REPORT ON STATE OF WOMEN’S AFFA)RS IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM 20111
Rozan Yunos2
Introduction
Brunei Darussalam views sustainable development as a positive progression to the nation. With sustainable development its enhances peoples' capacity to create and
consume wealth on a lasting basis. Sustainable development requires, among other
things, a socio-economic, political and cultural environment which enables people to
engage in and sustain the development process. The political system should provide stability to allow people to engage in production.
Looking at gender in the sustainable development sectors means assessing males’ and females’ different needs for and uses of the infrastructure, services and other benefits of each sector, as well as the different barriers to their access, mobility,
and economic opportunities. Sustainable development can only be achieved through long-term investments in economic, human and environmental capital. At present, the female half of the world’s human capital is undervalued and underutilized the world over. As a group, women – and their potential contributions to economic advances, social progress and environmental protection – have been marginalised. Better use of the world’s female population could increase economic growth, reduce poverty, enhance societal well-being, and help ensure sustainable development in all countries. Closing the gender gap depends on enlightened government policies which take gender
dimensions into account.
1 This unpublished internal Ministerial report was made public when it was incorporated fully into the
speech of YB Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Brunei Darussalam at the International Forum on Women and Sustainable Development organized by the All China Women’s Federation (ACWF), delivered on 10 November 2011, Beijing, China.
2 Haji Mohd Rozan bin Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos is the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Youth
Current Status of Women’s Affairs in Brunei
Women in Brunei Darussalam are not left behind from their male counterpart
in attaining good education, opportunities and access to resources, access to social
development of the country, access to economic independence, entrepreneurship and employment, access to medical services and many others. Empowering women to have
control over their own lives, including their productive and reproductive lives has been a critical ingredient in Brunei Darussalam’s remarkable development into st century.
The Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei
Darussalam report on Brunei Darussalam Millennium Development Goals and Beyond, Revisited charts the striking progress made by Bruneian women in, inter alia, health, education, health, labour force participation and political involvement. Gender discrimination in schooling and literacy, so marked in parts of south Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa, has been eliminated in Brunei Darussalam.
In Brunei Darussalam, the 2011 provisional population shows that women comprise 47% of the total population. Brunei Darussalam fully recognizes the importance of women’s role in the socioeconomic development of the country. The nation also acknowledges that gender equality and women’s empowerment, besides being basic human rights, are important ends in themselves and crucial for the
advancement of women.
Brunei’s continuous commitment to the development of all sectors is provided in the nation’s Vision 5 which aims towards an educated, highly skilled and
accomplished people, an increase in the quality of life and towards a dynamic and
sustainable economy. The positive development and continued progress of women in Brunei Darussalam can be attributed to the nation’s pro-active efforts in improving the lives of its people.
Since the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of all
2006, there have been many government and non-government interagency
collaboration and coordination to promote gender equality.
A Ministerial Level National Council on Social Issues was established in
mid-2008 chaired by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports who is responsible for Women Issues in Brunei Darussalam. There is a Special Committee on Women and
Family Issues under the purview of the National Council. The Terms of Reference of this Special Committee is to formulate policies, draw up a National Plan of Action on
Women Issues and ensure the implementation of the Plan of Action.
Achievements
In Brunei Darussalam, women have come a long way since the 1950s. The
Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has always been committed to provide the people of Brunei with a high quality of life,
regardless of gender. The enlightened policies of the Government can be attested by
the good and sound indicators of the country such that Brunei Darussalam has achieved almost all the Millennium Development Goals. The Government fully
recognizes the importance of women’s role in the socio-economic development of the country and this is rightfully reflected in Brunei Darussalam’s Vision 5, which stress on equal opportunities for women in the work force and nation building. Women
in Brunei Darussalam are given equal rights in education, training, healthcare,
employment, business, ownership of assets, benefits and citizenship, among others. Legislation for the protection of women and girls are manifested in many Acts
and Orders, the recent inclusion of Domestic Violence or dharar syarie in the Islamic Family Order 999 and Married Women’s Act 999 provides better protection for victims of domestic violence and has very extensive coverage for abused victims from
restraining orders, compensation, right to shared property and mandatory counseling.
In the area of education, our progressive educational policies have made a mark
on the literacy rate for girls which has made quantum leaps from 8.3% in 1947 to
91.5% in 2001 and is currently estimated at 98.2%. Education For All (EFA)
Development Index (EDI) for 2009 classified Brunei Darussalam as being close to achieving the four most quantifiable EFA goals, that is Universal Primary Education,
Adult Literacy, Gender Parity and Quality and Quality Education. In 2009, Brunei Darussalam ranked 36 from 129 countries with a high EDI which stands at 0.972.
The Compulsory Education Order 2007 ensures that all children attend school
for a minimum of 9 years, while the national education policy emphasises that every
child should have at least 12 years of schooling. The primary school net enrolment rate shows the number of girls equal that of boys. However, at the tertiary level, girls outnumber boys including the number of UBD’s female graduates. This appears to be the trend in many countries today and is a worrying concern, which cannot be ignored
by policy makers. Brunei’s challenge will not be merely to increase the participation of
women but rather the increased participation of both men and women together, in equity and in unison.
Women in the Work Force and Economy
The expansion of educational opportunities has led to an increase in the number
of women in the workforce working in professional, technical, managerial and
administrative jobs with the labour force participation rate increasing from 20% in 1971 to 56.7% in 2008, with 39.4% of the labour force consisting of women. Brunei
Women now constitute about 49% of the civil service where they occupy 28% of senior
management posts and they have successfully permeated into many male-dominated fields.
Prior to Dec 2008, non-graduate married women personnel were employed on
a month-to-month basis in the Civil Service. Today, the employment of all women employees is, to a large extent, based on the same terms as men i.e. on permanent
women officers/staff are entitled to 14 weeks paid maternity leave. The salaries of
women are on par with that of men and are subject to their length of service.
Women in Brunei Darussalam also enjoy equal access to healthcare. Sound
Government policies in the delivery of health services are reflected in the excellent indicators such that Brunei Darussalam has achieved MDG Goals 4, 5 and 6. Female life
expectancy is currently estimated to be 79.8 years compared to males at 76.6 years. The leading causes of death for women are similar to that of developed countries. The
maternal mortality rate is currently 0 per 100,000 live births. Infant and child mortality
rates have reduced significantly from over 30 deaths per thousand live births in 1970s
to current rate of 7 per thousand live births and Mortality rate for children under 5 was 9.5 per thousand live births. Quality antenatal and postnatal care has ensured that
more than 99% of women receive antenatal care, with each woman making an average of 8 antenatal visits during each pregnancy. More than 99% of deliveries are conducted
by trained midwives in hospital settings. Mothers are given postnatal care up to 6
weeks postpartum including home nursing by midwives during the early weeks of the confinement period.
In the business sector, women in Brunei Darussalam have traditionally been
active participants in business. Today women have responded positively to the Government’s call to develop the small and medium enterprises SME sector as a potential means of diversifying the economy away from oil and gas. Women’s
participation in the business world has begun to increase and is no longer restricted to trading but also consultancy, architecture, legal practice, manufacturing, aqua-culture
and agriculture, general construction and many more.
Women business owners have also managed to penetrate international markets and have proven to have business acumen that is on par with our businessmen. In the
economic sector, SMEs contribute 92.0 per cent of the employment opportunities in
the private sector and a substantial proportion of these SMEs are owned by women. Their active involvement is encouraged and nurtured by the Government and the
support. As of March 2006, women made up 62% of beneficiaries of micro-credit
financing schemes under the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. More than
half of the beneficiaries of the micro-credit facilities run by the Department of
Community Development for the poor are women.
On eradicating poverty and hunger, Brunei Darussalam has eradicated absolute
poverty and is progressively improving equity and working towards zero poverty. As for women who are relatively poor and disadvantaged, there is a range of welfare
measures provided by government agencies and NGOs such as monthly financial
assistance, educational allowances for the children, food, housing, financial assistance
to embark on income generating projects, assistance in acquiring employment, old age pensions, and other benefits in times of natural disasters.
Challenges
Whilst remarkable progress has been made in terms of equal access to
education and training, employment, skills and knowledge acquisition, healthcare and protection against violence, the challenges ahead is to go beyond the basic level, that is
by increasing the quality of the services and nature of development for women. In
recognition of this, the Ministerial Level National Council on Social Issues identified women issues as one of the issues that needed to be addressed.
On Women issues, the Council will be assisted by a Special Committee on
Women and the Family Institution. While the status of women in terms of access to basic necessities and basic human rights are at a high level, there remain pockets of
areas and specific issues which needs to be addressed, among these, are issues such
gender sensitization, gender responsive budgeting and a range on other issues.
Gender equity is about being fair to both men and women. While traditional
attitudes on gender issues may typecast women in a specific role, the encouraging
news is that gender attitudes and behaviors are learned and can be changed. Through positive action such as gender sensitization, the gender perspective can be applied to
programmes. It is therefore imperative that policy makers review existing policies and
programmes and incorporate the gender perspective into them.
Another area of concern is the need to increase the number of women in
leadership and decision-making positions, an area in which women in Brunei are still under represented in many sectors of the paid workforce. Brunei Darussalam’s National Development Plan 2007-2012 acknowledges that the percentage of women in the civil service and private sector holding higher positions is still low and that the
challenge is to give equal opportunity to women to hold higher positions in the public
and private sectors. Increasing the participation of women in leadership and decision-making level is critical to ensure that women’s issues are placed on the national agenda. In recognition of the capabilities of women, it would be a great loss to the nation if these
capabilities were left untapped.
Conclusion
In Brunei Darussalam, women have always and will continue to be given equal opportunities in all aspects of life including education, employment and business.
Recognizing the contribution of women to national development, priorities will continue to be given towards ensuring women’s fundamental role in the socio -economic structure of the nation. Brunei Darussalam is confident that we will continue
to ensure people are at the center of sustainable development, where women and men
are in partnership pursuing the common goal of nation building.
As Brunei Darussalam ensures more and more women to participate in
socio-economic activities, we are also confronted with other problems such as the erosion of
the family institution. The challenge Brunei Darussalam is facing today is to seek the right balance where the continued security, progress and sustainable development of
the nation can be ensured through cohesive and stable family units where everyone,
women, men and children can participate equally and fully in every aspect of life. This is not an easy balance to achieve but one in which Brunei Darussalam is determined to
