List of Tables and Charts

1.Population

Table 1.1Mid year population estimation by sex, 1990-2010

Table 1.2Population by age group and sex, 2007-2010

Table 1.3Population by race and sex, 2001-2010

Table 1.4Total population by religion and gender

Table 1.5Registered live births and deaths, birth and death rates

Table 1.6Total number of deaths registered by gender, age group and year

2.Education

Table 2.1Number of teacher by level of education and gender, 2001-2010

Table 2.2Number of student by level of education and gender, 2001-2010

Table 2.3Other female educational statistics, 2006-2007

Table 2.4Male students per 100 female students, 2006-2008

Table 2.5Universiti Brunei Darussalam enrolment 2004, 2008 & 2009

Table 2.6Enrolment by programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam 2004/2005, 2008/2009, 2009/2010

Table 2.7Graduates by programme from institute technology Brunei (itb), 2003‑2010

Table 2.8Number of schools, teachers and students by type of schools under Ministry of Religious Affairs, 2001-2009

Table 2.9Number of students and teachers in institute Hassanal Bolkiah Tahfiz Al‑Quran, 2000-2009

Table 2.10Literacy rate % aged and above

Table 2.11Percentage of female education officers from Ministry Of Education on In-Service Training 2008

Table 2.12Statistic of students referred to special education unit, 2004-2009 (excluding case closed)

Table 2.13Statistic of students referred to special education unit, 2004-2009 (including case closed)

Table 2.14Number of students, teachers and Arabic schools under the Ministry Of Religious Affairs, 2000-2009

Table 2.15Number of enrolment at Seri Begawan religious teachers University College, 2007-2009

Table 2.16number of enrolment at Seri Begawan religious teachers University College, 2000-2006

Table 2.17In-service training of civil servants overseas, 2006-2009

Table 2.18In-services training of civil servants in-country, 2006-2009

3.Employment

Table 3.1Labour force estimate, 2004-2010

Table 3.2Labour force aged 15 years and above

Table 3.3Employment by economic activity, population census 2001

Table 3.4Working population by major occupational groups and sex, population census 2001

Table 3.5Working population in private sector by major industry group and sex, 2008-2009

Table 3.6Government employees by sex, 2000-2010

Table 3.7Government employees by division and sex, 2008-2009

Table 3.8Number of women employees at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

4.Health

Table 4.1Number of hospital, health centre and health clinics, 2004–2010

Table 4.2Health workforce, 2008

Table 4.3Other health indicators on women, 2003–2008

Table 4.4Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2008

Table 4.5Female abridged life table of 1991 and 2001

Table 4.6Ten leading causes of deaths by gender in 2008 & 2010

5.Rural women

Table 5.1Population by urban and rural areas 1971-2001

Table 5.2Usage of improved drinking water in 2004

Table 5.3Usage of adequate sanitation facilities in 2001

6.Marriage and family life

Table 6.1Female population by age group and marital status (2001 census)

Table 6.2Registered marriages and divorces, 2001-2010

Table 6.3Women associations

7.Social protection / social ills

Table 7.1Recipients of old age pensions under old age and disability pensions order 1954, 2007-2009

Table 7.2Recipients of disability allowances under old age and disability pensions order 1954, 2007-2009

Table 7.3Recipients of welfare benefits by gender, 2007-2009

Table 7.4Recipients of self-reliance (micro-credit scheme) Department of Community Development 2006 – April 2010

Table 7.5Statistics of enterprise facilitation scheme applicants, 2006-2010

Table 7.6Statistics of micro-credit scheme applicants, 2006-2010

Table 7.7National level athletes by gender and sports, 2009

Table 7.8Wife abuse cases, 2007- 2009

Table 7.9Domestic violence cases, 2005 – 2009

Table 7.10Sexual offences, 2005 – 2008

Table 7.11Female residents at Taman Noor Hidayah and Darussakinah welfare homes, 2005-2010

References

Members of Drafting Committee of CEDAW Report

Executive Summary

Brunei Darussalam has always recognises the importance of the promotion and protection of human rights, including women. Even prior to acceding to the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 24 May 2006, Brunei Darussalam already has in place the mechanisms to promote and protect women’s rights.

Brunei Darussalam is in a unique position as its Constitution and legislations have already sought to address a number of the provisions outlined in CEDAW. In addition, the laws and regulations in the country do not discriminate between men and women. There are also cases where the laws are more advantageous to women. In addition to existing policies, towards the advancement of women in the country, in 2008, a special committee was formed in order to better coordinate national efforts towards promoting and protecting the rights of women and the family institution.

It has always been the policy of the Government of Brunei Darussalam to recognise the role women play in the development of the nation. Women have contributed actively in decision-making processes and attain senior positions in various legal, political, financial and managerial professions. The highest level attained have included the post of Attorney-General with ministerial rank, Deputy Minister, Permanent Secretary, Auditor-General, Solicitor-General, Accountant-General and as chief executive officers in both the public and private sectors including banks. Two women are members of the thirty three member National Legislative Council. Two of the four universities in Brunei are currently headed by women. Women also serve in Islamic institutes of higher education and as Prosecutors both in the Syariah courts and Civil courts.

Women in Brunei Darussalam have always been and will continue to be given equal opportunities in all aspects of life including education, employment and health. There is a high participation of women in educational and training institutions, and gender parity in primary and secondary education has been eliminated in the country to provide Education For All. As well as these, women continue to permeate into male-dominated fields, occupation and sports. Measures are also introduced in support of women including the enactment of the Employment Order 2009, to replace the former Labour Act (Cap. 93), which seeks to protect women in the workplace including their right to maternity leave. In addition, there is no restriction for women in gaining ownership in land or housing. All these indicate the country’s achievement in eliminating discriminations against women.

The Government of Brunei Darussalam is committed to the advancement of the status of women in the country and acknowledges the need to continue achieving their full potential. In this regard, the Government of Brunei Darussalam will continue its efforts to ensure that women participate in capacity building programmes as well as encourage their further participation in regional and international bodies, such as ASEAN, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Commonwealth and United Nations as a means to gain and share knowledge, information and experience. The Government of Brunei Darussalam will also continue to work closely with the relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country, who has played an equally important role in improving the status of women.

The Initial Report to the UN Committee for CEDAW is prepared by the National Coordinating Committee, comprising of government agencies and relevant NGOs in the country. Brunei Darussalam also looks forward to working with the state parties to CEDAW and relevant UN bodies in upholding the status and right of women in the country.

Introduction

The report is divided into two parts:

Part I is the core document to explain the general background of Brunei Darussalam including the legal framework and institutions in the country for the advancement of women’s status in Brunei Darussalam.

Part II is the convention-specific document which addresses the implementation of articles of the CEDAW and its recommendations.

Part I – General Information

1.Brunei Darussalam: National Profile

1.1.Brunei Darussalam achieved its full independence on 1 January 1984. The country is situated on the north-west coast of the island of Borneo with a total area of 5,765-sq. km. and a coastline of about 161-km along the South China Sea. Brunei Darussalam is divided into four districts namely Brunei-Muara, Tutong, Belait and Temburong. Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital city that covers an area of about 16 sq. km.

1.2.The estimated population for Brunei Darussalam in 2009 is 406,200 of which 191,200 are women. Of the total women population, approximately 75.3% are those aged 39 years and below, and 5.6% are those aged 60 years and above. The multi‑ethnic population is made up of Malays (66.3%), Chinese (11.0%) and other communities (22.7%). According to the country’s 2001 population census, the average household size was 6.0 persons per household. The nuclear and extended family households were the dominant type with a proportion of 59.4% and 26.2%, respectively. (Tables 1.1 – 1.3)

1.3.Islam is the official religion of Brunei Darussalam while other religions are also practiced (Table 1.4). Although Malay is the official language, English is widely spoken. Other languages, which are spoken by the respective communities, include Mandarin (as well as various other Chinese dialects such as Hokkien, Hakka and Cantonese), Dusun, Iban, Hindi and Tamil.

1.4.Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) or Malay Islamic Monarchy has been in existence since the 15th century and was officially proclaimed in January 1984. MIB is a national philosophy which integrates the language, culture and Malay customs, teachings of Islam and the monarchy system of administration.

2.Policy Framework

2.1.In 2008, the Government of Brunei Darussalam approved the Long-Term Development Plan, with the time frame of 30 years, to implement the country’s national vision – the Wawasan 2035. The Plan, among others, aims to make Brunei Darussalam among the top 10 countries in the world with a dynamic economy, sustainable per capita income, educated and well-skilled people. To fulfil the targets of the vision, eight (8) strategies were identified to include the following areas: education, economy, security, institutions development, local business development, infrastructure development, environment and social guarantees.

2.2.The Outline of Strategy and Policy for Development (OSPD), covering the period up to 2017, comprises of 50 policy directions. One of the Government’s policy directions that highlights and promotes gender equality is mentioned in the ‘Economic Strategy’ of the OSPD, where the Government has called for the need to “Encourage equal opportunities for women in the workforce and in the nation building”. The policy direction is designed to give equal opportunities to women in the labour force and further enhance their status in nation-building. To enhance a more active participation of women in national development, opportunities has been given to women to hold higher positions in the public and private sectors. These include at the level of policy makers and legislators. Childcare facilities and crèche have also been provided to facilitate the participation of women in employment. A special fund to enhance the development of women in business needs has been provided.

3.Institutional Framework

3.1.National Committee

3.1.1.A ministerial level National Council on Social Issues (MKIS), under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), was established in April 2008 to replace the Special Committee on Social Issues. The MKIS undertakes the responsibility of, among others: identifying current social issues; formulating policies, legislation and plan of actions for social issues; and, coordinating and ensuring its implementation by relevant agencies. Members of the MKIS include the Ministers of Finance, Education, Religious Affairs and Home Affairs; Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Chairman of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation. The following special committees were also set up under the MKIS: Special Committee on Poverty; Special Committee on Women and Family Institution; Special Committee on Persons with Disabilities and the Aged, Special Committee on Immoral Activities, Special Committee on Mentality and Special Committee on Prevention of Crime. Other relevant committees include the National Committee on Transnational Crime (NCTC) and the Committee to Address Unemployment Issue.

3.1.2.The Government of Brunei Darussalam recognizes the importance of promoting and protecting human rights, including that of women. The Special Committee on Women and Family Institution was established in order to better coordinate national efforts towards promoting and protecting the rights of women and the family institution. The Special Committee is chaired by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports while its Vice-Chair and Secretary are the Deputy Minister and Permanent Secretary at the MCYS respectively. Members of the Special Committee include Permanent Secretaries at the PMO, Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA); the Royal Brunei Police Commissioner; the Director General of Civil Service; and representatives from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), the Syari’ah Court and the Council of Women of Brunei Darussalam (CWBD). The Department of Community Development is the Secretariat of the Special Committee.

3.1.3.The terms of reference of the Special Committee are as follows:

i.To recommend policies, legislations and plans of actions are formulated to address issues on women and family institution;

ii.To coordinate and ensure that the plans of action and programmes on women and family institution are implemented by the relevant agencies;

iii.To review, analyse and implement the plans of action and programmes on women and family institution;

iv.To ensure that the gender and family perspectives are incorporated into all national policies and budgetary requirements;

v.To ensure that all pertaining issues on women and family institution are identified before commissioning a research to identify their root causes and recommend strategies to address them; and

vi.To ensure close cooperation between relevant stakeholders from Government and non-government agencies, including the private sector, voluntary organizations, corporate bodies, businesses, community and village leaders, parents as well as the general public in addressing issues on women and family institution.

3.2.National Machinery

3.2.1.The national machinery on women issues is the Department of Community Development (DCD), MCYS. The objectives and functions of the DCD with regards to women issues are as follows:

Objectives

i.Undertaking and coordinating programmes and activities pertaining to women affairs such as:-

•Research/studies on women in development;

•Collection and dissemination of information on women;

•Awareness programmes on women issues including the rights and responsibilities of women as agents of development including their responsibilities in strengthening the family unit in order to achieve harmonious living in family life, society and the nation; and

•Awareness programmes designed to eliminate discrimination against women, such as violence against women, legislation, trafficking etc.

ii.Encouraging the participation of women in national development without compromising the stability of their marriage/family life;

Functions

i.Providing protection, counselling and advice to women and girls who are victimized by marital abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse and other social ills;

ii.Providing welfare benefits, emergency relief, educational guidance, training and temporary shelter to women who are destitute, elderly, widowed, divorced, disabled or victims of natural disaster or misfortune;

iii.Organizing and implementing self-reliant/entrepreneurial programmes to help women become economically-independent; and

iv.Monitoring the activities of women’s associations in the country in order to ensure that they are in line with national development objectives.

3.3.Non-governmental organisations

3.3.1.The presence of NGOs in the country complements efforts of the Government in ensuring the country’s prosperity as well as social and economic progress. These organisations place much emphasis on promoting welfare and social equality by providing the support and platforms in which to address the various concerns of the people. The NGOs are actively involved in areas such as promoting awareness of persons with disabilities; social and economic advancement of women; youth empowerment; encouraging sports towards excellence; promoting awareness on HIV/AIDS and drugs; and encouraging human development by enhancing personal skills.

3.3.2.The MCYS works closely with the NGOs on issues involving women’s rights. The collaboration is maintained through an umbrella NGO, the Council of Welfare Brunei Darussalam (CWBD), to improve the status of women in all areas, particularly in education, economy, welfare, culture and society. Thirteen (13) other women’s associations in the country are affiliated to the CWBD. For instance, the Women’s Business Council of Brunei Darussalam represents the interests and concerns of women in the area of business. It provides an avenue for the exchange of ideas and development of entrepreneurship skills, and support for quality businesses for women. Its members are drawn from both women in the government and private sectors including academicians. In addition, CWBD also participates in ASEAN Confederation of Women Organization (ACWO) in order to enhance further the development of women in the country.

4.Legal Framework

4.1.Various legislations are enforced in Brunei Darussalam to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights, including safeguarding the welfare of all, particularly women and children in the country. These include:

i.Women and Girls Protection Act (Cap. 120) - gives protection for women and girls by stipulating provisions that criminalises any acts that may harm and endanger them, including the following acts:

•Selling or hiring women and girls for the purpose of prostitution;

•Harbouring women and girls by false pretences or fraudulent means;

•Setting up of brothels;

•Detaining women and girls in a brothel or in any place for prostitution;

•Trafficking in women and girls; and

•Living in or trading in prostitution.

ii.Women and Girls Protection (Place of Safety) Rules 2001 contains provisions relating to the place of safety for women and girls.

iii.Married Women Act (Cap. 190) governs the rights of married women as well as provides for matters incidental thereto such as rights to maintenance, respect of property, remedy, civil actions and legal representation and protection of a spouse physically injured. The Act however does not apply in any matter where any of the parties professes the Islamic religion. With effect from 26 June 2010, the Act was amended to include provisions on domestic violence. Pursuant to the amendments, the Act provides better protection for victims of domestic violence. The Act explicitly defines the meaning of domestic violence and provides an extensive protection for abused victims including the issuance of protection orders and expedited orders by the court, the award of compensation to the abused victims and the grant of power of arrest to the police officers.

iv.Islamic Family Law Order 2000 stipulates provisions relating to Islamic family law in respect of marriage, divorce, maintenance, guardianship and other matters connected with family life of a Muslim. The Order provides protection for women and children by preserving and safeguarding their interests and rights in order to guarantee and promote their welfare, such as:

•Maintenance and accommodation of married women;

•Division of and partaken in matrimonial property for women after divorce;

•Ill treatment of wife or husband;

•Maintenance of dependants; and

•Guardianship of children.

With effect from 26 June 2010, new provisions on ‘dharar syar’ie’ or domestic violence was also added into the Order. Similar like the Married Women Act (Cap. 190), the new provisions explicitly define domestic violence and provide better protection for victims of domestic violence, which among others, includes the issuance of protection orders and expedited orders by the court, the award of compensation to the abused victims and the grant of power of arrest to the police officers.

v.Children and Young Persons Order 2006 which replaced the Children Order 2000 and came up into effect on March 2010, provides for the care and protection of children and their rehabilitation; and the establishment of the Juvenile Courts and Action Teams on Child Protection. The Action Teams on Child Protection has been set up for the purposes of coordinating locally-based services to families, children and young persons in cases where children or young persons are or are suspected of being in need of protection. The Order provides for temporary custody, medical examination and treatment, remand homes, place of detention, approved schools and approved homes and procedure in juvenile courts. It also stipulates offences against children and young persons such as trafficking, ill-treatment, begging and leaving them without reasonable supervision.

vi.Penal Code (Cap. 22) provides protection for women generally, by criminalising acts that cause hurt and grievous hurt to any person, rape, incest, insult the modesty of women and voluntarily cause a woman with a child to miscarry.

vii.Compulsory Education Order 2007 provides 9 years compulsory education for all including girls.

viii.Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 7) contains provisions that are specifically applicable to women such as the prohibition of imposition of death sentence on pregnant woman if she is convicted of capital offence, prohibition of whipping on women and the mode of searching woman which must be made by another woman with strict regard to decency.

ix.Prison’s Rules (under section 62 of the Prisons Act (Cap. 51)) sets out provisions for the welfare and interests of women prisoners, especially in respect of their accommodation, employment, education and health.

x.Chinese Marriages Act (Cap. 126) makes it an offence to treat the other party to the marriage cruelly and to cause substantial physical or mental suffering. It is also an offence under the Act to desert the other party to the marriage or his or her children without reasonable excuse.

xi.Employment Order 2009 contains specific provisions which govern the employment of women in Brunei Darussalam.

xii.Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons Order 2004 criminalises the activities of human trafficking, human smuggling and exploitation of trafficked persons.

xiii.Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Act (Cap. 29) protects girls against sexual exploitation and makes it an offence to have sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16 years.

xiv.Old Age and Disability Pensions Act (Cap. 18) provides for pecuniary payments by way of pensions for blind persons and their dependants, allowances for persons who are suffering from Hansen’s disease and the mentally disabled and their dependants, disability pensions and such other pensions and allowances as may be prescribed.

4.2.The draft Disability Order has been formulated and is in the pipeline for adoption. The Order is expected to help promote the concept of inclusive society where individuals with special needs find opportunities to be productive. The Order will address various issues, including access to infrastructure, education, health, recreation and sports, culture and information. This will ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of the disabled from a rights-based approach.

4.3.All these laws are published and made accessible to the public where copies can be bought for the Printing Department, PMO. Soft copies are also made available to the public through AGC’s website: www.agc.gov.bn.

5.Regional and International Commitments

5.1.Brunei Darussalam abides by the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter since joining the Organization as a full-fledged member on 21 September 1984. Brunei Darussalam also upholds the values of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the major UN decisions related to promoting and protecting human rights.

5.2.Brunei Darussalam acceded to the CEDAW on 24th May 2006. Other regional/international commitments of Brunei Darussalam on gender-related issues include:

i.ASEAN Declaration on the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region (1988);

ii.ASEAN Declaration on the Commitments for Children in ASEAN (2001);

iii.ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the ASEAN Region (2004);

iv.ASEAN Declaration against Trafficking in Persons particularly Women and Children (2004);

v.ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (2007);

vi.ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) (2009);

vii.ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women (ACWC) (2010)

viii.Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)(1995);

ix.Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action (1995);

x.Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (1985);

xi.Commonwealth Plan of Action on Women and Development (1987);

xii.Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (2006);

xiii.Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007); and,

xiv.Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality (2005).

5.3.As a signatory to the UN Millennium Declaration, Brunei Darussalam has carried out continuous efforts to ensure the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. The 2009 UNDP’s Human Development Index ranked Brunei Darussalam 30th place out of 182 nations recognising, among others, the eradication of extreme poverty, improvement of the lives of its people and a progressive improvement in equity.

5.4.Brunei Darussalam has participated in and benefited from various programmes organised by regional and international bodies such as the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW), Non-Aligned Movement Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) and the Commonwealth. It also works with the UN Women (formerly known as United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)) through the ASEAN framework, in terms of accessing technical assistance on innovative programmes and strategies to foster women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Part II – Convention specific document

Part II of the Report outlines Brunei Darussalam’s progress with regard to the implementation of 11 out of the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the CEDAW.

The Government of Brunei Darussalam expresses its reservations regarding provisions of this Convention that may be contrary to the Constitution of Brunei Darussalam and to the benefits and principles of Islam, the official religion of Brunei Darussalam. Without prejudice to the generality of this Convention, Brunei Darussalam has tendered reservations with respect to Paragraph 2 of Article 9 and Paragraph 1 of Article 29, as follows:

Article 9(2)

States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.

Article 29 (1)

Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Convention which is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request for arbitration the parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of those parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request in conformity with the Statute of the Court.

Response to respective articles of the Convention:

1.Article 1: Definition of Discrimination

1.1.There is no clear definition of the term ‘discrimination against women’. However, for practical purposes, it may be interpreted to mean treating women differently to men to the detriment of women. While there may be customary and traditional practices that distinct the role of men and women, the Government of Brunei Darussalam has taken positive measures to address discrimination including by providing equal access to education, economic resources and employment.

1.2.Generally, the laws of Brunei Darussalam apply to both men and women. Although they are expressed in the masculine gender, Section 4(a) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Act (Cap. 4) provides that the words importing the masculine gender includes females.

1.3.Although there are no specific provisions by which the law courts may impose penalties on persons or legal persons guilty of discriminating women, redress is available through the applicable law in that particular sphere.

2.Article 2: The Elimination of Discrimination

2.1.The decision to sign the CEDAW in 2006 was a significant step in support of international efforts to address the issue of discrimination against women.

2.2.In the field of criminal law, all penal provisions apply equally to both males and females. In fact, some laws are specifically aimed at the recognition and protection of women. Penal legislations such as the Penal Code (Cap. 22) list specific offences against women such as rape and use of words, gesture or act with intent to insult the modesty. In addition, certain penal sentencing provisions are more advantageous towards women. For example, the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 7) contains, among others, provisions that prohibit the imposition of death sentence on pregnant women if convicted of capital offence. Meanwhile, Section 62 of the Prisons Act (Cap. 51) sets out provisions for the welfare and interests of women prisoners, especially in respect of their accommodation, employment, education and health.

3.Article 3: Guarantee of Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

3.1.Brunei Darussalam continues to improve opportunities for women to help them achieve their potential in the social, economic and political life of the society, based on a principle of meritocracy.

3.2.The Constitution of Brunei Darussalam provides that any person (other than a Regent) who is a citizen of Brunei Darussalam and who has attained the age of 21 years shall be qualified to be a Member of the Legislative Council (Article 29). Two (2) women are currently members of the Legislative Council.

3.3.Women have equal access to education and health. Furthermore, they are given equal treatment in terms of employment in both the public and private sectors.

3.4.Currently, Brunei Darussalam has an inter-agency consultative mechanism which deals with matters related to human rights. The existence of such mechanism, which works closely with NGOs and civil society, has ensured human rights in the country are well promoted and protected. The main agencies dealing with such responsibilities are PMO, AGC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT); MOHA, MORA, MOH, Ministry of Development (MOD), MOE and MCYS.

3.5.At the regional level, Brunei Darussalam has appointed its Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to work with other ASEAN Member States in promoting and protecting human rights in the region. Brunei Darussalam has also appointed representatives to the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), which was established in April 2010.

3.6.The Development and Advancement of Women

3.6.1.There are milestones to mark the advancement of Brunei women. For the first time, in 1930, 24 girls were admitted to a government girls’ school. In 1937, 42 girls were allowed to study with boys in a government Malay school. Twenty years later, the all-girls English school was opened.

3.6.2.Women NGOs were formed as early as 1 February 1951, with the setting up of the “Kaum Ibu”, established with the encouragement of the then British administration and the Girl Guides Association. This was followed by the formation of several other women NGOs.

3.6.3.The forerunners in the establishment of the existing Council of Welfare Brunei Darussalam (CWBD) in 1985 were six women associations that recognized the need to have an umbrella body to unite all the women’s NGOs. The CWBD now has 13 affiliated associations. (Table 6.3)

3.6.4.Acknowledging the many women’s issues to be addressed, the Government’s earliest effort was the establishment of a Women’s Unit in February 1987 under the Social Affairs Services Division in the MCYS. As the national focal point for women, the Unit is well placed to coordinate all matters pertaining to women. Among its main task was to act as an information centre for the collection of data and dissemination of information on women.

3.6.5.On 8 July 2002, the Social Affairs Services Division was upgraded to the Department of Community Development (DCD). It continues to oversee matters pertaining to women. Today, the DCD, Islamic Propagation Centre, MORA, relevant members of the private sector and the various women NGOs regularly conduct women seminars and forums on women.

3.6.6.The DCD is strongly supported by the CWBD. Established as an umbrella NGO on 6 April 1985, it comprises 13 national women’s organizations representing the views and aspirations of all women in Brunei Darussalam with the main objective to improve the status of women in all areas such as education, economy, welfare, culture and social, and striving for gender equality and the promotion of women’s role in national development. Its agenda includes the pursuit of gender equality and gender mainstreaming in national development plans including gender budgeting.

3.6.7.The CWBD is strategically engaged in decision making in national and social issues through its involvement as a member and partner of many government agencies. The CWBD is also a member of the ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organisations (ACWO), International Council of Women (ICW) and the South East Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN; and attends various ASEAN and ASEAN+3 workshops, conferences, meetings and UN affiliated meetings. It is also highly engaged in ACW and ACWO fora and carries out activities to implement the five critical areas of concern under the Beijing Platform of Action and CEDAW. Some of the women’s organizations are also members of international bodies.

3.6.8.Women’s Business Council – Brunei Darussalam (WBC) is another national non-governmental organisation (NGO) to represent the interests and concerns of women in business. It creates an avenue for the exchange of ideas and developing entrepreneurship skills, and support for quality businesses for women. Its activities include trade fairs, business matching and networking and training at local, regional and international levels. Its members are drawn from both government and private sectors such as women in business and including academicians. It works closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) as well as Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) and other relevant government agencies to further develop and strengthen its activities.

3.6.9.Regionally, Brunei Darussalam participates in the ASEAN fora and BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines – East Asia Growth Area). On 5 July 1988, Brunei Darussalam joined five other ASEAN members in signing the Declaration on the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region. In pursuit of the Declaration, ASEAN Member States were tasked to disseminate information about the Declaration, to promote the discussion of gender issues, to create or strengthen national machineries for the advancement of women and to promote the awareness of governments on the role of women in development. The ASEAN Women’s Programme (now the ASEAN Committee on Women) developed a reporting mechanism for the Declaration. The first report was published in 1996 entitled ‘The Advancement of Women in ASEAN; a regional Report’. Its second report was published in 2001 and the third report on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN: Gender Dimensions of Globalisation and Regional Integration was published in 2007. The ASEAN Committee on Women meets annually and the ACWO is represented in ASEAN Committee on Women Meetings and also as part of respective national delegations. In support of regional efforts to promote the advancement of women, Brunei Darussalam commemorates International Women’s Day and ASEAN Women’s Day annually on 8th of March and 5th of July respectively.

3.6.10.At the international level, Brunei Darussalam’s women take part in the work of the United Nations (UN), Commonwealth, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), the East Asia fora and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation fora, in particular the APEC Women Leaders Network Meeting, the Women’s Business Council and the Gender Focal Point Network.

3.7.Violence against Women (Tables 7.8 – 7.11) – In light of Recommendation 12 & 19

3.7.1.In Brunei Darussalam, the term ‘dharar syarie’ or domestic violence is defined under the Islamic Family Law Order 2000 and the Married Women Act (Cap 190) as the commission of any of the following acts:

i.Wilfully or knowingly causing, or attempting to cause, a family member to be in fear of hurt;

ii.Causing hurt to a family member by such act which is known or ought to have been known would result in hurt;

iii.Compelling the family member by force or threat to engage in any conduct or act from which he has a right to abstain;

iv.Wrongfully confining or restraining a family member against his will;

v.Continual harassment with intent to cause distress, annoyance or humiliation, or knowing that it is likely to cause distress, annoyance or humiliation, to a family member; or

vi.Causing destruction, damage or loss to property of a family member or causing financial loss to a family member.

3.7.2.Brunei Darussalam has various legislations which criminalise domestic violence including the Penal Code (Cap. 22), the Women and Girls Protection Act (Cap. 120), Islamic Family Law Order 2000, the Married Women Act (Cap. 190) and the Children and Young Persons Order 2006.

3.7.3.The Islamic Family Law Order, 2000 and the Married Women Act (Cap. 190) were amended in 2010 to include provisions on domestic violence. Any woman who is the target of any violence may apply to the Syariah Court for protection order or expedited order against dharar syari’e or domestic violence.

3.7.4.Awareness campaigns and training for personnel in particular front line personnel involved in domestic violence issues are constantly conducted by government agencies and NGOs. These include medical officers, law enforcement officers, teachers and social workers. In 2008 alone, 2 national level symposiums were organised specifically on domestic violence with the theme “Don’t be silent, take action”.

3.7.5.Protection for victims is provided through shelter homes run by the DCD. Support services by government agencies and NGOs are provided for victims while counselling services are provided for victims as well as perpetrators. In 2006 the DCD introduced a 3-digit helpline 141 to replace the older 6-digit helpline which provided venues for reporting, complaints, airing of grievances and which provided counselling over the telephone. Calls are registered in accordance with the requirements of International Child Helpline.

3.7.6.The precise incidence of domestic violence in Brunei Darussalam is difficult to determine for reasons such as stigma, reluctance, shame and fear of personal safety, which may make cases go unreported.

3.7.7.The latest statistical breakdown by the Department of Criminal Intelligence, Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) shows that the number of domestic violence cases for the last five years has steadily decreased from 175 cases in 2005 to 122 cases as of August 2009. Of this, the number of wife abuse cases is 160 cases in 2005 and 100 cases as of August 2009. Child abuse cases and maid abuse cases have both double in 2008 as compared to the year 2005. (Table 7.8-7.9)

3.8.Women with Disabilities (Table 7.2)

3.8.1.In 2008, the number of persons with disabilities (PWDs) registered with the DCD was 2,284 which is 0.57% of the total population.

3.8.2.Issues on persons with disabilities (including women) are handled by the Special Committee on Persons with Disabilities and the Aged under the aegis of the National Council on Social Issues. The Special Committee is chaired by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports while its Vice-Chair and Secretary are the Deputy Minister and Permanent Secretary at the MCYS respectively. Members of the Special Committee include Permanent Secretaries at the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministries of Finance, Education, Health, Religious Affairs, Home Affairs, Communications and Development; as well as representatives from the Council of Welfare Brunei Darussalam and the Council of Community Welfare. The Department of Community Development (DCD) is the Secretariat of this committee.

3.8.3.The terms of reference of the Special Committee are as follows:

i.To recommend policies, legislations and plans of actions are formulated to address issues on older persons and people with disabilities;

ii.To coordinate and ensure that the plans of action and programmes on older persons and people with disabilities are implemented by the relevant agencies;

iii.To continuously review and analyse the effectiveness of plans of action and programmes on older persons and people with disabilities;

iv.To ensure that all pertaining issues on older persons and people with disabilities are identified before commissioning a research to recommend strategies to address them;

v.To ensure that a database on older persons and people with disabilities is established; and

vi.To ensure close cooperation between relevant stakeholders from Government and Non-Government agencies, including the private sector, voluntary organizations, corporate bodies, businesses, community and village leaders, parents as well as the general public in addressing issues on older persons and people with disabilities.

3.8.4.The national focal point for issues relating to persons with disabilities (PWDs) is the Department of Community Development, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Two other agencies, namely, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) are key stakeholders in the provision of services relating to health and education for the disabled. Tripartite meetings are held regularly between these parties to ensure effective and integrated approach on the rights and protection of children with disabilities. Priorities in health care are given to the young population in particular the prevention of disabilities by optimising prenatal, prenatal and postnatal care.

3.8.5.The Child Development Centre (CDC) of the MOH provides services to facilitate the diagnosis, assessment, treatment and support therapy for children with disabilities in order to ensure their optimal health and development. The CDC also provides coordination and professional support and training for NGOs in the country.

3.8.6.The MOE has an inclusive education policy for persons with disabilities, which does not allow for segregation of schools for them. Education for persons with special needs is coordinated by the Special Education Unit (SEU) of the MOE. The SEU is the coordinating unit which organises services with the support of the School-Based Team (SBT). This team includes Special Education Needs Assistance (SENA) or Home-Room (HR) Teachers, regular classroom teachers, teacher aides, resource teachers, special educators, psychologists and other relevant specialist personnel.

3.8.7.The Government is currently in the process of establishing Centres of Excellence for special needs students who excel in their studies through Model Inclusive Schools providing Excellent Services for Children. Selected primary and secondary schools have been allocated additional funding and support to ensure they have the necessary school facilities, special learning equipment or resources, specialist support services, and teacher training programmes to provide quality inclusive education for a wide range of students with diverse learning needs.

3.8.8.The increase in public awareness of training and employment capabilities is evidenced by the increasing number of persons with disabilities in the labour force. Programmes for persons with disabilities are provided by the DCD in centres called Pusat Bahagia in each district. The Centres provide training for children and adults with disabilities, industrial training, community-based rehabilitation and disability equipment for poor disabled persons. Currently, there are two centre-based programs, namely, the Basic Orientation Training Programme and the Vocational Training Programme. The DCD and the CDC also provide Home-Based or Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programmes which provide services to those who do not have the opportunity to undergo training at the Centres, especially those who live in rural areas. As for the families of the disabled, supportive therapy is also extended which helps to alleviate unwarranted fears and anxieties of parents towards their children.

3.8.9.In the effort of further promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, Brunei Darussalam signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 18 December 2007. A National Committee/Task Force set up to oversee the Convention is led by the DCD which also coordinates the possibility of ratifying the Convention in the near future. This would ensure the enactment of an appropriate legislation, which among others, address issues of Persons with Disabilities on a rights-based approach. At the same time, it would explicitly prohibit discrimination against any person based on disability.

3.8.10.The Old Age and Disability Pensions Act (Cap. 18) provides citizens and permanent residents monthly financial pensions. Other welfare aid includes disability aid such as wheel chairs, walking aids, Braille, prosthetic limbs, visual aids and education for children with special needs and training programmes for adults (sign language, basketry, Braille, handicrafts, art, music, carpentry, sewing and horticulture).

3.8.11.In addition, there are a number of NGOs which complement government efforts in the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. These include:-

i.Pusat Ehsan

ii.Brunei Darussalam National Association of the Blind (BDNAB)

iii.The Association for Paraplegic and Physically Handicapped People of Brunei Darussalam (PAPDA)

iv.The Association of Handicapped Children of Brunei Darussalam (KACA)

v.Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues – In Training, Education and Resources (SMARTER)

vi.Learning Ladders Society

vii.FITRAH

viii.Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam (SOBD)

ix.La Vida Limited

x.Persatuan Orang Kurang Pendengaran (OKP)

3.8.12.The Government of Brunei Darussalam has recently established an assistance scheme whereby civil servants can contribute financially to any PWD association of their choice by having their monthly salaries deducted voluntarily. In addition, a complimentary piece of land totalling 18 acres has been allocated for building premises of PWD associations. The Government of Brunei Darussalam will provide gratis layout plans for each PWD association while the cost of constructing the building premises will be borne by the PWD associations either through their own resources or through private sponsorship.

3.8.13.With regard to accessibility, although there is no legislation concerning facilities for persons with disabilities, it is mandatory for the inclusion of such facilities in all future building designs. However, the draft Disability Order has been formulated and is in the pipeline for adoption. This will ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of the disabled from a rights-based approach.

4.Article 4: Special Measures – In response to Recommendation 25

4.1.Women in Brunei Darussalam have always been and will continue to be given equal opportunities in all aspects of life including education, employment and business. Recognizing the contribution of women to national development, priorities will continue to be given towards ensuring women’s fundamental role in the socio economic structure of the nation. With the national agenda on the strengthening of the family institution, equal emphasis is given to the role that both men and women play in the family institution and in nation building.

5.Article 5: Sex Role Stereotyping and Prejudice

5.1.Measures to Eliminate Prejudice and Negative Customary Practices

5.1.1.The traditional role of women is still upheld in some ways. However the achievements of women in Brunei Darussalam testified by their high participation in schools, tertiary education and in the work force has impacted on the breakdown in the stereotyping of women. There are more female students than males in tertiary education and women accounted for 71% on average of graduates in 2007-2010. Men and women share family roles and women have permeated into male dominated occupations and also in the field of sports.

5.1.2The school curriculum emphasizes both the roles of men and women in the upbringing of the family. Children are taught on family responsibilities, respect for the elderly and good virtues.

6.Article 6: Trafficking and the Exploitation of Women

6.1.Measures to suppress trafficking and the exploitation of women

6.1.1.Brunei Darussalam has in place three legislations which govern the issue of women trafficking and exploitation of prostitution of women namely, the Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons Order 2004, the Women and Girls Protection Act (Cap. 120) and the Penal Code (Cap. 22). The Women and Girls Protection Act (Cap.120) criminalises any activity of buying, selling, procuring, trafficking in or importing of women and girls into Brunei Darussalam for the purpose of such traffic. It also criminalises the selling, hiring, procuring, bringing into Brunei Darussalam, harbouring, detaining women or girls for the purpose of prostitution. The Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons Order 2004 also in general criminalises the activities of human trafficking, human smuggling and exploitation of the trafficked persons. The Penal Code (Cap. 22) also contains provisions which criminalise the exploitation of prostitution of women and girls.

6.1.2.The Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) has established a Heads of Specialist Trafficking Unit (HSU) on the 16th August 2011 to specialize in investigating trafficking-in-persons cases in Brunei Darussalam. HSU specializes in conducting investigations on Trafficking in Persons offences in accordance to the Trafficking and Smuggling in Persons Order, 2004. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) has been developed to establish step-by-step procedures by which trafficking-in-persons (TIP) investigations will be conducted. HSU works very closely with Immigration and National Registration Department, Labour Department, AGC and DCD, for the prevention, investigation, protection and anything related to TIP cases.

6.1.3.The Women and Child Abuse Investigation Unit (WCAIU) of the RBPF was established in April 1997 for the purpose of tackling any form of violence against women and children. The WCAIU is manned totally by women officers. The WCAIU is under the Major Crime Division of Criminal Investigation Department and the Unit has an increase of over 600% in manpower from when it was first established (from 4 personnel to 27 personnel). The vision of the WCAIU is “effectiveness in fighting violence against women and children” and its mission is to protect the rights of women and children against violence and abuse, to protect youth against social problems and to discharge the responsibility entrusted by RBPF by carrying out investigation in a systematic and professional manner and in line with the criminal laws and procedures. The nature of offences that are handled by the WCAIU include domestic violence, sexual offences (rape, incest, unlawful carnal knowledge), child abuse, juvenile delinquency and abandonment of infant.

6.1.4.Over the last few years, the WCAIU together with other government and private institutions have continuously and actively participated in promoting public awareness on sexual related offences, domestic violence and child abuse through various road shows, television awareness programs and talk shows. The WCAIU also promotes awareness through series of interview with the media and help produce articles relating to the above topics.

6.1.5.The Public Relation Office (PRO) of the RBPF actively promotes awareness programmes in schools for students and teachers through a series of talks, discussion groups and visits. Awareness programmes in schools by the PRO are done twice weekly.

6.1.6.The RBPF also have community policing (Kejiranan Kampong) consisting of head of village and village members. The members of ‘Kejiranan Kampong’ are regularly updated on issues on crime and crime prevention. The PRO has a close rapport with mosques and uses this as an opportunity to talk to the residents during Friday prayer about crime prevention awareness. The PRO will strive to improve on communications strategies; maintaining media relations by providing timely press release and improve in their publication effort in crime awareness and prevention.

7.Article 7: Political and Public Life – In response to Recommendation 23

7.1.The changes in women’s socio-economic characteristics and their corresponding role in the Brunei society have been due to several factors since the 1970’s and more especially in the last decade. The first and fundamental one is the improvement in the general level of education among females. This has led to a dramatic increase in the participation rate of women in the labour force, working in professional, technical, managerial and administrative jobs.

7.2.The improvement in the general level of education among females has led to a dramatic increase in the participation rate of women in the labour force, working in professional, technical, managerial and administrative jobs from a rate of only 20% in 1971 to 59% today. Until April 2011, women constitute about 50.4% (24,710) of the civil service force where they occupy 30.7% of Division 1 posts (Table 3.7–3.8). The Brunei National Development Plan 2007-2012 stress on the need to enhance a more active participation of women in national development by providing them opportunity to hold higher positions in the public and private sectors including at the level of policy makers and legislators.

7.3.Women serve in a wide variety of capacities ranging from entrepreneurs, lawyers, pilots and fire fighters to notable ranks in the civil service. Ample employment opportunities for women both in the public and private sectors have made this possible. Brunei women’s employment have permeated into male-dominated fields such as in engineering, the army, fire brigade and police force, to name a few.

7.4.For the first time in Brunei Darussalam, there are currently two women in the ministerial level. One of whom is Attorney General and the other as the Deputy Minister. Two women also sit in the State Legislative Council. All this reflect the recognition of Brunei women’s contributions in Brunei Darussalam’s socio-economic development and nation building.

7.5.Women have also contributed actively in decision-making processes and attain lead positions in various professions such as legal, political, financial, and managerial. Women have been and continue to be appointed as Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, Auditor-General, Accountant-General, Solicitor-General, Director-General, Directors and Deputy Directors throughout the Civil Service including the MORA. Women also currently head two of the four universities. Women also serve in executive positions in Islamic institutes of higher education and universities. Since 1995, women have been appointed as prosecutors and since 2003, the posts of Syar’ie Court Prosecutors had been filled by women. These developments have ensured the participation of women in the formulation and implementation of government policy; they hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government.

7.6.Women are given all opportunities to participate in nation building as men and both the public and private sectors recognize their talents. Women have voting rights as do men in the election of village leaders.

7.7.Civil Society participation in decision making is through the participation of the CWBD.

8.Article 8: Participation at the International Level – In light of Recommendation 8

8.1.In the socio-economic development of the country, improvements in the levels of education amongst women have led to an increased participation rate of women in the work force.

8.2.Brunei Darussalam’s commitment to women development is reflected in our efforts towards gender mainstreaming and in our commitment to the CEDAW, to the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, the ASEAN Declaration on the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the ASEAN Region and the MDGs, in particular, the goal to promote gender equality and empower women.

8.3.In this regard, women are given equal opportunities in all aspects of life including representing the Government and participating in the work of regional and international organizations in all fields not merely in gender related issues.

8.4.On top of that, the private sector and civil society dealing with women issues are also active proponents on the development of women in the international fora.

9.Article 9: Nationality – In response to Recommendation 4 & 20

9.1.Women have equal rights to the citizenship as men. Marriage to one of another nationality does not automatically affect the nationality of the woman. Change in the husband’s nationality also does not affect the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband.

9.2.In light of recommendation 4 & 20, The Brunei Nationality Act (Cap. 15) allows for either a Bruneian father or Bruneian mother of the child to obtain nationality of their children in accordance with its Section 4 and 6 respectively. Section 4 of the Brunei Nationality Act (Cap. 15) spells out categories of person who can acquire nationality by operation of law whilst Section 6 provides for the acquisition of nationality of a minor by way of registration i.e. upon application by a parent or guardian who is a Brunei national. As such, pursuant to Section of the Act, children of women citizens married to foreign nationals maybe accorded Brunei citizenship upon application.

9.3.Brunei Darussalam places reservation on this article as it has a policy of single nationality and does not recognise dual nationality. Thus children of women citizens may either be registered as Brunei nationals or the nationals as that of the father.

10.Article 10: Education (Tables 2.1 – 2.18)

10.1.Providing universal access to education has always been a fundamental objective of Brunei Darussalam’s education policy. All levels of education in government schools is provided free of charge for citizens though there is also the option of private schooling. Continued substantial investments have been made by the Government in improving educational infrastructure and providing quality teaching at all levels. The rural-urban divide has also been taken into consideration with more primary schools have been built over the last few years thus improving access to quality education to the population as a whole.

10.2.The literacy rate of females aged 9 years and over has increased from 73.3% in 1981 to 91.5% in 2001 (Table 2.10), with the current estimated literacy rate at 94.9%. The number of girls enrolling in secondary level education exceeded that of boys and in 2004 there were 32% more female students than male in the tertiary level education. The increasing numbers of female graduates are products of both our local national university as well as from overseas universities. In 2007, women made up 73% of total graduates. (Tables 2.2 and 2.5)

10.3.To meet future challenges in an ever changing world, the Government has developed a vision of ‘Quality education towards a developed, peaceful and prosperous nation’. While placing strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy; the education system also aims to develop and equip our children morally, intellectually, physically, socially and aesthetically with the right values, skills and characters to become responsible, dynamic and high quality citizens to contribute positively to the nation. School children are also exposed to ICT skills to promote creativity, independent learning and enhance higher order thinking skills.

10.4.Among the educational policies of the MOE are: -

i.To provide a well-balanced curriculum as well as suitable and uniform public examinations administered according to the level of education, including those with special needs, in all schools throughout the nation;

ii.To provide facilities for mathematics, science, technical and information and communication technology education in order to enable students to obtain knowledge and skills that are relevant and necessary in the constantly changing world of employment;

iii.To provide self-development and enrichment programmes through co‑curricular activities in accordance with the national philosophy;

iv.To offer a wide range of opportunities and choices in higher education for those with appropriate qualifications and experiences with such opportunities to be offered based on national needs as and when they arise; and

v.To provide the best possible educational infrastructure in order to fulfil national needs.

10.5.“The Compulsory Education Order 2007” ensures that all children from the age of six attend school for at least nine years. Failure to do so amounts to a contravention of the Order and renders each parent of such child liable to legal action.

10.6.Brunei Darussalam’s National Action Plan on education complies with the Dakar Framework and Jomtien Declaration on Education for All, including the implementation of the Inclusive Education Policy and the ICT Strategy in education. Brunei Darussalam has also adopted three major themes in its 2007-2011 strategic plan, namely (1) Quality Education; (2) Teaching and Learning Excellence; and (3) Professional, Accountable and Efficient Organisation.

10.7.The current Brunei Darussalam’s National Development Plan (2007-2012) and the Brunei Darussalam Vision 2035 place great emphasis on the accomplishment of a well-educated and highly skilled society with a world class education system that promotes lifelong learning as its hallmark. Education is one of the 8 major development strategies and 8.7% of the development fund goes to education, including modernising its ICT infrastructure. Annually, 17% of our GDP is spent on education.

10.8.Recently, the Education For All (EFA) Development Index (EDI) for 2009 classified Brunei Darussalam as being close to achieving the four most quantifiable EFA goals – Universal Primary Education, Adult Literacy, Gender Parity and Quality and Quality Education. Brunei Darussalam ranked 36 from 129 countries with a high EDI which stands at 0.972.

10.9.In addition to these initiatives, the Government has endeavoured to improve the quality of education system by continue to provide free education for citizens from primary education until tertiary education. The Government also implement the new education system suited for the 21st Century skills and competencies; referred to as the “Sistem Pendidikan Negara Abad Ke-21” (SPN21) which is broad-based, provides multiple pathways for the students towards attaining further and higher education qualifications as well as equipping students with the relevant skills necessary to survive with the demands of a fast changing world.

10.10.Students of both sexes also enjoy equal educational benefits which include monthly transport allowances and educational allowances in vocational and tertiary educational institutions. In addition, the disadvantaged can apply for monthly educational allowances for each of their children. This benefit is not restricted to the number of children per family.

10.11.Islamic religious education is included in the school curriculum of the MOE. Apart from these, there are also religious schools under the MORA. (Table 2.8). Islamic Religious Knowledge is taught from Year 1 up to Year 11 and in Year 12 students are able to choose various Islamic topics for A levels too.

10.12.The indicators for scholarships as well as in-service training also show equal if not more participation from women. Out of the total of 2,402 government officers permitted for in-service training locally from 2006 to 2010, 66.9% were women and of the total of 1,195 government officers who were sent abroad on in-service training in 2006 to 2010, a total of 661 or equivalent to 55.3% were women.

10.13.On 2nd January 2012, the MOE started an assistance scheme whereby, based on established criteria, a total of 107 underprivileged students are provided with hostel accommodation to help them attain educational achievement. The students are placed in the hostel of Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College. The placement in the hostel will make way for proper socialization that can bring success in the students’ lives, enable them to pull themselves out of poverty and live life with greater independence, discipline and success. In the hostel, the students will follow programmes, which include extra class as well as counselling services.

11.Article 11: Employment (Tables 3.1-3.8)

11.1.The largest employer in Brunei Darussalam is the Government of Brunei Darussalam operating through 12 ministries. Brunei Shell Petroleum Company is the second largest employer.

11.2.The improvement in the general level of education among females has led to an increase in the number of working women from 63,500 persons in 2004 to 70,600 persons in 2008. The labour force participation rate for women in 2008 was 56.7%. (Tables 3.1-3.2)

11.3.The 2008 statistics also showed 39.4 per cent of the labour force consists of women. From 1991 to 2001, the average annual growth rate of economically active women was 5.5 per cent, higher than the growth rate of women population of working age. This is evident in the fact that at 7.9%, the annual growth rate of economically active women between 1991 and 2001 is double the growth rate of the female population of working ages. There has also been a steady increase of women entering what were previously male-dominated fields. (Table 3.4)

11.4.Women are not subject to sex discrimination, have working opportunities as well as equal rights as men provided they have the relevant qualifications for positions advertised. They receive equal pay as men and work equal hours.

11.5.Brunei Darussalam National Development Plan (2007–2012) states that opportunities will also be given to women to hold higher positions in the public and private sectors. It places emphasis on the need to provide child care and crèche facilities at work place to facilitate the participation of women in employment and calls for the provision of a special fund to enhance the development of women in business needs.

11.6.The protection of women in the workplace including their right to maternity leave is provided under Part X of the Employment Order 2009 which provides for conditions relating to the employment of women. The Order outlines maternity benefits which a pregnant woman in confinement is entitled to, including rest, pay and against termination during maternity leave.

11.7.In the case of pregnant employees, it is the practice of the attending obstetrician or occupational health doctor to recommend any special requirement to protect the mother and unborn child e.g. receiving appropriate vaccinations, removal from hazardous work (not working with hazardous chemicals and in an infectious environment).

11.8.Currently, an occupational health and safety legislation is being proposed which will include employer’s responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for all employees.

11.9.The Government has enforced a new regulation called the Maternity Leave Regulation 2011 as a measure towards coordinating the pre- and post-natal needs and health interest of mothers. By virtue of the Regulation, the maternity leave entitlement of women officers and staff in the civil service has been increased from 56 days to up to 105 days. Privileges under the Maternity Leave Regulation 2011 will also be extended to those employed in the private sector.

11.10.In 2009, the government has taken steps to women’s rights to equal opportunities and treatment in the work place. The policy on the employment of women on a month-to-month basis had been effaced by the government. Both graduate and non-graduate women are now employed on a permanent basis. This not only ensures job security for women but to their entitlement to various remuneration and benefits in the civil service such as leave passage allowances and education allowances.

11.11.Equal Remuneration – In response to Recommendation 13

11.11.1.The salaries of women are on par with that of men. All enacted laws and regulations one employment matters in Brunei Darussalam provides equal opportunities and rights to both men & women, they include the following legislations;

•Employment Order 2009

•Workmen’s Compensation Act (Cap. 74)

•Trade Unions Act (Cap. 128)

•Employment Agencies Order 2004

11.11.2.As of the 1st of January 2012, women in the civil service are eligible to various benefits. These include civil service Leave Passage Allowance and Education Allowance. Eligible officers entitled to receive these allowances can claim for themselves and their eligible family members.

12.Article 12: Health (Tables 4.1 -4.6) – In response to recommendation 24

12.1.The provision of a comprehensive health care system for the people is a priority for Brunei Darussalam. Basic health services are easily accessible to the population throughout the country, including providing flying medical services to rural areas. Health care in the public sector is provided free for all citizens and permanent residents and is affordable to non-citizens. Maternal and Child Health Services are provided free to all pregnant mothers and children regardless of citizenship. In 2007, a total of 393 physicians and 81 dentists were registered to practice. There were 41 pharmacists and 2,006 nurses. The total number of beds in the government hospitals is 923 of which 191 are in the obstetrics and gynaecology wards. (Table 4.1-4.2)

12.2.The MOH, in June 2000, launched the National Health Care Plan (2000–2010) which observes the following four principles:

i.Ensuring universal access to better health care;

ii.Enabling equity of access to comprehensive health services;

iii.Promoting partnership and public participation in the concept of co‑production of efficient and effective health services for all; and

iv.Ensuring that the health service system is sustainable within the institutional capacity and financial resources of the MOH.

12.3.The new vision of the MOH is Vision 2035 - “Together Towards A Healthy Nation”. Five strategic themes have been identified as main priority, namely:

•Comprehensive Healthcare System that Emphasises Service Excellence;

•A Nation that Embraces and Practices Healthy Lifestyle;

•Sustainability through Resource Optimisation, Innovation and Excellence;

•Effective Policies and Regulations that Ensure Protection for All; and

•Transparent and Proactive Governance.

12.4.In recognition of the need for the promotion of positive health measures, a multidisciplinary committee has been established. The National Committee on Health Promotion aims to increase public awareness of these problems as well as develop strategies to modify the public’s behaviour in favour of a healthier lifestyle through community participation and inter-sectoral collaboration. The Committee has identified seven priority areas for action: nutrition; food safety; tobacco control; mental health; physical activity; health environments/settings; and women’s health. These priorities are further enforced through the activities of the Health Promotion Centre which was launched in November 2008. Other health promotion activities include the ‘Healthy Mukims’ project involving health education campaigns in villages, the Health-Promoting School project and the Integrated Health Screening and Health Promotion programmed for civil servants.

12.5.In recognition of the need for a comprehensive framework of actions to address current priority health issues, the Health Promotion Blueprint 2011-2015 was launched on 20 April 2011. The Blueprint has four strategic objectives, namely,

i.Establishing and strengthening health in all policies across Government, where relevant public policies will need to be strategically aligned and more inclusive of health and well-being outcomes;

ii.Developing effective, quality and innovative health promotion programmes, particularly to address risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs);

iii.Enhancing inter-sectoral collaboration and partnership between government agencies, NGOs, private sector, civil societies and communities in the implementation of specific initiatives; and

iv.Developing and enhancing skills and competencies in health promotion.

12.6.On 10 July 2011, a National Physical Activity Guideline for Brunei Darussalam was launched, which serves as a policy document to disseminate ways to increase population-wide physical activity level.

12.7.Brunei Darussalam has made remarkable progress in meeting the United Nations MDGs. It has been classified as an early achiever in the MDGs, including most of the health goals with significant reductions in Under-5, prenatal and infant mortality rates as well as for maternal mortality ratio. Improvement in these indicators is a result of rising standards of accessible health services, higher standard of living with improved hygiene and sanitation, improved levels of education and literacy and increasing empowerment of women. The success is also attributed to a comprehensive National Childhood Immunisation Programme that is available free to all children.

12.8.Indicators recorded in 2008 include the following: (Table 4.3 and 4.5)

•The life expectancy at birth for women is 79.8 compared to 76.6 for men

•The maternal mortality rate is 0.0 per 100,000 live births

•The infant mortality rate stands at 7 per thousand live births

•Mortality rate for children under 5 stands at 9.5 per thousand live births

•Total fertility rate is 1.7 per woman but for citizens the rate is 2.5

12.9.Brunei Darussalam continues to be on track and vigilant in combating HIV and AIDS of which the incidence continues to be at a low level. Besides the efforts undertaken by the MOH, the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council (BDAC), a non‑governmental agency, has also been active in the collaboration of awareness and educational programmes particularly targeting youth and women. (Table 4.4)

12.10.For the past 15 years, there have been no increase in Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence rate and TB death rate is very low. The Government of Brunei Darussalam is fully committed in ensuring that anti-TB drugs supply and Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine are uninterrupted and available. In 1987, the World Health Organization declared Brunei Darussalam ‘Malaria Free’ and Polio-free in 2000.

12.11.There is a comprehensive child immunization programme to protect against vaccine-preventable diseases. Medical advances in vaccines are widely available through the Expanded Programme on Immunization, which is incorporated in the Child Health Services and School Health Services. Infant mortality has fallen as a result of higher standards of living, improved levels of education and literacy, the increasing empowerment of women and rising standards of infant-care services.

12.12.Maternal & Child Health Services

12.12.1.The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Service in Brunei Darussalam provides quality antenatal and postnatal care, as well as comprehensive health screening for women between the ages of 38-65. The MCH Service is staffed by an all-female personnel and is available in 10 health centres, 10 health clinics, 11 travelling clinics and 5 army medical centres. Remote areas are served by the flying medical team. Health care services and nutritional supplements for pregnant women and postpartum mothers are provided free regardless of citizenship.

12.12.2.More than 99% of women receive antenatal care. Each woman makes about 8 antenatal visits during each pregnancy. More than 99% of deliveries are conducted by trained midwives in hospital settings. Mothers are given postnatal care up to 6 weeks postpartum including home nursing by midwives during the early weeks of the confinement period.

12.12.3.In Brunei Darussalam the term birth spacing is preferable to family planning. Services for birth spacing are provided by the MOH through the MCH and outpatient clinics as well as in hospital setting. Birth spacing services are also available from private medical practitioners. Guidance on reliable and safe methods of birth spacing is provided by medical practitioners on a one-to-one basis.

12.12.4.Leading causes of death for women are similar to those of developed countries (Table 4.6). Special preventive services for women are provided through the Well-Women Clinic which includes screening for breast and cervical cancers, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and anaemia.

12.12.5.Health education including nutrition and breast feeding is routinely offered in all MCH clinics. Public awareness campaigns are regularly conducted through:-

i.Nationwide health campaigns in conjunction with certain annual commemorative days such as World Health Day, World Breast Feeding Week, World Diabetes Day, World Aids Day. These campaigns include exhibition road shows to various venues in different districts, public talks, television and radio talks as well as printed articles in newspapers and newsletters;

ii.Dissemination of health messages through leaflets and other related publicity materials;

iii.Annual ‘open day’ in health centres with the aim of promoting community participation in healthy life styles. Activities include health screening, health talks and quizzes, aerobics, healthy life style poster displays and dissemination of health information leaflets;

iv.Health talks for specific target groups such as women’s group on an ad-hoc basis;

v.Schedule talks/activities for women organized by relevant hospital department; and

vi.Several steps in promoting awareness amongst women of health problems at the work place had been undertaken through identification of risky work place, industries, inspection of these work place, inviting employees for medical surveillance programmes and educating employees on risks and hazards at the specific work places.

12.12.6.In November 2009, a National Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Programme was launched. Under this programme, numerous achievements have been made that included:

i.the setting up of the National Pap Smear Registry in February 2011, which facilitates the invitation of women for cervical screening and aims to increase the country’s Pap smear coverage up to 80%;

ii.the launching of the National HPV Vaccination Programme on 16 January 2012. This primary prevention programme is largely delivered through schools and will routinely be offered to young girls in Year 7 of secondary schools (aged 11 to 13). A four-year “catch-up” campaign was also simultaneously started that offers HPV vaccination to older girls in Year 11 (aged 15 to 17); and

iii.complimentary HPV vaccination to all female citizens and permanent residents (outside the target age groups) who wish to be vaccinated. Vaccination for these women is carried out in designated vaccination centres throughout the country.

12.12.7.Following a master plan study on Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital Complex in May to October 2006, women and children were in severe need of expansion to accommodate for the rising public demand and services projection for years 2015-2020. In July 2007, the building of the Women and Children’s Block in RIPAS Hospital Complex was approved in-line with the population’s needs and role of RIPAS Hospital as a secondary as well as a tertiary referral centre of Brunei Darussalam. The mother-baby friendly family-centred Women and Children’s Block is an eleven-floored building consisting of 279 beds and 102 bassinets costing 60 million Brunei Dollars.

12.13.Prevention and Control of AIDS

12.13.1.The MOH strategies for the prevention and control of STIs and AIDS include awareness campaigns provided through:

i.Publicity campaigns in conjunction with the World AIDS Day including exhibitions, road shows, television and radio talks as well as newspapers and newsletters;

ii.Dissemination of health messages through leaflets and other related publicity materials;

iii.One-to-one advice with a doctor in health centres or health clinics; and

iv.Health talks and exhibition for specific target groups such as secondary school students and women groups.

12.13.2.The BDAC, a non-profit NGO works in collaboration with the MOH and the Standard Chartered Bank in enhancing awareness on the prevention of HIV transmission through its educational preventive programmes, road shows, poster and essay competitions and talks to schools and the community namely women, youth groups, uniformed personnel and government officers. It holds an annual seminar to mark the World AIDS Day with talks from invited speakers who are HIV positive.

12.13.3.The BDAC also runs many fund raising activities and provides counselling for family members and those living with HIV. It has an active team of Peer Counsellors. While undergoing treatment, those tested positive are referred by the Medical Social Worker of the government hospital to the BDAC for moral and support.

12.13.4.Another relevant NGO that works closely in AIDS preventive education is the National Anti-Drug Association of Brunei Darussalam (BASMIDA). Formed in 1987, it is an active NGO that works in close collaboration with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and other educational institutions in anti-drug preventive programmes. It runs various entrepreneurial programmes to help ex-addicts (Rakan BASMIDA) gain employment and lead drug free lives. Such entrepreneurial programmes include car wash, handicrafts and grass cutting businesses. BASMIDA is also a member of the International Federation of NGO for the Prevention of Drugs and Substance Abuse (IFNGO).

13.Article 13: Economic and Social Benefits

13.1.Economic Benefits

13.1.1.Women in Brunei Darussalam have traditionally been active participants in business. Today, women’s participation in the business world has begun to increase and is no longer restricted to trading but also consultancy, architecture, legal practice, manufacturing, aqua-culture and agriculture, general construction and many more. Women business owners have also managed to penetrate international markets and have proven to have business acumen that is on par with our businessmen. They have responded positively to the Government’s call to develop the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector as a potential means of diversifying the economy away from oil and gas. Their active involvement is encouraged and nurtured by the Government and the private sector through equal access to the provision of incentives and entrepreneurial support.

13.1.2.The supportive measures include financial assistance schemes, access to info-communication technology, business counselling as well as training in the form of workshops, seminars and consultations. Financial assistance schemes are made available to SMEs through commercial banks. These include the Enterprise Facilitation Scheme, the Micro-Credit Financing Scheme and the Working Capital Credit Fund. The Enterprise Facilitation Scheme has three components – the Entrepreneur Development Scheme, the Enterprise Development Scheme and the Regional Cooperation Project Facilitation Scheme. For the period 2006-2010, 56% and 41% of the loan applicants for Micro-Credit Financing Scheme and Enterprise Facilitation Scheme respectively are women business owners/co-owners, directors/co-directors or managers/co-managers (Table 7.5 - 7.6). The DCD also operates a micro-credit financing scheme for the poor in which 68% of recipients are women (Table 7.4). The National Long-Term Development Plan 2035 also emphasise the need to set up a special fund for women in business.

13.1.3.The Brunei Women Business Council (WBC) was established in 2000 specifically to oversee the economic activities and promote the business development of Bruneian women. Some of the activities coordinated by this WBC are seminars and workshops, trade fairs, business matching and networking particularly with other women entrepreneurs around the world. It also creates strategic partnership with local businesses and the private sectors as a tool to further develop the businesses of its members. It works closely with the DCD to create social entrepreneurship for women who receive welfare assistance to enable them to be financially independent and to supplement their income. Another social entrepreneurship programme is to develop young unemployed youths to learn business skills through training programmes developed by the WBC.

13.2.Access/Ownership to Property

13.2.1.In Brunei Darussalam, there is no restriction for women in gaining ownership right to land and housing. The Government of Brunei Darussalam’s national policy is to provide citizens with house ownership and proper accommodation in a pleasant environment. For the landless, all citizens regardless of gender are eligible for the national housing schemes such as the National Housing Scheme (RPN), Landless Indigenous Citizen Housing Scheme (STKRJ) and Land Entitlement and Infill Scheme (LEIS). In addition, housing schemes are also available under the Brunei Shell Petroleum Housing Loan Scheme and the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation Housing Scheme.

13.2.2.The Government of Brunei Darussalam provides accommodation to its employees at low monthly rental. The Government employees are also encouraged to build their own houses or buy ready built houses through the provision of interest-free housing loans.

13.2.3.The Housing Development Department statistics from year 2000 to 2006 indicates that out of a total of 9,674 applicants for the national housing schemes, 3,630 were women. Brunei citizens have benefitted tremendously through the housing schemes. The schemes do not only provide the houses but also the basic infrastructure or necessities that further improve the standard of life of the people.

13.2.4.Houses for the homeless and needy are provided by a Special Housing Committee under the PMO, in collaboration with the MOD, the Brunei Islamic Religious Council, the DCD and the District Offices. Other agencies such as the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation and the District Offices also provide homes for the homeless. Victims of natural disasters are provided temporary shelter by the National Disaster Management Centre and the DCD.

13.3.Social Benefits

13.3.1.Women have equal access as men to social and welfare benefits. For the poorest households, the MCYS through the DCD and the Brunei Islamic Religious Council provides monthly welfare benefits in cash and in kind namely, monthly subsistence, education allowances, food, housing and other benefits in times of natural disasters. Other agencies such as the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation have their own special aid scheme to help poor school children and orphans. Monthly welfare benefits or financial assistance are given to the needy comprising, among others, of widows, divorcees, orphans and other target groups in crisis. The Government of Brunei Darussalam has also allocated a substantial amount for the funding of school aids for children from poor families.

13.3.2.Welfare benefits under the DCD are in the form of subsistence allowance of BND$200 per month per adult, BND$65 per child and education allowance of BND$65 per month if the child attends school. At least 70% of the total recipients are women.

13.3.3.Provisions of old-age pensions and welfare support for the elderly are designed to provide supplement as a means to protect the elderly from poverty. Brunei citizens and permanent residents who have reached the age of 60 years old and above are eligible for an Old Age Pension of BND$250 per month, regardless of means, in accordance to conditions stipulated under the Old Age and Disability Pensions Act (Cap. 18). Disability allowances are also provided to the disabled at the rate of BND$250 per month. Dependants of the blind and mentally impaired are also provided allowances at the rate of BND$188 for those above the age of 15 and BND$113 for those below the age of 15.

13.3.4.Women participate in recreational activities, sports and cultural life equally as men. In the field of sports, at the sports for excellence level, women representation is 27.4% (Table 7.7). The national sports policy emphasises on the participation of the population in Sports for All and this is supported by all agencies in the public and private sectors, including civil society.

13.4.Sustainable Social Safety Nets

13.4.1.Tabung Amanah Pekerja (TAP) or Employees Trust Fund is a compulsory retirement saving scheme that aims to facilitate savings by Brunei Citizens and permanent residents for their retirement. TAP collects members’ monthly contributions to invest and save them until a certain period of time whereby the members are entitled to make their withdrawals. In order to ensure the gradual growth of the fund and the ability of TAP to provide a competitive dividend to its members, the fund is invested prudently with a view of achieving optimum returns that commensurate with acceptable risks. An additional feature of TAP is that employees can voluntarily decide to increase their respective percentage contributions from their salaries.

13.4.2.The Supplemental Contributory Pension Scheme (SCP) which came into effect on the 1st January 2010, is a defined contribution for all citizens and permanent residents whereby employees and employers, both from the public and private sector, are required to contribute or save a minimum of 3.5% of their salaries equally. The SCP is also extended to those who are working in the informal sector namely the self-employed. It aims to provide a fixed income or minimum monthly annuity to retirees when they reach the new mandatory retirement age of 60 years old.

13.5.Unremunerated Domestic Activities – In response to Recommendation 17

13.5.1Brunei Darussalam, to date, has never carried out such surveys and collected any statistics on it. However, over the recent years, the number of Bruneian women involve in unremunerated domestic activities has declined due to a growing number of women participate in paid employment both in public and private sector.

14.Article 14: Rural Women – In light of recommendation 16

14.1.For census purposes, urban areas in Brunei Darussalam are defined as those areas within municipalities, and those areas outside municipalities which are relatively heavily populated, having urban characteristics and dependent on the town for employment, education and entertainment.

14.2.Almost all parts of Brunei Darussalam are accessible and where there are residents, public utilities and amenities such as piped water, electricity, health and education facilities are provided. As such, the categorisation of women living in such areas as “rural women” may differ. (Table 5.1)

14.3.Since assuming full independence in 1984, Brunei Darussalam has achieved rapid development in enhancing the well-being and high standard of living of the population. This is in line with one of the objectives and the main thrust of Brunei Darussalam’s National Vision 2035, which is to improve the quality of life of the people. Towards achieving the above objectives, Brunei Darussalam has provided enormous allocation for the implementation of projects and programmes related to social development, especially the social service sector which comprises education, medical and health services, and housing. All of these in turn, have contributed to the improvement of the quality of lives of the population and help prevent the incidence of poverty.

14.4.Another sector that is equally important in improving the quality of the lives of people is the public utilities sector, which includes electricity and clean water supply, proper sanitation and drainage and is given 15.79% of the total development budget. These public utilities are not only provided for the urban population but also people in the rural areas. By 2008, the total percentage of population using improved water services had reached 99.9%, while those using adequate sanitation facilities had reached 95% in the urban areas and 65% in the rural areas, thus averaging at 88% nationally. Coverage in electricity supply was at 99.7%. Rapid construction of road networks across the country has also helped the rural population to gain access to public services including employment. With the exception of certain remote areas, these services are available on a limited scale. (Tables 5.2-5.3)

14.5.Schools in the rural areas are accessible by land and water and are equipped with similar facilities provided in urban areas including IT facilities.

14.6.Contribution of unpaid women workers in rural and urban family enterprises – In response to Recommendation 16

14.6.1.The Employment Order 2009 makes provision for such discrimination to be reported. To date, the Labour Department has not received any such report.

14.6.2.The ‘One Village One Product’ (OVOP) project is a community-centred and demand-driven local economic development approach towards the development and promotion of village products in the domestic and international markets. The OVOP project supports the country’s pursuit of economic diversification. The objectives are as follows:

i.To revitalise the culture of self-motivation and self-reliance in the local community through the invention or production of economic goods and services;

ii.To minimise the community’s dependence on the Government’s assistance;

iii.To promote local or grass root community’s enthusiasm and interest in specific endeavours including tourism, industrial, handicraft, agriculture and fishery;

iv.To develop creativity which would preserve and promote the identity of the community; and

v.To nurture harmonious co-existence through communal socio-economic activities.

14.6.3.The OVOP project’s long term objectives are to generate employment opportunities, increase family incomes and improve the standard of living and thus, alleviate poverty.

15.Article 15: Law

15.1.Equality before the Law

15.1.1.In Brunei Darussalam, women are accorded the same legal status as men in civil matters. They have the same rights to enter into contracts, administer property and receive equal treatment in courts. The laws of Brunei Darussalam that provide for such rights to women are as follows:

i.The Married Women Act (Cap. 190) which is applicable for non-Muslims stipulates the rights of a married woman including right to property, right to maintenance, right to civil actions including tort, contract, bankruptcy, and enforcement of judgments and orders, right to legal representation, right to remedies and redress. The recent amendment of the Act in 2010 provides for the protection of family members against domestic violence.

ii.Similarly, according to the Syariah Courts Act (Cap. 184), Muslim women have equal rights to appear before the Court, to sue, be sued, give evidence and be treated equally with men in all legal proceedings of the Courts and tribunals. Islam gives equal rights to women to conclude contracts and administer property and to move freely within the limits prescribed by Syariah Law.

iii.The Employment Order 2009 provides for the contracts and conditions of service, payment of salaries, places of employment, proper accommodation, health and medical care. It also stipulates specifically on the employment of women. It also renders a contract of service to be illegal and not valid if any terms of the contract provide for a condition of service which is less favourable to an employee including female employees.

15.1.2.In addition, the Workmen’s Compensation Act (Cap. 74) provides for the employer’s liability to pay for personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment caused to a workman including a domestic servant. It covers both male and female workmen.

16.Article 16: Marriage and Family Relations (Tables 6.1 – 6.2) – In response to Recommendation 21

16.1.Rights of Non-Muslim Women

16.1.1.There are several legislations which are enforced in Brunei Darussalam to ensure the protection of rights and welfare of a married woman. These include:

i.The Marriage Act (Cap. 76) which applies to non-Muslims provides for the rights of woman to marry on the basis of free and full consent and the freedom to choose spouse. Otherwise the marriage is considered void.

ii.The Married Women Act (Cap. 190), as mentioned above, stipulates provisions relating to the rights of married women with respect to property, maintenance and civil actions. Pursuant to its amendment in 2010, the Act provides for protection against domestic violence such as causing hurt, compulsion by force or threat, wrongful confinement and causing destruction to property of a family member which includes a wife or a mother.

iii.The Guardianship of Infants Act (Cap. 191) provides for the equal right of a mother to apply to the court in respect of any matter affecting her infant child as that of possessed by the father.

iv.The Adoption of Children Act (Cap. 205) provides that a wife has the same right as that of her husband to jointly adopt a child and to refuse to have their children be adopted.

16.1.2.With regards to the minimum age for marriage, it is provided for under the Marriage Act (Cap. 76) that for marriages other than those contracted according to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Dayaks or other marriages governed by the laws of Brunei Darussalam to be valid, both parties to the marriage must have reached 14 years of age. For Chinese marriage under the Chinese Marriages Act (Cap. 126), the female must be over 15 years of age for such marriage to be valid and be registered.

16.1.3.Registration of Marriages Act (Cap. 124) governs the registration of marriages solemnized or contracted both within and outside Brunei Darussalam. For the registration of marriages contracted according to established Chinese law or custom, consent of both parties to the registration of such marriage is required as provided for under the Chinese Marriages Act (Cap. 126).

16.1.4.For the purpose of registration of marriage of a non-Muslim below the age of 18 years, the Registration of Marriages Act (Cap. 124) provides that before a marriage solemnized within Brunei and one of the parties neither professed the religion of Islam or Christian can be registered, the parents or one of the parents or natural guardian of the husband or wife who is under 18 years of age have to declare on oath that he or she or they have consented to such marriage unless the registrar is satisfied that it is proper to dispense with it.

16.2.Rights of Muslim Women

16.2.1.The Islamic Family Law Order 2000 governs the Islamic family law in respect of marriage, divorce, maintenance and accommodation of dependants, guardianship of children, division of and partaken in matrimonial property for women after divorce and other matters connected with family life, based on Hukum Syara’. The Order was amended in 2010 to include provisions on the protection of family members against dharar syar’ie or domestic violence such as causing hurt to a family member, compelling by force or threat to engage in any conduct or act from which he or she has the right to abstain and wrongfully confining or restraining a family member against his or her will.

16.2.3.Muslim women have the same right as men to choose a spouse with free consent. Under the Order, it is an offence for any person to use any force, threat or deception to compel a person to marry against his/her will.

16.2.4.The Order also provides for a Muslim woman to dissolve a marriage on the grounds of conflicts between the spouses (Syiqaq), causing violence to wife (dharar syari’e), non-compliance of matrimonial requirements (fasakh), giving right of divorce to woman in marriage contract (taqlik). A woman is entitled to dowry (mahr), consolatory gift (muta’ah) as well as to maintenance during the existence of the marriage and generally during the three months after divorce. A woman is also entitled to her share in the matrimonial property on the basis of the joint matrimonial property (harta sepencarian) at the time of divorce or husband’s death.

16.2.5.The Order also grants priority to mothers to have the right of custody of her children if the mother fulfils the conditions and qualifications imposed by the Order. However, the child is entitled to choose to live with the mother or father once the child reaches the age when he/she is capable to differentiate a matter.

16.2.6.The right of Muslim women to adopt children is protected under the Islamic Adoption of Children Act (Cap. 206).

16.2.7.Muslim women have the same rights as their husbands to dispose of property especially their own property without requiring consent from their husbands. With regards to inheritance, women are not denied of their rights to inheritance even though their share will not be equal to that of men, but it is not absolute. It is opened to the heirs to mutually agree on equal shares. Syariah law also encourages making a will or gift for women. Whatever property a wife possesses or owns absolutely and unconditionally will not be affected by the bankruptcy of the husband according to Syariah law and she cannot be deprived of her property.

16.2.8.According to Section 35 of Islamic Family Law Order 2000, a woman who has attained the age of 16 years (being the age of puberty for a woman) can enter into the contract of her marriage with her own consent and any person who prevents her from such contract shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2000, imprisonment not exceeding six months or both.

16.2.9.In the effort to further promote awareness of the rights of Muslim women, compulsory pre-marital courses are conducted to make them aware of their rights including the obligation for the husband to provide “nafkah” (maintenance) for children and to retain their own family name. In addition, MORA conducts annual programmes to disseminate information on the rights of Muslim women.

18.Article 18: National Reports

18.1.Reports of States Parties

18.1.1.Challenges affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations include the following:

i.The need for more sex-disaggregated data and the need for technical support in engendering statistical system – Steps towards this has been undertaken to be incorporated into the 2011 census.

•In light of Recommendation 19, the collection of statistical data at present is based on UN age grouping. Sex disaggregated data is available to a certain extent. The Department of Economic Planning and Development (DEPD) is the national statistics centre and it also works closely with other government agencies on data collection. The DEPD is currently preparing for the 2011 population census which will incorporate more sex-disaggregated data on women including women and girls with disabilities, according to CEDAW.

•The DCD also maintains registers on cases relating to violence against women, wife abuse, protection and rehabilitation and elderly women who have been neglected. The DCD also has a database on all women recipients under the Old Age and Disability Pensions, women with disabilities registered under them including those who are receiving disability allowances under the Old Age and Disability Pensions (Cap. 18) and women who are welfare recipients. (Tables 7.1–7.3). The DCD also maintains registers of all women and girls in the welfare homes (Table 7.11).

•The MOE maintains registers for the enrolment of children in schools and other educational institutions including children with disabilities and special needs children in the school system (Tables 2.12-2.13).

•The RBPF maintains registers of cases handled by them on violence against women (Tables 7.8-7.10). The MOH through its hospitals maintains registers of women with regard to health issues and cases of violence against women and women with disabilities. The NCB maintains registers of women involved with drug abuse and the Prisons Department maintains registers of women inmates.

ii.The need to further enhance capacity building in gender mainstreaming, such as gender responsive budget, gender responsive policy analysis and advocacy. The lack of expertise also contributes in gaining a better understanding of its obligations in ensuring effective implementation of human rights related treaties that it is a State and Signatory party to as well as to facilitate in the consideration of its accession to the various international and regional human rights treaties. Relevant UN bodies have been approached to provide technical assistance, in this regard.

iii.To further educate women on their rights with regard to domestic violence, especially on accessibility to counselling and other forms of assistance and to enhance public awareness and unacceptability of such act – Steps towards increasing awareness continue to be undertaken by all relevant government agencies as well as NGOs.

iv.Protecting the rights of disabled women from a rights-based approach – A draft “Disability Order” is being considered which will protect and promote the rights of disabled persons from a rights-based approach.

19.Article 19: Dispute Settlement and Reservation

19.1.Brunei Darussalam’s reservation on paragraph 1 of Article 29 is made in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 29, which allows the State Party to declare that it does not consider itself bound by paragraph 1 of the Article.

19.2.Paragraph 1 of Article 29 provides that any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention which is not settled by negotiation, shall be referred to arbitration, and where there is no agreement on the organisation of the arbitration, the dispute may be referred to the International Court of Justice. The Government of Brunei Darussalam has made a reservation to this paragraph in accordance with paragraph 2 of the same Article.

Conclusion

Brunei Darussalam will remain committed to the development and advancement of women. However, as reflected in Article 18, Brunei Darussalam will continue to make efforts to improve and address the challenges that impede development in the country.

Brunei Darussalam looks forward to working with state parties and the relevant UN bodies in fulfilling the obligation of the convention.

Tables and Charts

1.Population

Table 1.1 Mid-year population estimation by sex, 1990-2010

	1990	1995	2000	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Male	134 000	149 400	165 500	189 400	195 300	203 300	206 900	211 000	215 000	219 100
Female	119 400	137 900	159 300	170 300	174 800	179 700	183 100	187 000	191 200	195 300
Total	253 400	287 300	324 800	359 700	370 100	383 000	390 000	398 000	406 200	414 400

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 1.2 Population by age group and sex, 2007-2010

Age group	2007			2008
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
0-4	18 600	16 300	34 900	18 800	16 400	35 200
5-9	18 900	16 100	35 000	19 300	16 400	35 700
10-14	19 100	16 100	35 200	19 100	16 200	35 300
15-19	17 800	15 700	33 500	18 300	16 000	34 300
20-24	20 200	20 200	40 400	20 900	20 600	41 500
25-29	23 000	20 900	43 900	23 400	21 200	44 600
30-34	20 800	19 000	39 800	21 100	19 200	40 300
35-39	17 800	15 900	33 700	17 700	15 800	33 500
40-44	15 900	12 000	27 900	16 100	12 200	28 300
45-49	12 100	9 800	21 900	12 200	10 200	22 400
50-54	8 200	7 300	15 500	8 700	7 800	16 500
55-59	5 200	4 800	10 000	5 700	5 200	10 900
60-64	3 000	2 800	5 800	3 200	3 100	6 300
65-69	2 500	2 500	5 000	2 500	2 600	5 100
70-74	1 700	1 600	3 300	1 600	1 900	3 500
75-79	1 200	1 100	2 300	1 300	1 200	2 500
80-84	500	600	1 100	600	600	1 200
85 and above	400	400	800	500	400	900
Total	206 900	183 100	390 000	398 000	211 000	187 000

Table 1.2 Population by age group and sex, 2007-2010 (continued)

Age group	2009			2010
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
0-4	18 600	16 100	34 700	19 100	16 300	35 400
5-9	19 400	16 600	36 000	19 200	16 500	35 700
10-14	19 200	16 200	35 400	19 200	16 200	35 400
15-19	18 600	16 400	35 000	18 900	16 500	35 400
20-24	21 700	21 200	42 900	22 300	21 700	44 000
25-29	24 000	21 700	45 700	24 500	22 500	47 000
30-34	21 600	19 500	41 100	22 100	20 000	42 100
35-39	18 100	16 200	34 300	18 400	16 300	34 700
40-44	16 100	12 600	28 700	16 400	12 900	29 300
45-49	12 500	10 200	22 700	12 600	10 300	22 900
50-54	9 000	8 100	17 100	9 300	8 500	17 800
55-59	6 100	5 700	11 800	6 400	6 100	12 500
60-64	3 400	3 600	7 000	3 800	4 000	7 800
65-69	2 500	2 600	5 100	2 500	2 700	5 200
70-74	1 800	2 000	3 800	1 900	2 000	3 900
75-79	1 300	1 300	2 600	1 300	1 400	2 700
80-84	600	700	1 300	600	700	1 300
85 and above	500	500	1 000	600	700	1 300
Total	215 000	191 200	406 200	219 100	195 300	414 400

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 1.3 Population by race and sex, 2001-2010

Race/Sex	Malay	Chinese	Others
2001
Male	111 799	19 217	37 958
Female	110 302	17 893	35 729
2002
Male	115 700	20 900	44 000
Female	111 600	17 800	34 200
2003
Male	117 200	21 200	44 100
Female	114 400	18 100	34 600
2004
Male	125 200	21 700	42 500
Female	114 600	18 500	37 200
2005
Male	129 200	22 300	43 800
Female	117 700	19 100	38 000
2006
Male	134 500	23 100	45 700
Female	121 000	19 600	39 100
2007
Male	136 600	23 300	47 000
Female	123 000	19 800	40 300
2008
Male	139 400	23 600	48 000
Female	125 700	20 100	41 200
2009
Male	141 500	24 000	49 500
Female	127 900	20 600	42 700
2010
Male	143 600	24 500	51 000
Female	130 000	20 900	44 400

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 1.4 Total population by religion and gender

Religion	Muslim	Christian	Buddhist	Others	Total
1981 (Census)	Total 122 269	Total 18 767	Total 27 063	Total 24 733	Total 192 832
	Female 59 912	Female 7 860	Female 11 945	Female 10 173	Female 89 890
1986 (Survey)	Total 150 440	Total 20 177	Total 26 782	Total 28 930	Total 226 329
	Female 75 914	Female 9 847	Female 11 921	Female 12 588	Female 109 550
1991 (Census)	Total 174 973	Total 25 994	Total 33 387	Total 26 128	Total 260 482
	Female 87 066	Female 12 254	Female 12 472	Female 11 074	Female 122 866
2001 (Census)	Total 249 822	Total 31 291	Total 28 480	Total 23 251	Total 332 844
	Female 124 706	Female 16 413	Female 12 586	Female 10 165	Female 163 870

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook.

Table 1.5 Registered live births and deaths , birth and death rates

Age of mother	1997			1998
Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Below 15	3	1	2	5	2	3
15 -19	396	191	205	427	216	211
20-24	1 489	784	705	1 462	761	701
25 -29	2 341	1 239	1 102	2 277	1 182	1 095
30 -34	1 854	981	873	1 878	973	905
35 -39	1 069	560	509	1 073	541	532
40 -44	288	132	156	264	147	117
45 -49	17	10	7	22	12	10
50 & Over	1	0	1	0	0	0
Not Stated	1	1	0	3	1	2
Total	7 459	3 899	3 560	7 411	3 835	3 576

Table 1.5 Registered live births and deaths , birth and death rates (continued)

Age of mother	2002		2003		2004
Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Below 15	7	4	3	5	3	2	4	2	2
15 -19	387	187	200	339	165	174	357	190	167
20-24	1 585	819	766	1 521	775	746	1 477	737	740
25 -29	2 125	1 072	1 053	2 156	1 105	1 051	2 152	1 119	1 033
30 -34	1 967	994	973	1 835	928	907	1 794	935	859
35 -39	1 052	560	492	1 018	523	495	1 066	537	529
40 -44	317	169	148	299	152	147	292	124	168
45 -49	21	12	9	23	12	11	19	8	11
50 & Over	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Not Stated	3	1	2	3	0	3	4	1	3
Total	7 464	3 818	3 646	7 199	3 663	3 536	7 165	3 653	3 512

Table 1.5 Registered live births and deaths, birth and death rates (continued)

Age of mother	2005		2006		2007
Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Below 15	4	2	2	0	0	0	7	1	6
15 -19	304	165	139	290	139	151	307	159	148
20 - 24	1 367	701	666	1 321	701	620	1 134	575	559
25 - 29	2 059	1 054	1 005	2 111	1041	1070	2 094	1096	998
30 - 34	1 817	942	875	1 624	837	787	1 689	868	821
35 - 39	1 071	555	516	922	497	425	857	438	419
40 - 44	295	153	142	241	134	107	205	110	95
45 - 49	13	9	4	14	12	2	21	10	11
50 & Over	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Not Stated	3	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	0
Total	6 933	3 583	3 350	6 526	3 363	3 163	6 314	3 257	3 057

Source: Immigration and National Registration Department.

Table 1.6 Total number of deaths registered by gender , age group and year , 1999-2010

	1999		2000		2001
Age Group	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
0- 4	58	33	25	77	41	36	65	34	31
5 - 9	7	3	4	9	5	4	10	8	2
10 - 14	13	8	5	11	6	5	8	5	3
15 -19	14	7	7	21	16	5	17	10	7
20 -24	16	11	5	25	15	10	24	17	7
25 -29	26	22	4	27	13	14	29	22	7
30 -34	30	23	7	25	18	7	24	15	9
35 -39	30	23	7	33	24	9	40	23	17
40 -44	41	26	15	39	22	17	38	23	15
45 -49	31	14	17	29	19	10	59	44	15
50 -54	49	26	23	51	22	29	60	41	19
55 -59	48	27	21	63	42	21	59	36	23
60 -64	67	35	32	61	34	27	65	37	28
65- 69	94	50	44	108	57	51	111	57	54
70 & Over	381	207	174	386	219	167	405	207	198
Not Stated	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	905	515	390	965	553	412	1 014	579	435

Table 1.6 Total number of deaths registered by gender , age group and year , 1999-2010 (continued)

Age Group	2002		2003		2004
Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
0	62	27	35	67	34	33	63	35	28
1- 4	13	6	7	16	6	10	7	2	5
5-9	5	3	2	8	2	6	12	10	2
10-14	13	7	6	12	6	6	10	6	4
15 -19	14	11	3	19	11	8	12	8	4
20 -24	28	24	4	22	17	5	19	14	5
25 -29	16	10	6	19	14	5	21	15	6
30 -34	29	21	8	39	26	13	36	19	17
35 -39	37	17	20	37	24	13	37	20	17
40 -44	53	40	13	48	29	19	47	26	21
45 -49	42	22	20	47	29	18	55	33	22
50 -54	41	23	18	58	31	27	52	31	21
55 -59	63	35	28	48	34	14	62	25	37
60 -64	77	48	29	67	35	32	54	31	23
65 -69	99	47	52	77	44	33	98	55	43
70 -74	115	77	38	120	64	56	124	68	56
75 -79	115	59	56	102	57	45	88	50	38
80 -84	104	54	50	102	55	47	97	54	43
85 -89	54	25	29	49	14	35	50	28	22
90 -94	39	14	25	25	11	14	45	18	27
95 -99	19	12	7	20	12	8	14	8	6
100 & Over	3	1	2	8	0	8	7	3	4
Not Stated	0	0	0	0			0
Total	1 041	583	458	1 010	555	455	1 010	559	451

Table 1.6 Total number of deaths registered by gender , age group and year , 1999-2010 (continued)

Age Group	2005		2006		2007
Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
0	51	30	21	43	23	20	48	29	19
1 -4	15	10	5	17	9	8	12	6	6
5-9	8	4	4	5	4	1	12	7	5
10-14	8	6	2	9	6	3	12	5	7
15 -19	16	7	9	8	8	0	15	10	5
20 -24	32	23	9	22	15	7	24	17	7
25 -29	16	11	5	26	19	7	29	23	6
30 -34	36	22	14	28	17	11	40	31	9
35 -39	48	33	15	40	27	13	36	25	11
40 -44	53	32	21	48	32	16	51	33	18
45 -49	58	41	17	61	37	24	72	45	27
50 -54	53	32	21	79	41	38	63	38	25
55 -59	66	43	23	69	39	30	97	58	39
60 -64	77	46	31	74	47	27	76	44	32
65 -69	114	57	57	105	57	48	90	61	29
70 -74	104	44	60	142	81	61	120	62	58
75 -79	111	66	45	98	50	48	128	74	54
80 -84	87	55	32	86	44	42	116	49	67
85 -89	64	37	27	77	34	43	73	37	36
90 -94	19	6	13	37	15	22	30	18	12
95 -99	25	10	15	18	9	9	17	11	6
100 & Over	11	6	5	3	2	1	13	5	8
Not Stated	0	0	0
Total	1 072	621	451	1 095	616	479	1 174	688	486

Table 1.6Total number of deaths registered by gender, age group and year, 1999-2010 (continued)

	2008		2010
Age Group	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
0- 4	61	35	26	46	31	15
5 - 9	6	2	4	9	3	6
10 - 14	5	1	4	7	5	2
15- 19	13	7	6	10	6	4
20- 24	20	13	7	26	16	10
25- 29	25	22	3	18	11	7
30- 34	29	19	10	30	19	11
35- 39	38	23	15	37	26	11
40- 44	45	32	13	51	29	22
45- 49	73	43	30	49	28	21
50- 54	69	47	22	70	46	24
55- 59	73	38	35	101	60	41
60- 64	63	36	27	90	57	33
65- 69	105	59	46	102	54	48
70 and above	466	259	207	562	279	283
Total	1 091	636	455	1 208	670	538

Source: Immigration and National Registration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs.

2.Education

Table 2.1Number of teacher by level of education and gender, 2001-2010

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Kindergarten (1)
Total	–	–	–	–	701
Male	–	–	–	–	24
Female	–	–	–	–	677
Primary/ Preparatory (2)
Total	3 752	4 270	4 828	4 832	4 548
Male	1 077	1 142	1 296	1 190	1 311
Female	2 675	3 128	3 532	3 642	3 237
Secondary
Total	2 742	2 831	2 753	3 527	3 733
Male	1 213	1 255	1 123	1 412	1 429
Female	1 529	1 576	1 630	2 115	2 304
Sixth Form (3)
Total	155	179	160	167	174
Male	82	63	80	79	78
Female	73	116	80	88	96
Nursing/Technical / Vocational
Total	505	515	501	496	502
Male	333	322	304	293	291
Female	172	193	197	203	211
Teacher Training
Total	51	39	37	43	45
Male	24	18	17	23	23
Female	27	21	20	20	22
Institute
Total	83	82	89	99	111
Male	68	68	72	79	76
Female	15	14	17	20	35
University
Total	320	303	303	370	377
Male	237	219	214	249	249
Female	83	84	89	121	128
Grand Total
Total (4)	7 608	8 219	8 671	9 534	10 191
Male	3 034	3 087	3 106	3 325	3 481
Female	4 574	5 132	5 565	6 209	6 710

Source: Ministry of Education.

Note:

(1) Included in Primary and Secondary levels.

(2) All kindergarten and Secondary teachers of Non-Government Schools are combined with the total of Primary level teachers.

(3) Sixth Form Teachers who taught in schools/colleges that conducting Secondary and Sixth Form levels\are already included in the total number of Secondary Level teachers.

(4) Does not include teachers teaching under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Table 2.1Number of teacher by level of education and gender, 2001-2010 (continued)

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Kindergarten/Pre - School
Total	690	622	678	596	666
Male	29	19	19	20	20
Female	661	603	659	576	646
Primary/Preparatory
Total	3 683	3 628	3 554	3 739	3 896
Male	981	949	904	903	938
Female	2 702	2 679	2 650	2 836	2 958
Secondary/Sixth Form (Pre - University)
Total	3 769	3 800	3 977	4 095	4 375
Male	1 446	1 421	1 431	1 423	1 472
Female	2 323	2 379	2 546	2 672	2 903
Technical/Vocational
Total	486	474	503	506	533
Male	290	289	293	270	268
Female	196	185	210	236	265
Nursing (1)
Total	60	62	60	–	–
Male	13	15	12	–	–
Female	47	47	48	–	–
Teacher Training (2)
Total	43	38	–	–	–
Male	21	18	–	–	–
Female	22	20	–	–	–
Institute (3)
Total	102	110	102	–	–
Male	72	75	69	–	–
Female	30	35	33	–	–
University
Total	405	439	533	638	692
Male	264	264	321	268	379
Female	1421	175	212	270	313
Grand Total
Total	9 238	9 173	9 407	9 574	10 162
Male	3 116	3 050	3 049	2 984	3 077
Female	6 122	6 123	6 358	6 590	7 085

Source: Ministry of Education.

Note:

(1) Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah College of Nursing was merged to University of Brunei Darussalam in the year 2009.

(2) Religious Teachers College of Seri Begawan has been upgraded to Religious Teachers University College in the year 2007.

(3) Brunei Institute of Technology has been upgraded to University in the year 2008.

Table 2.2Number of student by level of education and gender, 2001-2010

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Kind ergarten /Pre-School
Total	11 656	13 097	12 595	13 014	12 999
Male	5 989	6 703	6 592	6 689	6 651
Female	5 667	6 394	6 003	6 325	6 348
Primary/ Preparatory
Total	44 487	46 555	46 242	46 382	46 012
Male	23 300	24 285	24 011	24 183	23 983
Female	21 187	22 270	22 231	22 199	22 029
Secondary
Total	32 252	33 719	34 632	35 838	37 022
Male	16 198	17 221	17 698	18 374	19 196
Female	16 054	16 497	16 934	17 464	17 826
Sixth Form (Pre-University)
Total	2 404	2 912	3 111	3 715	4 085
Male	968	1 110	1 215	1 547	1 643
Female	1 436	1 802	1 896	2 168	2 442
Technical/ Vocational
Total	2 631	2 553	2 780	3 105	3 180
Male	1 502	1 433	1 505	1 684	1 710
Female	1 129	1 120	1 275	1 421	1 470
Teacher Training
Total	247	206	244	315	406
Male	115	111	132	162	199
Female	132	95	112	153	207
Institute
Total	516	298	360	480	568
Male	259	152	198	246	270
Female	257	146	162	234	298
University
Total	3 314	3 422	3 445	3 634	3 674
Male	1209	1 238	1 157	1 151	1 137
Female	2 105	2 184	2 288	2 483	2 537
Grand Total
Total	97 507	102 762	103 409	106 483	107 946
Male	49 540	52 253	52 508	54 036	54 789
Female	47 967	50 508	50 901	52 447	53 157

Table 2.2Number of student by level of education and gender, 2001-2010 (continued)

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Kindergarten/Pre-School
Total	12 692	12 953	12 777	13 009	13 078
Male	6 540	6 564	6 489	6 629	6 721
Female	6 152	6 389	6 288	6 380	6 357
Primary/Preparatory
Total	46 085	45 972	45 125	44 681	44 215
Male	24 105	24 055	23 515	23 190	22 860
Female	21 980	21 917	21 610	21 491	21 355
Secondary
Total	38 568	38 551	38 690	39 484	39 844
Male	19 992	19 921	20 163	20 632	20 849
Female	18 576	18 630	18 527	18 852	18 995
Sixth Form (Pre-University)
Total	4 435	4 737	5 138	5 440	5 482
Male	1 775	1 954	2 097	2 257	2 288
Female	2 660	2 783	3 041	3 183	3 194
Technical/ Vocational
Total	2 880	2 885	2 998	3 195	3 398
Male	1 678	1 754	1 796	1 884	1 916
Female	1 202	1 131	1 202	1 311	1 482
Nursing
Total	297	323	408	–	–
Male	56	74	93	–	–
Female	241	249	315	–	–
Teacher Training
Total	417	435	–	–	–
Male	186	183	–	–	–
Female	231	252	–	–	–
Institute
Total	668	736	777	–	–
Male	333	389	372	–	–
Female	335	347	405	–	–
University
Total	3 740	3 821	4 458	6 180	5 903
Male	1 168	1 243	1 482	2 330	2 177
Female	2 572	2 578	2 976	3 850	3 726
Grand Total
Total	109 782	110 413	110 371	111 989	111 920
Male	55 833	56 137	56 007	56 922	56 811
Female	53 949	54 276	54 364	55 067	55 109

Source: Ministry of Education.

Note:

(1) Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah College of Nursing was merged to University of Brunei Darussalam in the year 2009.

(2) Religious Teachers College of Seri Begawan has been upgraded to Religious Teachers University College in the year 2007.

(3) Brunei Institute of Technology has been upgraded to University in the year 2008.

Table 2.3Other female educational statistics, 2006-2007

Year	2006	2007
Adult Education	5 902	4 684
Number of passes in public examination (PSR, OMB, o – level, a – level, SSSRU, SPUB and STPUB): in brackets are number of female candidates	(15 203)	(15 135)
12 173	12 838

Source: Ministry of Education.

Table 2.4Male students per 100 female students, 2006-2008

Year	2006	2007	2008
Nursery	100	93	106
Pre- school/kindergarten	107	104	103
Primary	110	110	109
Secondary	108	107	109
Sixth form	67	70	69
Technical/vocational	140	155	149
Nursing	23	30	30
Religious teacher’s college (college university)	81	73	73
Institute	99	112	91
University	45	48	48

Source: Ministry of Education.

Table 2.5Universiti Brunei Darussalam enrolment in 2004, 2008 & 2009

	2004		2008		2009
Programme	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Post graduate diploma & certificate/Diploma & Certificate	1 103	352	751	454	142	312	431	105	326
Non graduating	10	4	6	24	13	11	48	28	20
Undergraduate	657	225	432	659	184	475	721	208	513
Post graduate	54	22	32	54	16	38	87	26	61

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook.

Table 2.6Enrolment by programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam 2004/2005

Programme	Male	Female	Total
Arts And Social Sciences	70	252	322
Brunei Studies	38	54	92
Institute Of Education	831	2 090	2 921
Business, Economics And Policy Studies	223	326	549
Islamic Studies	211	256	467
Sciences	162	216	378
Total	1 535	3 124	4 729

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2005.

Table 2.6Enrolment by programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam 2008/2009 (Continued)

Programme	Male	Female	Total
Arts And Social Sciences	124	291	415
Brunei Studies	63	118	181
Institute Of Education	583	1 497	2 080
Business, Economics And Policy Studies	157	294	451
Islamic Studies	71	113	184
Sciences	125	167	292
Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management	10	17	27
Medicine	33	39	72
Total	1 166	2 536	3 702

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2008.

Table 2.6Enrolment by programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam 2009/2010 (Continued)

Programme	Male	Female	Total
Arts And Social Sciences	240	524	764
Institute Of Education	425	971	1 396
Business, Economics And Policy Studies	171	314	485
Science	144	204	348
Total	980	2 013	2 993

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 2.7Graduates by programme from Institute Technology Brunei (ITB), 2003-2010

Year		2003		2004
Programme	Male	Female	Male	Female
HND Information System	4	10	6	8
HND Computing	7	11	14	8
HND Business and Finance	14	14	21	35
HND Civil Engineering	8	4	15	10
HND Communications and Computer System Engineering	12	6	20	15
HND Electrical Power and Building Services Engineering	7	3	10	3
HND Mechanical Engineering	15	8	11	7
Total	67	56	97	86

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2005.

Table 2.7Graduates by programme from Brunei Institute Technology Brunei (ITB), 2003-2010 (continued)

Year	2007		2008
Programme	Male	Female	Male	Female
HND Information System	17	10	8	20
HND Computing	17	19	11	29
HND Business and Finance	40	44	28	41
HND Civil Engineering	29	17	24	23
HND Communications and Computer System Engineering	26	14	22	11
HND Electrical Power and Building Services Engineering	15	3	4	3
HND Mechanical Engineering	23	9	27	7
HND in Construction Engineering and Management	8	3	6	6
Total	175	119	270	140

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2008.

Table 2.7Graduates by programme from Brunei Institute Technology Brunei (ITB), 2003-2010 (continued)

Year	2009		2010
Programme	Male	Female	Male	Female
HND Information System	13	16	13	16
HND Computing	13	25	12	25
HND Internet and Multimedia Development	9	10	10	10
HND Business and Finance	35	56	34	57
HND Civil Engineering	19	18	19	18
HND Communications and Computer System Engineering	19	11	19	11
HND Electrical Power and Building Services Engineering	16	5	16	5
HND Mechanical Engineering	14	20	14	20
HND Network Engineering	–	–	14	6
HND in Construction Engineering and Management	6	4	6	4
Total	144	165	157	172

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 2.8Number of schools, teachers and students by type of Schools under Ministry of Religious Affairs, 2001-2009

Schools/Teachers/Students	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total Schools
Religious Schools	134	145	145	160	144
Arabic Schools	6	6	6	6	7
Tahfiz Al - Quran Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Institute	1	1	1	1
Total Teachers
Religious Schools	1 736	1 864	1 834	1 731	826
Arabic School	284	303	294	317	308
Tahfiz Al - Quran Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Institute	46	53	57	60	69
Total Students
Religious Schools	37 034	37 686	39 091	35 941	14 880
Arabic Schools	2 095	1 289	1 821	1 776	1 791
Tahfiz Al - Quran Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Institute	182	174	189	198	197

Table 2.8Number of schools, teachers and students by type of Schools Under Ministry of Religious Affairs, 2001-2009 (continued)

Schools/Teachers/Students	2006	2007	2008	2009
Total Schools
Religious Schools	159	164	163	159
Arabic Schools	7	7	7	7
Tahfiz Al - Quran Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Institute	1	1	1	1
Total Teachers
Religious Schools	2 144	2 060	2 048	2 184
Arabic Schools	295	321	324	369
Tahfiz Al - Quran Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Institute	58	61	61	64
Total Students
Religious Schools	38 016	40 564	40 486	40 593
Arabic Schools	1 847	1 804	1 849	2 015
Tahfiz Al - Quran Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Institute	182	180	168	187

Source: Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Table 2.9Number of students and teachers in Institute Hassanal Bolkiah Tahfiz Al-Quran, 2000-2009

	Year
Description	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Number of students	137	182	174	189	198	197	182	180	168	187
Male	94	102	88	100	101	99	96	96	82	100
Female	43	80	86	89	97	98	86	84	86	87
Number of teachers	44	46	53	57	60	69	58	61	61	64
Male	34	32	35	39	36	44	34	32	34	33
Female	10	14	18	18	24	25	24	29	27	31

Source: Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Tahfiz Al-Quran Institute.

Table 2.10Literacy rate aged 9 and above

(percentage)

Year	Total	Male	Female
1981	80.3	86.3	73.3
1991	89.2	93.1	84.7
2001	97.7	96.8	92.5
2007	94.9 (aged 15 and above)

Source: Ministry of Education.

Table 2.11Percentage of female education officers from Ministry Of Education on in-service training, 2008

Overseas	Total	Female	Male
	176	98	78
	100%	55.68%	44.32%
In Country	Total	Female	Male
		333	212
		100%	63.66%

Source: Ministry of Education.

Table 2.12Statistic of students referred to special education unit, 2004-2009 (Excluding case closed)

	Year	1997-2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Total
No . of students by ...	Total Referred	511	278	342	367	320	307	146	2 271
Gender	Male	338	194	228	262	224	222	109	1 577
Female	173	84	114	105	96	85	37	694

Source: Ministry of Education.

Table 2.13Statistic of students referred to special education unit, 2004-2009 (Including case closed)

	Year	1997-2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Total
No . of students by ...	Total Referred	1 355	278	342	367	320	307	146	3 115
Gender	Male	911	194	228	262	224	222	109	2 150
Female	444	84	114	105	96	85	37	965

Source: Ministry of Education.

Table 2.14Number of students, teachers and Arabic schools under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, 2000-2009

	Year
Description	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Number of students	2 436	2 095	1 289	1 821	1 776	1 791	1 847	1 804	1 849	2 015
Male	1 357	1 066	613	889	859	899	899	863	814	871
Female	1 079	1 029	676	932	917	892	948	941	1 035	1 144
Number of teachers	282	284	303	294	317	308	295	321	324	369
Male	108	102	115	114	114	110	103	112	101	131
Female	174	182	188	180	203	198	192	209	223	238
Number of schools	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7

Source: Department of Islamic Education.

Table 2.15Number of enrolment at Seri Begawan religious teachers University College, 2007-2009

	2007		2008		2009
Programme	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Bachelor of Religious Teaching Usuluddin	15	13	28	11	16	27	15	12	27
Bachelor of Religious Teaching Syariah	12	17	29	13	21	34	16	24	40
Religious Teaching Higher Diploma Usuludin	7	6	13	4	9	13	10	6	16
Religious Teaching Higher Diploma Syariah	9	8	17	9	8	17	11	22	33
Religious Teaching Diploma Usuluddin	14	16	30	10	18	28	9	13	22
Religious Teaching Diploma Syariah	6	22	28	5	19	24	7	8	15
Religious Teaching Post-Graduate Diploma	9	16	25	8	21	29	29	41	70
Total			170			172			223

Source: Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Table 2.16Number of enrolment at Seri Begawan religious teachers University College, 2000-2006

Entry year	Enrolment
Male	Female	Total
2000	29	20	49
2001	35	23	58
2002	66	68	134
2003	55	60	115
2004	76	79	155
2005	55	83	138
2006	53	65	118

Source: Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Table 2.17In-service training of civil servants overseas, 2006-2009

	Gender
Year	Male	Female	Total
2006	118	166	58.5%	284
2007	160	130	44.8%	290
2008	133	159	54.4%	292
2009	127	182	58.9%	309

Source: Department of Public Service.

Table 2.18In-service training of civil servants in-country, 2006-2009

	Gender
Year	Male	Female	Total
2006	162	406	71.4%	568
2007	206	426	67.4%	632
2008	194	336	63.3%	530
2009	156	209	57.2%	365

Source: Department of Public Service.

3.Employment

Table 3.1

Labour force estimate, 2004-2010

Labour Force	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Total labour force	167 200	174 500	181 700	184 800	188 800	194 800	198 800
Male	100 500	104 600	109 900	111 800	114 400	117 000	121 200
Female	66 700	69 900	71 800	73 000	74 400	77 800	77 600
Total employed force	161 400	167 300	174 400	178 500	181 800	188 000	193 500
Male	97 900	101 600	106 700	109 100	111 200	114 000	118 800
Female	63 500	65 700	67 700	69 400	70 600	74 000	74 700
Total unemployed	5 800	7 200	7 300	6 300	7 000	6 800	5 300
Male	2 600	3 000	3 200	2 700	3 200	3 000	2 400
Female	3 200	4 200	4 100	3 600	3 800	3 800	2 900
Total participation rate	67.9	68.3	68.4	67.8	67.8	68.2	68.0
Male	77.8	78	78.2	77.6	77.7	77.4	76.4
Female	56.9	57.6	57.3	56.9	56.7	57.5	58.0
Total unemployment rate	3.5	4.1	4	3.4	3.7	3.5	2.7

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 3.2

Labour force aged 15 years and above

	1981	1986	1991	1995	2001
Labour Force	(Census)	(Survey)	(Census)	(Survey)	(Census)
Total labour force	70 690	86 395	111 955	122 839	157 594
Male	53 859	59 892	75 083	71 627	92 554
Female	16 831	26 503	36 872	51 212	65 040
Total employed force	68 128	81 104	106 746	116 780	146 254
Male	52 737	57 215	72 338	69 121	85 820
Female	15 391	23 889	34 408	47 659	60 434
Total unemployed	2 562	5 291	5 209	6 059	11 340
Male	1 122	2 677	2 745	2 506	6 734
Female	1 440	2 614	2 464	3 553	4 606
Total participation rate	59.6	60.3	65.6	66.5	67.9
Male	83.1	80.0	82.2	79.3	79.3
Female	31.3	38.7	46.4	54.2	56.4
Unemployment rate	3.6	3.7	4.7	4.9	7.2

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2008.

Table 3.3

Employment by economic activity, population census 2001

Economic Activity	Total	Male	Female
Employer	1 569	1 111	458
Employee	140 433	81 721	58 712
Own Account Worker	3 620	2 737	883
Family Worker	632	251	381
Unemployed	11 340	6 734	4 606
Economically Active	157 594	92 554	65 040
Others	8 374	4 631	3 743
Not Economically Active	65 964	19 485	46 479
Total	231 932	116 670	115 262

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2008.

Table 3.4

Working population by major occupational groups and sex, population census 2001

Major Occupations	Total	Male	Female
Legislators, administrators and managers	6 241	4 622	1 619
Professionals	8 764	5 358	3 406
Technicians and associate professionals	19 168	10 071	9 097
Clerical workers	16 184	5 514	10 670
Service workers and shop, marketing and sales workers	27 609	19 718	7 891
Skilled agricultural and fishery workers	1 276	1 084	192
Craft and related trade workers	20 950	16 062	4 888
Plant and machine operators and assemblers	7 189	6 783	406
Elementary occupation (cleaners, labourers and related workers)	38 583	16 392	22 191
Workers not classified by occupation	290	216	74
Total	146 254	85 820	60 434

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2008.

Table 3.5

Working population in private sector by major industry group and sex, 2008-2009

	2008		2009
Industry	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing	5 372	4 664	708	4 955	4 335	620
Production Of Oil and Liquefied Natural Gas	5 560	4 495	1 065	6 154	4 925	1 229
Sawmilling and Timber Processing	692	608	84	796	697	99
Other Mining, Quarrying and Manufacturing	17 170	10 002	7 168	13 020	8 129	4 891
Construction	36 118	33 996	2 122	33 591	31 629	1 962
Wholesale And Retail Trade	20 442	12 450	7 992	21 091	12 853	8 238
Coffee Shop, Restaurant and Hotels	12 107	6 281	5 826	11 934	6 287	5 647
Transport, Storage and Communications	6 270	4 810	1 460	6 106	4 718	1 388
Financial, Insurance and Business Services	9 937	5 945	3 992	9 728	5 859	3 869
Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities	13 742	8 396	5 346	13 783	8 272	5 511
Total	127 410	91 647	35 763	121 158	87 704	33 454

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 3.6

Government employees by sex, 2000-2010

Year	Male	Female	Total
2000	N/A	N/A	39 704
2001	N/A	N/A	39 671
2002	N/A	N/A	41 066
2003	22 091	19 695	41 786
2004	22 103	20 088	42 191
2005	22 618	20 851	43 469
2006	22 401	21 114	43 515
2007	22 861	21 916	44 777
2008	23 401	22 690	46 091
2009	23 511	23 246	46 757
2010	23 513	23 906	47 419

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 3.7

Government employees by division and sex, 2008-2010

Year		2008		2009		2010
Division		Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Division I — Heads of Departments	637	266	903	653	286	939	663	301	964
Division II — Senior Officers	3 747	4 860	8 607	3 732	5 009	8 741	3 736	5 322	9 058
Division III — Supervisory	4 888	5 940	10 828	5 013	6 294	11 307	5 012	6 484	11 496
Division IV — Clerical	5 894	6 102	11 996	5 862	6 225	12 087	5 875	6 371	12 246
Division V — Operators	8 235	5 522	13 757	8 251	5 432	13 683	8 227	5 428	13 655
Total	23 401	22 690	46 091	23 511	23 246	46 757	23 513	23 906	47 419

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 3.8

Number of women employees working at Ministry Of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Position	Salary Scale	Total
Permanent Secretary	Permanent Secretary Scale	1
Deputy Permanent Secretary	Superscale Special	1
High Commissioner Of Brunei To New Zealand	Superscale B	1
Ambassador	Superscale C	2
Senior Special Duty Officer	Superscale C	1
Director	Superscale C	1
High Commissioner	Superscale C	1
Permanent Representative	Superscale C	1
Counsellor Minister	Group II	2
Diplomatic Officer	Group II	1
Senior Special Duty Officer	Group II	1
Deputy Director	Group II	1
Senior Secretary	Group II	1

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

4.Health

Table 4.1

Number of hospitals, health centres and health clinics, 2004-2010

Year	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Hospitals
Total	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Government	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Private	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Medical centres
Total	5	7	6	9	9	9	8
Military	5	7	6	9	9	9	8
Hospital beds
Total	943	1 154	1 063	1 068	1 122	1 122	1 104
Government	908	965	897	897	948	948	946
Private	–	148	127	127	130	130	115
Military	35	41	39	40	44	44	43
Health centres
Total	15	15	15	16	16	16	16
Health clinics
Total	43	30	27	26	26	26	25

Source: Ministry of Health.

Table 4.2

Health work force in 2008

Category	Male	Female	Total
Physicians	331	233	564
Dentists	44	38	82
Pharmacists	6	39	45
Nurses	356	1 585	1 941
Midwives	0	515	515
Paramedical Staff	19	8	27

Source: Ministry of Health 2009.

Table 4.3

Other health indicators on women, 2003-2008

Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Maternal mortality ratio (per 1 , 000 lbs)	27.8	14	14.4	15.3	15.8	0.0
Life expectancy at birth	77.4	77.5	77.8	77.5	77.8	79.8
General fertility (per 1 , 000 women) age 15-49	73.4	71.6	68.1	62.4	59.6	55.8
Total fertility rate (per women) age 15-49	2.1	2.2	2	1.8	1.7	1.7

Source: Ministry of Health 2009.

Table 4.4

Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2008

Status	Cases
Estimated number of women living with HIV/AIDS (females/100 males)	11
Percentage of HIV positive pregnant women receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis	< 100
Percentage of women vulnerable groups as defined by National Policies, accessing HIV/AIDS counselling, testing and educational programmes	< 100

Source: Ministry of Health 2009.

Table 4.5

Female abridged life table of 1991 and 2001

Age group	1991	2001
0	76.5	77.1
1-4	76.5	77.0
5-9	72.6	73.2
10-14	67.7	68.3
15-19	62.8	63.3
20-24	57.9	58.4
25-29	52.9	53.5
30-34	48.0	48.7
40-44	43.3	43.8
45-49	38.4	39.0
50-54	33.7	34.2
55-59	25.0	25.2
60-64	21.1	21.1
65-69	17.9	17.0
70-74	14.4	13.7
75-79	12.0	10.5
80-84	10.1	8.0
85-89	N/A	5.7
90-94	N/A	5.5
95-99	N/A	5.1
100 and above	N/A	2.7

Source: Ministry of Health 2009.

Table 4.6

Ten leading causes of death by gender in 2008

Type of Diseases	Total	Male	Female
Heart Diseases	211	124	87
Cancer	201	104	97
Diabetes Mellitus	97	53	44
Cerebrovascular Diseases	93	54	39
Influenza and Pneumonia	53	39	14
Bronchitis, Chronic & Unspecified Emphysema and Asthma	39	23	16
Transport Accidents	33	23	10
Septicaemia	32	17	15
Hypertensive Diseases	24	12	12
Certain Conditions Originating In the Perinatal Period	20	8	12
Other Diseases	287	178	109
Total	1 091	636	455

Source: Ministry of Health 2009.

Table 4.6

Ten leading causes of death by gender in 2010 (Continued)

Type of Diseases	Total	Male	Female
Cancer	252	134	118
Heart Diseases	186	121	65
Diabetes Mellitus	100	59	41
Cerebrovascular Diseases	99	45	54
Septicaemia	47	24	23
Bronchitis, Chronic & Unspecified Emphysema and Asthma	39	26	13
Hypertensive Diseases	38	19	19
Transport Accidents	28	15	13
Certain Conditions Originating In the Perinatal Period	25	20	5
Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities	21	11	10
Other Diseases	373	196	177
Total	1 208	670	538

Source: Brunei Statistical Yearbook 2010.

5.Rural Women

Table 5.1

Population by urban and rural areas, 1971-2001

Year	1971	1981	1991	2001
Urban
Male	46 874	61 052	90 607	120 046
Female	39 829	53 452	82 804	118 653
Total	86 703	114 504	173 411	238 699
Rural
Male	25 898	41 890	47 009	48 928
Female	23 655	36 438	40 062	45 217
Total	49 553	78 328	87 071	94 145

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2008.

Table 5.2

Usage of improved drinking water in Brunei Darussalam in 2004

97.90% Of Total Population Using Improved Drinking Water Services in Urban Areas

2% Of Total Population Using Improved Drinking Water Services in Rural Areas

Table 5.3

Usage of adequate sanitation facilities in Brunei Darussalam in 2001

Percentage (%) of Population Using Adequate Sanitation Facilities in Urban Areas	95%
Percentage (%) of Population Using Adequate Sanitation Facilities in Rural Areas	65%
Total Percentage (%) of Population Using Adequate Sanitation Facilities	88%

6.Marriage and family life

Table 6.1

Female population by age group and marital status (2001 census)

	Age group
Status	<15	15-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40-44	45-49	50-54	55-59	60 and above
Single	48 604	13 022	11 619	6 474	3 449	1 987	1 340	911	544	232	368
Married	4	910	5 400	10 967	13 279	11 446	9 139	6 451	4 038	2 126	3 787
Widowed/Divorced	N/A	17	195	448	769	750	735	637	563	533	3 126

Table 6.2

Registered marriages and divorces, 2001-2010

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Muslim marriages	1 812	1 969	1 900	1 734	1 940	1 775	1 928	2 165	2 295	2 375
Other marriages	152	165	167	140	158	161	143	132	156	147
Total marriages	1 964	2 134	2 067	1 874	2 098	1 936	2 071	2 297	2 451	2 522
Muslim divorces	306	312	324	380	358	439	436	501	566	483

Source: Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2010.

Table 6.3

Women associations

1	Council of Women of Brunei Darussalam
2	Pertiwi Association
3	Girl Guides Association of Brunei Darussalam
4	Women’s Institution
5	Lambak Kanan Women Welfare Body (BAKANITA)
6	Women Welfare Association Belait District (PKP)
7	Women Institute Belait
8	Pertiwi Association Belait branch
9	Tutong Joint Women Welfare Association (PERGANITA)
10	Pertiwi Association Tutong branch
11	Women Institute Tutong
12	Pertiwi Association Temburong branch
13	Women Institute Temburong
14	Women’s Bureau KP2
15	Women Association Kampong Junjongan Mukim Pengkalan Batu (PARONITA)
16	Welfare Association of Women Officers, Wives, Children and Personnel of Prisons Department (PELITA)
17	Welfare Body of the Wives of Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence (BAKTI)
18	Welfare Group of Wives and Families of Police (PEKERTI)
19	Welfare Body of Wives of Brunei Government Officers and Staff (BISTARI)

7.Social protection/social ills

Table 7.1

Recipients of old age pension under old age and disability pensions order 1954, 2007-2009

Year	Male	Female	Total
2007	8 693	8 028	18 728
2008	9 453	8 835	20 296
2009	9 900	9 434	21 343

Source: Department of Community Development.

Table 7.2

Recipients of disability allowances under old age and disability pensions order 1954, 2007-2009

	Blind		Mentally disabled		Physically disabled		Deaf		Other disabilities
Year	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
2007	97	89	557	416	293	204	96	67	74	38
2008	108	98	597	445	347	242	96	67	74	38
2009	114	104	614	461	371	271	96	67	74	38

Source: Department of Community Development.

Table 7.3

Recipients of welfare benefits by gender, 2007-2009

		Status of recipients
Year	Gender	Widow	Orphan	Single	Married	Divorcee	Total	% female
2007	Male		103	320	669	98	1 190
2008			118	379	745	102	1 344
2009			125	405	814	109	1 453
2007	Female	1 240	112	827	296	544	3 019	71.7
2008		1 310	124	920	366	619	3 339	71.3
2009		1 356	127	963	419	670	3 535	70.9

Source: Department of Community Development.

Table 7.4

Recipients of self-reliance (micro-credit scheme) Department of Community Development, 2006-April 2010

Male	31	32%
Female	65	68%
Total	96	100%

Source: Department of Community Development.

Table 7.5

Statistics of enterprise facilitation scheme applicants, 2006-2010

No	Sectors	<30	<35	<40	<50	<60	60 above	Total	Male	Female	Total
1	Agriculture	0	0	3	12	8	5	28	15	13	28
2	Fisheries	13	1	8	11	16	10	59	37	22	59
3	Manufacturing	3	5	6	3	7	2	26	11	15	26
4	Tourism	0	1	1	0	2	6	10	9	1	10
5	ICT	1	1	0	1	0	0	3	2	1	3
6	Construction	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
	Total	17	8	18	27	34	23	127	75	52	127

Source: Ministry of Industry and Primary Resource.

Table 7.6

Statistics of micro-credit scheme applicants, 2006-2010

No	Sectors	<30	<35	<40	<50	<60	60 above	Total	Male	Female	Total
1	Fisheries	0	0	2	6	1	0	9	4	5	9
2	Agriculture	1	0	0	1	5	1	8	5	3	8
3	Tourism	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1
4	Manufacturing	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Professional Services	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	1	2	3
6	Beauty Salon	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	2
7	Boutique/ Tailoring	4	2	2	1	3	3	15	6	9	15
8	Bridal Boutique	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	0	3	3
9	Contractor/ Tender	2	2	4	3	9	1	25	14	11	25
10	Educational Services	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	2	2
11	Food Processing	2	0	0	2	0	1	5	0	5	5
12	Food Services & Restaurants	8	10	5	6	13	7	49	18	31	49
13	Other Commercials	5	2	3	15	15	3	43	27	16	43
14	Retail Trading	1	3	4	4	3	5	20	7	13	20
15	ICT	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Construction	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Cyber Cafe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	23	22	24	44	51	21	185	82	103	185

Source: Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.

Table 7.7

National level athletes by gender and sports, 2009

	Sport	Male	Female	Total
1	Cue	7	0	7
2	Pencak Silat	22	12	34
3	Rugby	30	0	30
4	Swimming	13	8	21
5	Cycling	17	0	17
6	Squash	6	3	9
7	Karatedo	15	15	30
8	Sepak Takraw	18	0	18
9	Hockey	25	20	45
		153	58	27.4%	211

Source: Department of Youth and Sports.

Table 7.8

Wife abuse cases, 2007-2009

	Age
Year	15-19 yrs	20-30 yrs	31-40 yrs	41-50 yrs	51-60 yrs	Number of cases
2007	4	47	51	30	–	132
2008	5	71	26	21	–	123
2009	2	34	33	16	3	88

Source: Royal Brunei Police Force.

Table 7.9

Domestic Violence Cases, 2005-2009

Source: Royal Brunei Police Force.

Table 7.10

Sexual Offences, 2005-2008

Source: Royal Brunei Police Force.

Table 7.11

Female residents at Taman Noor Hidayah And Darussakinah Welfare Homes 2005-2010

Case	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Beyond Parental control	19	10	7	13	14	11
Prostitution	1	0	4	26	1	1
Abuse
By husband	0	9	2	9	2	2
By biological/step parent	1	4	0	7	2	2
By guardian	1	0	0	7	6	–
Family Problems
Neglect	2	2	0	0	1	–
Voluntary short stay	4	2	7	13	13	14
Sexual Abuse
Incest	6	9	2	9	2	2
Rape	3	4	0	7	2	2
Molestation	0	0	0	7	6	–
Abandoned Babies	3	2	2	0	1	–

Source: Department of Community Development.

References

CEDAW Specific

Addendum. Compilation of Guidelines on the Form and Content of Reports to be submitted by State Parties to the International Human Rights Treaties after 31 December 2002. United States International Human Rights Instruments. HRI/GEN/2/Rev.1/Add.2, 5 May 2003.

CEDAW. Analysis/comments as prepared by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

CEDAW Articles at a Glance. General Recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

CEDAW, for Women’s Equality. UNIFEM CEDAW Southeast Asia Programme.

The CEDAW Reporting and Follow-up in promotion of human rights of women: the National Compliance of International Women’s Treaty by Amb. Salma Khan. At the ASEAN High-Level Meeting on Good Practices in CEDAW Reporting and Follow-up. Vientaine, Laos, 14-15 January 2008.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979. Entry into force 3 September 1981, in accordance with article 27 (1).

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: the Reporting Process-A manual for Commonwealth Jurisdictions. Commonwealth Secretariat. 1988.

Joint Statement of the ASEAN High-Level Meeting on Good Practices in CEDAW Reporting and Follow-up. Vientaine, Laos, 14-15 January 2008.

Report of the Secretary-General. Compilation of Guidelines on the Form and Content of Reports to be submitted by State Parties to the International Human Rights Treaties. United States International Human Rights Instruments. HRI/GEN/2/Rev.4, 21 May 2007.

General

ASEAN Confederation on Women (ACWO): Beijing Platform for Action in the ASEAN Region: Gains, Obstacles and Prospects. 2005.

ASEAN Secretariat: Third Report on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN: Gender Dimensions of Globalisation and Regional Integration. 2007.

Brunei Darussalam Government; Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, July 2001

Brunei Darussalam Government; Brunei Darussalam Long-Term Development Plan, 2007

Brunei Darussalam. Country Health Information Profiles.

Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council: Calendar of Activities 1997-2003. 2003.

Datin Hjh Masni Hj Mohd Ali: Brunei Women 1906-2006: achievements and challenges. Paper presented at the Brunei History Seminar III commemorating 100 years of Brunei-British Relationship. 2006.

Department of Community Development; Strategic Plan

Department of Community Development: Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 2001.

Department of Community Development: Women in Brunei Darussalam. Newsletter.

Department of Community Development: Community. Newsletter

Department of Economic Planning and Development: Brunei Darussalam Millennium Development Goals. / UNDP.2005.

Department of Economic Planning and Development; Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Jabatan Pembangunan Masyarakat, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan: Konvensyen Hak Kanak-Kanak. 2003.

Jabatan Pembangunan Masyarakat, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan : Laporan Komprehensif Jawatankuasa Peringkat Kebangsaan bagi Menangani Isu Sosial.2003.

Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan: Rangka Kerja Perancangan Stratejik 2005-2010

Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam; National Health Care Plan (2000 – 2010) A Strategic Framework for Action, June 2000

National Anti-Drug Association BASMIDA : Diary BASMIDA: Record of Activities from 20 Aug 2006 to 7 May 2007; and from 26 June 2007 to 5 November 2007. 2007.

Nellie Dato Paduka Haji Sunny (ed): Activities of Women’s NGOs and Groups. 2007.

Social Affairs Services Unit, Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports: The Advancement of Women in Brunei Darussalam. National Report 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing, September 1995.

Women Business Council-Brunei Darussalam: Aims and Objectives, 20 June 2000

Women’s Unit, Social Affairs Division Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports: Directory of Women Graduate Officers in the Public Sector. 1989.

Women’s Unit, Social Affairs Division Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports: Directory of Women’s Organisations. 1988 and 1991

Drafting Committee

Prime Minister’s Office

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ministry of Education

Ministry of Religious Affairs

Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports

Ministry of Home Affairs

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources

Attorney General’s Chambers

Royal Brunei Police Force

Housing Development Department

Radio and Television Department

Information Department

Department of Community Development (Lead Agency)

Department of Immigration and National Registration

Labour Department

Council of Women of Brunei Darussalam