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

Gender context

Welfare in South Asia on 4 September 2003, as well as the SAARC Code for the Protection of on Breast Feeding and Young Child Nutrition in August 2003. Furthermore, Bhutan remains committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Bhutan is currently drafting a national gender equality policy. The National Plan of Action for Gender (NPAG) 2008–2013, which coincided with the Tenth Five Year Plan provided an overall strategy for gender mainstreaming in seven critical areas: good governance; economic development; education and training; health; ageing, mental health and disabilities; violence against women; and prejudices and stereotypes. Both Bhutan´s Eleventh Five Year Plan (2013–2018) and Twelfth Five Year Plan (2019–2024) include specific commitments to gender equality. Among the 17 National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) in the Twelfth Five Year Plan, NKRA 10 is focused on promoting gender equality in the country. NKRA 10 “Gender Equality Promoted and Women and Girls Empowered” identified three indicators: women’s representation in parliament, the gender parity index in tertiary education, and violence against women and girls. Gender and children issues are integrated into other NKRAs, including NKRA 6 “Carbon Neutral, Climate Change and Disaster Resilient Development Enhanced”. With its Twelfth Five Year Plan, Bhutan aims

Bhutan

Women and men are considered equal in Bhutan and the Constitution and several national policies and action plans refer to gender equality and gender mainstreaming. The National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) is an independent government organization that was established in 2004 to protect the rights of women and children and to promote gender equality. A network of gender focal points is instituted in all ministries, agencies and dzongkhags, 18 including civil society organizations (CSOs) and the corporate and private sector, to assist the NCWC in implementing gender equality initiatives. These focal points are responsible for mainstreaming gender issues into sectoral plans, policies and programmes. The NCWC coordinates and trains the gender focal points (female and male) on a regular basis. Bhutan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1981 and 1990 respectively. It also ratified the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and the SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child

Restaurant and hotel staff come to the waste truck to empty their waste bins. Photo by Tina Schoolmeester.

62 Gender and waste nexus