Background Timor-Leste is determined to overcome the numerous social and demographic obstacles to the promotion of equality and gender balance. Since 1999, the Government has committed to mainstreaming gender in its National Development Plan (NDP) and has achieved the following: Gender equality guaranteed under the Constitution; Country signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Gender mainstreamed in the NDP which has targeted education, health care, and gender based violence (justice and police) as priorities; Office for the Promotion of Equality (OPE) established to advice the various ministries and departments in promoting a culture of equality, empowerment of women and addressing gender based violence; Women appointed ministers, including: the Senior Minister to the Council Ministers, who is also the Minister of State Administration; the Minister of Public Works; the Minister of Planning and Finance; and the Vice-Ministers of Planning and Finance, Foreign Affairs, Education and State Administration; Twenty-six percent of Parliamentarians are women, a significantly higher share than in many OECD countries; Thirty-four women elected suco or aldeia (village) chief, where there were no women village chiefs before independence; Women bring cases of gender based violence increasingly to court.
However, a strong traditional culture remains an obstacle to women further assuming leadership roles and participating in decision-making process at community and family levels. Key Sector Issues  Education: Female adult illiteracy is very high: an estimated 55 percent of women are literate, compared to 46 percent of men. Health: Timor-Leste has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region, estimated at 420 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2001. This is related to early pregnancies and high fertility rates. The country’s total fertility rate is 7.8, which is the highest in the world. Gender based violence and trauma: Women suffer from mental health problems caused by gender based violence and some suffer from the traumas inflicted by the violence under the 24 year struggle. Employment: Women have higher unemployment rate and their labor participation is only 48.1 percent compared to 69.3 percent for men.
World Bank Program Gender issues are mainstreamed in the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) and Consolidation Support Program (CSP) with focus on: improving women’s access to primary health services, increasing girls’ enrollment rates, and improving women’s access to justice with a focus on gender based violence. Women and girls have also been the targeted beneficiaries of TDET Sector programs with the following outcomes: Health: Attended deliveries have increased from 20 percent in 2001 to 33 percent in 2004. Education: Enrollment has increased for the poor, for girls and for rural children, and 48 percent of primary students are girls. Small Enterprise Project (SEP): Of those trained in Business Development Centers, 28 percent were women. In the market rehabilitation program, about 40 percent of the members of the Market Management Committees are women.
Additionally, the World Bank has supported targeted programs in honor of Women’s Day: A nationwide 16-day campaign in collaboration with OPE and UN agencies in 2004 to spread awareness of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and women’s participation in decision-making. A campaign to provide information on health and environment implemented by Fokupers’ (Women’s Communication Forum for Timor-Leste) in 2005. A 16 week training program for community radio journalists, from January 9, 2006 until April 30, 2006, funded by the World Bank-administered Norwegian Dutch Trust Fund for Mainstreaming Gender (GENFUND). The training program is being implemented by the Timor-Leste Media Development Center under the guidance of Internews.
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