Sixtieth session

16 February-6 March 2015

Item 4 of the provisional agenda*

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties

under Article 18 of the Convention

on the elimination of all forms

of discrimination against women

List of issues and questions concerning the sixth periodic report of Gabon

Addendum

Gabon ’ s replies**

* CEDAW/C/60/1 .

** The present document is being issued without formal editing.

1. On the institutional, legislative and institutional framework

The determination of the Gabonese Government to improve the living conditions of all Gabonese and to achieve gender equality is manifested through a series of reforms initiated since 2009. These reforms are reflected in the implementation of budgeting by programme objective (BOP), the Emerging Gabon strategic plan (PSGE), Gabon’s human investment strategy (SNIHG), and the Social Covenant.

Eventually, these reforms should help to significantly reduce inequalities and poverty among the citizenry in general and women in particular.

It is in this context that initiatives have been taken in national legislation to provide a definition of, and an explicit ban on, discrimination against women:

•Establishment of an interdepartmental committee responsible for the revision of discriminatory laws and enactments contained in national legislation (Civil Code, penal, labour and social security codes) in order to bring them in line with the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. That Committee has undertaken actions including the revision of the second part of Act 19/89 of 30 December 1989 adopting the second part of the Civil Code, a process that will necessarily lead to the inclusion in the Constitution of a provision outlawing gender-based discrimination.

•In that connection, the Council of Ministers on 16 February 2011 applied the provisions of article 47 of the Constitution in adopting the bill amending and repealing certain articles of Act 19/89 of 30 December 1989 and adopting the second part of the Civil Code (paras. 647, 651, 683, 691, 692, 696, 698, 699, 700, 701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 706, 710, 747 and 906) on inheritance.

•The review underway in Parliament of the bill amending certain provisions of Act 6/75 of 25 November 1975 establishing the social security code, to eliminate discrimination against widows and harmonize all social security systems as regards pensions for employed widows.

•Adoption of Decree No. 0252/PR/MFAS of 19 June 2012 on the organization of the plan for implementation of social assistance and family protection.

•Adoption of Decree No. 258/PR/NYRISSA of 19 June 2012, laying down the procedures governing night work by women and children in the GaboneseRepublic, underscoring the Government’s clear intention to remove discrimination in the context of night work.

•Creation of the national observatory for promotion of the rights of the family (ONPDF), to better take into account the difficulties faced by certain social groups: the observatory’s mandate is to monitor and promote human rights in general and women’s rights in particular.

•Organization of popularization sessions on the Convention for women, so that they take ownership of it.

•Translation of the Convention into local languages, to make it more accessible in rural areas, has been undertaken with support from the development partners, the principle being for a woman to know and master her rights so that she may go to law.

The process of harmonization of national laws with the Convention, to guarantee gender equality, is thus well underway.

2. On access to justice

Women have difficulty gaining access to justice, among other reasons because they are unacquainted with and can ill afford the procedures and face other sociocultural constraints. To remedy this, several actions have been undertaken, including:

•Downstream, the organization of popularization sessions, awareness-raising on human rights, and the preparation of brochures to make women aware of their rights, an essential first step in defending them;

•Upstream, implementation of legal and judicial support mechanisms, namely: the signing by the Government on 12 April 2012 of two legal aid agreements with the law firm of Justine Agondjo-Raji and the bailiff Odette Remanda to allow impoverished widows to receive free legal aid;

•Adoption of Decree No. 0253/PR/MJGSDHRC of 19 June 2012 setting out the organization and operation of legal aid offices, providing women victims of violence with State subsidies for case processing costs;

•The contribution of civil society is also undeniable (ODEFPA, Agir pour le Genre, Cris de femmes…), as is that of the support centres of the Ministry responsible for the advancement of women.

3. On the national machinery for the advancement of women

The 2009 restructuring of the Ministry responsible for the advancement of women was in line with the vision of the State’s highest authorities on inequality reduction and the fight against poverty.

Current reforms seek to do more than confine gender issues to a single government department, by promoting transversality across all governments, both at the national and the decentralized level.

That restructuring has made it possible to better coordinate the actions carried out by the Government for the advancement of women, both as regards increasing their economic power and in the social and health field.

Thus, the human investment strategy currently being implemented will foster better readability and visibility of actions in favour of women in various ministerial departments, inter alia through the provision of social safety nets, economic empowerment for women (income-generating activities), and social housing.

In the light of the current reforms, it is still difficult to estimate how much of the national budget is specifically devoted to the advancement of women.

4. On the gender equality and relations strategy

To achieve equality between the sexes, the Government in 2009 developed a national gender equality and equity strategy, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers in February 2010; it helped characterize the status of women in the various areas of activity. Its essential findings were that disparities are to women’s disadvantage, even though the national climate is rather favourable to equal opportunity.

Building on that finding, five fundamental strategic thrusts were proposed, all vital to the fight against inequality and poverty. These were:

•acceptance by all stakeholders of the vision and goals of gender equality and equity;

•empowerment of women by improving productivity in the main sectors in which they are active;

•improved access to production support services;

•improved access to social services;

•promotion of equitable participation in power management, greater respect for women’s rights, and the elimination of violence.

Under this strategy, a coordinating body chaired by the Prime Minister is to be put in place and the Ministry responsible for the advancement of women will monitor the progress of gender mainstreaming in sectoral policies.

5. On special temporary measures

In 2012, as part of his continuing effort to promote equality between the sexes, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, mandated a 30% representation of women in decision-making bodies. As a result, many women gained office in the recent local elections.

6. On stereotypes and harmful practices

In order to change social and cultural behaviour patterns and eradicate gender stereotypes and harmful practices such as those associated with widowhood and levirate marriage, Gabon has taken a number of measures, such as:

•Organization of training and awareness sessions for journalists and communicators, on issues of stereotyping and the image of women in the media.

•Organization of training for trainers of young people in the main cities of Gabon on the game Breakaway, to dispel stereotypes and deal with issues of masculinity.

•Organization of a march by male members of Parliament, with UNFPA support, to build awareness of the dangers associated with negative stereotypes and a commitment to the advancement of women’s rights.

•All actions taken by the Department for the Advancement of Women promote heavy involvement of men, changed behaviour and consideration for the differences between the sexes.

•As regards levirate marriage, a study on women and HIV has pointed to a link between levirate marriage and the feminization of HIV in Gabon. As a result, Gabon’s new strategic anti-AIDS plan includes levirate marriage as a cause of the spread of HIV and recommends a number of actions.

•Making widows aware that they are no longer obliged to marry their deceased husband’s brother, because a widow no longer loses her right of usufruct because she remarries following her husband’s death.

•Adoption by the National Assembly, in October 2013, of a bill amending and repealing certain provisions of Act 19/83 of 30 November 1989 to adopt the second part of the Civil Code; that act strengthens the powers of surviving spouses and certain provisions of criminal law, allowing judicial police officers more scope for action and transforming the family council into an estate council.

•The bill to amend certain provisions of articles 79 and 81 of Act No. 6/75 of 25 November 1975 establishing the social security code, whose adoption Parliament has been working toward since 2011.

•Adoption of Decree 0251/PR/MBCPFP of 19 June 2012 laying down the procedures for allocating and determining the death grant owed to dependents of deceased officials.

•Adoption of Act 0038/2008 of 29 January 2009 relating to prevention and combating female genital mutilation; Article 1 of the Act, which supplements the provisions of articles 230 to 235 of the Penal Code, is aimed at punishing any violation of women’s physical integrity, and defines “genital mutilation” as any partial or total ablation of a woman’s external genitalia, including female circumcision or infibulation.

6. On violence against women

Violence against women is of great concern to Gabon. Because incest and marital rape are frequently reported by administrative bodies and civil society, a comprehensive response to that scourge is being mounted through a national survey on violence.

The survey will provide up-to-date information on violence against women and, upon completion, should afford a better understanding of the issue of violence against women. Measures will be taken to improve multisectoral support in that area. The terms of reference of the team of experts conducting the survey call for the development of a national strategy and a plan of action to combat violence.

It should be noted that the Department has already taken action to combat violence against women:

•Adoption and promulgation of Act 39/2010 of 25 November establishing judicial protection for minors.

•Organization, in 2013 and 2014, of awareness and consciousness-raising sessions in the main cities of Libreville, Lambaréné, Mouila, Tchibanga and Oyem on the themes of: “domestic violence: rape and incest”; “violence against women: a threat to social cohesion”.

•Organization of training sessions for 180 participants, providers of support to victims of gender-based violence (doctors, midwives, psychologists, police officers, gendarmes, judiciaries, social workers, and heads of associations and NGOs), during the 2010–2013 period, by the Department for the Advancement of Women in partnership with the NGO Agir pour le Genre, in six provinces.

•Conduct of a survey on the impact of violence against women and HIV/AIDS infection in Gabon by the NGO Cris de femmes, with the support of the United States Embassy. The report was validated in June 2014.

•With particular reference to violence against the girl child, in 2010 the Government, in partnership with UNICEF, conducted a study on violence against children. The study showed that 40% of all violent acts took place in the home. This includes rape and incest among other violent acts.

•The situation and current trends in the area of violence against women were reported and identified in the demographic and health survey (EDS II) carried out in 2012), which found that one in five women in the 15–49 age group, or 21 per cent, had been victims of sexual violence, 8 per cent of them in the 12 months preceding the survey. Of those women who suffered violence, only 43% sought assistance.

•The security forces’ report for the 2010–2013 period reveals an increase in the incidence of rape:

•Rape of minors (young girls), 265 judicial cases including those of the Nkembo police station in Libreville;

•Incestuous rape, 28 cases;

•Indecent assault (sexual touching of a minor) 92 cases;

•Enticement and rape, 97 cases;

•Attempted rape, 49 cases;

•Gang rape, 30 cases;

•Rape of women, 32 cases.

7. On tools for the systematic and frequent collection and analysis of data and information on all forms of violence against women

The Ministry responsible for the advancement of women has a support centre where women victims of violence are heard every day.

Similarly, in 2012 the State Party established the National Observatory to Promote Family Rights (ONPDE), which began operations the same year. One element of the Observatory’s mission is to keep a systematic statistical watch on social issues, and in particular on gender-based violence. A set of indicators prepared in 2014 is now being validated.

With respect to the national strategy against violence against women and specific legislation on violence

The results of the ongoing investigation will guide future actions for improvement of support and of the legal framework.

8. On medical, psychological and legal assistance

As now constituted, the support centres, the actions of the departments of Advancement of Women, Widow and Orphans, the Family, and Social Affairs, with the support of NGOs and other levels of government, afford essential support to victims of violence.

Medical, psychological and legal assistance, on the other hand, must be improved. Hence, we are relying on the findings and recommendations of the survey on violence, implementation of human investment strategy, and access to healthcare through CNAMGS (the Caisse nationale d ’ assurance-maladie et de garantie sociale) to significantly improve the quality of victim support. The survey calls for institutional assessment of victim support structures, to improve services.

Support centres within the Ministry responsible for the advancement of women receive, listen to and provide guidance for women and girls who are victims of violence.

•Legal clinics do exist, in particular at such NGOs as Agir pour le Genre, that receive and support women victims of violence.

•Decree 0253/PR/MJ/GSDHRIC to organize legal aid offices and make them operational.

The survey calls for an institutional assessment of victim support structures.

9. On trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution

In general, no statistical data is currently available, nor is any study now underway.

However, a review of Act 009/2004 of 22 September 2004 on preventing and combating trafficking in children in the GaboneseRepublic, has been undertaken by the Monitoring Committee in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to harmonize the Act with the provisions of the Palermo Protocol.

Domestic workers that are victims of trafficking are removed as soon as the Monitoring Committee receives the relevant report or when they themselves report to the morality squad.

From that moment on, the trafficked children are placed in existing transit centres, either for repatriation or for reintegration in Gabon, where a social worker’s investigation or a psychologist’s interview shows that there is a risk they will again be trafficked.

A programme for the reintegration of sex workers is now being conducted with the Department of AIDS Prevention, together with social marketing of condoms.

10. On participation in political and public life

Despite the clear willingness to promote women, the number of those promoted remains relatively low. Women’s full participation still faces obstacles, despite favourable laws.

In order to enhance their participation, the head of State, his Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, has introduced representativeness quotas of 30% in all development sectors. Thus, political parties are obliged not only to give 30% of the places on their lists to women, but also to ensure that they hold prominent places.

The number of female candidates was greater in the last local elections. We should emphasize the prominent place held by women in certain bodies, for instance President of the Constitutional Court, Speaker of the Senate, party leader, mayor of Libreville, etc.

It should be noted that sociocultural inertia has long kept women out of decision-making positions. Awareness-raising regarding political participation and training in female leadership have greatly helped to make women aware of their importance (electoral impact) and competence.

11. On nationality

Gabon has taken a number of measures to guarantee every child an identity, by creating a legal framework through the reference texts contained in the first part of the Civil Code, Act 15/72 of 29 July 1972. That legal framework provides a means of proving the identity of natural persons through civil status records. However, our country is no stranger to the phenomenon of children without birth certificates.

In the light of that observation, the Government prepared, in November 2011 in co-operation with UNICEF, its final report “analysing the status of the phenomenon of children without birth certificates”. The report shows that in Gabon, 11% of children are not registered, and that parents face many difficulties in declaring the birth of a child. The operation of the system dealing with civil status, maternity, courts and households is hampered by factors that cause fewer births to be registered; a corollary is that birthrates are poorly known.

Accordingly, the Gabonese Government undertook, from 26 December 2014 to 17 February 2015, an operation to issue birth certificates to children aged 0 to 21 years not registered with the civil registry of the province of L’Estuaire. The operation will be repeated in the country’s other provinces.

Similarly, to encourage systematic registration of births, the Government intends to:

1-Ensure that no charge is made for the issuance of original or substitute birth certificates by any stakeholder involved in the process;

2-Create a central office whose main role will be to co-ordinate the process nationwide;

3-Develop and popularize a handbook for registering births;

4-Strengthen the legislative and regulatory framework for birth registration;

5-Impress upon the people, and in particular the most vulnerable groups, the importance of registering births;

6-See to it that a budget is provided for the registration of children’s birth;

7-Make civil status records available and widely disseminate national and international enactments on the registration of births;

8-Develop a national classification of healthcare fees (fee schedule).

12. On education

Gabon has one of Africa’s highest primary enrolment rates: 96.4% in 2012. The education system as a whole has no gender problem, as girls’ enrolment is virtually identical to boys’ in primary and secondary schools.

Failure and dropout levels, however, are relatively high.

To improve the education system’s performance, the Government in 2011 initiated a reform and adopted Act 21/2011 on the general orientation of education, training and research, which stipulates, in its article 2, that education and training are mandatory in Gabon and are accessible to any young person, Gabonese or foreign, residing in Gabon and between the ages of 3 and 16 years.

The scholarship system was also reviewed so as to give a better chance and more opportunities to economically disadvantaged students to continue their studies.

Special scholarships are also made available to those students wishing to pursue careers in science.

Information and orientation sessions on the various trades, organized by the Ministry of Education, allow young people and especially girls to register according to their abilities.

This vision of integration of the female population is also the rationale for the construction of schools in the various village areas, so that girls and boys living in rural areas may study near their homes, and for the provision of drop-in daycare and community huts (for daycare and pre-schools) in the departments and in certain village areas: a programme that has allowed single mothers to stay in school.

Economically disadvantaged single mothers receive financial support from the Government for their tuition fees at training and trades centres.

Drinking establishments are forbidden to open near secondary schools;

Again, for children’s protection, those under 16 years of age are subject to a 10 p.m. curfew in public places if unaccompanied.

Bars too are forbidden to stay open later than 10 p.m.

•Statistical data on the incidence of female illiteracy in rural and urban areas

There are significant gaps in the statistics on the incidence of female illiteracy in rural and urban areas depending on the women’s place of residence:

Among women and men both, country-dwellers are those most likely to have zero education (respectively 21% and 11%, as opposed to 9% and 8% in urban areas: 2013 MDGs).

Regardless of sex, the largest percentages of the uneducated are found in the provinces of Nyanga, Ngounié, Moyen-Ogooué and Ogooué-Maritime, with the exception of the city of Port-Gentil.

Conversely, the lowest percentages of respondents without education were recorded in the cities of Libreville/Port-Gentil (7% for women and 8% for men) and in the provinces of L’Estuaire outside Libreville, at 8% for women and 7% for men.

Following the analysis that was done on the education and training of women, mention should be made of the Government’s public policy efforts to combat illiteracy among women.

For that purpose, a project for the “socioeconomic integration of disadvantaged teenage mothers” is being implemented by the Department of the Family, and awareness campaigns are being conducted by the Government of the Republic together with NGOs and associations in order to provide education on family life to parents, women and men alike. The campaigns are being conducted in the media or through meetings organized to mark certain international days or other occasions.

There does appear to have been some change, as before 2009, the literacy rate was estimated at 83% for males and 77% for women (DHS 2000). Nowadays, the literacy rate of women aged 15–24, as compared to men of the same age group, is growing and almost equal to 100, namely the same as men’s; this confirms the lack of institutional or cultural disparity in relation to education and training (DHS 2012).

13. On employment

Sexual harassment in the workplace was included in the draft revision of the Labour Code now being prepared.

It is defined as follows: “Sexual harassment means subjecting a person at work or in the workplace to pressure or verbal, physical or moral violence for one’s personal satisfaction or to gain a sexual favour for a third party.”

The Labour Code revision is now in the consultation phase — a phase that involves incorporating the proposals made by employers and trade unions for changes to the project initiated by the labour department.

Perpetrators of the sexual harassment offences are liable to a fine of from 300,000 to 600,000 CFA francs, a term of imprisonment of 1 to 6 months, or both.

Recidivists are liable to a fine of 600,000 FCFA to 1,200,000 FCFA and a term of imprisonment of 2 to 12 months.

•According to the 2010 ENEC survey (National Survey on Employment and Unemployment), the bulk of Gabon’s unemployment is in the cities: 87.2% , or 60% among women. Women represent 39% of employment in the informal sector.

The Department of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises has reported, after processing the 2012–2013 statistics of the business development centre, that on average, in Gabon, men account for 79% of all businesses and women only 21%. Among Gabonese nationals, however, the proportions in 2012 were 53.3% for men and only 46.62% for women.

Surveys done by several NGOs have shown a high level of school violence. For that reason, the Welfare Department Branch is currently developing a toll-free number for violence against children; it will be operational in the course of the current year.

Awareness and capacity building sessions for social workers in schools are held regularly to curb the phenomenon of harassment.

A national campaign awareness called “the three Stops” is currently underway to prevent teenage pregnancy, violence and HIV/AIDS.

15. On health

The Government has adopted the national health development plan, in which sexual and reproductive health occupies a prominent place because, although the maternal mortality rate has fallen, it remains relatively high.

To mitigate the difficulties of access to basic health services, the Government has undertaken numerous actions, including:

•Capacity building in obstetric care for medical personnel;

•Increased recruitment of midwives;

•Construction of leading-edge mother-child university hospital centres;

•Registration of low-income populations with CNAMGS,

•A requirement for 3 prenatal visits for mothers to have access to social safety nets;

•Awareness-raising and training for young people in sexual and reproductive health;

•Creation of sexual and reproductive health centres;

•Development of the malaria programme;

•Development of the parent-child transmission programme;

•Full CNAMGS subsidization of the cost of childbirth;

•Adoption of decree 00055/MSASSF/CAB of 1 April 2011, whose effect is to allow the prescription, sale and use of contraceptives in the GaboneseRepublic;

•Construction and outfitting of regional hospitals in each provincial capital and of medical centres in some communes and departments, contributing to a 90% increase in the percentage of births attended by a healthcare provider, especially in rural area, with an attendant reduction in maternal mortality (316 per 100,000 births).

Ordinance 64/69 was repealed by Act 1/2000 defining certain health and social protection measures for mother and child.

With respect to the illegality of abortion:

Abortion is permitted in Gabon only where continuation of the pregnancy could imperil the mother’s life.

Data is lacking on what percentage of women that consult about abortion and what percentage of maternal deaths are due to abortion.

However, the consequences of abortion under unsafe conditions are essentially the following:

Immediate complications: haemorrhage, infections, burns or tears to the genitals, uterine perforation, blood poisoning, and death;

Long-term complications: pelvic pain, dyspareunia, tubal failure, repeated miscarriages, ectopic pregnancy, sterility;

Psychological consequences: confusion, delirium, amnesia, guilt complex.

As regards measures to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission and to improve women’s access to care services, the Government has developed a Strategic Anti-AIDS Plan to enable a comprehensive response whose objectives are: zero discrimination, zero deaths, zero new contaminations.

The fight against HIV/AIDS and STIs in Gabon is organized through a decentralized, multisectoral approach involving stakeholders from all parties involved in the national response to HIV/AIDS and STIs. Three sectors are involved: the public sector (ministries and institutions), the community sector (NGOs, associations, community-based organizations, religious denominations), and the private sector (private and corporate health facilities).

The following are among the measures taken:

•an increase in the therapeutic solidarity fund;

•the principle of free anti-retroviral drugs and biological examinations;

•full financial support for the treatment of HIV-positive pregnant women;

•construction of outpatient centres nationwide;

•an increase in condom use among sex workers from 66.7% in 2007 to 75.9% in 2009;

•provision of a programme for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission;

•establishment, at the sectoral level, of several committees:

•committees of agencies combating HIV/AIDS and STIs (CILS), which organize and co-ordinate activities to combat HIV/AIDS and STIs at the various institutions; for the four main agencies, two committees were created, in the National Assembly and the Senate;

•ministerial committees to combat HIV/AIDS and STIs (CMLS), which organize and co-ordinate activities to combat HIV/AIDS and STIs at the various ministerial departments; these have a budget for the activities they undertake within their department;

•corporate committees to combat HIV/AIDS and STIs, which link companies to the Ministry of Health through the organization and co-ordination of activities to combat HIV/AIDS.

18. On rural women

Situation of rural women in the areas covered by the Convention:

In the area of education:

•Problems keeping girls in high school because of the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy and because of the lack of boarding schools in rural areas;

•Illiteracy among rural women due to inadequate literacy training structures and women’s unavailability to undergo the training.

In the area of health:

•Problems accessing health care and facilities in rural areas due to poor availability of structures in rural areas and isolation;

In the area of access to infrastructure:

•Difficult access to land due to its remoteness and unavailability;

•Difficult access to inputs and modern facilities caused by unavailability at the local level and poor liquidity;

•Difficulties in distributing agricultural products for want of means of transport;

•Concentration of women in the informal sector because of their lack of professional qualifications;

•Poor access to credit among stakeholders because of unavailability of credit structures in rural areas;

•Multitasking of women in rural areas because men have migrated to the cities or refuse to help;

•Difficulty in obtaining drinking water and low availability of energy services in rural areas because of shortcomings in the distribution of power and potable water;

•Poor access to information in rural areas because of poor media coverage.

The chief measures taken by the Government to improve the status of rural women are:

•Creation of functional literacy centres in rural areas;

•Implementation of the agricultural and rural development project, which enables women to give substance to their projects through technical support, donations of tools and viable planting material, and organization of study tours to share their experience;

•Implementation of the national human investment strategy, which has many components that benefit women: construction of rural roads, support for IGAs through FNAS, payment of family allowances, professional training to help them become real rural entrepreneurs, registration with CNAMGS so they are eligible for social benefits, and subsidies for electricity and water costs;

•Implementation of the Social Covenant will make a big contribution to the well-being of women living in rural areas;

•Creation of the National Social Assistance Fund (FNAS), whose purpose is to fund income-generating activities (IGAs).

•Institution of the Grand Prize of the President of the Republic (GPPR), an effective development tool for improving rural women’s living conditions and building their economic capacity (support in the form of equipment, training, mentoring and study tours).

•The public authorities have taken legal measures mandating that all children, without regard to sex, shall receive education and training in accordance with Act 21/2011 of 14 February 2012 providing general guidelines on education, training and research, which stipulates in its article 2 that education and training are mandatory in Gabon and that all persons 3 to 16 years of age, whether Gabonese or foreign nationals resident in Gabon, shall have access thereto.

•The measures regarding access to food flow from Act 2008-023 on the development of a sustainable agricultural and rural development policy and from the strategic plan for development of the agricultural sector in Gabon, drawn up beginning in 2009 and now being implemented. Among the advances enabled by that Act was:

•The launch of the agricultural food security and growth programme (PASAC), specifically oriented toward rural women, accounting as they do for nearly 90% of the agricultural workforce (rural women represent 70% of this workforce).

19. On disadvantaged women ’ s groups

Disadvantaged women’s groups are taken into account in the human investment strategy, which includes a number of measures specifically directed toward vulnerable groups: social transfers, IGAs, and training.