SandeshIndia

Women's Empowerment

Still a Long Way to Go Facts on Women's Empowerment  Women are the poorest of the world's poor, representing 70%--or almost 900 million--of the 1.3 billion people who live in absolute poverty.  Two-thirds of the world's illiterate population of 876 million people are women.  Between 1987 and 1996, the number of female ministers in national governments worldwide increased two-fold--from a mere 3.4% to still just 6.8%. As of 1996, 48 countries had no female ministers in their national government at all.  As of March 2002, women held just 14.2% of representative posts in national parliaments around the world. As of 1999, women occupied more than 30% of parliamentary positions in just five countries worldwide. In 31 countries at that same time, they held less than 5% of positions.  An estimated one in three women world-wide have been subjected to violence in an intimate relationship.  In Bangladesh, for every 1% increase in borrowing by a female Grameen member, the probability of a daughter enrolling in school is increased 1.9%. Sources: UN, World Bank.

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