Poverty hits hard for Timor-Leste's women
Women
and children are a number one priority for Timor- Leste’s First Lady,
Australian born Kirsty Sword Gusmao.
And it is little wonder.
In her recent lecture for UniSA’s Hawke Centre, Sword Gusmao outlined the horrifying statistics that are a reality for the fledgling nation through the stories of just two women – Juliana and Helena.
Juliana is a 15-year-old girl who was abducted into a brutal marriage and Helena is a widowed mother of five living on an average allowance of US$1.70 a day.
“The lives of Juliana and Helena and her children are real – they are not just a number, although their lives are etched in my nation’s shocking statistics as one of the poorest in the region,” Sword Gusmao said.
To draw attention to women like these and their struggles, the First Lady made a decision to present the nation’s International Women’s Day award to an everyday Timorese woman rather than a prominent professional woman.
“Roughly half of Timorese women are illiterate,” she said. “While we have one of the highest fertility rates in the world at 7.5 children per family, we also have one of the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality. Many women die giving birth and 12 per cent of children do not live till their fifth birthday.”
Sword Gusmao said with a nation in which 60 per cent of the population are under 25-years-old it is vital to put children’s health and education high on the national agenda. Key concerns for the future included reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases and violence against children.
“In focusing on women and children the Government of Timor-Leste has recently ratified the Conventions on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Rights of the Child and a Children’s Code is being drafted by our Government as we speak,” she said.
She said despite the handicaps of endemic poverty and ruined infrastructure, it was the strength of Timor-Leste’s young people and many everyday women who gave her much to be hopeful about.