Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Primary Net Attendance Rate, 2004/2005

National	Girls	Boys
	66.6%	64.6%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Primary Net Enrolment Rate, 2006/2007

National	Girls	Boys
	47.4%	52.6%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Primary Completion Rate, 2006/ 2007

National	Girls	Boys
	43 %	47 %

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Primary Repetition Rate 2006/2007

National	Girls	Boys
	44.3%	55.7%

Source: EMIS, 2006/2007

Primary drop-out rate

National	Girls	Boys
	44.4%	55.6%

Source: EMIS, 2006/2007

Pre-Secondary Net Enrolment Rate, 2004/2005

National	Girls	Boys
	32.1%	30.2%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Pre-Secondary Net Attendance Rate, 2006/ 2007

National	Girls	Boys
	32.1%	30.2%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Pre-Secondary Completion Rate, 2006/2007

National	Girls	Boys
	24.1%	31.6%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Secondary Net Enrolment Rate for 2004/2005

National	Girls	Boys
	20.5%	17.4%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Secondary Net Attendance Rate for 2006/2007

National	Girls	Boys
	30%	18%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Secondary Completion Rate, 2006/2007

National	Girls	Boys
	11.9%	18.3%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Children aged 6 years up who never attended school 2006/2007

National	Girls	Boys
	44.8 %	34.4%

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Gender Ratio of children that never attended school, 2006/2007

Girls	6-11	12-14	15-17
National	0.90	0.80	-

Source: DNE, 2007 TLSLS

Youth Literacy rate (15-24 years old), 2004/2005

Youth Literacy rate	Female	Male	Total
	71%	74%	73%

Source: DNE, Census of Population and Housing, 2004

Adult Literacy Rate ( + 25 years old), 2007/2008

Adult Literacy Rate	Female	Male	Total
	-	-	41,7%

Source: Non Formal Education Directorate, MoE, 2008

National University of Timor-Leste , academic year 2008-2009

	Female	Male	Total
No.	%	No.	%
Agriculture	594	40	891	60	1485
Social Politics / Political Science	542	28	1351	71.4	1893
Education	1313	46.6	1504	53.4	2817
Economics	915	44.3	1149	55.7	2064
Technical	156	15	877	85	1033
Centre for Health	148	64.9	80	35.1	228
Rights	14	41.1	20		34
Total	3682	38.5%	5872	61.5%	9554

Source: Servicos de Administracao academica, UNTL, 2008

The Director of Higher Education is willing to implement the future programmes in 2010 and include in the 2010 Annual Action Plan:

– An education campaign to encourage girls to attend school and change the family ’ s perception. The campaign will be twofold, with a campaign at the school and family level, and an audio-visual campaign through TV, radio, newspaper on the commitment of the Ministry of Education and Culture to promote women and girl ’ s education. The recently launched TV Education, an educational channel to reach the 13 districts, which can also be used to develop special programmes and deliver messages on the importance of girls ’ education.

– Gender Budgeting, with special provision for scholarships for women.

18. The report states that early pregnancy puts an end to the education of girls since they are expected to marry, stay at home and look after their child. Please indicate what educational programmes are available for girls and women who have left school before school leaving age and graduation . What are the policies in place to provide enabling conditions for those girls and women so that they may be reintegrated into the formal education system?

The Directorate of Planning at the Ministry of Education will raise this specific issue with the Director General and will work on a special policy to be included in the 2010 Annual Action Plan.

The State Secretariat for the Promotion of Equality has, as part of their annual plan for 2009, plans to have talks with teachers in pre-secondary (years 7, 8 and 9) and secondary (years 10, 11 and 12) schools, at the regional level, to promote awareness of this issue, including the information in the Common Core Document.

Employment

19. The report indicates that, according to the Labour Code, pregnant women are entitled to maternity leave of twelve weeks paid at the rate of two-thirds of their salary. In practice, however, many women do not receive remuneration or lose their former position upon return from maternity leave. Please indicate whether the d raft Labour Code foresees sanctions against employers who violate th at provision both in the public and private sector. Please also indicate whether t here are any State-funded child- care services available for working mothers.

Yes, in the draft Labour Code, women who do not receive these maternity benefits can take a case to the Council of Labour Relations (workplace relations). However, to date no women have attempted to make a case to this council on this matter. At this stage the State Secretariat for Promotion of Equality is not aware of any State funded child care services available for working mothers.

20. The State party ’ s report indicates that equal opportunity for women in the area of employment has been denied by a combination of factors , such as women ’ s lack of formal education and cultural beliefs preventing them from seeking employment outside their home. Please provide information about any Government initiative to address th e situation.

The State Secretariat for Professional Training and Employment has an understanding of gender equality as it relates to all projects, and encourages participation of women in projects. This dates from the time of the Ministry of State Administration and Territory Reform, which existed before the Public Service had applied gender equality in their policy for employers, according to the Law no.8/2004. This law says that women employees who had delivered a child will be entitled to paid Maternity Leave, and the private sector Worker Organizations, working together with the State Secretariat for Professional Training and Employment, will try their best to introduce Worker Laws to all entities, and acknowledge all necessary problems of the worker that might occur.

Please also refer to the answer for question 7, specifically the paragraph on microcredit funding.

Health

21. According to the report, in May 2005, the Government and the Catholic Church issued a joint statement proposing to criminalise abortion in the forthcoming Penal Code. Please provide a copy of the proposed text and indicate its current status. Please indicate what the Government ’ s policy is towards protect ing women from the consequences including death , of unsafe abortion . Please also indicate measures taken to ensure women ’ s accses to reproductive health services, including access to affordable contraceptives for both young women and men.

Please see attached articles 141 of the new Penal Code text on the criminalization of abortion. The new Penal Code gives exceptions to allow abortions for reasons of health of the mother.

The Ministry of Health has developed a policy named ‘the National Policy of Reproductive Health’ to provide strategic guidance to all health practitioners for systematic intervention to solve the existing public health problem that is due to the implication of the reproduction cycle, including the issue of abortion.

In relation to unsafe abortion, there is a standard operating procedure (SOP) applied in all hospitals, for the necessary interventions. If a woman shows indicators of having had an unsafe abortion, first the hospital must try to save the life of the mother, and then they must try to prevent the abortion.

The Ministry of Health has established a regular health maternity and family program of pre-natal and ante-natal care. This facilitates all health centres to have health reproduction supplies, intensive dissemination of information and education to community and at-risk groups, schools and church, and other sector and non governmental organizations to share out information and actions to respond to the health reproduction problem.

22. Please inform the Committee on the Government ’ s plan to pilot maternity waiting homes in five districts with a view to reducing maternal mortality. Has th e plan been implemented? If so, please provide information on the results achieved.

The Pilot Project for Maternity Waiting Homes (Casa das Mae) has been implemented in six (6) districts: Aileu, Ainaro, Lautem, Liquica, Manatuto and Manufahi. Among the Maternity Waiting Homes which have been established, however, 50 per cent are not functioning well due to the mid wife living far away from the Maternity Waiting Homes. This makes it hard for the Homes to function well in delivering babies, and also makes it difficult to conduct examinations of expectant and delivering mothers.

23. According to the report, 90 per cent of women give birth at home without the help of any skilled birth attendant and any emergency obstetric care , which is the main cause of high maternal mortality in the country. Please indicate whether there is any plan envisaged to increase the number of skilled birth attendants, particularly in rural areas, through adequate training.

Nowadays more than 37 per cent of women who give birth could be assisted by trained health staff. The Government of Timor-Leste has an initiative to expand all Health Centres to provide places for giving birth, because existing Health Centres do not have this facility. The Health Science Institute has carried out new training for midwives, with almost 40 people, in preparation to locate in health facilities which do not currently have a midwife. In relation to Basic Emergency Obstetric Care, theMinistry of Health has conducted training for 80 mid wives, or about 40 per cent of the total number of midwives within Timor-Leste. To facilitate and strengthen the existing system, the Ministry of Health is planning to procure a multi-function vehicle to carry out urgent activities and community based activities.

Rural women

24. The report indicates that the Government is attempting to address the needs of rural women in its policies in the agricultural sectors. Please provide information on any concrete programme and project developed in that regard. Please also provide information on any Government initiative to provide marketing facilties for products produced by rural women micro - entrepreneurs and to facilitate their access to credit and land, including land ownership.

Please see the attachment: Data for Women’s Group Supporting Material from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Family relations

25. According to the report, a married woman who was not separated by bed and board, sh ould not have any residence other than that of her husband. She is obliged to follow him wherever he deems fit to reside. Please indicate whether according to the Timorese Civil Code, which was being finalized at the time of submission of the State party ’ s report, a married woman has the right to choose her residence.

According to the new Civil Code proposal: residence ownership will be based on any agreement between the married man and woman; but if there is no agreement between them or they change the original agreement then the court may decide upon request of any of the spouses, that is, the court will have the right to decide. Please also see attachment with draft text of the new Civil Code.

26. Please provide information to the Committee on steps taken to ensure that the minimum legal age for marriage is the same for women and men and that the waiting period for remarriage following a divorce is also the same.

The new Civil Code proposal states that men and women are allowed to marry at the same age, at 16 years old but they have to ask for their parents’ authorization if they are 16,; after a divorce, women should wait 300 days (10 months) to marry again, and men should wait 180 days (6 months) to marry again. Alternatively, after divorce, a woman will be able to marry again after 180 days (6 months) if she does not physically show as pregnant, and any declaration has authorization from the court.

27. The report indicates that the current lack of clarity on land and property issues creates obstacles to women ’ s economic empowerment. Please provide information on women ’ s de jure and de facto ownership and inheritance of land. Please indicate what measures were taken to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women with respect to ownership, transfer and inheritance of land, in particular women in rural areas. Please also provide information on the status of women with respect to the distribution of marital property upon divorce.

The Constitution of the Government of Timor-Leste and the proposal for the new Civil Code attempt to grant the same rights for men and women. The Government of Timor-Leste will prepare a law proposal about the rights of women in relation to marriage, such as that women may have the right to negotiate ownership of land, including contracts and also access to credit. Regarding the inheritance of property - after a divorce, assets have to be divided equally between men and women. When the husband dies first, the inheritance will be divided between his wife and the children, or the inheritance will go to the wife only if they have no children.

28. Please also indicate whether, according to the Civil Code, women have the right to make contracts , including those relating to credit, real estate and other property, as well as other commercial transactions , in their own name without their husband ’ s consent.

Please see answer to question 27. Additionally, while single women and men will have the right to negotiate contracts etc, married women and men will have to have the consent of their husband or wife in order to make a contract.

29. The report indicates that a Civil Registration Code was being considered, which would assist in monitoring the compliance with minimum age for marriage provisions. Please provide information on the status and content of th at Code.

(The Civil Registration Code) conducts monitoring on the minimum married age in Timor-Leste. A proposal for Timor Leste’s new Civil Code has been finalized, but as the Government of Timor-Leste is still in the process of consultations, it hasn’t been approved yet for implementation.

Amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention

30. Please describe progress towards acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

The State Secretariat for the Promotion of Equality is in the process of approaching the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this issue.