Gender and Waste Nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal

Recently adapted domestic regulations 15 address the equality of all citizens and the Government is developing a national gender equality policy that is expected to cover health, employment, education and social security (Nepal, Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens 2018). In waste-related legislation, only the Solid Waste Management Act (2011) calls for a gender balance on the Solid Waste Management Council, which is the body that formulates solid waste policy. Nepal has a high number of incidents of gender-based violence (Karev and Chhetri 2018). Reported cases of domestic violence are sharply increasing and totalled 9,398 cases in 2015/2016 (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [IFRC] 2017). A study of the International Labour Office indicates that a high number of violations occur at workplaces in Nepal. Data on gender-based violence in the waste sector are not available. However, since such violence occurs

Nepal

A scrap yard in Kathmandu. Photo by Ieva Rucevska.

GENDER INDICATORS, NEPAL – 2018

52%

FEMALE LABOUR FORCE (% OF TOTAL LABOUR FORCE)

CAN A WOMAN LEGALLY GET A JOB IN THE SAME WAY AS A MAN? CAN A WOMAN LEGALLY REGISTER A BUSINESS IN THE SAME WAY AS A MAN? DO SONS AND DAUGHTERS HAVE EQUAL INHERITANCE RIGHTS? IS THERE PAID MATERNITY LEAVE OF AT LEAST 14 WEEKS? DOES THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT OR PROVIDE CHILDCARE SERVICES? DOES THE LAW MANDATE EQUAL REMUNERATION FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE? DOES THE LAW MANDATE NON-DISCRIMINATION BASED ON GENDER IN EMPLOYMENT? IS DISMISSAL OF PREGNANT WORKERS PROHIBITED? IS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON GENDER PROHIBITED IN ACCESS TO CREDIT? IS THERE LEGISLATION ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EMPLOYMENT? ARE THERE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EMPLOYMENT?

Source: World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2018 .

RANK

SCORE 0.608 0.926 0.966 0.185 0.671

E

C

S

110 /149 123 /149 128 /149 66 /149 105 /149

O

C

ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITY

I

N

T

O

I

L

M

O

Y

P

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT HEALTH AND SURVIVAL POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT GLOBAL GENDER GAP SCORE

N

H

O

E

T I

A

L

A

T

C

H

U

D

E

Nepal score Average score

Source: World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2018 .

Figure 11

46 Gender and waste nexus