greater depth at India, and

4) Examine the role of national policies and laws in accelerating progress toward the SDGs, with a

particular focus on the role that the SDGs can play in accelerating gender equality.

This final report presents findings, perspectives, and potential priorities for action.

Section 1: Global Framework for Gender Equality

Over the past half century, a series of groundbreaking global agreements established a foundation for

advancing gender equality around the world. These included, among others, the U.N. Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979, the Beijing Declaration and

Platform for Action in 1995, and the commitments to greater gender equality included within the

Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. While each

of these agreements advances a similar set of core principles, they collectively span dozens of detailed

commitments. To be readily actionable, it is also important to have a framework that captures these

commitments in a simplified, straightforward way that can easily be applied to decision-making and

monitoring impact. In Section 1, we propose a framework with six pillars that capture all of the features

of these landmark global agreements, and map the text of these agreements onto the pillars. The Global

Framework for Gender Equality also provides the research evidence base for why these six pillars are

critical to individual, family, community and national outcomes.

Section 2: Policy Gains and Gaps in Priority Geographies Section 2 examines the extent of progress on laws and policies that are crucial to gender equality in each

of these six pillar areas. Using existing data, this section assesses gains and gaps in priority geographies

of the Foundation. As requested, this section provides a rapid visualization tool depicting variation in

laws and policies across all of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as some detailed slides on two countries. This

tool was developed using global data and reviewed by leading policy researchers within Africa. Second,

this section provides maps and tables illustrating how India’s laws and policies across the six pillars

compare regionally and globally. This document, India in the Global and Regional Context, likewise

benefited from the review and feedback of experts in India.

Section 3: Identifying Priorities for Action Globally and in India Section 3 builds on the evidence reviewed in Section 1, as well as the policy mapping provided in Section

2, to assess opportunities for impact, both globally and in India. This section includes two separate

quantitative analyses that use cross-sectional survey data to examine the relationship between specific

social determinants of health and maternal and child health outcomes. Notably, amongst areas on

which adequate quantitative data exists, both analyses reach a similar conclusion: both in India and

globally, increasing girls’ access to education and reducing child marriage are most strongly associated

with improvements in health, suggesting these are priority areas for action. Further data is needed to

assess the impact of improving women’s economic empowerment and working conditions.

Section 4: India: Laws, Policies, and Perspectives on Next StepsSection 4 continues to deepen the India analysis by examining recent policy improvements and areas

where further progress could be accelerated, illustrating the in-depth application of this approach to a

single country. This section focuses on priorities in three areas that in-country research and the analyses

in Section 3 indicate have the greatest potential for improving health and development outcomes: girls’

education, addressing equality and violence in the family, and women’s economic opportunities. These

reports are based on a review of quantitative policy and outcome data and a series of roundtable

discussions and semi-structured interviews with a diverse range of leading practitioners, specialists,

researchers, and advocates in India.

Section 5: Accelerating Progress on the SDGs Section 5 takes a step forward into the Sustainable Development Goals and explores how an approach

to monitoring that accounts for the critical impact of laws and policies can help realize the SDGs over the

next 15 years. This section first focuses on the role of data in accelerating change and provides a critical

analysis of key needs and considerations. The second component of this section examines how to close

the gender data gap for SDG 5 in the area of policies and laws.

Table of Contents Section 1: Global Framework for Gender Equality

Global Framework for Gender Equality .................................................................................................... 1

Appendix A: Global Framework Pillars Across Global Agreements .............................................. 12

Appendix B: Applying the Framework to Gates Foundation Priorities ........................................ 19

References ..................................................................................................................................... 20

Section 2: Policy Gains and Gaps in Priority Geographies

Sub-Saharan Africa Policy Dashboard ..................................................................................................... 25

Policy Snapshots: Kenya and Nigeria ...................................................................................................... 32

India in Global and Regional Context ...................................................................................................... 41

Freedom from Discrimination ........................................................................................................ 41

Freedom from Violence ................................................................................................................. 43

Equal Chances at Education ........................................................................................................... 47

Equal Chances at Work .................................................................................................................. 56

Equal Chances at Health ................................................................................................................ 67

Equal Chances in the Family .......................................................................................................... 71

Equal Chances in the Civil and Political Sphere ............................................................................. 75

Section 3: Identifying Priorities for Action Globally and in India

Prioritizing Global Action to Accelerate Gender Equality and Health for Women and Girls .................. 78

India: Analysis of the Impact of Social Determinants on Health Outcomes ........................................... 86

Section 4: India: Laws, Policies, and Perspectives on Next Steps

Applying the Global Framework: India in Focus ..................................................................................... 90

Achieving Equal Chances at Education: Laws and Perspectives on Progress in India ............................ 96

Current Efforts to Improve Girls’ Access to Secondary School in India ............................................... 111

Achieving Equal Chances in Work and the Economy: Laws and Perspectives on Progress in India ..... 118

Achieving Equal Chances in the Family: Laws and Perspectives on Progress in India ......................... 132

Section 5: Accelerating Progress on the SDGs

Using Global Policy Data to Accelerate Effective Action on the SDGs .................................................. 147

Availability of Data to Measure SDG Indicator 5.1.1 ............................................................................ 165

Global Framework for Gender Equality

Leveraging Laws and Policies to Improve Health and Development Outcomes for

Women and Girls

Across a wide range of global health and development priorities, the past two decades have yielded

significant progress for women and girls. Yet the persisting gender gaps in numerous areas, including

education, employment, and political representation, reveal the need for further work and new

approaches—including a better understanding of the role of national laws and policies. This brief lays

out a global framework that identifies seven basic elements of gender equality, synthesized from

global agreements, and analyzes how laws and policies can support better outcomes in each of those

areas.

Laying the Foundation for Women’s and Girls’ Equal Opportunities

Over the past forty years, the global community has adopted three major agreements designed to

advance gender equality. First, in 1979, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a landmark treaty that

comprehensively outlined states’ responsibilities for promoting the rights of women and girls. In 1995,

189 countries reaffirmed and strengthened these commitments at the Fourth World Conference on

Women through the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Most recently, in 2015, the U.N.

adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a detailed set of seventeen global objectives aimed

at addressing critical health and equity challenges worldwide. SDG 5 explicitly calls on states to “achieve

gender equality and empower all women and girls,” while other goals focused on health, work, and

education specifically note the need to address persisting gender disparities.

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Each of these agreements embodies a comprehensive agenda for advancing gender equality. At core,

however, their commitments converge around a few common themes. Synthesizing these shared

elements, this brief proposes a global framework for gender equality, founded in a cross-cutting

guarantee of non-discrimination and consisting of six substantive pillars: equal chances at education,

equal chances at work and in the economy, equal chances at health, equal chances in the family, equal

chances in the civil and political sphere, and freedom from violence. As explored below, the strength of

this structure powerfully shapes the health, well-being, and social and economic opportunities of

women and girls throughout the life course. Further, as outlined in Appendix A, this framework captures

all the aspects of gender equality covered by CEDAW, the Beijing Declaration, and the SDGs, while

distilling these commitments into seven elements that provide a concise and manageable way to track

and monitor countries’ progress on gender equality.

Equal Chances at Education Education is perhaps the single greatest driver of improvements for women and girls across a wide

range of health, social, and economic outcomes. When girls have equal chances to go to school and

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learn, their future earnings and career prospects go up, while rates of early marriage and childbearing,

along with the attendant health consequences, decrease (UNESCO, 2004; Grown et al., 2005; Mensch et

al., 2005; Sperling & Winthrop, 2016).

For example, global studies have found that each extra year of education is associated with a nearly 12%

increase in a girl’s future income (Patrinos & Montenegro, 2014) and a reduction in infant mortality of

up to 10% (Schultz, 1993). Similarly, in a study across 175 countries over forty years, increases in

women’s education were found to account for half of the decrease in child mortality (Gakidou et al.,

2010). Benefits also extend to family planning; a recent study in Sierra Leone, for instance, found that

each additional year of girls’ schooling was associated with a 12 percentage point increase in modern

contraceptive use (Mocan & Cannonier, 2012). Greater education even affects agricultural productivity.

In Uganda, farmers who have completed four years of primary school are estimated to increase crop

production by 7%, while seven years of primary school are associated with a 13% increase (Appleton,

1996); given that women comprise nearly half of the agricultural labor force globally, these findings have

tremendous practical import (FAO, 2011a, 2011b).

Finally, investments in girls’ education pay big dividends for national economies, while inequity is a

persistent drain. According to a report by the International Labor Organization and the Asian

Development Bank, in the Asia and Pacific region alone, lingering gender disparities in access to

education diminish overall GDP by up to $30 billion each year (ILO & ADB, 2011). Given the extensive

body of research documenting positive impacts at both the individual and societal level, ensuring girls’

equal chances in education and creating a supportive policy and social environment for them to

complete their schooling must be a top priority for gender equality.

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Equal Chances at Work and in the Economy

Women’s economic empowerment and equal opportunities within the workforce produce substantial

benefits at the individual, household, and societal levels. When women have their own earnings and

greater control over household resources, investments in children’s health and education increase,

laying the foundation for better health and educational outcomes for the next generation (Thomas,

1993; Quisumbung & Maluccio, 2000). The impact can be particularly powerful for girls; in China, for

example, increasing women’s incomes improved girls’ survival rates and educational attainment, though

increasing men’s incomes, while holding women’s constant, had the opposite effect (Qian, 2008). In

addition, women with their own incomes may be better situated to leave a violent relationship (Ellsberg

et al., 2015).

At the national level, improving women’s employment opportunities has long been understood as an

effective strategy for reducing poverty (Heintz, 2006). Likewise, it is well known that increasing women’s

labor force participation boosts national economies (Woetzel et al., 2015). For example, raising women’s

labor force participation to be on par with men’s would boost GDP by 5 percent in the United States, by

9 percent in Japan, by 12 percent in the United Arab Emirates, and by 34 percent in Egypt (Aguirre et al.,

2012; IMF, 2013). Ensuring that women have equal chances in the workforce, including access to all the

same job opportunities as men and a guarantee of equal pay for equal work, thus supports a range of

critical objectives.

Equal Chances at Health

Health is foundational to full participation in social and economic life. In recent decades, while child

mortality rates have markedly declined and overall life expectancy has increased, access to preventive

care and basic health services remains out of reach for too many women and girls. In addition, research

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shows that girls remain less likely than boys globally to receive immunizations, adequate nutrition, and

medical care, in part due to discriminatory gender norms within the family that shape choices about

seeking care (Khera et al., 2014; Nair et al., 2015; Treleaven et al., 2016). These disparities in childhood

put girls at an early disadvantage and contribute to lifelong gender inequality.

Furthermore, in adolescence and adulthood, women often face greater barriers than men in accessing

essential health care, including reproductive and maternal health services (Govender & Penn-Kekana,

2007; Sen & Östlin, 2008; Chandra-Mouli et al., 2015). Women’s access to these services is vital for

enabling them to exercise control over their fertility, which is both central to personal autonomy and

has long been understood to directly affect economic outcomes at both the household and country

level.

Equal Chances in the Family

Equal chances in the family, including equal chances to freely enter and exit marriage and equal control

over property and resources, can make a critical difference for women’s health, educational

opportunities, and economic empowerment. When girls are subject to early or forced marriages, they

are less likely to finish school, more likely to live in poverty, and more likely to experience violence

(Jensen & Thornton, 2003; Santhya et al., 2007; Lloyd & Mensch, 2008). For example, across Africa,

each additional year of early marriage reduces the probability of having some secondary education by

9.6 points, and the probability of completing secondary by 7.5 points (Nguyen & Wodon, 2014). Further,

women’s ownership of land and other assets reduces women’s poverty, supports the productive use of

land, and improves women’s bargaining position within the household (Agarwal, 1994; Allendorf, 2007;

Doss, 2013). Equal chances in the family, grounded in equal legal rights between spouses, have very real

and important effects on equal chances in the public sphere, with consequences that ripple across

societies.

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Equal Chances in the Civil and Political Sphere

When women have a greater opportunity to participate in political life, societies are more likely to

flourish. For example, in West Bengal and Rajasthan, India, women were much more likely than men to

raise concerns about drinking water before the local village councils, thus shaping priorities about public

works that have important implications for community health (Duflo, 2012; Chattopadhyay & Duflo,

2004). When women’s suffrage was introduced in the United States, investments in public health

increased and infant mortality declined (Miller, 2008). Research suggests that women’s political

empowerment also supports peace-building and transparent governance (Porter, 2003; Wollack, 2010).

Guaranteeing that women have equal chances as men to participate in political and public life can thus

be a powerful approach for strengthening democracy and is critical for ensuring that the priorities of all

people in society are reflected in policymaking.

Freedom from Violence

Gender-based violence remains a global phenomenon that jeopardizes women’s mental and physical

health, autonomy, and educational and economic opportunities. Worldwide, it’s estimated that 35% of

women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives, and available data

indicates that gender-based violence remains all too common in high-income and low-income regions

alike (WHO, 2013; UNDESA, 2015). Relative to violence perpetrated by non-family members, women

and girls face an especially high risk of physical, verbal, and sexual violence perpetrated by an intimate

partner or family member.

Exposure to violence can affect women’s and girls’ health through multiple, complex pathways, and

studies have documented an association between lifetime experience of intimate partner violence and

negative health effects over the life course (Campbell, 2002; Devries et al., 2013). For example,

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experiencing intimate partner violence or sexual violence has been associated with higher rates of HIV

and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), low birth weight and premature birth, alcohol use,

depression and suicide, and death from homicide (WHO, 2013). Reducing gender-based violence in all

spheres, including the home, schools, and the workplace, must be a priority for ensuring women and

girls can fully realize their other rights.

Freedom from Discrimination

The prohibition of gender discrimination lies at the heart of CEDAW and other global agreements,

reflecting its centrality to ensuring girls and women can fully participate in society. Women and girls

commonly face intersecting and compounding forms of discrimination linked to disability, class, caste,

race, religion, and sexuality. For example, children with disabilities are far less likely than other children

to complete their education, and girls with disabilities are especially disadvantaged. A deep commitment

to non-discrimination across health, education, and work is crucial to creating inclusive societies and

enabling all women and girls to fulfill their potential.

Putting the Framework into Action: The Role of Laws and Policies

Embedding an explicit commitment to gender equality in the SDGs and reaching consensus over the past

several decades on priorities for action have laid critical groundwork for advancing the opportunities of

women and girls worldwide. However, the next essential step is taking action to put these global

commitments into practice at the national and sub-national levels. Achieving this will require social

movements, alongside laws and policies that accelerate change. This section will briefly summarize four

of the ways laws and policies can contribute to advancing gender equality, before providing a brief

overview of some of the key laws and policies that can support the realization of the global framework

at the national level.

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Shifting norms toward gender equality

First, enacting laws and policies that promote equal chances for women and girls is an important step

toward shifting norms in favor of gender equality. For example, in Nepal, while men have historically

been the primary landowners, a new tax exemption for land titled in women’s names has succeeded in

creating more gender equitable access to resources (UN Women, 2011). Likewise, countries that have

introduced paid parental leave reserved specifically for fathers, including Finland, Iceland, and Sweden,

have seen significant increases in the proportion of men taking time off following the birth of a child.

These policies give men the opportunity to be more involved with their children, while supporting

women’s earnings and retention in the workforce. Over time, policies like these can shape societal

norms in favor of equal opportunities regardless of gender.

Supporting programs and development investments

Second, laws and policies that support gender equality can support programmatic initiatives aimed at

improving women’s and girls’ opportunities and well-being. For example, efforts to increase girls’

educational attainment through mentorship and skill-building have met with success in many national

contexts. However, when school is not free until completion, many girls who have a strong desire to

finish school may nevertheless have to drop out due to their families’ economic circumstances. By

contrast, laws and policies that establish tuition-free education undergird and enhance small-scale and

programmatic efforts to help girls succeed in school. Importantly, this strength of a legal and policy

approach bolsters both efforts initiated by civil society actors, such as philanthropic foundations, as well

as programs designed by local communities. In this way, laws and policies can play a critical

complementary role to private and public sector programmatic approaches to increasing gender

equality.

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Bringing effective solutions to scale

Third, a legal and policy approach allows for bringing effective solutions to scale through direct action.

For example, paid parental leave can have a range of health benefits for families: it can facilitate parents

bonding with their infants and post-natal care, and is associated with higher rates of initiation and

duration of breastfeeding, one of the single most effective infant health interventions. Yet when

governments fail to provide paid leave, many workers miss out. In the U.S., one of only eight countries

worldwide that has yet to enact any paid maternal leave, only 12% of private sector workers have access

to this benefit through their workplace (USDOL, 2016). Rather than leaving this important protection to

the discretion of individual employers, national legislation establishing paid leave would ensure broader

coverage and substantially reduce inequity. Similarly, national laws and policies supporting gender

equality in health, education, and economic opportunity are essential for ensuring that access to critical

services and institutions is universal, rather than contingent on geography or industry.

Empowering individuals to enforce their rights

Fourth, as an actionable tool, laws and policies empower individuals to seek recourse. The vast majority

of constitutions now include some guarantee of gender equality or prohibit discrimination based on

gender. Women in numerous contexts have leveraged these commitments to challenge discriminatory

legislation or practices and substantively advance gender equality: in Nepal, the constitution’s gender

equality guarantee led to the prohibition of marital rape; in South Africa, the constitution’s ban on

gender discrimination invalidated a customary law that prevented girls from inheriting; and in India, the

constitution’s gender equality guarantee served as the basis for a new law banning sexual harassment in

the workplace, to name just a few examples.

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Which laws and policies matter for gender equality?

At a national level, deciding which laws and policies to prioritize for gender equality requires a careful

assessment of current policies and gaps, longitudinal data on outcomes, and a nuanced understanding

of the social and economic conditions that shape the feasibility of specific reforms. However, existing

literature on policy impact, countries’ experiences, and consensus within the monitoring bodies charged

with overseeing the implementation of CEDAW and other global agreements suggest that the laws and

policies below are key starting points for supporting equal chances for women and girls (Figure 1).


Equal rights in the constitution

Equal rights in the law

Equal Chances at Education

Free and compulsory education, including secondary school

Quality, inclusive education at all levels

Access to free pre-primary education and childcare

Protection from paid and unpaid child labor


Equity in caregiving (paid maternal leave, paid paternal leave, and leave to care for

family members)

Equal rights at work (non-discrimination at work, equal pay for equal value, and

equal access to all types of work)

Equal rights to economic resources (ownership and control over land and property,

financial services, inheritance, and natural resources)

Reduction of time poverty barriers (infrastructure, transportation, fuel, and water)

Protection from poverty (adequate minimum wage, old age pensions,

unemployment insurance)


Equal availability, accessibility, and quality of health coverage, including full

reproductive and family planning care

Policies to support caregiving for one’s self and one’s family (leave, physical

access, and transportation)


Equal rights to marriage (entering, exiting, to property, to inheritance, and in

decision-making)

Protections from child marriage, including equality in minimum age of marriage

Redistribution and balancing of unpaid labor responsibilities

Equal Chances in the Civil and Political Sphere

Equal civil and political rights (voting, holding of public office, association,

assembly, expression, and access to public spaces)

Equal rights and access to information


Freedom from violence in all forms (harassment, violence, and rape)

Safety in all spheres (in family, at work, and in public spaces)

Figure 1: Key Laws and Policies to Support the Global Framework

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Further, Appendix B outlines in more detail some specific laws and policies that are important for

particular Foundation priority areas.

Conclusion

Over the past fifty years, we’ve built global consensus and developed a robust evidence base around

many of the most essential elements for gender equality: health, education, economic opportunities and

resources, equal rights, engagement in decision-making at all levels, and freedom from violence. To

create transformative change in these areas, however, governments must take action to put them into

practice by enacting and implementing supportive laws and policies, which are critical for bringing

effective solutions to scale. Despite notable progress over the past several decades, many countries

have yet to enact the laws and policies to ensure that all women and girls have equal chances as men

and boys. To accelerate progress in the coming years, particularly around the SDGs’ gender equality

goal, filling these legal gaps and monitoring implementation must be a priority.

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Appendix A: Global Framework Pillars Across Global Agreements

Global Framework

Pillar

CEDAW (1979) Beijing Declaration (1995) SDGs (2015)


Art. 10: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (a) The same conditions for career and vocational guidance, for access to studies and for the achievement of diplomas in educational establishments of all categories in rural as well as in urban areas; this equality shall be ensured in pre-school, general, technical, professional and higher technical education, as well as in all types of vocational training; (b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality; (c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods; (d ) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other study grants; (e) The same opportunities for access to programmes of continuing education, including adult and functional literacy programmes, particulary those aimed at reducing, at the earliest possible time, any gap in education existing between men and women; (f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization of programmes for girls and women who have left school prematurely; (g) The same Opportunities to participate actively in sports and physical education;

Par. 27: “[We are determined to] promote people-centred sustainable development, including sustained economic growth, through the provision of basic education, life-long education, literacy and training, and primary health care for girls and women”

Par. 30: “[We are determined to] ensure equal access to and equal treatment of women and men in education and health care and enhance women’s sexual and reproductive health as well as education”

Target 4.1: “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes”

Target 4.2: “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education”

Target 4.5: “By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations”

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(h) Access to specific educational information to help to ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family planning.”


Art. 11: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights…to the same employment opportunities…[t]he right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value […] In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures: (a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in dismissals on the basis of marital status; (b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances; (c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through promoting the establishment and development of a network of child-care facilities;”

Art. 13: States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular: (a) The right to family benefits; (b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit;”

Art. 14: “States Parties shall take into account the particular problems faced by rural women and the significant roles which rural women play in the economic survival of their families, including their work in the non-monetized sectors of the economy, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the

Par. 26: “[We are determined to] promote women’s economic independence, including employment, and eradicate the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women by addressing the structural causes of poverty through changes in economic structures, ensuring equal access for all women, including those in rural areas, as vital development agents, to productive resources, opportunities and public services”

Par. 35: “[We are determined to] ensure women’s equal access to economic resources, including land, credit, science and technology, vocational training, information, communication and markets, as a means to further the advancement and empowerment of women and girls”

Target 5.a: “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.”

Target 8.5: “By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value”

Target 8.8: “Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment”

13

application of the provisions of the present Convention to women in rural areas.”


Art. 12: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning.”

Par. 17: “The explicit recognition and reaffirmation of the right of all women to control all aspects of their health, in particular their own fertility, is basic to their empowerment”

Par. 27: “[We are determined to] promote people-centred sustainable development, including sustained economic growth, through the provision of basic education, life-long education, literacy and training, and primary health care for girls and women”

Par. 30: “[We are determined to] ensure equal access to and equal treatment of women and men in education and health care and enhance women’s sexual and reproductive health as well as education”

Target 3.1: “3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births”

Target 3.7: “By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes”

Target 3.8: “Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all”

Target 5.3: “Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation”

Target 5.6: “Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the

14

outcome documents of their review conferences”


Art. 5: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: (b) To ensure that family education includes…the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children”

Art. 9: “1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband.

2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men withrespect to the nationality of their children.”

Art. 15: “2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity. In particular, they shall give women equal rights to conclude contracts and to administer property and shall treat them equally in all stages of procedure in courts and tribunals […] 4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile.”

Art. 16: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (a) The same right to enter into marriage; (b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent; (c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution; (d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of

Par. 15: “[We are convinced that] equal rights, opportunities and access to resources, equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men and women, and a harmonious partnership between them are critical to their well-being and that of their families as well as to the consolidation of democracy”


Target 5.4: “Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate”

Target 5.a: “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.”

15

their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount; (e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights; (f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount; (g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation; (h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.

16

Equal Chances in the Civil & Political Sphere

Art. 3: “States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.”

Art. 7: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right: (a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies; (b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; (c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.”

Art. 8: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure to women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the opportunity to represent their Governments at the international level and to participate in the work of international organizations.”

Par. 13: “Women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace”

Target 5.5: “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”


Art. 6: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.”

Art. 16: “2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.”

Par. 29: [We are determined to] “Prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls”

Target 5.2: “Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation”


17


Art. 1: “For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "discrimination against women" shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

Art. 2: “States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms [and] agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women”

Art. 13: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life”

Art. 14: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural development”

Art. 15: “States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law.”

Par. 24: “[We are determined to] take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and the girl child and remove all obstacles to gender equality and the advancement and empowerment of women”

Par. 32: “[We are determined to] intensify efforts to ensure equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all women and girls who face multiple barriers to their empowerment and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability, or because they are indigenous people”

Target 5.1: “End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere”

18

Appendix B: Applying the Framework to Gates Foundation Priorities: Key Laws and Policies that Promote Gender Equity in Health and Development

Well-designed laws and policies can help advance the Foundation’s work to improve women’s and girls’

health outcomes across a range of global development priority areas. Beyond laws that are specific to

women and girls or explicitly reference gender equality, it’s essential to also consider “gender-neutral”

laws and policies that disproportionately affect women’s and girls’ opportunities. Key laws and policies

that matter for gender equity across a range of Foundation program areas are explored below.

Priority Area Sample Policy Areas

Family

Planning

Child marriage

Equal rights between spouses

Protection from violence

Tuition-free primary school

Tuition-free secondary school

Equal availability, accessibility, and quality of health coverage

Full reproductive and family planning care

MNCH

Paid maternal leave

Paid paternal leave

Breastfeeding breaks at work

Sick leave

Leave for family health needs

Informal economy coverage

Pre-primary education and care

Nutrition

Quality, inclusive education

Equal pay for equal work

Adequate minimum wage

Non-discrimination in employment

No prohibitions on types of women’s work

Agriculture

Equal rights to property and inheritance

Equal rights to start a business, sign a contract, access a loan, open a

bank account

Equal rights to make decisions about property

Equal rights to be designated head of household

Financial

Services for

the Poor

Equal rights to start a business, sign a contract, access a loan, open a

bank account

Equal rights to make decisions about property

Equal rights to be designated head of household

19

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https://www.dol.gov/wb/PaidLeave/PaidLeave.htm

Country

Does the constitution take at least one approach to gender equality?

Does the constitution protect the right to education on the basis of gender?

Does the constitution guarantee protection from gender discrimination at work?

Does the constitution take any approach to the protection of health for women?

Does the constitution protect women's right to equality in marriage in all aspects including entering, exiting, and within marriage?

Does the constitution guarantee women's right of political association?

Does the constitution protect women's right to vote?

Does the constitution protect women's right to hold legislative office?

Does the law guarantee women equal rights as men to nationality?*

AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkina FasoBurundiCameroonCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadComorosDemocratic Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoCote d'IvoireEquatorial GuineaEritreaEthiopiaGabonThe GambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauKenyaLesothoLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMauritiusMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaRwandaSao Tome and PrincipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth SudanSudanSwazilandTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabwe

Foundations of Gender Equality: Freedom from Discrimination

*The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law has data on whether women can confer citizenship to their husband and children the same way as a man, but this does not fully address the types of direct and indirect discrimination women may face in nationality.

25

Sub-Saharan Africa Policy Dashboard

Country

Is quality, affordable early child care available?

Is pre-primary education tuition-free?

Is primary education tuition-free?

Is the beginning of secondary tuition-free?

Is secondary education tuition-free through completion?

Is pre-primary education compulsory?

Is primary education compulsory?

Is the beginning of secondary compulsory?

Is secondary education compulsory through completion?

How much education must primary school teachers complete?

How much education must lower-secondary school teachers complete?

How much education must upper-secondary school teachers complete?

Is inclusive education available for children with disabilities?


Pillars of Equal Chances for Women and Girls: Equal Chances at Education

26

CountryIs paid leave available to mothers of infants?

Is paid leave available to fathers of infants?

Is any leave available to working parents to meet children's health needs?

Is any leave available to meet adult family members' health needs?

Are there protections from direct and indirect gender discrimination at work?

Are there protections from gender discrimination in hiring?*

Are there protections from gender discrimination in promotions?

Are there guarantees of equal pay for equal work based on gender?*

Are there protections from gender discrimination in terminations?

Are there protections from discrimination based on pregnancy or family status at work?**

Is there gender equality in the types of jobs people can do?*

Do women have equal rights as men to own and control property?*

Is there protection from direct and indirect discrimination in access to financial services?***

Is there gender equality in inheritance rights?

Is there protection from gender discrimination in access to and control of natural resources?


Pillars of Equal Chances for Women and Girls: Equal Chances at Work

**WBL collects data on protection from dismissal during pregnancy.***WBL collects data on non-discrimination in access to credit.

*Data from the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law (WBL). Where there are no national level protections, WBL captures policies in the major business center. Striping indicates that this policy may not be national and may not fully capture all aspects of the question.

27

Country

Do men and women have equal rights to enter marriage?

Do men and women have equal rights to exit marriage?

Do men and women have equal rights to own and control property within marriage?*

Do men and women have equal decisionmaking rights within marriage?

Do men and women have equal responsibility for child-rearing?

Is there a legal minimum age of marriage for girls?

Are girls protected from early marriage with parental consent?

Are girls protected from early marriage under religious and customary law?

Are girls protected from early marriage in all circumstances?

Is there gender equality in the legal minimum age of marriage?

Is there gender equality in the legal minimum age of marriage with parental consent?


Pillars of Equal Chances for Women and Girls: Equal Chances in the Family


28

Country

Is there a national health care scheme that provides universal coverage?

Are preventive health care screenings and vaccinations free for children?

Are preventive health care screenings free for adults?

Are family planning and reproductive health care affordable?

Is spousal or parental consent required for reproductive health care?

Is access to at least four antenatal care visits free?

Is delivery fully covered by national health care schemes?

Is paid leave for personal health needs available from the first day of illness?

Are workers guaranteed paid leave to support recovery from serious illness?

Are pregnant women guaranteed paid leave that can be taken before birth?

Are there extensions to paid maternity leave due to complications?

Are there extensions to paid maternity leave in the case of multiples?

Are there paid options to facilitate exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months?

Is leave available specifically to meet children's everyday health needs?

Is there access to affordable public transportation to access health services?


Pillars of Equal Chances for Women and Girls: Equal Chances at Health

29

Country

Are there provisions to support women's right to vote?

Are there provisions to support women holding local public office?*

Are there provisions to support women holding national public office?*

Are women guaranteed equal legal capacity in civil matters?**

Are women guaranteed the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence?***

Are women guaranteed the right of association?

Are women guaranteed the right to freedom of expression?

Do women have equal rights and access to information?


Pillars of Equal Chances for Women and Girls: Equal Chances in the Civil and Political Sphere

of the question.**WBL collects data on whether a woman's evidentiary testimony carries the same weight as a man's.***WBL collects data on explicit restrictions for women, but not affirmative protections.

*Data from the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law (WBL). Where there are no national level protections, WBL captures policies in the major business center. Striping indicates that this policy may not be national and may not fully capture all aspects

30

Country

Are women protected from physical and verbal sexual harassment?*

Are women broadly protected from violence?

Are there comprehensive rape laws that protect women?

Are there protections from domestic violence?*

Are there aggravated penalties for abuse during pregnancy?

Are women protected from marital rape?*

Are women specifically protected from physical and verbal sexual harassment at work?*

Are women and girls specifically protected from physical and verbal sexual harrasment in education?*

Are teachers prohibited from having relationships with their students?

Are women and girls specifically protected from physical and verabal sexual harassment in public spaces including transportation?*

Are women protected from retaliation in reporting violence?

Do women have a right to confidentiality in reporting violence?


Pillars of Equal Chances for Women and Girls: Freedom from Violence


31

Policy Snapshots: Examples from Kenya

and Nigeria

32

Equal Rights in the Constitution


Law and Policy Snapshot: Kenya

Equal Rights in the Law

Constitutional protections of gender equality can bepowerful instruments for establishing equality andprohibiting discrimination against women and girls.

Global Context:

148 constitutions (77%) protect the right to gender equality in

authoritative language

Discrimination Education Work/Family Health

Regional Context:

Kenya is one of 9 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that guarantees gender equality in the constitution, but allows

customary or religious law to supersede

Note on Data Sources: Unless otherwise specified, law and policy data is from the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. Detailed methodology and

additional data and maps are available at worldpolicycenter.org. Data on outcome indicators is from the World Development Indicators, DHS, &

UNICEF Global Databases, accessed on 3rd October, 2016.

33

worldpolicycenter.org

Free and Compulsory Education




Issue In Brief : Education in Kenya

Tuition-free, quality, inclusive, education is a critical input for girls’ academic achievement, health, and access to economic resources.

Primary education is compulsory and tuition-free in Kenya and primary school educational outcomes in Kenya are higher than averages:

83% of boys and 87% of girls of school age are enrolled in primary school, with large increases over time. The rates of completion of primary educationare 77% for boys and 82% for girls. There is gender equality in primary education enrollment in Kenya with a gender parity index of 1.

While most countries in the region make primary education compulsory and tuition free, Kenya is the only country in the region to make completing secondary school both tuition free and compulsory. While secondary school outcomes lag behind primary school, Kenya is still a regional leader:

57% of boys and 56% of girls of school age are enrolled in secondary school, with improvements over time. 65% and 41% of children complete lower andupper secondary education, respectively. There is also greater gender equality in secondary enrolment in Kenya relative to similar countries.

Policy Spotlight:

The 2013 Basic Education Act implements the

Constitution of Kenya’s recognition that “every

child has the right to free and compulsory

education” and makes 12 years of education tuition-

free and compulsory.

34

Advancing gender equality both at work and at homerequires policies that enable and encourage men’sparticipation in caregiving and equal rights at work.

Equity in Caregiving

Equal Chances at Work and in the Family



Protections from Child Marriage

Issue In Brief: Child Marriage

Child marriage rates in Kenya, while lower than regional averages across similar countries, are still exposing too many girls to early marriage.

In 2014, Kenya passed a new Marriage Act, which introduced a uniform minimum age and closed a loophole in the case of parental consent. In

combination with social, economic, and cultural factors, ensuring monitoring and facilitating successful implementation of this law can play

a role in continuing to lower child marriage rates in Kenya.

Regional Context:

Kenya provides 3 months of paid leave to mothers of newborns, but only 2 days of paid leave to fathers of infants. Making paid leave equal for new fathers and mothers is a key policy step to achieving caregiving equity.

Only 29% of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa provide any paid leave to fathers of newborns, and no country in the region provides more than 2

weeks of paid leave for fathers of infants.

35

Discrimination Education Work Health



Issue In Brief : Vaccinations

Kenya guarantees paid leave for children’s health needs. This facilitates the ability of parents to ensure their children’s health by getting timely vaccinations, caring for them when sick, and taking them to health-care

facilities.

75-89% of children receive vaccination for DPT, HepB and measles, a number that is higher than the averages in similar countries, indicating a potential mechanism through which paid leave is improving child health.

Sample Policies to Support Care for Children’s Health

Issue In Brief : Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates

Kenya has been cited as a tremendous global success story on the issue of breastfeeding, as the exclusive breastfeeding rate under 6 months

increased from 13% in 2003 to 61% in 2014.

This achievement has been attributed to a massive drive to promote breastfeeding. Policy levers offer a promising opportunity to continue this remarkable trend, by increasing the availability of maternity leave

(currently 3 months) and offering paid breaks for breastfeeding at work.

36

Equal Rights in the Constitution


Law and Policy Snapshot: Nigeria

Equal Rights in the Law

Constitutional protections of gender equality can bepowerful instruments for establishing equality andprohibiting discrimination against women and girls.

Nigeria’s constitution protects the right to gender equity in authoritative language,

including an explicit prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex,

place of origin, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties.

Global Context:

148 constitutions (77%) protect the right to gender equality in

authoritative language

Note on Data Sources: Unless otherwise specified, law and policy data is from the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. Detailed methodology and

additional data and maps are available at worldpolicycenter.org. Data on outcome indicators is from the World Development Indicators, DHS &

UNICEF Global Databases, accessed on 3rd October, 2016.


Yet, routine implementation of equal rights commonly comesfrom legal guarantees, including but certainly not limited to,legal protections against discrimination in the workplace.

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worldpolicycenter.org

Free and Compulsory Education

Equal Chances at Education Quality Education at All Levels

Quality of teacher preparation Nigeria Sub-Saharan

Africa

How much education must primary school teachers complete?

Lower secondary education 18%

Completion of secondary 75%

Bachelor's degree 0%

Bachelor's degree with training X 10%

Master's degree 0%

How much education must upper-secondary school teachers complete?

Lower secondary education 3%

Completion of secondary 24%

Bachelor's degree 16%

Bachelor's degree with training X 48%

Master's degree 11%

Tuition-free, quality, inclusive, education is a critical input forgirls’ academic achievement, and future access to health andeconomic resources.

Nigeria provides nine years of universal, free and compulsoryeducation, meaning the completion of secondary education in Nigeriais not compulsory and is tuition-based.

This increases the barriers to secondary education, especially forchildren from disadvantaged groups.

Nigeria’s gender parity index is lower than in similar countries,indicating low levels of gender equality in secondary education.



38

Equity in Caregiving

Equal Chances at Work and in the Family

Advancing gender equality both at work and at home requires policies that enable and encourage men’s participation in caregiving and equal rights at work.

Regional Context:

Nigeria provides 12 weeks of paid leave to mothers of newborns, and no paid leave to fathers of infants.

Only 29% of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa provide any paid leave to fathers of newborns, and no country in the region provides more than

2 weeks of paid leave for fathers of infants.


Protections from Child Marriage

Issue In Brief: Child Marriage

In Nigeria, 43% of women surveyed (ages 20-24) got married before age 18 and 17% of women (ages 20-24) got married by age 15. These are among

the worst rates in the region, and the percentage of women getting married by age 18 has actually increased over time.

While research indicates that the primary drivers may be social, Nigeria does have customary law provisions that create legal loopholes and

facilitate legal early marriage. This weakens civil law prohibitions and increases the exposure of girls in particular communities to early marriage.


39

Discrimination Education Work Health

Equal Availability, Accessibility, and Quality of Health Coverage

Equal Chances at Health Policies to Support

Caregiving

Health is shaped by the social and economic conditions in which women and girls live.

Constitutional guarantees of health-related rights represent a formal pledge by governments that health should not be determined by socioeconomic status. These guarantees are associated with higher levels of medical service delivery.

Issues In Brief : Vaccinations and Mortality

In Nigeria, only 54-56% of children receive vaccinations for DPT, HepB and the measles. These percentages are lower than the averages in similar countries. Infant and child mortality rate is 69 and 109, respectively.

Longitudinal evidence indicates policy levers, such as increased maternity leave, might remove barriers to improved coverage by allowing parents to bring a child to a clinic. Similarly, leave for children’s health needs is

critical to advancing health without risking job loss for parents.


40

India in the Global and Regional Context

FREEDOM FROM DISCRIMINATION

CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR GENDER EQUALITY

Map 1. Does the constitution take at least one approach to gender equality?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Constitutions Database, 2014

Table 1. Constitutional Approaches to Gender Equality in South Asia and China

Country Constitutional approach to gender equality

Constitutional provisions for potential positive action based on gender

Afghanistan Guaranteed No

Bangladesh Guaranteed Yes

Bhutan Guaranteed No

China Guaranteed No

India Guaranteed Yes

Maldives Guaranteed, but customary or religious law can supersede

No

Nepal Guaranteed Yes

Pakistan Guaranteed Yes

Sri Lanka Guaranteed Yes


41

Table 2. Constitutional Approaches to Gender Equality across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Constitutional approach to gender equality

Constitutional provisions for potential positive action based on gender

Bangladesh Guaranteed Yes

Egypt, Arab Rep. Guaranteed No

Ethiopia Guaranteed, but customary or religious law can supersede

Yes

India Guaranteed Yes

Indonesia General equality guaranteed No

Nigeria Guaranteed No

Pakistan Guaranteed Yes

Philippines Guaranteed No

Vietnam Guaranteed No


42

FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Table 3. Domestic Violence Legislation in South Asia and China

Country Is there domestic violence legislation?

Are there criminal penalties for domestic violence?

Do protection orders for domestic violence exist?

What types of violence does domestic violence legislation cover?

Afghanistan No No No -

Bangladesh Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Bhutan Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

China Yes Yes No Physical and emotional

India Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Maldives Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Nepal Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Pakistan Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Sri Lanka Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, and emotional

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. Table 4. Domestic Violence Legislation across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Is there domestic violence legislation?

Are there criminal penalties for domestic violence?

Do protection orders for domestic violence exist?

What types of violence does domestic violence legislation cover?

Bangladesh Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Egypt, Arab Rep. No No No -

Ethiopia Yes No No Physical, emotional

India Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Indonesia Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Nigeria (Lagos) Yes No Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Pakistan Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Philippines Yes Yes Yes Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Vietnam Yes No Yes, but no removal from home Physical, sexual, emotional, and economic

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016.

43

http://wbl.worldbank.org/data


SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Map 2. Does legislation on sexual harassment explicitly cover employment?


Table 5. Sexual Harassment Laws in South Asia and China

Country Is there legislation that specifically addresses sexual harassment?

Is there legislation on sexual harassment in employment?

Afghanistan No -

Bangladesh Yes Yes

Bhutan Yes Yes

China Yes Yes

India Yes Yes

Maldives No -

Nepal Yes No

Pakistan Yes Yes

Sri Lanka Yes Yes


44



Table 6. Sexual Harassment Laws across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Is there legislation that specifically addresses sexual harassment?

Is there legislation on sexual harassment in employment?

Bangladesh Yes Yes

Egypt, Arab Rep.

Yes Yes

Ethiopia Yes Yes

India Yes Yes

Indonesia No -

Nigeria (Lagos) Yes Yes

Pakistan Yes Yes

Philippines Yes Yes

Vietnam Yes Yes


MARITAL RAPE

Map 3. Is marital rape legally criminalized?


45



Table 7. Marital Rape Laws in South Asia and China

Country Does legislation explicitly criminalize marital rape?

If not, can a wife or partner file a complaint?

Is the husband exempt from facing criminal penalties?

Afghanistan No No No

Bangladesh No No Yes

Bhutan Yes - -

China No Yes No

India No No Yes

Maldives Yes - -

Nepal Yes - -

Pakistan No Yes No

Sri Lanka No No Yes

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. Table 8. Marital Rape Laws across Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Does legislation explicitly criminalize marital rape?

If not, can a wife or partner file a complaint?

Is the husband exempt from facing criminal penalties?

Bangladesh No No Yes

Egypt, Arab Rep. No Yes No

Ethiopia No No Yes

India No No Yes

Indonesia Yes - -

Nigeria (Lagos) Yes - -

Pakistan No Yes No

Philippines Yes - -

Vietnam Yes - -


46



EQUAL CHANCES AT EDUCATION

FREE AVAILABILITY OF PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION

Map 4. For how long is public pre-primary education tuition-free?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Pre-Primary Education Database, 2015 (based on most recent available policy data from 2010/11) Table 9. Length of tuition-free public pre-primary education in South Asia and China

Country Length of tuition-free public pre-primary education

Afghanistan 2 years or more free

Bangladesh No widespread system of public, free primary

Bhutan No widespread system of public, free primary

China No widespread system of public, free primary

India No widespread system of public, free primary

Maldives No data

Nepal No widespread system of public, free primary

Pakistan No widespread system of public, free primary

Sri Lanka No data

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Pre-Primary Education Database, 2015 (based on most recent available policy data from 2010/11)

47

Table 10. Length of tuition-free public pre-primary education across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Length of tuition-free public pre-primary education

Bangladesh No widespread system of public, free primary

Egypt, Arab Rep. No data

Ethiopia No widespread system of public, free primary

India No widespread system of public, free primary

Indonesia No widespread system of public, free primary

Nigeria No widespread system of public, free primary

Pakistan No widespread system of public, free primary

Philippines No widespread system of public, free primary

Vietnam No widespread system of public, free primary

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Pre-Primary Education Database, 2015 (based on most recent available policy data from 2010/11)

ACCESS TO PRIMARY EDUCATION

Map 5. Is primary education tuition-free?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Pre-Primary Education Database, 2014

48

Table 11. Access to Primary Education across South Asia and China

Country Is primary education tuition-free and compulsory?

Afghanistan Yes

Bangladesh Yes

Bhutan Tuition-free, but not compulsory

China Yes

India Yes

Maldives Tuition-free, but not compulsory

Nepal Tuition-free, but not compulsory

Pakistan Yes

Sri Lanka Yes


Table 12. Access to Primary Education across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Is primary education tuition-free and compulsory?

Bangladesh Yes

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes

Ethiopia Yes

India Yes

Indonesia Yes

Nigeria Yes

Pakistan Yes

Philippines Yes

Vietnam Yes


49

ACCESS TO EDUCATION THROUGH COMPLETION OF SECONDARY

Map 6. Is completing secondary education tuition-free?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Education Database, 2014

50

Table 13. Access to Tuition-free Secondary Education and Net Enrollment Rates in South Asia and China

Country Is beginning secondary education compulsory?

Is beginning secondary education tuition-free?

Is completing secondary education tuition-free?

Net enrollment rate; Both sexes

Net enrollment rate; Girls



Lower secondary Upper secondary

Afghanistan Yes Yes Yes 48.96% 36.49% 31.56% 21.98%

Bangladesh No No, tuition reported No, tuition reported 61.54% 65.90% 35.99% 35.79%

Bhutan No Yes Yes 59.14% 63.02% 18.80%** 20.52%**

China Yes Yes No, tuition reported No data No data No data No data

India Yes Yes No, tuition reported 66.36% 68.57% 44.60% 43.52%

Maldives No Yes Yes 77.25% 74.10% No data No data

Nepal No Yes No, tuition reported 54.13% 35.19%* 36.97% 38.12%

Pakistan No No, tuition reported No, tuition reported 52.43% 47.34% 30.25% 25.72%

Sri Lanka Yes Yes Yes 93.18% 93.05% 67.29% 71.21%

Table 14. Access to Tuition-free Secondary Education across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Is beginning secondary education compulsory?

Is beginning secondary education tuition-free?

Is completing secondary education tuition-free?





Lower secondary Upper secondary

Bangladesh No No, tuition reported No, tuition reported 61.54% 65.90% 35.99% 35.79%

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes Yes Yes 85.33% 87.72% 64.82% 65.68%

Ethiopia No No data No data 31.84% 32.16% No data No data

India Yes Yes No, tuition reported 66.36% 68.57% 44.60% 43.52%

Indonesia Yes Yes No, tuition reported 72.77% 74.94% 58.64% 55.20%

Nigeria Yes Yes No, tuition reported No data No data No data No data

Pakistan No No, tuition reported No, tuition reported 53.43% 47.34% 30.25% 25.72%

Philippines No Yes Yes 63.50% 69.55% 30.62% 36.41%

Vietnam No No, tuition reported No, tuition reported 90.76% 91.27% No data No data

Sources for Tables 13 & 14: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Education Database, 2014; UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2013-2014) . Retrieved from http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=EDULIT_DS on October 20, 2016 *Latest data available from 2010 **Latest data available from 2012

51

http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=EDULIT_DS

TEACHER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Map 7. How much education must upper-primary- or lower-secondary-school teachers complete?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Education Database, 2014 Table 15. Education required for upper-primary or lower-secondary teachers in South Asia and China

Country How much education must upper-primary or lower-secondary teachers complete?

Afghanistan Completion of secondary

Bangladesh Completion of secondary

Bhutan Bachelor’s with training

China Completion of secondary

India Completion of secondary

Maldives No data

Nepal Completion of secondary

Pakistan Completion of secondary

Sri Lanka Bachelor’s with training


52

Table 16. Education required for upper-primary or lower-secondary teachers across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country How much education must upper-primary or lower-secondary teachers complete?

Bangladesh Completion of secondary

Egypt, Arab Rep. Bachelor’s with training

Ethiopia Completion of secondary

India Completion of secondary

Indonesia Bachelor’s with training

Nigeria Bachelor’s with training

Pakistan Completion of secondary

Philippines Bachelor’s with training

Vietnam Bachelor’s with training


AVAILABILITY OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Map 8. Is inclusive education available for children with disabilities?


53

Table 17. Availability of inclusive education for children with disabilities in South Asia and China

Country Level of integration* available in public school system

Afghanistan At least medium degree of integration

Bangladesh No public special education

Bhutan Low degree of integration

China High degree of integration

India At least medium degree of integration

Maldives At least medium degree of integration

Nepal At least medium degree of integration

Pakistan At least medium degree of integration

Sri Lanka At least medium degree of integration

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Education Database, 2014 *Standardized levels of integration: Low degree of integration means that children with disabilities are sent to separate schools within the same public school system. At least medium degree of integration means that children with disabilities may attend the same schools as other students, but not necessarily the same classrooms. High degree of integration means that children with disabilities are able to be taught within the same classroom as other students. Table 18. Education required for upper-secondary teachers across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Level of integration* available in public school system

Bangladesh No public special education

Egypt, Arab Rep. High degree of integration

Ethiopia At least medium degree of integration

India At least medium degree of integration

Indonesia At least medium degree of integration

Nigeria At least medium degree of integration

Pakistan At least medium degree of integration

Philippines At least medium degree of integration

Vietnam At least medium degree of integration

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Education Database, 2014 *Standardized levels of integration: Low degree of integration means that children with disabilities are sent to separate schools within the same public school system. At least medium degree of integration means that children with disabilities may attend the same schools as other students, but not necessarily the same classrooms. High degree of integration means that children with disabilities are able to be taught within the same classroom as other students.

54

PROTECTION FROM WORK ON SCHOOL DAYS

Map 9. How long are children protected from working 6 or more hours on a school day?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Child Labor Database, 2012 Table 19. Protection from Work on School Days in South Asia and China

Country Until what age are children protected from working 6 or more hours on a school day?

Afghanistan Until 18 years old

Bangladesh Until 18 years old

Bhutan Until 13 years old

China Until 16 years old

India No legislated national minimum age for work and no protection

Maldives Until 15 years old

Nepal Until 14 years old

Pakistan No legislated national minimum age for work and no protection

Sri Lanka Until 14 years old

Table 20. Protection from Work on School Days across Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Until what age are children protected from working 6 or more hours on a school day?

Bangladesh Until 18 years old

Egypt, Arab Rep. Until 15 years old

Ethiopia Until 14 years old

India No legislated national minimum age for work and no protection

Indonesia Until 15 years old

Nigeria Until 14 years old

Pakistan No legislated national minimum age for work and no protection

Philippines Until 15 years old

Vietnam Until 15 years old

Sources for Tables 19 & 20: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Child Labor Database, 2012

55

EQUAL CHANCES AT WORK

AVAILABILITY OF PAID LEAVE FOR MOTHERS OF INFANTS

Map 10. Is paid leave available to mothers of infants?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Adult Labor Database, 2014

Table 21. Length of Maternal Leave across South Asia and China

Country Length of Maternal Leave Length in Standardized Units*

Afghanistan 90 days 12.9 weeks

Bangladesh 16 weeks 16 weeks

Bhutan 8 weeks 8 weeks

China 98 days 14 weeks

India 12 weeks 12 weeks

Maldives 60 days 8.6 weeks

Nepal 52 days 7.4 weeks

Pakistan 12 weeks 12 weeks

Sri Lanka 12 weeks 12 weeks

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Adult Labor Database, 2014 * Standardized units is the duration of leave specified in weeks. If the legislation used a time unit other than weeks, the duration was converted into calendar weeks using a consistent conversion formula of 4.3 weeks per month, and 7 days per week when legislation appeared to be referring to calendar days and country-specific lengths of the work week (or 5.5 days if unspecified) if legislation was referring to working days.

56

Table 22. Length of Maternal Leave across Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Length of Maternal Leave Length in Standardized Units*

Bangladesh 16 weeks 16 weeks

Egypt, Arab Rep. 90 days 12.9 weeks

Ethiopia 90 days 12.9 weeks

India 12 weeks 12 weeks

Indonesia 3 months 12.9 weeks

Nigeria 12 weeks 12 weeks

Pakistan 12 weeks 12 weeks

Philippines 60 days 8.6 weeks

Vietnam 6 months 26 weeks

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Adult Labor Database, 2014 * Standardized units is the duration of leave specified in weeks. If the legislation used a time unit other than weeks, the duration was converted into calendar weeks using a consistent conversion formula of 4.3 weeks per month, and 7 days per week when legislation appeared to be referring to calendar days and country-specific lengths of the work week (or 5.5 days if unspecified) if legislation was referring to working days.

AVAILABILITY OF PAID LEAVE FOR FATHERS OF INFANTS

Map 11. Is paid leave available to fathers of infants?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center Adult Labor Database, 2014

57

Table 23. Length of Paternal Leave across South Asia and China

Country Length of Paternal Leave

Afghanistan 10 days

Bangladesh No paid leave

Bhutan 5 days

China No paid leave

India No paid leave

Maldives 3 days

Nepal No paid leave

Pakistan No paid leave

Sri Lanka No paid leave


Table 24. Length of Paternal Leave across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Length of Paternal Leave

Bangladesh No paid leave

Egypt, Arab Rep. No paid leave

Ethiopia No paid leave

India No paid leave

Indonesia 2 days

Nigeria No paid leave

Pakistan No paid leave

Philippines 7 days

Vietnam No paid leave


58

AVAILABILITY OF LEAVE FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH NEEDS

Map 12. Are working women and men guaranteed any leave for their children’s health needs?


Table 25. Leave for Children’s Health Needs across South Asia and China

Country Leave available? Paid or unpaid? For both parents or mothers only? Length

Afghanistan Yes Paid Both 10 days

Bangladesh No - - -

Bhutan Yes Paid Both 5 days

China No - - -

India No - - -

Maldives Yes Paid Both 10 days

Nepal No - - -

Pakistan No - - -

Sri Lanka No - - -


Table 26. Length of Leave for Children’s Health Needs across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Leave available? Paid or unpaid? For both parents or mothers only? Length

Bangladesh No - - -

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes Paid Both 6 days

Ethiopia Yes Unpaid Both 5 days

India No - - -

Indonesia No - - -

Nigeria No - - -

Pakistan No - - -

Philippines No - - -

Vietnam Yes Paid Both 15 days


59

AVAILABILITY OF LEAVE FOR ADULT FAMILY MEMBERS ’ HEALTH NEEDS

Map 13. Are working women and men guaranteed any leave for their adult family members’ health needs?


Table 27. Leave for Adult Family Members’ Health Needs across South Asia and China

Country Leave available? Paid or unpaid? Leave available to care for elderly parents? Length

Afghanistan Yes Paid Not available for elderly parents 10 days

Bangladesh No - - -

Bhutan Yes Paid Yes, available to care for elderly parents 5 days

China No - - -

India No - - -

Maldives Yes Paid Yes, available to care for elderly parents 10 days

Nepal No - - -

Pakistan No - - -

Sri Lanka No - - -


60

Table 28. Length of Leave for Adult Family Members’ Health Needs across Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Leave available? Paid or unpaid? Leave available to care for elderly parents?

Length

Bangladesh No - - -

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes Paid Not available for elderly parents 6 days

Ethiopia Yes Unpaid Not available for elderly parents 5 days

India No - - -

Indonesia No - - -

Nigeria No - - -

Pakistan No - - -

Philippines No - - -

Vietnam No - - -


61

LEGAL LIMITATIONS ON WOMEN’S WORK

Map 14. Are there legal limitations on women doing the same job as men?

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. Table 29. Legal Limitations on Women Doing the Same Job as Men across South Asia and China

Country Existence of legal limitations which prevent women from doing the same job as men*

Afghanistan Yes

Bangladesh Yes

Bhutan Yes

China Yes

India Yes

Maldives No

Nepal Yes

Pakistan Yes

Sri Lanka Yes

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. *Legal limitations assessed in the following areas: night hours, jobs, jobs deemed hazardous, jobs deemed morally or socially inappropriate, jobs deemed arduous, mining, factories, construction, occupations, metalworking, requiring lifting weights above threshold, and job-related tasks.

62



Table 30. Legal Limitations on Women Doing the Same Job as Men across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Existence of legal limitations which prevent women from doing the same job as men*

Bangladesh Yes

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes

Ethiopia Yes

India Yes

Indonesia No

Nigeria (Lagos) Yes

Pakistan Yes

Philippines No

Vietnam Yes

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. *Legal limitations assessed in the following areas: night hours, jobs, jobs deemed hazardous, jobs deemed morally or socially inappropriate, jobs deemed arduous, mining, factories, construction, occupations, metalworking, requiring lifting weights above threshold, and job-related tasks.

PROTECTIONS AGAINST GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN HIRING AND PAY

Map 15. Are there legal protections against gender discrimination in hiring and pay?


63



Table 31. Protections Against Gender Discrimination in Hiring and Pay in South Asia and China

Country Is there legal protection from gender discrimination in hiring?

Does the law mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value?

Afghanistan No No

Bangladesh No Yes

Bhutan No No

China Yes No

India Yes No

Maldives Yes No

Nepal No No

Pakistan No No

Sri Lanka No No

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. Table 32. Protections Against Gender Discrimination in Hiring and Pay across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Is there legal protection from gender discrimination in hiring?

Does the law mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value?

Bangladesh No Yes

Egypt, Arab Rep. No No

Ethiopia No No

India Yes No

Indonesia No No

Nigeria No No

Pakistan No No

Philippines No Yes

Vietnam Yes Yes


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PROTECTIONS AGAINST GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN ACCESS TO CREDIT

Map 16: Does the law prohibit discrimination by creditors based on gender and marital status?

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016. Table 33. Protections Against Discrimination in Access to Credit in South Asia and China

Country Does the law prohibit gender discrimination in access to credit?

Does the law prohibit discrimination based on marital status in access to credit?

Afghanistan No No

Bangladesh No No

Bhutan No No

China No No

India No No

Maldives No No

Nepal No No

Pakistan No No

Sri Lanka No No


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Table 34. Protections Against Discrimination in Access to Credit across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Does the law prohibit gender discrimination in access to credit?

Does the law prohibit discrimination based on marital status in access to credit?

Bangladesh No No

Egypt, Arab Rep. No No

Ethiopia No No

India No No

Indonesia No No

Nigeria No No

Pakistan No No

Philippines Yes Yes

Vietnam Yes No


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EQUAL CHANCES AT HEALTH

AVAILABILITY OF PAID EXTENSIONS TO MATERNAL LEAVE

Map 17. Is paid maternal leave extended in cases of illness or complications?


Table 35. Availability of Paid Extensions to Maternal Leave in South Asia and China

Country Availability of Paid Leave Availability of Paid Extensions

Afghanistan Yes No

Bangladesh Yes No

Bhutan Yes No

China Yes Yes

India Yes Yes

Maldives Yes No

Nepal Yes No

Pakistan Yes No

Sri Lanka Yes No


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Table 36. Availability of Paid Extensions to Maternal Leave across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Availability of Paid Leave Availability of Paid Extensions

Bangladesh Yes No

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes No

Ethiopia Yes No

India Yes Yes

Indonesia Yes Yes

Nigeria Yes No

Pakistan Yes No

Philippines Yes Yes

Vietnam Yes Paid leave for at least 26 weeks


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AVAILABILITY OF PAID SICK LEAVE FOR PERSONAL HEALTH NEEDS

Map 18. Are workers entitled to sick leave from the first day of illness?


Table 37. Length of Personal Health Leave across South Asia and China

Country Paid Sick Leave? Paid from 1st

Day? Length of Paid Leave Length in Standardized Units**

Afghanistan Yes Yes 20 days 3.6 weeks

Bangladesh Yes Yes 14 days 2.5 weeks

Bhutan Yes Yes 5 days .9 weeks

China Yes Yes 26 weeks* 26 weeks

India No - - -

Maldives Yes Yes 30 days 5.5 weeks

Nepal No - - -

Pakistan Yes No 121 days 22 weeks

Sri Lanka No - - -


*Total duration unclear. Twenty-six weeks is guaranteed, though benefit is paid until recovery or assessment of disability.

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Table 38. Length of Personal Health Leave across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Paid Sick Leave? Paid from 1st

Day? Length of Paid Leave Length in Standardized Units**

Bangladesh Yes Yes 14 days 2.5 weeks

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes Yes 180 days 32.7 weeks

Ethiopia Yes Yes To be completed To be completed

India No - - -

Indonesia Yes Yes 12 months 52 weeks

Nigeria Yes Yes 12 days 2.2 weeks

Pakistan Yes No 121 days 22 weeks

Philippines Yes No 120 days 21.8 weeks

Vietnam Yes Yes 180 days 32.7 weeks


** Standardized units is the duration of leave specified in weeks. If the legislation used a time unit other than weeks, the duration was converted into calendar weeks using a consistent conversion formula of 4.3 weeks per month, and 7 days per week when legislation appeared to be referring to calendar days and country-specific lengths of the work week (or 5.5 days if unspecified) if legislation was referring to working days.

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EQUAL CHANCES IN THE FAMILY

EXCEPTIONS TO MINIMUM AGE OF MARRIAGE LAW

Map 19. Under what circumstances can 15-year-old girls be married?

Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Child Marriage Database, 2013

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Table 39. Legal Age of Marriage for Girls and Child Marriage Rates across South Asia and China

Country Legal Age With parental consent Under religious or customary law

Percentage of Women Aged 20 to 24 First Married or in a Union before Age 15


Afghanistan 16 years 15 years Data not available - 33%

Bangladesh 18 years 18 years 18 years 18% 52%

Bhutan 18 years 18 years 18 years 6% 26%

China 20 years 20 years 20 years No data No data

India 18 years 18 years 18 years 18% 47%

Maldives 18 years 18 years 18 years 0 4%

Nepal 20 years 18 years Data not available 10% 37%

Pakistan 16 years 16 years 16 years 3% 21%

Sri Lanka 18 years No minimum 12 years 2% 12%

Table 40. Legal Age of Marriage for Girls and Child Marriage Rates across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Legal Age With parental consent Under religious or customary law



Bangladesh 18 years 18 years 18 years 18% 52%

Egypt, Arab Rep 18 years 18 years 18 years 2% 17%

Ethiopia 18 years 18 years No data 16% 41%

India 18 years 18 years 18 years 18% 47%

Indonesia 21 years 16 years Data not available - 14%

Nigeria 21 years 18 years Puberty 17% 43%

Pakistan 16 years 16 years 16 years 3% 21%

Philippines 21 years 18 years Data not available 2% 15%

Vietnam 18 years 18 years 18 years 1% 11%

Tables 39 & 40 Source: WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Child Marriage Database, 2013: UNICEF Global Databases – Child marriage (Last update: May 2016)). Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-marriage/ on October 20, 2016

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https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-marriage/

GENDER DISPARITIES IN MINIMUM AGE OF MARRIAGE LAWS

Map 20. Is there a gender disparity in the minimum legal age of marriage?


Table 41. Gender Disparities in Marriage Age across South Asia and India

Country Legal Marriage Age (Girls) Legal Marriage Age (Boys)

Afghanistan 16 years 18 years

Bhutan 18 years 18 years

Bangladesh 18 years 21 years

China 20 years 22 years

India 18 years 21 years

Maldives 18 years 18 years

Nepal 20 years 20 years

Pakistan 16 years 18 years

Sri Lanka 18 years 18 years


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Table 42. Gender Disparities in Marriage Age across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Legal Marriage Age (Girls) Legal Marriage Age (Boys)

Bangladesh 18 years 21 years

Egypt, Arab Rep 18 years 18 years

Ethiopia 18 years 18 years

India 18 years 21 years

Indonesia 21 years 21 years

Nigeria 21 years 21 years

Pakistan 16 years 18 years

Philippines 21 years 21 years

Vietnam 18 years 20 years


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EQUAL CHANCES IN THE CIVIL AND POLITICAL SPHERE

CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS

Map 21: Are women able to pass citizenship on to their children and spouse?

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016 Table 43. Citizenship Rights in South Asia and China

Country Are there gender inequalities in how citizenship can be conveyed to non-national spouses?

Are there gender inequalities in how citizenship can be conferred to children?

Afghanistan No No

Bangladesh Yes No

Bhutan No No

China No No

India No No

Maldives No No

Nepal Yes Yes

Pakistan Yes No

Sri Lanka No No

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016

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Table 44. Citizenship Rights across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Are there gender inequalities in how citizenship can be conveyed to non-national spouses?

Are there gender inequalities in how citizenship can be conferred to children?

Bangladesh Yes No

Egypt, Arab Rep. Yes No

Ethiopia No No

India No No

Indonesia No No

Nigeria Yes No

Pakistan Yes No

Philippines Yes No

Vietnam No No


FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

Map 22: Are there legal restrictions on women’s freedom of movement?


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Table 45. Legal Restrictions on Freedom of Movement in South Asia and China

Country Are there legal gender disparities in traveling outside the home?

Are there legal gender disparities in traveling outside the country?

Are there legal gender disparities in applying for a passport?

Afghanistan Married women only No All women

Bangladesh No No No

Bhutan No No No

China No No No

India No No No

Maldives No No No

Nepal No No No

Pakistan No No Married women only

Sri Lanka No No No

Source: World Bank Women, Business, and the Law (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/data on July 15, 2016 Table 46. Legal Restrictions on Freedom of Movement across Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries with Populations > 90 million

Country Are there legal gender disparities in traveling outside the home?

Are there legal gender disparities in traveling outside the country?

Are there legal gender disparities in applying for a passport?

Bangladesh No No No

Egypt, Arab Rep. Married women only No Married women only

Ethiopia No No No

India No No No

Indonesia No No No

Nigeria No No No

Pakistan No No Married women only

Philippines No No Married women only

Vietnam No No No


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Prioritizing Global Action to Accelerate Gender Equality and Health for Women and Girls

The beginning of this report explores how policies can promote gender equity and create a more

enabling environment for women and girls. While investing in each of the suggested policies will likely

yield gains, some strategies will have a greater influence on the health of women and girls.

Unfortunately, current evidence is not organized in such a way as to assess their relative importance to

health. Studies tend to focus on the contribution of one or two specific aspects of gender equity, or a

single type of policy.

In the absence of comparative policy evidence, how might

investors begin to prioritize action? One approach is to

examine which aspects of gender inequity have the

greatest impact on health outcomes. We take this

approach below, drawing on micro level data from

338,580 individual women in low and middle-income

countries. We apply the gender equity framework

developed earlier in this report by mapping existing data

to equal chances in education, work, health, family, and

freedom from violence. Finally, we focus on health

problems that disproportionately affect women and girls,

including family planning; maternal, infant and child

health; and malnutrition. In this way, we begin to see

which gender equity policies might most effectively move

health outcomes for women and girls.

Table 1. Predictors tested

Equal Chances at Education • Education level • Literacy

Equal Chances at Work • Wealth • Current employment • Relative magnitude of earnings

Equal Chances at Health • Distance to clinic • Health insurance • Access to ANC • Access to FP • Clean drinking water

Equal Chances in the Family • Child marriage • Participation in household decisions • Participation in FP decisions • Control over earnings

Equal Chances in the Civil and Political Sphere • No appropriate variables available

Freedom from Violence • Attitude towards domestic violence

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Methods

Data and sample: We use publically available Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 1997 to

2015. We include 125 surveys from 47 countries with multiple data rounds. Analyses focus on young

women 20-24 years (N = 338,580) and their children (N =400,249).

Measures: We focus on predictors that fall within the pillars of the “Global Framework for Gender

Equality,” that are potentially modifiable by policy, and – importantly –that are available in the DHS (see

Table 1). There are no variables in the DHS that adequately capture equal chances in the civil/public

sphere, and only limited options for many other constructs. For example, we are able to capture

whether a woman is currently working, but cannot differentiate whether she has stable employment or

earns a living wage. Within those variables that can be captured in the DHS, we examine their relative

impact on each of nine health outcomes (see Table 2).

Analyses: To estimate the relative contributions of improved chances for women in bringing about

health gains over the past 20 years, we use logistic regression models with country-level fixed effects

and appropriate weights. Separate models capture the association between each predictor and each of

the nine health outcomes.

One challenge in estimating the relative impact of predictors related to gender equity is that they are

highly correlated. Thus, their estimated impact on health can be sensitive to the inclusion of other

predictors in the model. We test the stability of the estimate by creating separate models for the index

predictor and each of the predictors in the other pillars. Estimates of impact that are heterogeneous and

that include the null are not considered robust.

From those predictors that demonstrate a robust and significant association with improved health, we

select the three most meaningful predictors for each outcome (Table 2). As noted above, rankings are

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only possible within the range of measured predictors; other aspects of gender equity not captured in

the available data cannot be assessed. Using the above information, we then estimate the potential

health gains that could be brought about if action is taken to improve key conditions related to gender

equity (Table 3). Specifically, we calculate the marginal predicted improvement in each health outcome

under two scenarios. First, we examine the potential benefit of a 10 percentage-point change in the

predictor. Second, we examined the potential benefit that would be derived from reaching 100%

coverage for the predictor. The latter was chosen to reflect the Sustainable Development Goals, which

largely sets universal coverage as their 2030 target. In calculating the health gains associated with each

predictor, we indicate what would occur if the associations are casual; an assumption that we are not

able to test with the current data.

Key Findings

Among policies that affect gender equity, and for which data is available, our findings suggest that

those targeting education and child marriage are most likely to also improve health for women and

girls.

Both predictors exert the most consistent and considerable influence over health outcomes, as detailed

below. Secondary education in particular emerged as one of the strongest predictors for every one of

the nine health outcomes. For instance, achieving universal completion of secondary schooling for

young women would lower adolescent births by 18.1 percentage points (Table 3). Given that

approximately one in four young women reported an adolescent birth, this is a substantial drop to single

digits. Even just moving the needle a little – from 23% to 33% secondary school completion in our

sample – might lower adolescent births by four percentage points. Secondary education was also a

critical determinant of child health. In our sample, seven percent of infants died before reaching their

first birthday. Achieving universal coverage could reduce infant mortality by 2.5 percentage points, a

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36% decrease. Achieving universal coverage would similarly reduce child mortality by 1.5 points, about a

50% decrease in our sample. While secondary education exerted a stronger influence, primary

education was also a powerful predictor of child health. Literacy was similarly a robust and meaningful

predictor for all five child health outcomes and for one maternal outcome (adolescent birth). Given that

the pathway to literacy is primarily through education, this reinforces the need to invest in girls’

schooling.

In addition to education, delaying the age of marriage was a robust predictor of health for women and

children, and was the strongest predictor of adolescent births overall. Completely eliminating child

marriage would result in an eleven point drop in adolescent fertility and could likewise bring about

substantial reductions in unmet need for family planning, past-year intimate partner violence and child

mortality. Education and child marriage may be the most powerful determinants in part because they

each represent upstream factors, and could potentially drive a number of downstream determinants

(e.g., employment, participation in household decisions).

Other conditions were important for specific outcomes, but did not demonstrate the consistency of

education and child marriage. We found changing attitudes around gender-based violence could have

potentially large impacts on sexually transmitted infections and intimate partner violence; increasing

women’s empowerment in the household could also lower sexually transmitted infections; and

increasing health insurance could lower child stunting. There was not sufficient data to test the

importance of improving working conditions but other research suggests this could significantly improve

health outcomes.

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Table 2. The strongest predictors of health outcomes for women aged 20-24 and their children; the odds ratios from logistic regressions are displayed

Women’s health outcomes

Unmet need for family planning Secondary education (OR=0.43) Married 18+ or never (OR=0.56) Health insurance (OR=0.78)

Adolescent birth Married 18+ or never (OR=0.05) Secondary education (OR=0.08) Literacy (OR=0.35)

Sexual transmitted infection (STI) Negatively view wife beating (OR=0.71) Household decision making (OR=0.84) Secondary education (OR=0.87)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) Secondary education (OR=0.60) Negatively view wife beating (OR=0.61) Married 18+ or never (OR=0.69)

Child health outcomes

Infant mortality Secondary education (OR=0.52) Primary education (OR=0.69) Literacy (OR=0.70)

Child mortality Secondary education (OR=0.31) Literacy (OR=0.61) Primary education (OR=0.62) Married 18+ or never (OR=0.62)

Stunting Secondary education (OR=0.51) Literacy (OR=0.71) Health insurance (OR=0.72)

Wasting Secondary education (OR=0.40) Primary education (OR=0.64) Literacy (OR=0.59)

Measles vaccination Secondary education (OR=2.69) Primary education (OR 2.11) Literacy (OR=2.08)

Models include fixed effects for country and control for the woman’s age, rural/urban residence, and interview year; models of stunting, wasting and vaccination also control for the child’s age (in months).

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Table 3. Potential impact on health outcomes if action is taken to improve gender equity

Modifiable Social Condition Sample

Prevalence Potential Impact from 10 Percentage Point Increase

Potential Impact from Achieving 100% Coverage

Equal chances at education

Primary education completion

59% 0.2 ↓ in infant mortality

0.1 ↓ in child mortality

0.5 ↓ in child wasting

1.2 ↑ in measles vaccination

0.9 ↓ in infant mortality




Secondary education completion

23% 1.1 ↓ in unmet need

3.7 ↓ in adolescent birth

0.1 ↓ in STIs

1.0 ↓ in IPV



1.0 ↓ in child stunting



7.8 ↓ in unmet need


1.1 ↓ in STIs

7.5 ↓ in IPV






Female Literacy 62% 0.4 ↓ in unmet need









0.8↓ in infant mortality

0.5↓ in child mortality




Equal chances at health

Health Insurance 10% 0.7 ↓ in child stunting 5.8 ↓ in child stunting

Equal chances in the family

Married at 18+ or never married

62% 0.8 ↓ in unmet need


0.8 ↓ in IPV




4.2 ↓ in IPV

0.5↓ in child mortality

Women's participation in more than half of household decisions

37% 0.2 ↓ in STIs

1.2 ↓ in STIs

Freedom from violence

Women who do not agree wife beating is justified

58% 0.4 ↓ in STIs

1.0 ↓ in IPV

1.5 ↓ in STIs

2.9 ↓ in IPV

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Next Steps

The findings in this brief reflect our best understanding of the relationships between select social

determinants and the health outcomes of women and girls using currently available data. However, to

more comprehensively assess the relative impacts of laws and policies in these areas, we need

quantitative, longitudinal policy and outcomes data across all areas critical to gender equality. With this

data, we can rigorously evaluate the effects of specific legal and policy reforms on health outcomes for

women and girls, understand when and why those reforms made a difference, and identify

implementation gaps and disparities.

While identifying the most effective policy approaches to advancing gender equity is a significant

undertaking, the answers are within our reach. By filling policy data gaps in key areas relevant to women

and girls, we can assess causality and deepen our understanding of solutions. At the national level, the

specific strategies to address complex issues will vary by country context. However, globally

comparative policy data that enables us to better understand what works across countries will provide a

critical tool for informing prioritization efforts and accelerating change globally.

References

1. World Health Organization Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, Closing the gap in

a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. 2009, World

Health Organization Geneva.

2. Carmignani, F., et al., Identifying covariates of population health using extreme bound analysis.

The European Journal of Health Economics, 2014. 15(5): p. 515-531.

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3. Hauck, K., S. Martin, and P. Smith, Priorities for action on the social determinants of health:

Empirical evidence on the strongest associations with life expectancy in 54 low-income countries,

1990–2012. Social Science & Medicine, 2016. 167: p. 88-98.

85

India: Analysis of the Impact of Social Determinants on Health Outcomes

Introduction

While identifying the most influential social determinants of health (SDH) across countries is critical to

establishing global priorities, where possible, an in-depth examination of the role of SDH at the national level

can provide further insights about how to most effectively target efforts to reduce inequalities in a specific

country context. Adapting global methodologies to country-specific contexts will require adaptations based on

the current status of data availability in the country; for this India-focused analysis, we assess the relative

importance of select SDH by using the largest and most recent national microdata set with relevant indicators.

Methods

Data from the 2005-06 National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) in India, the most recent publicly available data at

the time of this study, was used for this analysis. This is a nationally representative cross-sectional survey

designed to provide estimates of important indicators of population health and nutrition, covering 99% of

India’s population living in all 29 states. Our sample includes 93,724 ever-married women aged 15-49 and their

children aged 5 years or less.

Logistic regression models with state fixed effects were used to estimate the relationship between SDH and the

MCH outcomes. A process of domain-wise elimination was used to identify the explanatory variables that have

the biggest impact on the health outcomes. We look at a diverse set of outcomes considered to be particularly

critical areas for improvement in India, including:

stunting and wasting in children

duration of breastfeeding

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age of childbearing

use and type of contraception, and

number of children.

Findings

Education of girls is one of the prime movers of health outcomes (see Table 1). While completion of primary

education is associated with positive outcomes, it is secondary education of girls that has significant and

larger effects on numerous outcomes (see Table 2).

Within the family, age of marriage is also significantly and positively associated with more than one

outcome, including duration of breastfeeding, age at first birth, types of contraception use, and number of

children (Table 3).

While education and age of marriage are distal SDH that affect MCH, there are also some proximal

determinants that positively influence child health outcomes, such as vaccination and institutional delivery.

Although quality of work may also influence health outcomes, existing surveys provide insufficient data

about work conditions to adequately evaluate their relative effects on MCH.

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Table 1: Social Determinants of Health Significantly Associated with Improved MCH Outcomes

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Outcomes Education Age of First Marriage

Existence of Work

Sanitation Vaccination Institutional Delivery

Household Insurance

Stunting in children

Wasting in children

Breastfeeding duration

Age at first birth

Unmet need for family planning

Type of contraception

Number of children

Physical violence

Table 2: Detailed Findings on Education and MCH Outcomes

Stunting Wasting Duration

Breastfed

Age At 1s t

Birth

Family

Planning

Need Met

Modern

Family

Planning

Method

Number

Of

Children

Physical

Violence

Education:

Primary 0.674*** 0.786*** 1.036 1.972*** 1.38*** 0.853*** 0.687***

Education:

Secondary 0.442*** 0.667*** 1.257*** 6.159*** 1.33*** 0.708*** 0.303***

Literacy:

Able To Read

Only Parts

Of Sentence

1.459***

Literacy:

Able To Read

Whole

Sentence

1.190***

The numbers represent odds ratios or incidence rates where a number > 1 indicates a positive effect and a number < 1 indicates negative

effect of the determinant of the outcome. Levels of significance: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

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Table 3: Detailed Findings on Age of Marriage and MCH Outcomes Stunting Wasting Duration

Breastfed

Age At 1s t

Birth

Family

Planning

Need Met

Modern

Family

Planning

Method

Number

Of

Children

Physical

Violence

Age Of

Marriage:

15-18

0.976 1.033 1.100*** 99.46*** 0.931*** 0.906**

Age Of

Marriage:

At Least

18

0.988 0.993 1.308*** 507.6*** 0.827*** 0.752***

The numbers represent odds ratios or incidence rates where a number > 1 indicates a positive effect and a number < 1 indicates negative

effect of the determinant of the outcome. Levels of significance: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

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Applying the Global Framework: India in Focus

With the goal of advancing stakeholders’ understanding of how well-designed laws and policies can

improve health and development outcomes for women and girls, the WORLD Policy Analysis Center

(WORLD) has developed a “Global Framework on Gender Equality.” Legal frameworks that guarantee

women and girls equal rights in education, work, health, family life, and the civil and public sphere,

paired with foundational protections from violence and discrimination, are key elements to advance

gender equality in all countries.

Comparative policy, implementation, and outcomes data across the pillars of the Global Framework can

provide the international community with a tool to accelerate gender equality on a global scale through

legal empowerment, evidence-based decision-making, and monitoring and accountability. At the same

time, the Global Framework can serve as an important tool to examine how country-level improvements

in laws, policies, and implementation can accelerate gender equality, as illustrated by the in-depth work

in India explored in this section.

The three accompanying briefs draw on four pillars of the Global Framework within India: 1) Equal

chances at education, 2) Equal chances at work and in the economy, 3) Equal chances in the family, and

4) Freedom from violence. These pillars were selected as priority areas based on an examination of

quantitatively comparative global policy and outcome data, global and India-specific analyses of the

relative impacts of select social determinants of health, and in-country discussions and interviews:

A review of quantitative policy and outcome data allowed the identification of global and

regional strengths and gaps in India’s legal framework, and its implementation in key areas.

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In parallel, two studies for this initiative (a global analysis of DHS data from 47 countries, and an

India-specific analysis of NFHS data) assessed the relative impacts of select social determinants

of health on maternal and child health outcomes (MCH). Both studies identified girls’ education

and age at first marriage, among those for which data is available, as the most consistent and

considerable influences on MCH outcomes.

Finally, these findings shaped a series of roundtable discussions and semi-structured interviews

with a diverse range of 38 leading practitioners, specialists, researchers, and advocates from 22

organizations in Delhi, Lucknow, and Patna. Input from in-country stakeholders emphasized the

crosscutting importance and reinforcing nature of policies that expand women’s opportunities

in education, work, and at home.

In order to formulate concise, actionable recommendations focused on closing policy gaps and

accelerating implementation across these areas, WORLD researchers synthesized evidence from globally

comparative data, insights from in-country stakeholders, and the research base on addressing gender-

based inequalities at the population level. The following overview summarizes the key

recommendations, which are examined in greater detail in the three accompanying policy briefs. In each

of these areas, the recommended policy reforms and implementation approaches aim to provide

considerations to inform the Foundation’s policy work in India, and to guide investments in research and

demonstration projects around what works to accelerate women’s and girls’ opportunities.

Equal Chances at Education Access to education, and in particular secondary education, is one of the greatest drivers of

improvements in health, autonomy, and economic opportunities.

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Figure 1. Example pathways of health impact: Girls’ secondary education

Figure 2. Example pathways of economic impact: Girls’ secondary education

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Indian government has taken major steps to address long-

standing gender-based exclusions and advance the universalization of primary education. These efforts

have dramatically expanded access to primary education. The following recommendations are designed

to address remaining challenges related to access to pre-primary and secondary education as well as the

quality of student learning across levels.

Extend the Right to Education Act’s guarantee of tuition-free, quality education beyond elementary to include pre-primary and upper-secondary.

Establish a responsible body with necessary resources to meet the norms and standards

outlined in the Right to Education Act; Training of Teachers; Quality Enhancement.

Girls’ access to secondary education

Increases in mothers’ wages & resources

Better women’s, maternal, infant, & child health

Girls’ access to secondary education

Increases in health care utilization

Increased levels of maternal education

Decreases in maternal mortality

Decreases in women’s vulnerable employment

Increases in agricultural productivity

Increase in GDP

Increases in age at 1st

marriage & 1st

birth

Increased levels of maternal education

Increases in women’s wages

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These will be examined in the first brief, which is followed by an accompanying quantitative overview of

current subnational policy efforts to advance girls’ access to secondary education in India.

Equal Chances at Work and the Economy Access to decent jobs and economic empowerment supports women’s autonomy, and their ability to

participate in household decision-making and invest in their own health and that of their family.

Figure 3. Example pathways of health impact: Women’s work

In recent years, the Government of India has undertaken important national efforts to advance women’s

equal chances at work, including the well-known work program, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The success of MGNREGA demonstrates that reforms to labor

rights and social policy can be transformative for women, and the following recommendations primarily

focus on key areas where the government can take action to better align India’s labor rights and social

protection policies with international norms and standards, and address barriers that continue to

impede women’s equality of economic opportunity.

Expand the Equal Remuneration Act to guarantee women and men equal pay for work of equal

value Remove gendered labor restrictions and gender imbalance in caregiving protections

Further develop social protection schemes inclusive of the informal sector

These will be explored in detail in the second brief.

Access to decent jobs Increases in women’s wages

Increases in women’s participation in household decision-making Greater

investments in children’s health and education

Equal pay for work of equal value

Improved health outcomes for women

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Equal Chances in the Family and Freedom from Violence In all countries, women’s rights and safety in the family are advanced by laws that protect equality in all

aspects of their marriages and unions.

Figure 4. Sample pathways of impact on women’s health and safety: Equal rights in the family

Over the past 15 years, the Indian Government has reformed and passed key pieces of legislation

designed to protect women’s safety, autonomy, and choice in the family. A review of available survey

data, qualitative research on implementation, and in-depth engagement with in-country experts

highlights remaining gaps. The following key recommendations focus on closing these legal gaps, more

fully translating existing legal protections into measurable outcomes, and expanding women’s

opportunities and ability to claim their equal rights.

Enact compulsory marriage registration at the national level, while ensuring important legal

protections and entitlements extend to women in all forms of intimate relationships Guarantee a responsible agency and adequate central government funding for coordinated

implementation and monitoring of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act

Equal rights in exiting marriage and other unions

Equal rights to property

Increased ability to exit violent relationships

Increases in women’s participation in household decision-making

Improvements in reproductive, maternal, and infant health

Women enter marriage freely as adults

Legal protections from domestic violence

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Reform the penal code to criminalize marital rape to ensure consistency in the law, and guarantee survivors of all forms of intimate partner violence access to recourse

Expand current efforts to improve awareness and understanding of the laws around women’s

rights to property, freedom from violence, and the right to freely enter marriage as adults, among women, men, and the officials responsible for implementing these laws

Expand social and economic opportunities for all women and girls

These will be examined in detail in the third brief.

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Achieving Equal Chances at Education: Laws and Perspectives on Progress in India

A global body of literature suggests that access to education, and in particular secondary education, is one of the

greatest drivers of improvements in girls’ health, autonomy, and economic opportunities.1 The importance of

girls’ education was underscored by two original studies undertaken as part of this initiative; both a global analysis

of DHS data from 47 countries, and an India-specific analysis of NFHS data reveal that girls’ education exerts the

most consistent and considerable positive influence on maternal and child health outcomes, relative to other

select social determinants of health. Guided in part by these findings, this brief focused on India’s progress

towards the realization of equal chances at education.

Girls in India, like girls in many countries around the world,2 have historically faced disproportionate obstacles to

their full participation in education. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Indian government has taken

major steps to address these long-standing gender-based exclusions and advance widespread access to primary

education. These efforts have dramatically expanded access to primary education, but challenges related to

quality and access to secondary education remain.

Addressing these remaining challenges could transform the lives of millions of girls in India, and help the global

community learn and transfer what works to other nations where similar barriers impede gender equality in

education. In order to formulate a set of concise, actionable recommendations focused on addressing policy gaps

and accelerating implementation to advance girls’ educational opportunities in India, this brief synthesizes key

evidence from globally comparative data, insights from in-country stakeholders, and the research base on

advancing education.

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Key Recommendations

Extend the Right to Education Act’s guarantee of tuition-free, quality education beyond elementary to include pre-primary and upper-secondary.

Establish a responsible body with necessary resources to meet the norms and standards outlined in the

Right to Education Act; Training of Teachers; Quality Enhancement.

Overview of the Status and Implementation of Laws that Advance

Girls’ Education

The Indian government took two major steps to advance access to primary education for all: 1) Article 21-A was

added to the Constitution of India through the 86th Amendment to guarantee all children aged 6-14 with access to

free and compulsory education;3 and 2) a large-scale education program, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), was

initiated to universalize access to elementary through a variety of interventions.4 These efforts were further

supported by the passage of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act of 2009, which

came into effect on April 2010.5

These efforts have been met with remarkable success, and gender parity has been achieved at the primary level;

since 2000-01, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for gross enrollment in elementary steadily increased from .82 to

1.03 in 2013-14.6 Additionally, children in nearly all eligible regions have access to a lower-primary school within 1

kilometer of home, and an upper-primary school within a walking distance of 3 kilometers; 7 an important

accomplishment that supports girls’ attendance. 8

However, these remarkable successes at the primary level are accompanied by persistent challenges that

continue to constrain girls’ educational opportunities in India at secondary level (grades 9-12), which was

excluded from the constitutional and legislative guarantees to tuition-free, compulsory education contained in the

86th Amendment and the RTE Act. While girls’ access to secondary has also increased over time, a gender gap

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persists; only 89 girls per 100 boys have accessed secondary,9 and drop-out rates remain high among boys and

girls.10 Further, quality of education remains a major concern across all levels; advocates, and practitioners are in

agreement that huge investments in infrastructure, administrative capacity, and human capital are required to

truly realize the standards of quality and stated aims of the RTE Act.11

Recommendation 1a: Guarantee Access to Tuition-free Pre-primary Education

Early childhood care and education is recognized as an important way to prepare girls and boys for success in

primary school and has been linked to a number of measures of cognitive development across diverse societies,12

including India.13 Widely available pre-primary also serves as a way to support older girls’ school attendance, by

relieving them of the disproportionate burden of caregiving for younger siblings.14 Absence of such a widespread,

freely available public system of early childhood care and education is not unique to India―93 other countries

similarly lack such a system.15

Though it is not considered a widespread pre-primary system, India’s national program, the Integrated Child

Development Services (ICDS), does partially fill this gap in the provision of services to young children. Launched

in 1975,16 the ICDS is a national flagship program which seeks to provide the 158 million Indian children aged 0-6

with improved supplementary nutrition services, education on health and nutrition for families, immunization,

health check-ups and referral services, and non-formal preschool education and child care through the 40,000

Anganwadi Centres spread throughout the subcontinent.17However, benefits and services made available through

the ICDS are not statutory obligations on the state, and children aren’t guaranteed access to free education until

age 6.

Implementation of the ICDS has been characterized by advocates as “inadequate and poor in quality”18

and government reports concede that “there is overwhelming evidence that the preschool education

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component of the ICDS schemes is particularly deficient in quality and almost non-existent in

anganwadis.”19

In 2014, 54% of 3-year-olds, and 52.8% of 4 year-olds in rural India enrolled in these government

services.20 However, even when properly implemented, the informal preschool component of the ICDS is

not designed to provide comprehensive pre-school education, and these children are not receiving the

amount and level of educational support necessary to ensure preparation for primary school among first-

generation learners.

Consequently, early childhood advocates in India are united in their call for stronger legal entitlements for the

“Under Sixes”, including the right to free, age-appropriate pre-primary education for children ages 3-6.21

Globally, 69 countries currently guarantee at least on year of free pre-primary. In advance of national legislative

action around educational entitlements for young children, many advocates and practitioners consider the

National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy (2012) a “very good start,” as the ECCE Policy benefited

from an excellent participatory process which meaningfully incorporated input from civil society. Noteworthy

provisions of the ECCE include quality standards that outline adequate indoor and outdoor space, cooking and

sanitation facilities, instruction in the local vernacular, as well as no child being required to take admissions

tests.22 While there is strong consensus that the establishment of free quality education for children under age 6

are long overdue, opinions diverge on the appropriate legislative mechanism for the extension of children’s right

to pre-primary education. Some call for the inclusion of the 3-6 age group in an amendment to the RTE, while

others favor a separate comprehensive law for the Right to Early Child Development based on the Early Childhood

Care and Education Policy (ECCE). 23

Amid calls for national action on expansion of legal entitlements to children under age 6, grassroots partnerships

have illustrated that the provision of high-quality pre-primary need not come at prohibitive expense. Pratham,

an India-based educational non-profit focused on “high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions to address

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gaps in the education system”24 initiated and built a state-wide partnership with the Bihar state government that

has expanded capacity for provision of quality early childhood education within the existing ICDS structure.

Motivated by a familiarity with Sweden’s international reputation as a leader in early childhood education,

Pratham staff based in Bihar and a government officer from the Department of ICDS Bihar visited the Swedish

Ministry of Social Welfare to undertake an international exchange around the adaptation of high-quality

curriculum materials, and best pedagogical practices at the pre-primary level. Today, use of this curriculum has

expanded these best practices to other low-resource settings in Uttar Pradesh, and the Bihar state government

has formalized plans to gradually train all Anganwadi Workers in the curriculum to enable state-wide expansion.

Recommendation 1b: Extend the Scope of the Right to Education Act through Upper-secondary Constitutional and legislative guarantees to tuition-free, compulsory education begin at age 6 and end at age 14 in

India. Government schools which charge tuition for students aged 15-18 in grades 9-12 create a financial barrier

to secondary education which disproportionately disadvantages girls; evidence worldwide25 and in India26

suggests that parents who cannot afford to educate all of their children often invest in education for their sons

instead of their daughters.

Currently, the government of India provides funding for two economic incentive programs at the secondary level,

but neither of these national schemes provides financial support to all students at the critical transition point

between upper-primary and lower-secondary:

National Means Cum Merit Scholarship, which provides a monthly stipend to select students from poorer

households in grades 9-12, who perform well on state government exams; 27 and the

National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education, which is designed to encourage girls from

scheduled tribes or castes to enroll in government secondary schools by promising a cash payment upon

the passage of 10th standard exams. 28

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Only India’s newest state, Telangana, has made education tuition-free for all students through the end of

secondary school. India’s 29 States and 7 Union Territories have the ability to establish their own education

policies, and in the absence of a constitutional or national statutory guarantee to tuition-free secondary

education,29 all but 5 States/UTs30 have implemented targeted policies to disburse scholarships or in-kind

materials with the goal of advancing equity in education to one or more of the following groups: girls, members of

Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST), Muslim communities, and low-income families.31 A number of these

state-level schemes explicitly target students in secondary; however, an analysis of the Indian National Sample

Survey (2014) shows that coverage of government schemes can vary dramatically between states:

While more than 50% of girls at government-funded lower-secondary schools in Chhattisgarh, Madhya

Pradesh, and Tripura received scholarships, fewer than 10% of their counterparts in Assam, Meghalaya,

and Tamil Nadu reported scholarship receipt. 32

At the upper-secondary level, levels of reported scholarship receipt are lower; in most states, fewer than

20% of girls received scholarships.33

Expanding the scope of the Right to Education Act and joining the 122 countries which make the completion of

secondary school tuition-free34 would accelerate gender equality in outcomes and advance the inclusion of girls

across all of India’s diverse regions. Extension of the RTE should be paired with the coordinated expansion of

complementary school-based entitlements which are currently restricted to students in primary school―such

as the Midday Meal Scheme. This important nutritional program currently supplies all school children in grades 1-

8 with a cooked meal at school with the aim of “enhancing enrollment, retention, attendance, and nutrition.”35

Designed to reduce the cost of schooling, evidence suggests that these programs matter more for girls’

participation in school, relative to boys’,36 and will be important to extend through the completion of upper-

secondary.

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In addition to school-based entitlements, numerous social and economic policies have the power to promote or

obstruct barriers to educational rights outlined in the Constitution of India and the RTE Act. Implementing well-

designed laws that govern children’s engagement in the labor market and the minimum age of marriage can be

important ways to support education through the completion of secondary school, particularly among

marginalized groups.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, and the associated Amendment Bill passed in 201637

prohibits the employment of all Indian children under 14―the age through which children are guaranteed

free and compulsory primary education. However, many advocates38 recommend removing an exception

within the new law which makes child labor in “family or family enterprises” legal at any age,39 as it limits

protections available to many vulnerable children. After the passage of the amendment, Euphrates

Gobina, UNICEF Chief Education in India released a statement asserting “Under the new Child Labour Act,

the more invisible forms of child labor and exploitation may go unseen and the most vulnerable and

marginalized children may end up with irregular school attendance, lower levels of learning and

therefore subsequent dropping out of school.”40

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Ac (2006) specifies that every child marriage that was solemnized

before or after the passage of the 2006 Act is “voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a

child at the time of the marriage.” 41 Child marriage creates significant barriers for the completion of

girls’ education.42 India has clear legislation which prohibits marriage of girls under 18 without making

exceptions for parental consent, or religious or customary law. Still implementation of this act remains a

challenge.

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Recommendation 2: Establish a Responsible Body with Necessary Resources to Meet the Norms and Standards Outlined in the Right to Education (RTE) Act; Training of Teachers; Quality Enhancement The RTE Act contains a number of progressive elements, including a ban on corporal punishment in schools and

the prohibition of all forms of discrimination that prevent the pursuit of education.43 However, despite its clear

strengths, there is a broad consensus around notable weaknesses of the Act. In addition to critiques around

quality and exclusion of children outside of the 6-14 age range, the Act is said to lack a clear mechanism for

implementation and problem redress 44 and as “there are multiple agencies involved with the RTE, there may be

issues of accountability, duplication of effort, and possible misunderstanding of specific responsibilities where the

act’s implementation and monitoring are concerned.”45 Stakeholders call for a variety of approaches to address

these challenges, including the streamlining and reorganization of the multiple government agencies responsible

for the implementation of the RTE, and the formation of decentralized built-in accountability mechanisms that

involve local panchayats in meaningful ways.

Additionally, huge investments in infrastructure, administrative capacity, and human capital are required to truly

implement the RTE Act,46 including the explicit norms and standards related to quality in schools―such as pupil-

to-teacher-ratios and separate toilets for boys and girls.47 Many stakeholders assert that absence of transparent,

coordinated investments at the national and State/UT levels has eroded trust in the public educational system,

and quality of facilities and student learning remains a major concern.

In 2010, shortly after the passage of the RTE, 50.7% of students in Standard 5 in government schools

could read at a Standard 2 level, while only 42.2% could do so in 2014.48

Witnessing children who attend school but still struggle to read often leads parents to conclude that more

expensive private schools are the only option, 49 although much of the modest learning gap between

public and private students can be confidently attributed to factors other than school type.50 However,

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the perception of the superiority of private school remains, and many in-country stakeholders assert that

families and children are ashamed of being in public schools.

Sufficient funds and coordinated administrative effort is required to address a persistent, large-scale barrier to

the full realization of India’s RTE Act: a dramatic shortage of qualified teachers with the capacity to provide

necessary support to first-generation learners, and the necessary administrative capacity to recruit, train, and

monitor these instructors. This shortage negatively impacts teacher-to-student ratios, has led to reductions in

already-low minimum training requirements,51 reliance on contract teachers, and ultimately compromises quality

of instruction. 52 At the primary level, UNESCO data asserts that 366.8 thousand teachers are needed in India

today, a level of demand only exceeded by Nigeria.53 While this magnitude of need sets India apart globally,

teacher shortages plague many low- and middle-countries which have taken steps to expand access to education

in recent years, and India’s RTE included provisions which anticipated a broad expansion in demand for education

which current resources would be unable to meet:

Provision 23(2) of the RTE allowed that “Where a State does not have adequate institutions offering

courses or training in teacher education, or teachers possessing minimum qualifications (…) are not

available in sufficient numbers, the Central Government may, if it deems necessary, by notification, relax

the minimum qualifications required for appointment as teacher”. Since 2012, notifications granting

relaxation of minimum qualifications have been granted to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and

Manipur, among other states, 54 yet dramatic teacher shortages persist.

However, progress on this dimension of education quality has been slow, and Dr. Protiva Kundu of the

Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability asserts that “among the existing teachers in

government schools, about 20 percent are untrained and the proportion of trained qualified teachers

has been almost stagnant since last five years.”

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1 Sperling, G.B., Winthrop, R., and Kwauk, C. (2014. What Works for Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C.. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/book/what-works-in-girls-education-evidence-for-the-worlds-best-investment/. 2 UNESCO Institute of Statistics. (2016). Education dataset (1970-2014). Retrieved from: http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=EDULIT_DS on October 17 2016. 3 The Government of India. (2002). The Constitution (Eight-Sixth Amendment) Act. Retrieved from

http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend86.htm, on 10 October 2016; Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India (2016). Right to Education. Accessed at http://mhrd.gov.in/rte, on 10 October 2016. 4Targeted provisions for girls made through the SSA include separate toilets, free textbooks for girls through elementary,

recruitment of 50% women teachers. See more at: Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education & Literacy, Government of India. (2007). Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan; Programme for Universalization of Elementary Education. Retrieved from: http://ssa.nic.in/main_page, on 10 October, 2016; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. (2014). Millennium Development Goals India Country Report 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/MDG%20-%20India%20Report%202014.pdf, on 10 October 2016, p. 55. 5 National Portal of India. (2012). Right to Education Act. Accessed at

http://www.archive.india.gov.in/citizen/education.php?id=38 on 10 October 2016 6 Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2014). Education for All 2015 National Review Report: India. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002298/229873E.pdf on October 15 2016, at Table 2.5.2. 7 Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2014). Education for All 2015 National Review Report:

India. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002298/229873E.pdf on October 15 2016, at iii; Centre for Equity Studies. (2014). India Exclusion Report 2013-14. New Delhi: www.indianet.nl/pdf/IndiaExclusionReport2013-2014.pdf, at 18. 8 Distance to school has been identified as a particularly important barrier to girls’ education in India, where one recent study

in Western Uttar Pradesh found that the most cited reason for girls’ dropping out between primary and secondary was distance to school, in Siddhu, G. (2011). Who makes it to secondary school? Determinants of transition to secondary schools in rural India. International Journal of Educational Development 31(4). Previous research has also documented this barrier in India: Sipahimalani, V. (1999). Education in the rural Indian household: The impact of household and school characteristics on gender differences. Working Paper 68, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. For further reviews of global research on this topic, see: Glick, P. (2008). What policies will reduce gender schooling gaps in developing countries: Evidence and interpretation. World Development 36(9); Sperling, G.B., Winthrop, R., and Kwauk, C. (2014. What Works for Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C.. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/book/what-works-in-girls-education-evidence-for-the-worlds-best-investment/, at 138-145. 9 Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2014). Education for All 2015 National Review Report: India. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002298/229873E.pdf on October 15 2016, at iii; Centre for Equity Studies. (2014). India Exclusion Report 2013-14. New Delhi: www.indianet.nl/pdf/IndiaExclusionReport2013-2014.pdf, at Figure 2.5.3. 10

Per provisional 2013-14 data, dropout rates for Classes I-X were 46.7% for girls, and 48.1% for boys. Bureau of Planning, Monitoring & Statistics: Ministry of Human Resource Development: Government of India. (2014). Educational Statistics at a Glance. Retrieved from http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/EAG2014.pdf on October 15, 2016, at Table 10.

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https://www.brookings.edu/book/what-works-in-girls-education-evidence-for-the-worlds-best-investment/


http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=EDULIT_DS

http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend86.htm

http://mhrd.gov.in/rte

http://ssa.nic.in/main_page

http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/MDG%20-%20India%20Report%202014.pdf

http://www.archive.india.gov.in/citizen/education.php?id=38

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http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/IndiaExclusionReport2013-2014.pdf





http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/EAG2014.pdf

11 For example, see: Kundu, P. (2014). Major Dimensions of Inequalities in India: Education. Centre for Budget and

Governance Accountability, New Delhi. Retrieved from: http://csnbricsam.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Education.pdf on October 17, 2016; Ramachandran, V. (2015) “Can we fix the persisting crisis of learning?” in Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2014. Retrieved from http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf, on October 17, 2016; Centre for Equity Studies. (2014). India Exclusion Report 2013-14. New Delhi: www.indianet.nl/pdf/IndiaExclusionReport2013-2014.pdf, at 44-75. Kumar, A.K.S. and Rustagi, P. (2010). Elementary Education in India: Progress, Setbacks, and Challenges. Oxfam India. Retrieved from http://www.ihdindia.org/IHD-Oxfamworkingpaper-PDF/II.%20Elementary%20Education%20in%20India-Progress,%20Setbacks,%20and%20Challenges.pdf on October 17, 2016. 12

Rao, N., Sun, J., Wong, J., Weekes, B., Ip, P., Shaeffer, S., Young, M., Bray, M., Chen, E., and Lee, D. (2014). Early childhood development and cognitive development in developing countries. DFID Research for Development & EPPI-Centre. Retrieved from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Portals/0/PDF%20reviews%20and%20summaries/ECD%202014%20Rao%20report.pdf?ver=2014-10-02-145634-017 on October 17, 2016. 13

Ade, A., Gupta, S.S., Maliye, C., Deshmukh, P.R., Garg, D., and Garg, B.S. (2010). Effect of improvement of pre-school education through Anganwadi center on intelligence and development quotient of children. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 77, 541-546; Rao, N. (2010). Preschool quality and the development of children from economically disadvantaged families in India. Early Education and Development 21(2), 167-185; Hazarika, G., and Viren, V. (2010). The effect of early childhood developmental program attendance on future school enrollment and grade progression in rural north India. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5209. Retrieved from: http://ftp.iza.org/dp5209.pdf on October 17, 2016. 14

Perspectives from a range of in-country interviews. See also, Pillai, P. (2014). In Rural India, Asking What Helps Girls Stay in School. Submission to Education for Global Development: A blog about the power of investing in people. Retrieved from: http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/rural-india-asking-what-helps-girls-stay-school on October 17, 2016. 15 Data from 2012; WORLD Policy Analysis Center. Pre-Primary Education Database, 2015. Findings cited in: Richter L.M., Daelmans B., Lombardi J., Heymann J., Lopez Boo F., Behrman J.R., Lu C., Lucas J.E., Perez-Escamilla R., Dua T., Bhutta Z.A., Stenberg K., Gertler P., Darmstadt G.L., with the Paper 3 Working Group and the Lancet Early Childhood Development Series Steering Committee. (2016). Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: Pathways to scale up for early child development. The Lancet Childhood Development Series, Retrieved from: http://www.thelancet.com/series/ECD2016 on October 17 2016. 16

When initiated in 1975, the program was focused on providing services to economically disadvantaged families. However, in 2001, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the program be extended “to every child under the age of 6, all pregnant women and lactating mothers and all adolescent girls”. Affidavit of K. Rajeswara Rao, Director, Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, March 2007, People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India and others, Writ Petition No. 196 of 2001, at par. [2].Retrieved from http://icds-wcd.nic.in/icds/affidivticds.htm on October 17 2016. 17

Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. (2009). Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. Retrieved from: http://icds-wcd.nic.in/icds/ on October 17 2016. 18

For more, see consultation series from The Alliance for Rights to Early Childhood Development, a Delhi-based group comprised of experts, networks and activists: Alliance for Rights to ECD and Forum for Crèches & Childcare Services. (2013). Consultation on Strengthening Legal Entitlements for Children Under Six: A Report. New Delhi, at 1; Alliance for Rights to ECCD and National Law University Delhi Campus. (2014). Consultation on Development of a Code and Set of Laws for the Right to Early Childhood Development. New Delhi, at 14. On file with authors. 19

Child Development Bureau, Ministry of Women and Child Development & National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, Government of India. (2013). Potential Good Practices: The ICDS Experience. Retrieved from http://nipccd.nic.in/reports/pgp.pdf on October 17 2016, at 16.

106

http://csnbricsam.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Education.pdf

http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf


http://www.ihdindia.org/IHD-Oxfamworkingpaper-PDF/II.%20Elementary%20Education%20in%20India-Progress,%20Setbacks,%20and%20Challenges.pdf

http://www.ihdindia.org/IHD-Oxfamworkingpaper-PDF/II.%20Elementary%20Education%20in%20India-Progress,%20Setbacks,%20and%20Challenges.pdf

http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Portals/0/PDF%20reviews%20and%20summaries/ECD%202014%20Rao%20report.pdf?ver=2014-10-02-145634-017

http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Portals/0/PDF%20reviews%20and%20summaries/ECD%202014%20Rao%20report.pdf?ver=2014-10-02-145634-017

http://ftp.iza.org/dp5209.pdf%20on%20October%2017

http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/rural-india-asking-what-helps-girls-stay-school%20on%20October%2017

http://www.thelancet.com/series/ECD2016

http://icds-wcd.nic.in/icds/affidivticds.htm

http://icds-wcd.nic.in/icds/

http://nipccd.nic.in/reports/pgp.pdf

20 Provisional data on children enrolled in balwadi or anganwadi, for more see: ASER Centre. (2015) Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2014. Retrieved from http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf on October 17 2016, at 85. 21

Working Group for Children Under Six of the Right to Food Campaign and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan. (2012). Strategies for Children under Six: Update and Recommendations for the 12

th Plan. Public Health Resource Network (PHRN), at 27 -29. On

file with authors, to order copies contact Right To Food Campaign Secretariat and Public Health Resource Network; Alliance for Rights to ECD and Forum for Crèches & Childcare Services. (2013). Consultation on Strengthening Legal Entitlements for Children Under Six: A Report. New Delhi, at 1; Alliance for Rights to ECCD and National Law University Delhi Campus.(2014). Consultation on Development of a Code and Set of Laws for the Right to Early Childhood Development. New Delhi, at 14. On file with authors. 22

Articles 5.1.5 and 5.2 of National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy (2012). Retrieved from: http://icds-wcd.nic.in/schemes/ECCE/ecce_01102013_eng.pdf on October 17 2016. 23

See for example, Alliance for Rights to ECD and Forum for Crèches & Childcare Services. (2013). Consultation on Strengthening Legal Entitlements for Children Under Six: A Report. New Delhi, at 1; Alliance for Rights to ECCD and National Law University Delhi Campus. (2014). Consultation on Development of a Code and Set of Laws for the Right to Early Childhood Development. New Delhi, at 14. On file with authors.. 24 Pratham Education Foundation. (2016). Pratham- Who, What & How. Retrieved from http://www.pratham.org/about-us/about-pratham on October 17 2016. 25

Sperling, G.B., Winthrop, R., and Kwauk, C. (2014. What Works for Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment. Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C.. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/book/what-works-in-girls-education-evidence-for-the-worlds-best-investment/, at 138-145; Glick, P. (2008). What policies will reduce gender schooling gaps in developing countries: Evidence and interpretation. World Development 36(9); UNICEF. (2003) “The State of the World's Children 2004 - Girls, Education and Development”. Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Eng_text.pdf on October 17 2016, at 23. 26

Research on private school enrollment indicates a gender gap in investments in children’s education. For example, see Maitra P., Pal S., Sharma A. (2011). Reforms, Growth and Persistence of Gender Gap: Recent Evidence from Private School Enrolment in India. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6135. 27 Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2016). National Means Cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS). Retrieved from: http://mhrd.gov.in/nmms on October 17 2016 28

Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2016). National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education. Retrieved from thttp://mhrd.gov.in/incentives on October 17 2016. 29

Although there is an absence of a statutory guarantee to tuition-free secondary, in 2009 the Government of India launched the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme to enhance access to secondary through interventions focused on quality (e.g. in-service teacher training), equity (e.g. opening schools in areas with high concentrations of students from Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes), etc. For further details on the scheme and its funding, see: Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2016). Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). Retrieved from http://mhrd.gov.in/rmsa on October 17 2016; Singh, G. and Kundu, P.(2015). Inequalities in secondary education: A study of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability.

107

http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf%20on%20October%2017%202016

http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf%20on%20October%2017%202016

http://icds-wcd.nic.in/schemes/ECCE/ecce_01102013_eng.pdf

http://icds-wcd.nic.in/schemes/ECCE/ecce_01102013_eng.pdf

http://www.pratham.org/about-us/about-pratham%20on%20October%2017%202016

http://www.pratham.org/about-us/about-pratham%20on%20October%2017%202016



http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Eng_text.pdf%20on%20October%2017%202016

http://mhrd.gov.in/nmms

http://mhrd.gov.in/incentives

http://mhrd.gov.in/rmsa

30 Among states for which information is available, only Arunchal Pradesh, Goa, Meghalaya, Odisha, Chandigarh have only

implemented central government-sponsored schemes. See more at: Statistics Division, Bureau of Planning, Monitoring and Statistics, Ministry of Human resource Development, Government of India. (2014). Selected Information on School Education. Retrieved from http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/SISH201112.pdf on October 17 2016, at Statement –VIII. 31 Among the ten States/UTs with the lowest per capita GDP for the last ten years, only Odisha has not taken steps to supplement Central Government schemes. Two illustrative examples of schemes undertaken in lower-resource States/UTs are 1) Bihar’s Cycle Scheme for girls- initiated in 2006 to address the gender gap in enrollment in secondary education by providing girls who continued beyond upper primary (grade 8) with a bicycle. Evaluation has shown that the program increased the probability of a girl being enrolled or completing grade 9 by 30%, and narrowed the gender disparity in school enrollment by 40% in: Muralidharan K. and Prakesh, N. (2013). Cycling to school: Increasing secondary school enrollment for girls in India. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 19305. Retrieved from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w19305 on October 17 2016. And 2) In Rajasthan, the Gargi Puraskar aims to encourage girls’ secondary education by providing an annual award of Rs. 2,000 to girls who earn 75% or higher on their secondary school board exam at grade 10, and continue on to upper secondary (grades 11-12). Free text books are also distributed to SC/ST and low-income students in upper- and lower-secondary (grades 9-12) and all low-income girls from grades 1-12. For more see: Statistics Division, Bureau of Planning, Monitoring and Statistics, Ministry of Human resource Development, Government of India. (2014). Selected Information on School Education. Retreived from http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/SISH201112.pdf on October 17 2016, at Statement –VIII. 32

Findings come from original analysis undertaken as part of this initiative. Data available at: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. (2014). Indian National Sample Survey (NSS) Round 71. Retrieved from: http://mail.mospi.gov.in/index.php/catalog/160. 33 Findings come from original analysis undertaken as part of this initiative. Data available at: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. (2014). Indian National Sample Survey (NSS) Round 71. Retrieved from: http://mail.mospi.gov.in/index.php/catalog/160. 34 WORLD Policy Analysis Center. (2014). Education Database. Available at: http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/education/policies. 35

Ministry of Human Resource Development; Department of School Education & Literacy, Government of India. About the Mid Day Meal Scheme. http://mdm.nic.in/ Accessed on 18 August 2016. 36

Afridi, F. (2010). The Impact of School Meals on School Participation: Evidence from Rural India. Discussion Papers in Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi Planning Unit; Dreze, Jean and Geeta Gandhi Kingdon. (2000) School participation in rural India. Review of Development Economics, 5(1), pp. 1-33. 37

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, No 36 of 2016. Retrieved from: http://labour.nic.in/sites/default/files/THE%20CHILD%20LABOUR%20(PROHIBITION%20AND%20REGULATION)%20AMENDMENT%20ACT,%202016_0.pdf on October 17 2016. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-employing-child-below-14-can-land-you-in-jail-for-2-years/articleshow/53401309.cms http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/ruchira-gupta-child-labour-prohibition-and-regulation-amendment-act-2016-a-law-that-allows-child-labour/article8964940.ece 38

See for example, Gupta, R. (August 2016). A law that allows child labour. The Hindu. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/ruchira-gupta-child-labour-prohibition-and-regulation-amendment-act-2016-a-law-that-allows-child-labour/article8964940.ece on August 19 2016.

108

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/SISH201112.pdf

http://www.nber.org/papers/w19305

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/SISH201112.pdf

http://mail.mospi.gov.in/index.php/catalog/160

http://mail.mospi.gov.in/index.php/catalog/160

http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/education/policies

http://mdm.nic.in/

http://labour.nic.in/sites/default/files/THE%20CHILD%20LABOUR%20(PROHIBITION%20AND%20REGULATION)%20AMENDMENT%20ACT,%202016_0.pdf


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-employing-child-below-14-can-land-you-in-jail-for-2-years/articleshow/53401309.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-employing-child-below-14-can-land-you-in-jail-for-2-years/articleshow/53401309.cms

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/ruchira-gupta-child-labour-prohibition-and-regulation-amendment-act-2016-a-law-that-allows-child-labour/article8964940.ece




39 Article 5 of The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, No 36 of 2016. Retrieved from:

http://labour.nic.in/sites/default/files/THE%20CHILD%20LABOUR%20(PROHIBITION%20AND%20REGULATION)%20AMENDMENT%20ACT,%202016_0.pdf on October 17 2016. 40

UNICEF India. (July 2016). Statement on the amended Child Labour Bill. Press Release retrieved from http://unicef.in/PressReleases/415/UNICEF-India-statement-on-the-amended-Child-Labour-Bill on October 17 2016. 41

Child marriages are voidable within two years of obtaining the age of majority. Article 3 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/trafficking/india.childmar.07.pdf 42

UNFPA. (2012). Marrying too young: End child marriage. Retrieved from: http://www.unfpa.org/end-child-marriage on October 17, 2016; Lloyd, C.B. and Mensch, B.S. (2008). Marriage and Childbirth as Factors in Dropping out of School: An Analysis of DHS Data from Sub-Saharan Africa. Population Studies 62(1), 1–13; Tuwor, T. and Sossou, M.A. (2008). Gender Discrimination and Education in West Africa: Strategies for Maintaining Girls in School. International Journal of Inclusive Education 12(4), 363–379; Jensen, R. and Thornton R. (2003). Early Female Marriage in the Developing World. Gender and Development 11(2),9-19.; Mensch, B., (2005). The Transition to Marriage,” in C.B. Lloyd, ed., Growing Up Global: The Changing Transitions to Adulthood in Developing Countries, Committee on Population, Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council, and Institute of Medicine (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press), 416–505.; Jain, S. and Kurz, K. (2007). New Insights on Preventing Child Marriage: A Global Analysis of Factors and Programs. Report prepared by the International Center for Research on Women for the United States Agency for International Development. 43

Articles 8(c) and 17 of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009) prohibit discrimination and corporal punishment in education, respectively. Retrieved from http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/rte.pdf, on March 20, 2016. 44

Vaid, D.(2015). Monitoring education policy in India. In L. Tillin, R. Deshpande, and K.K. Kailash (Ed.) Politics of Welfare: Comparisons across Indian states (pp. 200-224). New Delhi, Oxford University Press; Centre for Equity Studies. (2014). India Exclusion Report 2013-14. New Delhi: www.indianet.nl/pdf/IndiaExclusionReport2013-2014.pdf, at 54. Many of these critiques accompanied the 93

rd amendment, which preceded the Right to Education Act, see more at: Sripati,

V. and Thiruvengadam, A.K. (2004). India: Constitutional amendment making the right to education a fundamental right. International Journal of Constitutional Law 2(1), 148-158. 45

Vaid, D.(2015). Monitoring education policy in India. In L. Tillin, R. Deshpande, and K.K. Kailash (Ed.) Politics of Welfare: Comparisons across Indian states (pp. 200-224). New Delhi, Oxford University Press, at 211. 46

Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability. (2011) Reclaiming public provisioning: Priorities for the 12th

five year plan. New Delhi. Retrieved from: http://www.cbgaindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Reclaiming-Public-Provisioning-Priorities-for-th-12th-Five-Year-Plan-1.pdf on June 2016; Centre for Equity Studies. (2014). India Exclusion Report 2013-14. New Delhi: www.indianet.nl/pdf/IndiaExclusionReport2013-2014.pdf, at 54. 47

Schedule of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009). Retrieved from: http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/RTI1.pdf on October 17 2016. 48

Wadhwa, W. (2015) “Government vs. private schools: Have things changed?” Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2014. Retrieved from http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf, on October 17, 2016, at 19. 49

Enrollment in private schools has risen from 18.7% to 30.8% between 2006 and 2014. Wadhwa, W. (2015) “Government vs. private schools: Have things changed?” Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2014. Retrieved from http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf, on October 17, 2016, at 19.

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http://unicef.in/PressReleases/415/UNICEF-India-statement-on-the-amended-Child-Labour-Bill

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/trafficking/india.childmar.07.pdf

http://www.unfpa.org/end-child-marriage%20on%20October%2017

http://www.unfpa.org/end-child-marriage%20on%20October%2017

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/rte.pdf

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/rte.pdf


http://www.cbgaindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Reclaiming-Public-Provisioning-Priorities-for-th-12th-Five-Year-Plan-1.pdf

http://www.cbgaindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Reclaiming-Public-Provisioning-Priorities-for-th-12th-Five-Year-Plan-1.pdf


http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/RTI1.pdf



50

Wadhwa, W. (2015) “Government vs. private schools: Have things changed?” Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2014. Retrieved from http://img.asercentre.org/docs/Publications/ASER%20Reports/ASER%202014/fullaser2014mainreport_1.pdf, on October 17, 2016, at 19-20. 51

Most countries (118) require teachers at the upper-primary or lower-secondary level to have completed a Bachelor’s degree or more. Globally, India is one of 46 countries that only require teachers at the upper-primary or lower-secondary level to have completed secondary education. WORLD Policy Analysis Center. (2014). Education Database. Available at: http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/education/policies. 52

Chandra, M. (2015). The implications of contract teaching in India: A review. Policy Futures in Education 13(2), 247-259. 53

UNESCO. (2014). eAtlas of Teachers. Available at: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/global_teacher_demand_2012.aspx , accessed on August 26 2016. 54

Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. (2016). RTE Rules/Guidelines/Notifications. Retrieved from http://mhrd.gov.in/rte_rules on August 19, 2016.

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http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/education/policies

http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/global_teacher_demand_2012.aspx

http://mhrd.gov.in/rte_rules

Current Efforts to Improve Girls’ Access to Secondary School in India

The transformative potential of girls’ access to education―secondary education in particular—was underscored

by two original studies undertaken as part of this initiative. Both the global analysis of DHS data from 47

countries, and the India-specific analysis of NFHS data reveal that girls’ education exerts the most consistent and

considerable positive influence on maternal and child health outcomes, relative to other select social

determinants of health for which data is available. This analysis builds on these findings to provide a picture of

current subnational policy efforts to advance girls’ access to secondary education in India.

Despite improvements in access to primary school for girls in India, gender inequalities persist at the secondary

school level. As shown in Figure 1, the ratio of girls to boys enrolled in secondary school varies widely within the

country. While girls now outnumber boys in lower secondary schools in some northeastern states including

Assam, Sikkim, and West Bengal, other states are lagging behind. Fewer than 80 girls are enrolled for every 100

boys in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana.

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Figure 1. The ratio of girls to boys enrolled in lower and upper secondary school across India

Source: District Information System for Education (DISE) for the 2014-15 school year

In order to address this gap, many programs that incentivize enrollment in secondary school have been

established throughout the country. The central government of India has provided funding for the National

Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education since 2008. This program is intended to encourage girls

from scheduled tribes or castes to enroll in secondary school by depositing 3000 INR in the girl’s name at the

time she enrolls in the 9th standard, which she may withdraw upon passing 10th standard exams, provided she

remains unmarried. In addition, many states report that they fund their own incentive programs. In most states

these incentives are in the form of tuition-free schooling, or the provision of scholarships or textbooks.

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We used data from a recently conducted household survey to better understand how these incentives are

distributed by gender across states. In Figures 2 – 5, only states in which at least 150 students were surveyed at

the indicated schooling level are included.

Cash scholarships Nearly 23% of students attending government-funded lower secondary schools received a scholarship, as did

21% of students in higher secondary school. The distribution by gender and state is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

These scholarships appear to be targeted primarily toward students belonging to scheduled tribes or castes:

81% of lower secondary students and 85% of upper secondary students who received a scholarship reported

that their scheduled caste/tribe status was the reason they were awarded the funds.

Figure 2. The proportion of boys and girls attending lower secondary school that received a scholarship or stipend

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Figure 3. The proportion of boys and girls attending upper secondary school who received a scholarship or stipend

Textbooks Some students also receive free or subsidized textbooks. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the proportion of girls and

boys enrolled in government-funded secondary schools who received these incentives. Over 80% of lower

secondary students in Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh received their textbooks

at reduced cost, suggesting that these programs are intended to benefit all students and have relatively good

coverage within these states.

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Figure 4. The proportion of lower secondary school students who received free or subsidized textbooks by gender and state

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Figure 5. The proportion of students in upper secondary school who received free or subsidized textbooks.

Where do we go from here? Although these findings make clear that many states devote significant resources toward these policies and

programs, very few of them have been evaluated. It is not known whether they are effective mechanisms for

supporting girls or members of other vulnerable social groups to enroll in and complete secondary school, or for

improving gender ratios at the secondary level. In order to answer these questions, detailed information should

be gathered about these policies in each state and union territory.

While government reports provide some limited information on existence of state-level education policies, in-

country experts focused on education have reported that detailed information on important aspects of policy

design is not readily available. Specifically, it is essential to know: dates when existing scholarship programs

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were implemented, eligibility requirements for receipt of scholarships, scholarship amounts, what portion of

need is being met, and mechanisms of scholarship distribution across geography and time in order to evaluate

salient features.

This information would allow us to conduct a rigorous examination of the effects of these programs and to draw

conclusions regarding their role in ensuring gender equality in secondary schooling in India.

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Achieving Equal Chances in Work & the Economy: Laws and Perspectives on Progress in India

Access to decent jobs and economic empowerment supports women’s autonomy, and their ability to participate

in household decision-making and invest in their own health and that of their family. Globally, rates of women’s

workforce participation tend to increase alongside economic development,1 but this relationship between growth

and women’s labor participation is complex and multifaceted at the country level,2 as demonstrated in India,

where female labor force participation fell from 38% to 29% between 2004 and 2014,3 despite rapid economic

growth during this period.4

Often, economic growth alone is not sufficient to advance equality of economic opportunity, and in many cases,

measureable improvements in women’s access to economic resources are contingent on well-designed national

laws and policies that properly value women’s work. Relative to other legal domains that shape women’s

opportunities, India’s labor protections have undergone fewer significant reforms over the past two decades, and

in many cases, fall short of the level of protection offered by the majority of the global community.

However, the success of India’s well-known work program, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) demonstrates how large-scale, gender-sensitive policy interventions can result in

measureable improvements in a large number of Indian women’s lives. Enacted in 2005, the (MGNREGA)

program provides adults in rural households with 100 days of wage employment in unskilled manual work on

demand annually, and requires that “priority shall be given to women in such a way that at least one third of the

beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work under this Act.”5 Serving over 33

million women,6 MGNREGA has provided many women workers with their first cash-earning activity, and

evidence suggests that the program has had positive impacts on women’s financial inclusion and autonomy.7

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The underlying, and cross-cutting importance of women’s economic empowerment was a recurrent theme in a

range of in-country interviews with stakeholders focused on the full realization of women’s rights to education

and health care, and freedom from early and forced marriage, and intimate partner violence. The success of

MGNREGA demonstrates that reforms to labor rights and social policy can be transformative for women, and the

recommendations in this brief primarily focuses on key areas where the government can take action to better

align India’s labor rights and social protection policies with international norms and standards, and address

barriers that continue to impede women’s equality of economic opportunity.

Key Recommendations

Expand the Equal Remuneration Act (1976) to guarantee women and men equal pay for work of equal value Remove gendered labor restrictions and gender imbalance in caregiving protections

Develop simple social protection schemes inclusive of the informal sector

Overview of Labor Legislation and Social Protection in India

India’s body of labor legislation is complex, and although the Government of India is currently considering

comprehensive reform of the labor law, the existing body of labor legislation comprises 40 sector- and geography-

specific laws regulating labor conditions, wages, and entitlements.8 Inconsistencies between protections offered

by labor laws is a challenge for unions, employers, and legal experts, and poses a significant barrier to employees’

ability to comprehensively understand and claim their rights, employers’ ability to know and meet legal

requirements, and government’s ability to monitor, implement and enforce these.

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Further, 84% of Indian workers are employed in the informal economy.9 Similarly to women in many regions in

the world, Indian women are more likely to be employed in the informal sector,10 and lack access to some of the

labor protections extended to formally employed workers. As such, efforts to extend entitlements to the

informal sector have a particularly important impact on women’s equal access to economic resources. The

Unorganized Workers Act of 2008 was conceptualized as a means to provide social security and welfare to

informal workers; civil society leaders note limitations of the Act which is solely implemented through existing

government schemes, as these schemes can be 1) difficult for women with low literacy to access,11 and 2) often

restrict eligibility to those below the poverty line (commonly understood as Rs 5000/month per household)

excluding many low-income informal workers.12

Across India’s formal13 and the informal workplaces,14 evidence suggests that sexual harassment is a significant

problem for working women. In 2013, the national government took an important step to ensure women’s

safety at work and joined 115 other countries that have legislation explicitly addressing sexual harassment in

employment15 by enacting the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act.16 The Act includes a number of strong provisions, including:

A definition of sexual harassment that extends to “any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal

conduct of a sexual nature”17

A definition of a workplace as “any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of

employment, including transportation by the employer for undertaking such a journey”, and includes “a

dwelling place or a house;”—which extends the purview of the act to a large portion of the unorganized

sector.18

Given the relatively recent passage of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2013), few steps have

been taken around its implementation.19 Going forward, advocates noted that it will be important that the

government clearly define the role of the Labor Inspection Services in monitoring discrimination in the workplace,

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and ensure that labor inspectors are provided with proper training that enables them to fulfill responsibilities

under the law.20

Recommendation 1: Expand the Equal Remuneration Act to guarantee women and men equal pay for work of equal value

India’s Equal Remuneration Act (ERA) of 1976 contains many strong provisions including a guarantee of equal pay

for women and men for the same work or work of a similar nature, and a ban on discrimination against women

during recruitment, making India one of 69 countries that has legal protections against gender discrimination in

hiring.21 The ERA also prohibits gender discrimination in subsequent work, including “promotions, training or

transfer”22, providing a strong initial framework for women’s equal economic opportunities.

Among the 69 countries which have legal statutes in place to protect against gender discrimination in hiring, 42

take a further step to guarantee that women have access to equal pay for work of equal value, but India’s ERA

does not do so.23 Reforming the ERA to include this important protection would not only align India’s laws with

the International Labour Organization’s Equal Remuneration Convention,24 (which India has ratified) but it could

be an important tool to deploy in efforts to close the gender wage gap in India—which averages about 30% across

sectors.25

Such a legal reform could also have important implications for the Central Government’s reliance on two

categories of workers―ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) and Anganwadi Workers (AWW) who are

responsible for the implementation of two national schemes designed to improve population health, the National

Rural Health Mission and the Integrated Child Development Services, respectively.

Both ASHAs and AWWs are trained to work as intermediaries between the community and the public

health system, and are responsible for a range of service and recordkeeping activities, for which they

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receive small stipends from the government. Despite these responsibilities, neither ASHAs nor AWWs are

considered government employees, and are instead labeled “voluntary activists” or “honorary workers.”

Requirements for ASHAs and AWWs stipulate that they must be female.26 While this provides training

and work opportunities, the lack of real wages contributes to gender segregated engagement in a

sector that remains informal and without access to normal government wages and benefits available to

other classifications of government employees who perform work of similar value.

Even when gender requirements for employment are not explicitly in place, gendered occupational segregation

remains high in India, and instituting a statutory guarantee for work of equal value could be an important tool to

address and narrow the wage gap where occupations traditionally performed by women are often governed by

lower classifications in state-level minimum wage schedules.27 It will be important to pair reform to the ERA with

broader reforms aligned with the principal of equal remuneration for work of equal value to other pieces of

legislation that impact women’s incomes, such as The Minimum Wages Act (1948).

Domestic work is disproportionately performed by women globally and in India, where the approximately 4.2

million domestic workers28 are overwhelmingly female.29 Around the world, many countries fail to extend labor

protections like minimum wages to domestic workers, and the ILO estimates that approximately 42.5% of

domestic workers do not have access to minimum wage coverage.30 Domestic workers in India face similar

challenges, as only 12 states have established a minimum wage for domestic workers in their minimum wage

schedules.31 Not only are millions of women left without access to fair, predicable wages, but domestic workers

commonly cross State/UT borders to seek employment;32 and a woman engaged in domestic work in Bihar who

has access to the Rs. 155.00/day guaranteed by Bihar’s minimum wage schedule would not find the same

protection in neighboring Uttar Pradesh. 33 Efforts to guarantee equal pay for work of equal value should ensure

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that domestic work is not undervalued, by setting minimum wages at appropriate levels for domestic workers in

all of India’s regions, with accompanying mechanisms for enforcement.

Recommendation 2: Remove gendered labor restrictions and gender imbalance in caregiving protections Across India’s diverse legal landscape, there are many provisions that support women’s multiple and varying roles

in society. However, India, like 106 other countries around the world, has legal limitations in place which

prevent women from doing the same job as men.34 Gendered labor restrictions can constrict women’s full

economic participation, and should be reformed to ensure equal treatment of women and men under the law in

all countries. Provisions around women’s hours of work are one example of a necessary area of reform.

The Factories Act (1948), one of India’s primary pieces of labor legislation covering the formal economy,

prohibits women from working at night, without imposing similar restrictions on men, by asserting that

“no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between the hours 6 A.M. and 7

P.M.”35 At the state-level, various acts governing the work of employees in commercial enterprises also

include restrictions on the hours of women’s work; one such act is the Tamil Nadu Shops and

Establishments Act (1947), which prohibits women’s work in “shops, commercial firms, restaurant, etc.”

before 6:00 A.M. and after 7:00 P.M.36

Evidence shows that night work takes a toll on workers’ health, and thus some special provisions or

increased compensation for night work may be appropriate. However, these laws instead issue blanket

prohibitions on women’s hours of work thus limiting their ability to provide for their families in the same

way as men.

According to the International Labour Organization, some states have struck down the prohibition on

night work, while courts in India more generally are “increasingly scrutinizing restrictions on women’s

employment that have been justified in the name of ‘protection’ under the test of equal treatment and

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opportunity.”37 Nevertheless, the restrictions that remain in place inhibit women’s earnings and full

participation in the labor force.

Laws and policies related to caregiving are another important area where thoughtful reforms can expand

women’s economic opportunities. Globally, the burden of unpaid household and care work is still

disproportionately born by women and girls. In India, women spend more than three times as much time in

unpaid caregiving as men.38 Labor laws that only extend caregiving entitlements to women legally sanction that

caregiving is solely a woman’s responsibility, and limit women’s opportunities at paid work and men’s at

caregiving. Paid leave for infant caregiving is a central component of this.

Currently, India guarantees paid leave to mothers of infants through the Maternity Benefits Act,39 which

applies to all factories, mines, plantations, and circus industries, as well as shops and establishments

which employ ten or more persons.

However, there is no parallel gender-neutral or father-specific leave in place in the private sector; access

to paid leave for new fathers is available in a few limited circumstances, including fifteen days of paid

leave provided to male government employees,40 and a Madhya Pradesh-specific scheme (Mukhyamantri

Mazdoor Suraksha Yojana) which provides paternity leave for two weeks alongside entitlements for

women.41

By making paid leave available to new fathers, India could join the 95 countries around the world which

provide paid leave for infant caregiving to both women and men,42 enable men to share in parental

responsibilities and help establish a pattern of regular involvement in child care.

Another policy-oriented opportunity advance gender equality in caregiving involves the reform of certain labor

policies which require employers to provide caregiving facilities only upon reaching a given threshold of women

workers, instead of a threshold of workers of either gender. Policies like these may deter employers from hiring

124

women by effectively establishing a “cap” for the female workforce. However, India could take an important step

to advance women’s economic opportunities by reforming laws like the Factories Act and the Plantations Labour

Act, both of which require that employers provide crèches (daycare centers) only when there are at least twenty

female workers at the establishment.43

Recommendation 3: Develop simple social protection schemes inclusive of the informal sector

Work in the informal economy is often characterized by low, unpredictable wages, and little income security in

the case of contingencies. Relative to Indian men, Indian women workers are generally concentrated in the

informal sector,44 making the inclusive design of labor and social protection particularly consequential to women’s

economic security and empowerment. For example, though India’s Maternity Benefit Act does not make formal

employment a condition of eligibility, mandating that entitlements to paid leave for caregiving be entirely the

employer’s responsibility can effectively exclude coverage of informal workers in practice. Subsequently, take-

up of benefits made available through the Maternity Benefit Act is extremely low―in 2012, only 2,441 women

claimed maternity benefits through the Act.45

In recent years, the Government of India has undertaken important national efforts to extend social protection to

new and expectant mothers who work in the informal economy in the following two programs: 1) the Indira

Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) pilot program (2010), and 2) the 2013 National Food Security Act:

The IGMSY program has been introduced in 53 pilot districts,46 and serves approximately 1.38 million

women.47 In order to encourage women to take time to rest before and after birth, beneficiaries in pilot

districts48 receive partial wage compensation in the form of Rs. 4,000 for 40 days regardless of their

employment status, predicated on meeting conditions pertaining to birth registration, medical check-ups,

and vaccinations.

125

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) unconditionally guarantees all pregnant women and lactating

mothers in India a maternity benefit of at least Rs. 6,000, in addition to free daily meals at Anganwadi

Centres. This cash entitlement has been interpreted as nutritional support, as well as partial wage

compensation. Although the NFSA has been implemented in 33 States/Union Territories, the maternity

benefit has yet to be implemented, though there are indications that the IGMSY itself will be converted

into a universal scheme under the NFSA.49

Over the next few years, it will be important for the Indian Government to build on lessons learned throughout

the passage and implementation of the Unorganized Workers Act of 2008 and the programs detailed above, in

order to design simple, accessible social protections that address remaining gaps that constrain economic

opportunities and security:

Lack of widespread, affordable childcare often restricts women’s ability to participate in full-time, formal

employment, and remains a significant barrier to women’s labor force participation in countries around

the world. Advocates in India assert that the state should provide comprehensive access to childcare to

any child or parent who needs daycare or crèche services.

Although illness has been identified as a leading cause of financial crisis for households,50 India is one of

only 15 countries that does not provide any form of universal income protection during illness for

workers at the national level,51 and it will be critical to formulate a income protection scheme that all

informal workers can access, even when under duress.

126

1 Evidence suggests that there is a “U-shaped relationship” between growth and women’s participation in the workforce. For more see: Klborgh-Woytek K., Newiak M., Kochhar K., Fabrizio S., Kpodar K, Wingender P., Clements B., and Schwartz G. (2013). Women, Work, and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity. International Monetary Fund Staff Discussion Note. Accessed at https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf Other work attests that “cause-and-effect is difficult to untangle” in the positive relationship between economic development and share of women in wage employment. For more see Gender and Development unit, World Bank. (2013). Gender at Work: A companion to the World Development Report on Jobs. http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Gender/GenderAtWork_web.pdf at 10. 2 Verick, S. (2014). Female labor force participation in developing countries. International Labour Organization, India and IZA,

Germany. Retrieved from: http://wol.iza.org/articles/female-labor-force-participation-in-developing-countries.pdf . 3 Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64), modeled ILO estimate. Data from World Bank

World Development Indicators. Retrieved from: http://databank.worldbank.org/ accessed on October 18 2016. 4 International Labour Organization. (2013). India: Why is women’s labour force participation dropping? Retrieved from:

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_204762/lang--en/index.htm 5 Schedule II, paragraph 6 in National Rural employment Guarantee Act No. 42 of 2005. Retrieved from

http://nrega.nic.in/amendments_2005_2016.pdf on October 18 2016. 6 Daily News & Analysis. (March 2016). Around 51% of women participated in MGNREGA, maximum in last 3 years. Retrieved

from http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-around-51-women-participated-in-mgnrega-maximum-in-last-3-years-2187797 on October 18 2016. 7 See for example:Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. (2012). MGNREGA Sameeksha: An anthology of

research studies on the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. (2006-2012). Retrieved from http://nrega.nic.in/Circular_Archive/archive/MGNREGA_SAMEEKSHA.pdf, at 23-25; Desai, S, Vashishtha, P, Joshi, O. (2015). Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation. Retrieved from: www.ncaer.org/free-download.php?pID=256 ; Dasgupta, S. and Sudarshan, R.M. (2011). Issues in labor market inequality and women’s participation in India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. International Labour Office, Policy Integration Department, Working Paper No. 98. Retrieved from: http://natlex.ilo.ch/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---integration/documents/publication/wcms_153042.pdf; Pankaj, A. and Tankkha, R. (2010). Empowerment effects of the NREGS on women workers: A study in four states. Economic and Political Weekly XLV(30), 45-55. Khera, R. and Nayak, N. (2009). Women workers and perceptions of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Economic and Political Weekly 44(43), 49-57. Intergenerational impacts have also been documented, for more see: Afridi F, Mukhopadhyay, A, and Sahoo, S. (2012). Female Labour Force Participation and Child Education in India: The effect of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6593. 8 ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors).

9 International Labour Association. (2013). Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing. Women and Men in

the Informal Economy: A Statistical Picture. Second ed: Geneva. Retrieved from: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---stat/documents/publication/wcms_234413.pdf at xi. 10

Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO). (2016). Statistical Picture. Retrieved from: http://wiego.org/informal-economy/statistical-picture 11

Institute of Social Studies Trust. (2012). Gender and Economic Policy Discussion Forum Briefing Note 5: Engendering Social Protection for Informal Economy Workers. (on file with authors).

127

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http://wiego.org/informal-economy/statistical-picture

12

ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors). 13

See, for example, Dhar, A. (November 2010). “88% women subjected to sexual harassment at workplace in IT sector: survey.” The Hindu. Retrieved from: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/88-women-subjected-to-sexual-harassment-at-workplace-in-it-sector-survey/article886798.ece ; Reuters. (2010). Ipsos Global @dvisory: Employees in 22 Countries attest to Physical Assault and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Retrieved from: http://half-the-sky.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/The-Reuters-Ipsos-Assault-Poll-Ipsos-Global-Advisory.pdf ; Also see details on “Bhanwari Devi case” in Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. (2015). Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace for Employers / Institutions/Organisations/Internal Complaints Committee/Local Complaints Committee. Retrieved from: https://www.nitie.edu/website_v2/files/Handbook%20on%20Sexual%20Harassment%20of%20Women%20at%20Workplace.pdf 14

International Labour Organization. (2015). Indispensable yet unprotected: Working conditions of Indian domestic workers at home and abroad. Geneva: ILO. Retrieved from: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_378058.pdf 15

Women, Business and the Law, World Bank. (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/ and accessed on July 2016. 16

The foundation for the passage of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act can be found in the Supreme Court ruling in Vishaka & others v. State of Rajasthan & Union of India, which lent and expansive interpretation of Article 19(10(g) of the Constitution of India and found that “sexual harassment at the workplace has been held to be in violation of the fundamental freedom of all women, as citizens, to pursue the business, trade or profession of one’s choice” (at 3). For a full discussion of the passage and contents of the law, see Jaising, I. (2014). Sexual Harassment at Workplace 2

nd Edn. (New Delhi: Universal

Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd). 17

2(n) in The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.lawyerscollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Sexual-Harassment-at-Workplace-Act.pdf 18

2(o) in The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.lawyerscollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Sexual-Harassment-at-Workplace-Act.pdf ; Local complaints committees (LCC) have been established in every district to “enable women in the unorganised sector or small establishments” access to recourse under the law, including domestic workers. See more in Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. (2015). Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace for Employers / Institutions/Organisations/Internal Complaints Committee/Local Complaints Committee. Retrieved from: https://www.nitie.edu/website_v2/files/Handbook%20on%20Sexual%20Harassment%20of%20Women%20at%20Workplace.pdf at 20. 19

ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law Reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors). 20



Article 4(5) in Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, as amended through 1987. Retrieved from: http://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/equal_remuneration_act_1976_0.pdf 23

Women, Business and the Law, World Bank. (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/ and accessed on July 2016.

128

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http://wbl.worldbank.org/

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24 Article 1(b) in International Labour Organization. (1953). C100- Equal Remuneration Convention. Retrieved from:

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312245 25

ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors). See also: The Hindu. (May 2016). India suffers from huge gender pay gap, says report. Retrieved from: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-suffers-from-huge-gender-pay-gap-says-report/article8612245.ece 26 National Health Mission, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. (2013). About Accredited Social Health

Activists (ASHA). Retrieved from: http://nrhm.gov.in/communitisation/asha/about-asha.html ; Department of Social Justice &

Empowerment, Government of Himachal Pradesh. Notification on Revised guidelines for appointment of Anganwadi

Workers/ Helpers under ICDS Programme. Retrieved from:

http://himachal.nic.in/WriteReadData/l892s/176_l892s/SchemeGuidelines%20for%20%20the%20engagement%20%20of%20the%20Anganwadi%20Workers%20Helpers,Mini%20Anganwadi-61174670.pdf Women and Child Development Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh (2016). Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. Retrieved from: http://www.mpwcd.nic.in/en/sc-ic-icds . 27


WIEGO. (2016). Domestic Workers in India. Retrieved from http://wiego.org/informal_economy_law/domestic-workers-india on October 19 2016. 29

WIEGO. (2016). Informal Economy: Statistical picture. Retrieved from: http://wiego.org/informal-economy/statistical-picture on October 19 2016. 30

International Labour Organization. (2016). Women at Work: Trends 2016. Geneva. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_457317.pdf at 63. 31

States that include a minimum wage rate for domestic workers in their schedules include: Assam, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, per: Ministry of Labour and Employment Labour Bureau Chandigarh, Government of India. (2013). Report on the Working of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for the year 2013. Retrieved from http://labourbureau.nic.in/MW_2013_final_revised_web.pdf, last accessed April, 15, 2016. For a subnational, comparative analysis of practices around minimum wage for domestic work, see: Neetha. N. (2015). Minimum wage setting practices in domestic work: An inter-state analysis. International Labour Organization, Geneva. Retrieved from: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_423600.pdf 32

Estimates of domestic workers in India vary between 4.75 million to over 90 million. See more in SEWA. (2014). Domestic Workers’ Laws and Legal Issues in India. WIEGO Law and Informality Resources. Cambridge, MA, USA: WIEGO, at 2. Retrieved from: http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/resources/files/Domestic-Workers-Laws-and-Legal-Issues-India.pdf WIEGO. (2016). Domestic Workers in India. Retrieved from http://wiego.org/informal_economy_law/domestic-workers-india 33

Ministry of Labour and Employment Labour Bureau Chandigarh, Government of India. (2013). Report on the Working of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for the year 2013. Retrieved from http://labourbureau.nic.in/MW_2013_final_revised_web.pdf, last accessed April, 15, 2016. 34

Legal limitations were assessed in the following areas: night hours, jobs, jobs deemed hazardous, jobs deemed morally or socially inappropriate, jobs deemed arduous, mining, factories, construction, occupations, metalworking, requiring lifting weights above threshold, and job-related tasks. Women, Business and the Law, World Bank. (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/ and accessed on July 2016.

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http://himachal.nic.in/WriteReadData/l892s/176_l892s/SchemeGuidelines%20for%20%20the%20engagement%20%20of%20the%20Anganwadi%20Workers%20Helpers,Mini%20Anganwadi-61174670.pdf

http://himachal.nic.in/WriteReadData/l892s/176_l892s/SchemeGuidelines%20for%20%20the%20engagement%20%20of%20the%20Anganwadi%20Workers%20Helpers,Mini%20Anganwadi-61174670.pdf

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http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_423600.pdf

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http://labourbureau.nic.in/MW_2013_final_revised_web.pdf


35

Section 66 1(b) of the Factories Act, No. 63 of 1948, as amended through Act 20 of 1987. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/32063/64873/E87IND01.htm 36

The Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act. (1947). Retrieved from: https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Tamil-Nadu-Shop-and-Establishment-Act.pdf; ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors). 37

ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law Reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors). For further discussion of “protectionism” in India’s Supreme Court and High Courts, see Eileen Kaufman, “Women and Law: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and Indian Supreme Courts' Equality Jurisprudence,” 34 Ga. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 558, 597-604 (2006). 38

International Labour Organization. (2016). Women at Work: Trends 2016. Geneva. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_457317.pdf, at 68. 39

This Act is in the process of being reformed; the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill (2016) has been passed by the Rjya Sabha Ministry to extend paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 28 weeks. The current law limits benefits to two births per woman. See more at: Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, as amended through 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/docs/678/Maternity%20Benefits%20Act%201961.pdf 40

Central Government Staff News (2012). Paternity Leave, CCS (Leave) Rules, Rule 43-A. Retrieved from; http://centralgovernmentstaffnews.blogspot.com/2012/11/paternity-leave-ccs-leave-rules-rule-43.html on March, 20, 2016 41

Falcao, V.L, Khanuja, J, Matharu, S., Nehra, S., Sinha, D. (2015). Report on the Study of the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana: To Enhance Inclusion and Preparedness to Implement Provisions under the NFSA. Center for Equity Studies, New Delhi: Retrieved from: http://centreforequitystudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Maternity-Entitlement-Report_CES_29.05.pdf 42 WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Adult Labor Database (2014). Available at: http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/adult-labor-and-working-conditions/policies . 43

ILO Submission to Government of India, “Labour Law reforms from a Gender Perspective” (on file with authors). 44

WIEGO. (2016). Informal Economy: Statistical picture. Retrieved from: http://wiego.org/informal-economy/statistical-picture on October 19 2016. 45

Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. (January 2015). Indian Labour Journal (A Monthly Publication. Retrieved from: http://labourbureau.nic.in/ILJ_Jan_2015.pdf on March, 20, 2016. 46

Falcao, V.L, Khanuja, J, Matharu, S., Nehra, S., Sinha, D. (2015). Report on the Study of the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana: To Enhance Inclusion and Preparedness to Implement Provisions under the NFSA. Center for Equity Studies, New Delhi: Retrieved from: http://centreforequitystudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Maternity-Entitlement-Report_CES_29.05.pdf ; Ministry of Women and Child Development. (2016). Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY)- A Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme. Retrieved from: http://wcd.nic.in/schemes/indira-gandhi-matritva-sahyog-yojana-igmsy-conditional-maternity-benefit-scheme 47

International Labour Offices. (2015). Social protection for maternity: Key policy trends and statistics. Social Protection Policy Papers. Retrieved from: http://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/RessourcePDF.action?ressource.ressourceId=51579., at 14.

130

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http://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/RessourcePDF.action?ressource.ressourceId=51579

48 Note that beneficiaries must be women age 19 and above, and benefits are available for the first two pregnancies. For full

details on how program design may exclude vulnerable mothers, see: Falcao, V.L, Khanuja, J, Matharu, S., Nehra, S., Sinha, D. (2015). Report on the Study of the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana: To Enhance Inclusion and Preparedness to Implement Provisions under the NFSA. Center for Equity Studies, New Delhi: Retrieved from: http://centreforequitystudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Maternity-Entitlement-Report_CES_29.05.pdf 49

Letter from Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, F.No. 4-3/2014-IGMSY dated December 30, 2014.; http://centreforequitystudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Maternity-Entitlement-Report_CES_29.05.pdf 50

Selvaraj, S and Karan, A. (2012). Why publically-financed health insurance schemes are ineffective in providing financial risk protection. Economic and Political Weekly XLVII(11), 60-68; Das, J and Leino, J. (2011). Evaluating the RSBY: Lessons from an experimental information campaign. Economic and Political Weekly XLVI(32), 85-93; Desai, S. (2009). Keeping the ‘Health’ in Health Insurance. Economic and Political Weekly XLIV(38), 18-21; 51

Comparative data from WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Adult Labor Database (2014). Available at: http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/adult-labor-and-working-conditions/policies . In India, paid sick leave is made available in sector-specific legislation (for example, the Shop and Establishment Act, and The Factories Act), but for many workers, the limited right to sick leave is regulated by the Employees State Insurance Act (1948), which guarantees paid leave for personal health needs to workers in non-seasonal factories with at least 10 employees who earn between Rs 100 to 15,000/month. Self-employed and agricultural workers do not have access to these benefits. For an overview see: International Social Security Association & Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Asia and the Pacific: India. Retrieved from: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/ on October 20, 2016.

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https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/

Achieving Equal Chances in the Family: Laws and Perspectives on Progress in India

Beyond their significant intrinsic value, equal rights in the family substantially shape whether women have equal

chances in health, education, work, and in the public sphere. As an example, age at first marriage was identified as

a leading social determinant of maternal and child health outcomes in two original studies undertaken as part of

this initiative. Both a global analysis of DHS data from 47 countries, and an India-specific analysis of NFHS data

revealed that delaying age of marriage until adulthood has consistent and considerable positive influences on

maternal and child health indicators, relative to other select social determinants of health.

Enacting laws that protect equality in all aspects of women’s unions, including minimum age of marriage, is a

critical first step toward substantive gender equality, and in the past 15 years, the Indian Government has

reformed and passed key pieces of legislation designed to protect women’s safety, autonomy and choice in their

unions.

However, even when countries have relatively strong legal frameworks in place, key challenges can still remain in

their implementation. A review of available survey data, qualitative research on implementation and in-depth

engagement with in-country experts attests that India, like many countries, has not yet enacted the full range of

legal protections around women’s equal rights in the family. The following key recommendations focus on closing

remaining legal gaps, more fully translating existing legal protections into measurable outcomes, and expanding

women’s opportunities and ability to claim their rights in the family. This brief provides an overview of key

legislative reforms in India, and a detailed examination of each of the following five key recommendations.

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Key Recommendations

Enact compulsory marriage registration at the national level, while ensuring important legal protections and entitlements extend to women in all forms of intimate relationships

Guarantee a responsible agency and adequate central government funding for coordinated implementation and monitoring of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act

Reform the penal code to criminalize marital rape to ensure consistency in the law, and guarantee survivors

of all forms of intimate partner violence access to recourse under criminal as well as civil law

Expand current efforts to improve awareness and understanding of the laws around women’s rights to property, freedom from violence, and the right to freely enter marriage as adults, among women, men, and the officials responsible for implementing these laws

Expand social and economic opportunities for all women and girls

Overview of the Status of Key Laws that Advance Women’s Equality in

the Family and Freedom from Violence

From the perspective of gender equality in the family, India’s strongest legal protections articulate clear,

consistent protections from violence and gender-based exclusions, and guarantee equal rights and benefits to

women and men. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Indian government has taken important steps to

enact laws to advance women’s and girls’ equal rights in the family through the following pieces of legislation:

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) of 2005 notably contains expansive

definitions of what constitutes violence and protects women in “relationship[s] in the nature of

marriage” 1 from emotional, mental, and economic abuse in addition to physical, sexual, mental and

verbal abuse. It also explicitly recognizes a women’s right to live in a shared household when bringing

claims under the Act, and includes critical provisions on maintenance and residence for all women who

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seek exit from violent unions. Provisions in the PWDVA have also been characterized as strong, judicable

tools to combat the forced marriage of women against their will.2

In the absence of a unified civil code at the national level,3 the Hindu Succession Amendment Act of 2005

is widely considered a positive reform that guaranteed millions of Hindu women and girls equal rights to

ownership and inheritance to match those of their male relatives.4

Efforts to curb child marriage were renewed5 by the passage of the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act

(PCMA), which sets the minimum legal age of marriage for women at 18, and for men at 21. The PCMA

makes child marriage voidable,6 holds all those who participate in and abet a child marriage guilty and

subject to punishment and contains measures to guarantee maintenance and residence is made available

to former child brides.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act (2013) introduced amendments to the Penal Code of India, which were

praised by advocates for “widening the definition of sexual assault to include non-penile penetration and

inclusion of offences like acid attacks.”7

Recommendation 1: Enact compulsory marriage registration at the national level Women’s equal rights in the family are enhanced when they freely enter unions as adults. A compulsory marriage

registry, paired with efforts to make the registration process easy and accessible, can serve as a mechanism for

oversight and enforcement of two existing, yet incompletely implemented laws related to minimum age of

marriage and dowry (the financial transfer from a bride’s family to the groom’s)—the Prohibition of Child

Marriage Act (PCMA) of 2006 and the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961:

Despite efforts by civil society to halt the practice of child marriage and the fact that India is one of only

16 countries in the world that prohibits marriage of girls under 18 without making exceptions for parental

consent, religious or customary law, pregnancy, or court approval,8 47% of girls in India are married

before their 18th birthday―the tenth highest rate in the world.9 This high rate of child marriage has

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negative, far-reaching consequences for millions of women’s and girls’ health, education, safety, and

autonomy in the short- and long-term.10

Notwithstanding its decades-long criminalization, the practice of dowry remains common in India; data

from the 2006-07 “Youth in India: Situation and Needs” survey found that 72% of married men and 78%

of married women report receiving or giving dowry across states.11 Dowry particularly impacts age at

which girls from poor families are married, as parents with limited resources may seek to minimize the

burden of dowry by marrying girls at younger ages with lower levels of education.12 Dowry also remains

major source of violence against women in India.13

Internationally, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) asserts

that countries should “make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory” to combat child

marriage.14 At the national level, the Indian Supreme Court directed all States/Union Territories to enact

legislation to make marriage registration compulsory in 200715 and the current draft of India’s National Policy for

Women 2016 calls for compulsory marriage registration, paired with concerted efforts to make the process easy

and accessible.16 Models already exist in certain Indian states which have instituted compulsory registries at the

subnational level.17 Critical too, will be efforts to ensure that rights to important legal protections and

entitlements do not exclude women outside of traditional, registered marriages, and extend to women in all

forms of intimate relationships.

Recommendation 2: Guarantee a responsible agency and adequate funding for implementation and monitoring of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act

Freedom from domestic violence is critical to women’s equal chances in the family, but gender-based violence

perpetrated by family members remains all too common around the world and in India; 39% of married Indian

women report that they have experienced intimate partner violence at some point in their marriage.18 In 2005,

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the Indian Government took an important step to advance women’s safety at home by enacting the Protection of

Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) which not only introduced statutory protections for survivors of

violence, but also established an innovative infrastructure through which women could use the law. 19

India is one of 83 countries that has domestic violence legislation, allows for criminal penalties for domestic

violence, and has protection orders for domestic violence.20 However, the Central Government provides no

monetary support for the development and implementation of the services outlined in the PWDVA, and the

allocation of funds for implementation is purely a state-level responsibility. In the absence of federal funding,

only 15 states have provided separate allocations for the PWDVA, and the amounts vary widely; in 2010-11, the

Meghalaya government allocated Rs 2 lakh, compared to the Rs 722 lakh allocated by Karnataka.21 As a result,

important provisions envisaged in the law have been neglected, including translation of the Act into local

languages to widen its dissemination, appointment of well-trained and resourced protection officers, and

support for service providers such as shelter homes.22 Legal experts engaged in the monitoring of the PWDVA

assert that as of yet, no state has performed will across all areas mandated by the [PWDVA] law.

In addition to ensuring adequate funding is allocated for the full implementation of the PWDVA, advocates have

called for the Indian Government to take a more active role in the monitoring of the Act. In the absence of a

coordinated effort to ensure that much-needed entitlements and protections are reaching all women across the

subcontinent, the Lawyers Collective, a leading public interest legal group in India, has assumed responsibility for

the production of annual monitoring and evaluation reports on the implementation of the PWDVA. However,

given the Indian Government’s easy access to official documentation and mandated stakeholders in all of India’s

States/Union Territories, advocates recommend that “all states, through their agencies, must collect the

necessary data on implementation of the Act, and publish annual monitoring and evaluation reports.”23 Rigorous,

country-wide monitoring and evaluation of implementation of the judicial process and infrastructure outlined

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by the PWDVA would facilitate the identification of best practices and implementation gaps, and is described by

advocates as important to “allow for an assessment of practices to guard against wrong practices that would then

become the norm and begin to appear normal.”24

Establishing a responsible agency and adequate central funding for the coordinated implementation and

monitoring of the PWDVA could more fully realize the potential of a landmark piece of legislation which research

suggests, has already been shown to be a valuable tool for women from low- and higher resource families alike.

In a 2014 study undertaken to assess the implementation of the PWDVA, authors asserted that “demographic

profile of women litigants [is] diverse and women from lower classes also accessing the courts.”25

Recommendation 3: Reform the penal code to criminalize marital rape

Marital rape is defined as forced sexual intercourse perpetrated by a husband, and like other forms of sexual

violence, is a violation of women’s right to bodily integrity. Globally, India is an outlier as one of 28 countries

where the criminal code contains an explicit exemption for marital rape.26 Although India-specific research in

this area is limited, existing studies indicate that forced sex within marriage is not entirely uncommon in India,27

and research from around the world attests to a strong association between marital rape and adverse mental and

physical health outcomes for women in both the immediate and long-term.28

Despite notable amendments to the criminal code in 2013 that strengthened protections against gender-based

violence, the Indian Penal Code has maintained the following addendum to the definition of rape: “Sexual

intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.”29

This exception not only fails to recognize married women’s consent and choice, but is also inconsistent with the

strong protections from all forms of domestic violence as outlined in Protection of Women from Domestic

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Violence Act (PWDVA), and the legal minimum age of marriage for girls as 18, as outlined in the Prohibition of

Child Marriage Act, 2006.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women has called for the criminalization of marital rape,30 and

when countries explicitly criminalize marital rape, they send a clear signal that women’s right to sexual

autonomy is not dependent on their marital status. By reforming the penal code to criminalize marital rape, the

Indian Government would ensure consistency in the law, and guarantee survivors of all forms of intimate partner

violence access to recourse under criminal as well as civil laws like the PWDVA.

Recommendation 4: Expand current efforts to improve awareness and understanding of the laws around women’s rights to property, freedom from violence, and the right to freely enter marriage as adults, among women, men, and the officials responsible for implementing these laws

Ensuring that women have knowledge of laws in place expands the scope of justice, and a number of women’s

groups have taken it upon themselves to increase awareness of laws that advance women’s rights in the family.31

However, advocates are united in their call that the state do more to make recent expansions of women’s rights

under the law more accessible by raising awareness of the law among both citizens and the individuals and

institutions responsible for implementing laws. This responsibility of the state was outlined in the report of the

Verma Committee, a group headed by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court charged with recommending

amendments to the Criminal Law: “The passing of legislation without adequate dissemination of implementing

the spirit of the legislation as a part of normative human conduct is missing in Indian executive governance. The

translation of legislation into behavioral attitudes is (..) indeed a charter of obligations enjoined upon the State.”32

In the absence of large-scale awareness building efforts around women’s rights to enter marriage as adults, live

lives free of violence, and access equal property rights, a number of civil society groups have undertaken efforts to

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increase awareness of laws that promote women’s rights in the family. Their critical work around women’s legal

empowerment demonstrates the feasibility of building local capacity and knowledge of the law:

In addition to other work focused on gender-based violence and discrimination, Breakthrough, an India-

based human rights organization, works to delay the age of marriage in Bihar and Jharkhand by utilizing

multimedia campaigns and grassroots community engagement.33

At the national level, the Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch advocates for increased visibility and property

rights for women farmers.34 At the state-level, another exemplary group is the Andhra Pradesh Mahila

Samatha Society (APMSS), which has implemented a community-based model where women can be

trained as paralegals with expertise in land rights who provide support and technical assistance to their

peers who may lack full knowledge of their entitlements to land and face social barriers related to female

land acquisition.35

Recent survey findings from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh underscore why these awareness-building efforts

are so critical and require scaling up; among Hindu respondents, only 22% of families were aware of the

Hindu Succession Act, while only 59% of this smaller group knew that the law provided equal inheritance

rights to boys and girls.36

The importance of these efforts is further emphasized by empirical evidence that has demonstrated that

women in India who own land or homes are at a significantly lower risk of experiencing domestic violence,

relative to women without immovable property.37

An example of awareness-building at the population level in Bihar illustrates that taking steps to inform women of

their rights and fulfill the PWDVA’s multifaceted mandate is possible even in low-resource settings:

Among other efforts over the past decade, the Bihar government has recruited qualitied social workers

with advanced degrees in social work or law as Protection Officers (POs), displayed contact details of POs

in prominent places, and established an operational women’s helpline in 35 of the state’s 38 districts.38

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The state government has used newspaper advertisements as a way to spread information about the

helpline, and has taken steps to raise awareness around women’s entitlements under the act using

means such as radio jingles, street plays, and the distribution of pamphlets to 200,000 families on

women’s right to violence-free homes.39 Ensuring that similar steps are taken in all states could markedly

accelerate effective implementation.

As bias on behalf of individuals and institutions charged with enforcing these laws can also play a consequential

role in women’s ability to claim their rights, critical too is ongoing monitoring for accountability at all levels and

trainings that ensure those charged with implementing these laws understand their legal responsibilities. Findings

from the Lawyers Collective’s annual monitoring and evaluation reports have illustrated that many stakeholders in

the PWDVA are not aware of and do not fulfill their responsibilities under the law. Likewise, some community

researchers assert that in some rural areas no practical recourse to the PWDVA exists, and that these issues are

merely considered personal family disputes to be handled privately.

However, increased level of understanding among members of the judiciary over time has translated into easier

passage of Protection Orders to afford women distance from a violent partner,40 indicating that investing in and

expanding implementation capacity at all levels can have measurable improvements in women’s access to

equal rights.

Recommendation 5: Expand social and economic opportunities for all women and girls Ensuring that women and girls have the knowledge, means, and mobility to claim their full rights expands the

potential of laws and policies designed to ensure equality in the family. Changing the underlying social and

economic context that shapes girls’ and women’s access to their legal entitlements requires action and

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commitment on many fronts. In addition to the actions outlined in this brief, fulfilling the recommendations in

the accompanying briefs on equal chances in education and the economy are also important ways to advance

gender equality within the family.

In the meantime, women’s collectives have become increasingly prominent in India, creating a pathway for

women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment through peer support, greater access to markets and

loans, and collective bargaining and purchasing power.41 While the collectives have met with some resistance,

they have enabled many women to take one step closer to financial independence and gradually shift

expectations about women’s roles in the economy, and the family. This shift is important, given extensive

research documenting that when women lack economic power, the consequences are often lifelong and

intergenerational.42

Though the persistence of child marriage is the product of complex, interrelated factors, an analysis of India’s

child marriage landscape partially attributed Kerala’s low rates of child marriage to a historical tradition of

investment in public goods that created space and opportunity for women.43 India’s existing legal reforms can

play a critical role in in shaping social norms and gendered expectations, and well-implemented social protection

policies can reduce the prevalence and depth of the persistent poverty that constrains the lives of many women

and girls.

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1 Article 2(f) of The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.lawyerscollective.org/files/protection_of_women_from_domestic_violence_act_2005.pdf on October 18 2016. 2 Basu, A. (2009). Harmful practices against women in India: An examination of selected legislative responses. Paper prepared

for United Nations Expert Group Meeting on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2009/Expert%20Paper%20EGMGPLHP%20_Asmita%20Basu_.pdf on October 18 2016, at 14. 3 India lacks a unified civil code, and recent efforts to establish one have proven controversial; current debates commonly

focus on tension between universal law and religious pluralism, alongside rights of religious minority communities. In the absence of such a code, a variety of personal status laws govern inheritance and divorce across India, such as the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, Muslim Personal Status Law (largely uncodified), Muslim Women’s Protection of Rights on Divorce Act, Indian Christian Marriage Act, and the Special Marriages Act typically govern inheritance and divorce. 4 Landesa, a non-profit organization which works to advance legal land rights, characterizes the law as “a revolutionary legal

reform promoting gender equality, retained the concept of joint family and introduced daughters as coparceners who have a right at birth to a share of agricultural land and property equal to that of sons.” See more at in: Kelkar, G. (2013). The fog of entitlement: Women and land in India. Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty. Retrieved from http://www.landesa.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Fog-of-Entitlement-Women-and-Land-in-India-261-Kelkar.pdf on October 18 2016, at 6. 5 The Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA), passed in 1929, also set a minimum age of marriage of 18 for girls and 21 for boys,

and is characterized as “one of the earliest legal initiatives” to combat the practice of child marriage in India. For more see: Basu, A. (2009). Harmful practices against women in India: An examination of selected legislative responses. Paper prepared for United Nations Expert Group Meeting on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2009/Expert%20Paper%20EGMGPLHP%20_Asmita%20Basu_.pdf on October 18 2016, at 10-11; Nirantar Trust. (2015) Early and Child Marriage in India: A Landscape Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.nirantar.net/public/site/files/EM_Report_30-4-15.pdf at 24-25. 6 A key provision of the PCMA specifies that every child marriage that was solemnized before or after the passage of the 2006

Act is “voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage” within two years of obtaining the age of majority. This provision has proven controversial; importantly, it allows girls who were married as children to exit their marriages; however, by making the marriage “voidable” rather than “void,” girls must wait until they reach the age of 18 to seek to end the marriage, and the burden falls to them to navigate the legal system and enforce their rights. Still, as some advocates noted, if a child marriage is automatically “void,” then the girl will lose any rights attached to the marriage, including maintenance. The Law Commission of India has argued for more of a middle ground approach, in which marriages at ages 16 and below are automatically void, while those between the ages of 16 and 18 are voidable.

See

more at: Law Commission of India, “Proposal to Amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and Other Allied Laws,” Report No. 205 (2008), http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report205.pdf. 7 Lawyers Collective. (2012). Our comments on the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012. Retrieved from:

http://www.lawyerscollective.org/blog/comments-criminal-law-amendment-bill-2012.html on October 18 2016. 8 WORLD Policy Analysis Center. (2013). Child Marriage Database. Available at: http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/topics/marriage/policies

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9 UNICEF. (2016). State of the World’s Children 2016: A fair chance for every child. Retrieved from:

http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_91711.html, ranking cited from Girls Not Brides’ India country page: http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/india/, accessed on October 18 2016. 10 Erulkar, Annabel (2013). Early marriage, marital relations, and intimate partner violence in Ethiopia. International Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health 39(1): 6-13. Gage, Anastasia J. (2013). Association of child marriage with suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescent girls in Ethiopia. Journal of Adolescent Health 52: 654-656; Glynn, Judith R., Michel Caraël, Bertran Auvert, Maina Kahindo, Jane Chege, Rosemary Musonda, F. Kaona, and Anne Buvé. (2001). Why do young women have a much higher prevalence of HIV than young men? AIDS 15(Supplement 4): S51-S60; Godha, Deepali, David R. Hotchkiss, and Anastasia J. Gage. (2013). Association between child marriage and reproductive health outcomes and service utilization: A multi-country study from South Asia. Journal of Adolescent Health 52(5): 552-558; Gottschalk, Noah. (2007). Uganda: Early marriage as a form of sexual violence. Forced Migration Review 27: 51-53; Hong Le, Minh Thi, Thach D. Tran, Huong T. Nguyen, and Jane Fisher. (2014). Early marriage and intimate partner violence among adolescents and young adults in Viet Nam. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29 (5): 889-910. Jensen, Robert and Rebecca Thornton. (2003). Early female marriage in the developing world. Gender and Development 11(2): 9-19. Mensch, Barbara S. (2005). The transition to marriage. In: Growing up global: The changing transitions to adulthood in developing countries, ed. Cynthia B. Lloyd. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 416-505; Mathur, Sanyukta, Margaret Greene, and Anju Malhotra. 2003. “Too young to wed: The lives, rights, and health of young married girls.” Washington, D.C.: International Center for Research on Women. Retrieved from: <http://www.icrw.org/sites/default/files/publications/Too-Young-to-Wed-the-Lives-Rights-and-Health-of-Young-Married-Girls.pdf> ; Muleta, Mulu and Gordon Williams. (1999). Postcoital injuries treated at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The Lancet 354(9195): 2051-2052. Nour, Nawal M. (2009). Child marriage: A silent health and human rights issue. Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology 197(1): 51-56.UNICEF. (2001). Early marriage: Child spouses. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. [pdf] <http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf> ; UNICEF. (2005). “Early marriage: A harmful traditional practice.” New York: UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Early_Marriage_12.lo.pdf. Raj, Anita, Niranjan Saggurti, Danielle Lawrence, Donta Balaiah, and Jay G. Silverman. (2010). Association between adolescent marriage and marital violence among young adult women in India. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 110(1): 35-39; Raj, Anita, Niranjan Saggurti, Donta Balaiah, and Jay G. Silverman. (2009). Prevalence of child marriage and its effect on fertility and fertility-control outcomes of young women in India: A cross-sectional, observational study. The Lancet 373(9678): 1883-1889. Santhya, Kidangamparampil G., Usha Ram, Rajib Acharya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Faujdar Ram, and Abhishek Singh. (2010). Associations between early marriage and young women's marital and reproductive health outcomes: Evidence from India. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 36(3): 132-139. Savitridina, Rini. (1997). Determinants and consequences of early marriage in Java, Indonesia. Asia-Pacific Population Journal 12(2): 25-48 11

International Institute for Population Sciences and Population Council. (2010). Youth in India: Situation and Needs 2006-2007. Retrieved from: https://www.macfound.org/media/article_pdfs/2010PGY_YouthInIndiaReport.pdf at xxxii & Figure 10.2. 12

For more details on the structural inequalities of which dowry is a manifestation, see Nirantar Trust. (2015) Early and Child Marriage in India: A Landscape Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.nirantar.net/public/site/files/EM_Report_30-4-15.pdf at 24-25; Girls Not Brides. (2016). Why does child marriage happen? Retrieved from http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/why-does-it-happen/ on August 26 2016. 13

Human Rights Law Network. (2014).National Consultation on the Law and Legal Strategies to Combat Violence Against Women. Retrieved from: http://www.hrln.org/hrln/womens-justice-/reports/1693-national-consultation-on-law-and-legal-strategies-to-combat-violence-against-women.html 14

Article 16 (2) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm.

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15 India’s Supreme Court directed all states and union territories to enact laws to make registration of marriages

compulsory irrespective of religion in Anjan Kumar v. Union of India and others, (2005) 3 SCC 257. Retrieved from: http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgs1.aspx?filename=27482 16

Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.(2016). National Policy for Women 2016. Retrieved from http://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/draft%20national%20policy%20for%20women%202016.pdf , at 18. 17 Though state-level models exist, registrations often do not take place, as the validity of marriage is not impacted by lack of registration. For more see, Basu, A. (2009). Harmful practices against women in India: An examination of selected legislative responses. Paper prepared for United Nations Expert Group Meeting on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2009/Expert%20Paper%20EGMGPLHP%20_Asmita%20Basu_.pdf on October 18 2016, at 12-13; The Pioneer. (April 2014). Compulsory Registration of Marriages in 4 States. Retrieved from http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/compulsory-registration-of-marriages-in-4-states.html on October 18 2016; 18

39% of currently married women age 15-49 have ever experienced any physical or sexual or emotional violence in their current marriage and 27% of currently marriage women have experienced the violence in the past 12 months, from Gupta, K. and Kishor, S. (2009). Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in India. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), India, 2005-2006. Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences. Retrieved from: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/a_subject_report_gender_for_website.pdf at 96. 19

This infrastructure centers around Protection Officers (POs) who assist survivors in navigating the legal system and accessing a range of additional support services mandated by the Act. For more, see The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.lawyerscollective.org/files/protection_of_women_from_domestic_violence_act_2005.pdf. 20 Women, Business and the Law, World Bank. (2016). Retrieved from http://wbl.worldbank.org/ and accessed on July 2016. 21

Jhamb, B. (2011). The Missing Link the Domestic Violence Act. Economic and Political Weekly 46 (22), 45-50. 22

Jhamb, B. (2011). The Missing Link the Domestic Violence Act. Economic and Political Weekly 46 (22), 45-50. 23

Women’s Rights Initiative of the Lawyers Collective. (2012). Staying Alive: 5th

Monitoring & Evaluation 2012 on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from : http://www.lawyerscollective.org/files/Staying%20Alive%205th%20M&E.pdf, at 202. 24

Women’s Rights Initiative of the Lawyers Collective. (2013). Resource Tool for Monitoring the Implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.lawyerscollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Resource-Tool-for-Monitoring-Evaluation-of-PWDVA.pdf , at 10. 25

“The socio economic status of a large majority of women litigants is low (90 per cent) while the court data reveals that the socio economic status of most of the key respondents is higher than that of the woman litigant (70 per cent).” For more, see Sakhrani, M. and Panchal, T.J. (2014). Quest for Justice: A study of the Implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Research by Tat Institute of Social Sciences, School of Social Work, supported by Ministry of Women and Child Development. Retrieved from http://wcd.nic.in/Schemes/research/TISS-Final%20PWDVA%20STUDY%20FINAL.pdf at 185. 26


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prevention. Violence Against Women, 1-21; Varma D., Chandra P.S., Thomas T., and Carey M.P. (2007). Intimate partner violence and sexual coercion among pregnant women in India: Relationship with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders 102(1-3), 227-235. 28

Martin E.K., Taft C.T., Resick P.A. (2007). A review of marital rape. Aggression and Violent Behavior 12, 329-347. 29

Rape is punishable (with a lesser sentence) only if the wife is judicially separated from her husband, or is under 15 years of age. Chapter 20 of the Indian Penal Code: http://devgan.in/indian_penal_code/chapter_20.php#s497, 30 Manjoo, R. (2014). Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, on her mission to India. Report to the Human Rights Council, Twenty-sixth session. At 19. 31

For example, the Wajood initiative focused on reducing the prevalence of gender-based violence and providing survivors with adequate services by working with survivors, women’s groups and collectives to provide paralegal training and knowledge mobilization around what services they can expect. For more see, Population Services International: India. (2016). Gender Based Violence: Wajood. Accessed at http://www.psi.org.in/psiindia/display.php?E=13073&submenu=Gender%20Based%20Violence&menu=Our%20Work&subsubmenu= on October 18 2016. 32

Justice J.S. Verma, Justice Leila Seth, Gopal Subramanium. (2013). Report of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law. Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law. Retrieved from http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/violenceagainstwomen/publications/report-committee-amendments-criminal-law-2013 at Par. 64, p. 51. 33 Breakthrough. (2016). Nation against early marriage. Retrieved from: https://www.inbreakthrough.tv/campaigns/nation-against-early-marriage/ on December 20, 2016. 34

Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch. Forum for Women Farmers’ Rights. (2016). Accessed at http://www.makaam.in/about-us.html on October 18 2016. 35

Landesa, UN Women, Rural Development Institute. (2013). Gender and Land Tenure Security: Challenges and Barriers to Women’s Entitlement to Land in India. Retrieved from: http://www.landesa.org/wp-content/uploads/UN-Women-Barriers-to-and-Impact-of-Womens-Entitlement-to-Land.pdf 36

Kelkar, G. (2013). The fog of entitlement: Women and land in India. Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty. Retrieved from http://www.landesa.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Fog-of-Entitlement-Women-and-Land-in-India-261-Kelkar.pdf on October 18 2016, at 10. 37

Panda, P. and Agarwal, B. (2005). Marital violence, human development and women’s property status in India. World Development 33(5), 823-850. 38

Lawyers Collective. (2013). Manual on the Best Practices under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/manual_on_best_practices_under_pwdva_lawyers_collective.pdf; Salomi, V. (January 2013). Woman helpline number launched. The Times of India. Retrieved form http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Woman-helpline-number-launched/articleshow/17990114.cms on October 18 2016. 39 Lawyers Collective. (2013). Manual on the Best Practices under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/manual_on_best_practices_under_pwdva_lawyers_collective.pdf;

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http://devgan.in/indian_penal_code/chapter_20.php#s497

http://www.psi.org.in/psiindia/display.php?E=13073&submenu=Gender%20Based%20Violence&menu=Our%20Work&subsubmenu

http://www.psi.org.in/psiindia/display.php?E=13073&submenu=Gender%20Based%20Violence&menu=Our%20Work&subsubmenu

http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/violenceagainstwomen/publications/report-committee-amendments-criminal-law-2013

https://www.inbreakthrough.tv/campaigns/nation-against-early-marriage/

https://www.inbreakthrough.tv/campaigns/nation-against-early-marriage/

http://www.makaam.in/about-us.html%20on%20October%2018%202016

http://www.makaam.in/about-us.html%20on%20October%2018%202016

http://www.landesa.org/wp-content/uploads/UN-Women-Barriers-to-and-Impact-of-Womens-Entitlement-to-Land.pdf

http://www.landesa.org/wp-content/uploads/UN-Women-Barriers-to-and-Impact-of-Womens-Entitlement-to-Land.pdf

http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/manual_on_best_practices_under_pwdva_lawyers_collective.pdf

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Woman-helpline-number-launched/articleshow/17990114.cms

http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/manual_on_best_practices_under_pwdva_lawyers_collective.pdf

Lawyers Collective. (2010). Staying Alive: Fourth Monitoring and Evaluation Report on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.lawyerscollective.org/publications/staying-alive-fourth-monitoring-evaluation-report-2010.html . 40

Women’s Rights Initiative of the Lawyers Collective. (2012). Staying Alive: 5th

Monitoring & Evaluation 2012 on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Retrieved form : http://www.lawyerscollective.org/files/Staying%20Alive%205th%20M&E.pdf 41

For example, the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), a trade union representing women to earn a living through small businesses or their own labor in Chent, M.A., Khurana, R., and Mirani, N. (2005). Towards Economic Freedom: The Impact of SEWA. Retrieved from http://www.sewaresearch.org/Impact.PDF ; Agarwal, B. (2010). Rethinking agricultural production collectivities. Economic and Political Weekly 45(9), 64-78. 42

Doss, C. (2013). Intrahousehold bargaining and resource allocation in developing countries.The World Bank Research Observer 28(1), 52-78; Quimsumbign, A., and de la Briere, B. (2000). Women’s assets and intrahoushold allocation in Bangladesh: Testing measures of bargaining power. Washington D.C.: Food Consumption and Nutrition Division Discussion Paper No. 86. Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=82390D592883E5C7F93904FC725C3058?doi=10.1.1.58.4623&rep=rep1&type=pdf; Hallman, K. (2000). Mother-father resource control, marriage payments, and girl-boy health in rural Bangladesh. Washington D.C: Food Consumption and Nutrition Division Discussion Paper No. 93. Retrieved from: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/fcndp93.pdf. Dollar, D. and Gatti, R. (1999). Gender inequality, income, and growth: Are good times good for women? Washington, DC: The World Bank. Retrieved from: http://www.ccee.edu.uy/ensenian/catgenyeco/Materiales/2011-08-10%20M4%20-%20DollaryGatti%281999%29GenderInequalityIncomeAndGrowth.pdf 43

Nirantar Trust. (2015) Early and Child Marriage in India: A Landscape Analysis. Retrieved from: http://www.nirantar.net/public/site/files/EM_Report_30-4-15.pdf , at 30-31.

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http://www.lawyerscollective.org/publications/staying-alive-fourth-monitoring-evaluation-report-2010.html

http://www.lawyerscollective.org/publications/staying-alive-fourth-monitoring-evaluation-report-2010.html

http://www.lawyerscollective.org/files/Staying%20Alive%205th%20M&E.pdf

http://www.sewaresearch.org/Impact.PDF

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=82390D592883E5C7F93904FC725C3058?doi=10.1.1.58.4623&rep=rep1&type=pdf

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=82390D592883E5C7F93904FC725C3058?doi=10.1.1.58.4623&rep=rep1&type=pdf

http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/fcndp93.pdf

http://www.ccee.edu.uy/ensenian/catgenyeco/Materiales/2011-08-10%20M4%20-%20DollaryGatti%281999%29GenderInequalityIncomeAndGrowth.pdf

http://www.ccee.edu.uy/ensenian/catgenyeco/Materiales/2011-08-10%20M4%20-%20DollaryGatti%281999%29GenderInequalityIncomeAndGrowth.pdf


Using Global Policy Data to Accelerate Effective Action on the SDGs

Achieving Success at Scale

The Sustainable Development Goals embody the world’s greatest aspirations for human health, education,

equality, the economy, and the environment. Their realization relies on everyone playing a role, from

government to the private sector, and from organized civil society to individuals and communities. Yet at their

core, the SDGs are a commitment by national governments to strive to meet these critical objectives over the

next 15 years.

Central to this commitment, and to the achievement of the SDGs both at the national level and globally, is the

formulation and successful implementation of national policies that are effective at achieving progress at scale.

NGOs and civil society organizations can be critical engines of innovation, but governments are often uniquely

positioned to operate educational, health, and social services at a national scale with universal provision. And

while the private sector importantly affects the economy, environment, and other outcomes central to the

SDGs, many of the SDGs embody goals in areas that can only be achieved with government action.

Past experiences from all over the world demonstrate the potential of legal and policy reforms to improve

health, economic, and social outcomes overall, and opportunities for women and girls specifically. For example:

In 2005, Mauritius strengthened its education laws to guarantee all education would be free and that

education would be compulsory until age 16. Girls’ enrollment in education increased by more than 10%

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after the law was changed.1 In Uganda, primary school attendance rates increased from 62 percent in

1992 to 84 percent in 1999 after free primary was established nationwide in 1997, while gender

disparities in enrollment dropped.2

Since the mid-nineties, the Maldives has experienced a dramatic drop in the rates at which girls between

15 and 19 were married, from 46.9% in 1995 to 5.6% in 2009. Maldives had no written marriage law in

place prior to the passage of the Family Act in 2001, which set the legal minimum age of marriage at 18.3

As we move forward to the SDGs, understanding how to develop, pass, and implement the most effective

national laws, policies, and programs is essential—as is understanding what data can accelerate the process.

This brief discusses how data can support national policies and successful implementation to advance the SDGs.

While the approach described could apply to any of the global goals, this brief focuses on policies to support the

economic empowerment of women—a prerequisite to SDG 1 (ending poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality), and

SDG 8 (decent work for all), and a critical complement to many of the other goals and targets. This brief will first

provide an overview of the ways in which globally comparative policy data, alongside implementation and

outcome data, can be used to transparently and effectively monitor countries’ progress on enacting policies and

strengthening implementation in areas where we already know which laws and policies can improve outcomes.

The brief will then explore how globally comparative policy data can accelerate progress on the SDGs by

deepening our understandings of what works.

1 Willetta Waisath, Nicholas Perry , Isabel Latz, Amy Raub, Aleta Sprague, Tina Assi, Jody Heymann, “CEDAW & Beijing+20 -

Closing the gender gap: a summary of findings and policy recommendations” (UCLA WORLD Policy Analysis Center, 2014). 2 Klaus Deininger, Does cost of schooling affect enrollment by the poor? Universal primary education in Uganda, Economics

of Education Review 22 (2003) 291–305. 3 Waisath et al., “CEDAW & Beijing+20” (2014).

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http://worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/WORLD_Policy_Brief_Summary_of_Findings_and_Policy_Recommendations_for_Closing_the_Gender_Gap_2015.pdf

http://worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/WORLD_Policy_Brief_Summary_of_Findings_and_Policy_Recommendations_for_Closing_the_Gender_Gap_2015.pdf

What it Takes to Monitor Progress: Policy, Implementation, and Outcome Data

Historically, much of monitoring has focused solely on outcome data, which plays a critical role in assessing

progress. In the case of education, for example, our ultimate concern is whether children and youth receive a

quality education and attain high learning outcomes. In the case of poverty, our concern is whether individuals

and families have an adequate income year round.

However, when only outcome data is measured, a number of problems can arise:

1) Decision-makers may not know how to move the outcome. They may see that a high percentage of their

population still lives in poverty but not know what steps would be most effective to enable more

families to meet their basic needs. The same can be true for improving education, health, or other

outcomes.

2) Individuals and communities may face greater barriers to holding leaders accountable for actions they

should take. When policymakers’ actions are not being measured in a transparent way, citizens have

insufficient information to monitor whether their governments are making progress toward fulfilling the

SDGs and similar commitments.

3) Leaders who do take important policy steps toward achieving the SDGs may not receive credit for those

steps during their tenure in government. For example, if training more teachers provides improved

educational outcomes four years into the future, a policymaker should receive credit for initiating that

program even if the results are not immediate due to the time needed for training.

Similarly, measuring policy or process alone, although less common than focusing exclusively on outcomes, has

notable limitations. For example, countries can enact a policy to guarantee free secondary school, but if

transportation problems prevent youth from attending, the fact that education is tuition-free does not

guarantee access. Likewise, if school is compulsory, more children may enroll, but if the classrooms are so big

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that students cannot learn then the quality of their education will fall short. Both of these examples illustrate

the importance of measuring the outcome–how much the children learned. At the same time, these examples

underscore the importance of understanding implementation and groups of policies that function together (Fig.

1). If part of the problem is transportation, then we need to examine what is being done to enable children to

travel safely to school. If removing tuition leads to an insufficient supply of classrooms and too few qualified

teachers, we also need to examine what is being done to address teacher training, including both the policies in

place and school systems’ actual practices.

To monitor progress on the SDGs, we need a comprehensive approach to data and monitoring that addresses all

three pieces of the puzzle: policies, implementation, and outcomes. With high-quality, longitudinal data in each

of these areas, we can better understand what policies need to be in place for effectively achieving a goal,

whether those policies are being successfully implemented, and whether that implementation is leading to the

anticipated outcomes. While past efforts have often prioritized outcome data over policy data, as the following

section will explore, including globally comparative policy data may provide a crucial key to accelerating change

over the next fifteen years.

Policy

• Does a country guarantee access to tuition-free education through secondary?

Implementation

• How many students do not pay fees at the secondary level?

Outcomes

• How many students attend secondary?

• How many students complete secondary?

Figure 1: Measuring Policy, Implementation, & Outcomes for a Specific Policy Area

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The Power of Policy Data for Advancing the SDGs

While reaching consensus on the SDGs was a momentous step, many questions remain about how to realize this

ambitious agenda. By building data on national laws and policies relevant to the SDGs, we can accelerate

progress in three critical ways:

1) By monitoring the adoption of evidence-based laws and policies where effective approaches are known,

and identifying policy gaps;

2) By monitoring the implementation of these policies and learning from successful strategies;

3) By learning what works to improve outcomes across countries in areas where the most effective

approach is unknown.

In some areas, we already know what works to move outcomes. For example, throughout the MDGs, the

introduction of tuition-free education markedly increased enrollment and reduced gender disparities. As this

section will explore in more detail, continuing to expand access to tuition-free education should be a priority for

advancing SDG 4. In other areas, such as child marriage, many countries have strengthened their laws, but

persistently high rates of child marriage reveal that greater effort is needed around implementation. Here,

identifying barriers and effective approaches to implementing the law will be critical to progress.

Finally, in some areas, further research is needed to understand which policies can improve outcomes across

regions and socioeconomic contexts. This third capability of policy data is especially critical for coordinating

action and facilitating long-term change. In a range of areas embodied in the SDGs, from ending poverty to

eliminating child labor, although there is broad support behind the ultimate goal, there is less agreement around

how to achieve it. Rigorously evaluating the effects of policy changes on specific outcomes can help illuminate

effective approaches and guide data-driven policymaking. While policymaking is rarely driven solely by evidence

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of what works, absent that evidence, citizens and leaders have far less chance of achieving change that has the

impact desired.

Monitoring Adoption of Policies Known to be Effective

Without policy data, we have no way to acknowledge the steps governments are taking today to benefit their

citizens a decade from now. Globally comparative policy data fills this gap by enabling stakeholders to quickly

grasp the action steps leaders are taking to ensure their countries are on track toward fulfilling their SDG

commitments. Longitudinal policy data that is global in scope also allows us to identify policy gaps in areas

where we know what works, and successfully monitor whether countries are taking steps to introduce evidence-

based policies. Using these quantitative measures, we can visually map the extent to which the global

community has advanced in enacting policies that support progress. Maps are an enormously powerful visual

tool that allows policymakers, civil society, and international government organizations to see in 20 seconds

where the world stands on a particular issue, and to easily identify leaders and laggards. Policy data can also be

matched with information on government spending or countries can be compared across income levels to

evaluate the economic feasibility of strengthening policies.

For example, we know that tuition-free education has contributed to higher enrollment rates and reduced

income- and gender-based disparities in education. While gender-neutral in theory, in practice, tuition fees

disproportionately harm girls: when families have extremely limited resources and cannot afford to send all their

children to school, boys often receive priority, in part due to assumptions that they have higher earnings

potential than girls. As a result, eliminating fees can have a particularly meaningful impact for girls’

opportunities. For example, in Ethiopia, the gender parity index for primary school increased from 0.61 in 1994,

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the year fees were eliminated, to 0.79 ten years later.4 Further, emerging research suggests that eliminating

tuition may reduce girls’ risk of early marriage.5

Today, the vast majority of countries across income groups have eliminated tuition at the primary level.

However, a number of countries begin charging tuition at the secondary level, which can result in a significant

drop in enrollment between primary and secondary.

4 World Bank & UNICEF, “Abolishing School Fees in Africa Lessons from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique”

(2009). 5 Koski A,

Strumpf C, Kaufman J, Frank J, Heymann J, Nandi A, The effects of eliminating primary school tuition fees on

markers of fertility: An evaluation of legislative interventions in 16 African countries (forthcoming).

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Even when it is free to begin secondary education, some countries charge tuition fees for the final few years of

school, which creates a significant barrier to completion and long-term economic opportunities.

As a result, the elimination of tuition through completion of secondary should be a priority for the achievement

of SDG 4, and will also support the fulfillment of SDG 5. With global policy data visualized on maps, we can

quickly identify countries that have yet to eliminate the tuition barrier. By collecting data on countries’

education policies over time, we can recognize those that make positive changes as they happen, and analyze

the impacts of those reforms in the years to come.

Further, by combining this policy data with government expenditure data on education, we can see whether

governments simply are not investing enough to make school tuition-free, or whether they are investing at a

sufficient level but lack the economic resources to fully fund education without additional support from the

global community. This example reveals how data on countries’ laws and policies can provide a critical lens

through which to interpret other global development data to determine priorities for action.

Beyond education, equal access to jobs with decent working conditions is foundational to economic opportunity

(SDG 1 and 8). Policies that support the ability of workers to balance work and caregiving responsibilities are

particularly critical to gender equality both because women are currently disproportionately responsible for care

work worldwide and because well-formulated policies can support increased gender equality (SDG 5). Over the

past several decades, paid leave for mothers has become nearly universal; as of 2014, all but eight countries

worldwide guarantee some amount of paid leave to women following the birth or adoption of a child.

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By contrast, far fewer countries provide paid paternal leave. Paid leave for new fathers provides men with the

opportunity to participate in caregiving, supports fathers’ involvement with their children even after leave is

over, facilitates more equitable sharing of household work, and supports women’s participation in the

workforce. Research shows that men are more likely to take leave when it is specifically allocated to them.

However, only around half of countries globally provide any paid leave for fathers, and when they do, it is

commonly for a far shorter duration than for mothers.

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Finally, relatively few countries provide paid leave for caregiving beyond infancy, even as a growing number of

working-age adults are caring for both children and aging parents. Parental care is important in cases of child

illness, as parents’ involvement can enhance children’s recovery both physically and mentally.6 Moreover, leave

for other caregiving needs can protect workers from wage loss and ensure more workers with caregiving

responsibilities remain employed.

6 Earle, Alison and Jody Heymann. 2006. “A Comparative Analysis of Paid Leave for the Health Needs of Workers and their

Families around the World.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 241-257.

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As these maps make clear, despite remarkable progress on maternal leave, many countries currently provide

insufficient support for paternal leave and caregiving roles and responsibilities beyond infancy. As the SDGs

move forward, expanding the provision of paid paternal leave should be a priority for expanding women’s

economic opportunities and supporting gender equality at home and at work. In addition, broadening access to

paid leave for children’s health needs, as well as the health needs of adult family members, would provide cross-

cutting support for a number of the SDGs, including SDG 3 (health), SDG 5 (gender equality), and SDG 8 (decent

work for all). These examples are illustrative of how policy monitoring can highlight potential areas for

advancement.

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Accelerating Implementation of What Works

While enacting laws and policies that support achieving the SDGs is a first step toward their realization,

monitoring implementation of these policies is crucial for ensuring they have impact.

Combining policy data with data on individuals affected by the policy provides a way to monitor

implementation. For example, if the law prohibits children under 13 from working full-time and yet a significant

number of twelve-year-old children work full-time, there is a clear implementation gap. Monitoring both laws

and implementation is crucial for understanding the case of child labor. In some countries working at 12 remains

legal. Here the gap is in the law. In other settings, laws align with the SDGs and establish strong protections

against child labor (SDG 8), yet the practice persists. In these countries, the gap is in the implementation.

Within the education context, policy data on compulsory education can be combined with household survey

data on whether children are in school to evaluate the extent of implementation. For example, in a preliminary

analysis matching policy data on compulsory education with household survey data from 48 countries, we found

that nearly one in five children of compulsory schooling age were reported as not being in school. Further,

regression analyses revealed disparities in school attendance among students covered by compulsory education

policies based on gender, rural residence, household wealth, and whether students were of secondary school

age.

For large countries with federal systems, such as the United States, India, and Brazil, sub-national policy data can

also facilitate the identification of promising implementation strategies at the state level that could be emulated

nationwide. For example, policy data on the minimum age of marriage could be combined with household

survey data on age at first marriage to assess which states are most effectively enforcing the law. Child marriage

is one of the most critical barriers to girls’ educational attainment, making minimum age of marriage laws an

important complementary area for monitoring to support girls’ access to education and women’s long-term

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economic opportunities. Moreover, child marriage is an area where strengthening legal protections has met

with mixed success in terms of improving outcomes. By identifying states where rates of child marriage have

most significantly declined since the law was strengthened, sub-national policy data can provide a starting point

for understanding effective implementation strategies. Likewise, this method can also facilitate the

identification of implementation gaps among specific sub-populations, which can help target efforts to

strengthen implementation within a country.

Finally, visual tools can translate these findings into improvements in policies. With access to maps showing the

gap between laws and implementation, civil society can advocate for better implementation, while policymakers

and other stakeholders can see at a glance their country’s performance in regional and global context.

Moreover, mapping implementation data can highlight countries or regions that have implemented policies

most effectively and may be able to share insights about key strategies and practices.

Learning What Works in New Areas

Lastly, policy data can facilitate efforts to rigorously examine what works to improve outcomes and increase

equity in areas where we do not yet know the answers or where there is not consensus about the best

approach.

Connecting policy and outcome data can be a particularly powerful technique for learning what works in areas

where we are unsure whether a particular policy will work equally well in different contexts, or where advocates

and other stakeholders committed to the same goals have different views about the best approach to take. For

example, studies have shown that in high-income countries, paid maternal leave strongly supports women’s

labor force participation, given that women continue to bear primary responsibility for caring for family

members in many societies. Paid parental leave can also improve children’s health outcomes by strengthening

parents’ abilities to take their child to the doctor or breastfeed for the recommended six months. However,

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historically, less has been known about whether paid leave and other labor policies that work in high-income

settings would be feasible or effective in lower-income countries. There are valid reasons to question their

transferability; in low-income countries, a greater proportion of the population generally works in the informal

economy, which may make them ineligible for government benefits linked to employment. Further, the

administrative burden of providing paid leave may weigh more heavily on governments in lower resource

settings. By linking policy data on paid leave exclusively from low-income countries with changes in outcomes, it

becomes possible to disentangle whether paid leave is similarly effective across different socioeconomic

contexts.

A recent study on maternal leave and child health provides an example. Although childhood immunization rates

have increased significantly in recent decades, nearly 19 million children are not fully vaccinated on time, and

vaccine-preventable diseases continue to be substantial sources of morbidity and mortality in low-income

countries. Studies from both low- and high-income countries have identified “conflicting work schedules” as a

barrier to the immunization of children. In particular, vaccines that are required several months after birth or

are only administered at a clinic can create challenges for parents when both have returned to work. Paid

parental leave may help mitigate this barrier by enabling parents to take their infants to the clinic without

sacrificing jobs.

In the first study of its kind, researchers merged data on maternity leave policies in 20 low- and middle-income

countries (LMICs) with DHS data on children’s receipt of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), diphtheria, tetanus,

and pertussis (DTP, three doses), and Polio (three doses) vaccines. The study found that increasing the duration

of paid maternity leave had a notable and statistically significant effect on the probability of receiving all 3 doses

of the DTP vaccine: each additional week of paid maternity leave increased the probability of the DTP1, 2 and 3

vaccinations by 1.38, 1.62 and 2.17 percentage points, respectively.

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The greater impact of increasing maternity leave only on DTP makes sense in light of the important differences

among the three vaccines examined. Since BCG is typically administered right after birth, length of maternity

leave likely has little to no impact on whether or not children are vaccinated for BCG. Since Polio has been the

focus of large-scale campaigns that provide immunizations in a wide range of settings and times beyond clinic

hours, even parents who must return to work early have more options for getting their child the Polio vaccine

compared to the DTP vaccine. These findings suggest that more generous paid maternity leave policies in LMICs

may lower barriers to improved vaccination coverage by making it more likely parents can bring a child to the

clinic for immunizations.7

As a second example, linking policies to outcomes can help us better understand the impacts on education of

complementary policies prohibiting practices that interfere with children’s schooling. Studies have shown that

children who work may be less likely to complete their education. However, even among individuals and groups

committed to ending child labor, there is some disagreement about the best approach, given the potential

consequences for families of prohibiting children from earning income when decent jobs for adults are not

adequately available. Further, previous research has found that the impacts of child labor legislation on child

labor prevalence and families’ economic security are complex.

Global policy data can help inform these debates by shedding some light on the impacts of legislative

approaches, including the effects on children’s education outcomes. In a study using globally comparative legal

data on child labor, researchers analyzed the association between minimum age of employment and secondary

school enrollment. The study reviewed child labor laws for 185 states in 2008 and 2012, assessed how many

countries had a minimum age of employment of 15 or over, and tested the association between these laws and

secondary enrollment rates, after controlling for per-capita GDP, level of urbanization, and compulsory lower

7 Hajizadeh M, Heymann J, Strumpf E, Harper S, Nandi A. Paid maternity leave and childhood vaccination uptake:

Longitudinal evidence from 20 low-and-middle-income countries. Social Science and Medicine 2015 (In Press).

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secondary education. The study found that a minimum age of employment of 15 or higher was significantly

associated with increased secondary enrollment for girls, boys, and overall, suggesting that a legislated

minimum age of employment of at least 15, combined with compulsory education, may strengthen children's

opportunity to complete secondary school.8 While these findings do not resolve the debate about impacts on

families’ immediate economic circumstances, they do suggest that prohibiting child labor enables more children

to get an education, which is likely to have long-term economic benefits.

Filling the Policy and Legal Data Gap to Accelerate Change

Law and policy data can be a critical tool for examining the most effective approaches to some of the world’s

greatest health, social, economic and environmental challenges. Existing policy data has already enabled us to

answer many questions about the direct and indirect effects of social policies on health and development

outcomes. However, far more questions remain unanswered, and many will require new globally comparative

policy data in areas where it is not yet available.9 Further, high-quality outcome data will be essential for

merging policies and outcomes to learn what works, while implementation data will be essential for monitoring

countries’ efforts to put their policies into action.

Finally, to ensure that this data has global impact, investing in the next generation of leaders must be a priority.

Trainings on how to use the data, as well as the development of national and regional policy research centers,

can help build the capacity of policymakers and analysts globally to undertake the work to identify effective,

evidence-based approaches to some of the most pressing health and development challenges, and to enact and

implement these strategies.

8 Heymann J, Raub A, and Cassola A. Does Prohibiting Child Labor Increase Secondary School Enrolment? Insights from a

New Global Dataset. International Journal of Educational Research. 2013; 60: 38–45. 9 See “Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy Snapshot” for further details on globally comparative policy data availability.

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Across all the SDGs, better policy data can help us accelerate change. While reaching consensus on the SDGs was

an important beginning, the true challenge lies over the next fifteen years, as countries work to put these

commitments into action. A better understanding of how policies shape outcomes at a national level can

effectively guide both government programmatic investments and philanthropic efforts.

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Availability of Data to Measure SDG Indicator 5.1.1

In June 2016, UN Women hosted a workshop of experts to contribute to the development of SDG

indicator 5.1.1: “Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce, and monitor

equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex.” Experts from across disciplines and around the

world provided input for a proposed framework for the content of indicator 5.1.1. UN Women has now

circulated the results of their consultation. While the proposed measures are excellent and have the

potential to markedly advance both gender equality and national health and economic outcomes, for

much of the framework globally comparative data does not exist. This is a result of both the overall gap

in gender data, and the greater investment to date in outcomes data than in gathering comparable

information on the status of laws and policies that drive outcomes.

Using the proposed framework, below we outline where data already exists and what is missing. The

two sources cited for globally comparable legal indicators are the WORLD Policy Analysis Center

(WORLD) and the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law initiative (WBL). The OECD Development

Centre's Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) could also be a valuable future source but does not

currently make comparable data available for individual legal and policy areas across countries, focusing

instead on a composite index. While there are other sources of individual measures such as legislative

gender quotas, WORLD and WBL are the primary sources of globally comparative gender law and policy

data across indicators.

Please note that this brief assesses current availability of data; this data would require regular updating

to be usable for SDG monitoring. In addition, the methodologies of WORLD and WBL differ in certain

notable ways. WBL data captures protections for women living in a country’s major business center and

may not always reflect national level protections or the level of protection experienced by those in

marginalized areas. WORLD data reflects national guarantees and thus provides a good estimate of the

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guarantee all experience but does not capture when an individual state or group within a country has

better protections.

Data gaps are highlighted in yellow. Text in italics comes directly from the UN Women Report of the

workshop on SDG Indicator 5.1.1.

Overarching and Cross Cutting

Promote

Do the constitution and laws enshrine equality of women and men and non-discrimination (direct

and indirect) on the basis of sex? Do these explicitly guarantee equality and nondiscrimination in

nationality, political and public life, education, health, work, marriage and

the family? If so, do these principles override inconsistent statutory, customary and religious

laws, norms, codes and rules?

o WORLD has data on constitutional approaches to gender equality broadly and in

political and public life, education, health, work, and marriage.

o WORLD has data on whether constitutional protections are supreme and override

religious law.

o No known existing data on constitutional gender equality in nationality.

Does the constitution or other laws allow customary or religious laws to take precedence in

family and personal status matters?

o WORLD has data on whether the constitution allows customary or religious laws to take

precedence over all or some constitutional provisions.

o WORLD also has data on customary and religious law for minimum age of marriage.

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Do any laws/regulations discriminate against women and/or girls? Has the State undertaken a

systematic review and reform of national legislation with a view to repealing any discriminatory

provisions?

Does the definition of discrimination in the law address intersectional/multiple forms of

discrimination (direct and indirect) including on the basis of race/ethnicity, religion or belief,

disability, age, socioeconomic status, personal status, language, national origin, citizenship,

migration status, sexual orientation and gender identity?

o WORLD has data on constitutional protections from discrimination based on

race/ethnicity, religion or belief, disability, age, socioeconomic status, personal status,

language, national origin, citizenship, migration status, sexual orientation and gender

identity.

Does the constitution or other laws provide for temporary special measures, such as quotas,

targets, goals, action plans, aimed at accelerating de facto equality of women with men,

including in relation to access to and participation in political life, education, employment?

o WORLD has data on whether the constitution allows for or mandates positive measures

to promote gender equality, including in political life, education, and employment.

Does the law provide that women have equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their

nationality and equal rights to pass their nationality onto their spouses and children?

o WBL has data on whether men and women have equal rights to pass their nationality

onto their spouses and children.

o No known existing data on whether women have equal rights with men to acquire,

change or retain their nationality.

Enforce and monitor

Do laws provide for sanctions, remedies and reparation for discrimination against women?

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Do laws allocate an adequate budget for enforcement? Does the law entitle individuals and

groups, such as civil society, to challenge discriminatory laws, including customary, religious,

indigenous laws both in court and in legal proceedings?

Does the law provide for legal aid and other support to assist women to claim their rights to

equality and non-discrimination in all fields?

Do laws or regulation provide for the production of gendered statistics for monitoring equality

and non-discrimination on the basis of sex and does the government allocate adequate budget

to produce these? Do laws mandate collection of data on the cases of discrimination against

women/girls lodged with courts or other bodies, the number of cases proceeded with and the

results of such cases?

Do laws and regulations require promotion of awareness of legal and policy developments

granting women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality or confer

nationality on their children or their foreign spouse?

Do laws or regulations provide for the collection, analysis and disaggregation by sex and other

status of data on statelessness in the State?

Political and Public Life

Promote

Do legal frameworks provide women with equality with men in voting, irrespective of marital

status, age, religion, property ownership?

Does the law provide that women have the same right de jure as men to be judges, advocates,

court officers, parliamentarians, public officials, and local and self-governing bodies such as

community and village councils?

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Do legal frameworks exist to ensure that women have equal rights to participate in the

prevention, management and resolution of conflicts and in peace negotiations?

Do legal frameworks exist to promote civil society participation of women? Are there laws or

regulations protecting women human rights defenders, including rural women’s human rights

defenders?

Do legal frameworks include provisions to address violence against women in political and public

life?

Enforce and monitor

Do laws provide for enforcement mechanisms and sanctions and reparation for legal provisions

and regulations enshrining equality and non-discrimination in political and public life?

Violence Against Women

Promote

Has the state reviewed and repealed all legislation and regulations that condone, excuse, justify

or minimize the impact and severity of violence against women and girls (sexual assault laws

that exclude marital rape or exempt perpetrators when they marry their victims; reduced

penalties for family members who murder women accused of violating the family’s ‘honour’;

rape laws that require proof of physical force from the victim; laws that allow physical discipline

of women)?

o WBL has data on whether there is a marital rape exemption or perpetrators are exempt

when they marry their victims but not full set of areas.

Does the law condemn all forms of violence against all women and girls and provide for their

protection whether perpetrated by public or private actors?

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o WBL has data on whether there is legislation that addresses sexual harassment and

domestic violence legislation; other areas remain uncovered.

Enforce and monitor

Does the law impose a requirement that the State exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate

violence against women, prosecute and punish perpetrators and provide reparation to survivors

of such violence?

Does the law (a) establish a national coordinating body at the highest levels to monitor and

evaluate implementation of measures relating to violence against women; (b) allocate an

adequate budget and other resources for their implementation?

Employment and Economic Benefits

Does the law place any restrictions in law based upon gender on professions/industries/sectors

in which women can work? Are there any restrictions on the hours women can work? Are there

restrictions on women working at night, underground or in mines?

o WBL has data on job restrictions for women, including at night, underground or in

mines.

o No known existing data on restrictions on the hours women can work.

Do legal and administrative measures prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex/gender in

recruitment, hiring and promotion of women in all fields?

o WORLD is analyzing labor laws across all countries for non-discrimination measures in

recruitment, hiring and promotion; this data will exist next year.

o WBL has data on protection from gender discrimination in hiring.

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Does the law protect women’s employment security when they marry, are pregnant or on

maternity leave?

o WBL has data on whether dismissal of pregnant workers is prohibited.

o WORLD has data on whether there is job protection during maternity leave.

o No known existing data on employment security when women marry.

Does the law establish national, legal and social protection schemes which cover informal

workers, e.g. domestic workers, agricultural workers, contractual workers, street vendors, waste

pickers, and home-based workers?

o WORLD has data on whether work-family policies, including parental leave, sick leave,

and annual leave, cover domestic workers, agricultural workers, part-time, self-

employed, and home-based workers.

o No known existing data on contractual workers, street vendors, and waste pickers.

Does the law make provision for maternity leave? If so, is this available to (a) part-time workers;

(b) informal workers? If legal provision for maternity leave exists, how long is the period of

leave? Is it paid? If it is paid, is it paid by the State, employer or combination of both?

o WORLD has data on provisions for maternity leave, including to part-time workers and

informal workers.

o WORLD has data on the duration, payment rate, and financing mechanisms for

maternity leave.

Does the law make provision for parental leave, including to care for school age

children/sick/elderly family members? If so, does it cover all workers and sectors of work? Are

parents entitled to determine how it is shared, or are there requirements which preclude transfer

of leave from the father to the mother and vice versa? If it exists, how long is the period of leave?

Is it paid, is it paid by the State, employer or combination of both?

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o WORLD has data on maternal and parental leave, leave to care for children’s health

needs, and leave for adult family members’ health needs, including whether these

provisions extend to workers in the informal economy.

o WORLD has data on how parental leave and leave for children’s health needs is

allocated between parents.

o WORLD has data on the duration, payment rate, and financing mechanisms for these

leaves.

Does the law create a pension system based on (a) compulsory contributions, or is it (b)

noncontributory? Does it take account of differences in (a) life expectancy; (b) patterns of work;

(c) maternity and child/age/disability care of women and men; (d) urban and rural women? Is

pension coverage available to people who have worked in (a) informal employment; (b) unpaid

care?

o WORLD has data on contributory and non-contributory pension systems.

o WORLD has data on the age of entitlement to pension benefits and differences in that

age based on sex, arduous work, and caregiving.

o WORLD has data on whether there are caregiving contribution credits for men and

women.

o WORLD has data on whether self-employed workers are entitled to contributory

pensions.

Do laws or regulations establish income security related social protection floors policies (e.g.

pensions, unemployment, work guarantees, disability benefits)?

o WORLD has data on pensions, unemployment benefits, sickness benefits, work injury

benefits, family benefits, and disability benefits.

o No known existing data on work guarantees.

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Does the law protect girls from exploitation in labour and employment?

Enforce and monitor

Are there mechanisms for enforcement, monitoring and sanctions in cases of noncompliance or

discrimination in labour law?

Does the law designate specific courts or establish independent bodies, such as tribunals, or

commissions, to consider claims of discrimination against women, including with respect to

pregnancy and maternity, relating to work? If so, are there time-limits for the submission of

complaints? Are complainants required to pay a fee?

Marriage and Family

Promote

Does the law establish 18 as the legal age of marriage for women and men?

o WORLD has data on the legal age of marriage for women and men.

Does the law allow for exceptions to the legal age of marriage for women and men?

o WORLD has data on exceptions to the legal age of marriage for women and men,

including parental consent, under religious and customary law, with court approval, or

in the case of pregnancy.

Do women and men have equal legal capacity to (a) marry? (b) register their children? (c) access

and control marital property? (d) choose where to live? (e) be recognized as head of household?

(f) guardianship, custody of their children?

o WBL has data on whether women can choose where to live in the same way as men.

o WBL has data on the default marital property regime, who administers marital property,

and spousal protections.

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Does the law provide for compulsory (a) birth registration; (b) marriage registration?

Does the law provide that women and men have equal rights to divorce?

Does the law recognize equality between men and women in relation to divorce with respect to:

(a) property? (b) maintenance/ alimony/spousal support?

Does the law recognize the non-financial contribution of spouses in the determination of

property division and other financial provision on divorce?

o WBL has data on whether the law provides for the valuation of nonmonetary

contributions.

Are informal unions (cohabitation/partnerships) recognized by law? If so, does it provide for the

equal rights and responsibilities of the partners, including with respect to income, assets and

responsibility and rights relating to children? Do the partners have equal rights in these contexts

where the informal union ends?

Does the law protect widows/women survivors of non-marital partnerships from eviction from

marital home?

Does the law prohibit discriminatory cultural practices against widows/women survivors of non-

marital partnerships?

Does the law provide for economic adjustment of pensions and other retirement funds on

divorce, annulment of marriage, end of an informal union or on death of a woman’s spouse or

partner?

o WORLD has data on entitlements to survivor pensions upon death of a woman’s spouse

or partner.

Do women and men surviving spouses (married and informal unions) have equal inheritance

rights in respect of real and personal property?

o WBL has data on whether surviving spouses have equal inheritance rights.

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o No known existing data on the rights of surviving spouses in informal unions.

Do daughters and sons have equal inheritance rights with respect to real and personal property?

o WBL has data on whether sons and daughters have equal inheritance rights.

Enforce and monitor

Does the law provide that women and men have equal access to birth and marriage registration

systems? Does the law provide for education measures, including through ICT on registration

systems?

Does the law include measures to provide registration services for rural areas, for example,

through mobile birth registration facilities?

Does the law provide that the marriage of a girl under the legal age of marriage is null and void?

o WBL has data on whether child marriage is void or prohibited.

Does the law criminalize facilitating/officiating at the marriage of a girl under the legal age of

marriage? Does it establish penalties for such conduct?

o WBL has data on whether there are penalties for authorizing or knowingly entering into

child or early marriage. This data does not explicitly separate between criminal and civil

penalties.

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