Millennium Development Goal 3

Promote gender equality and empower women
- The gender gap remains noticeable in education and literacy rates but has decreased. In 1999 the share of women in total employment was just 23% and women’s participation in the work force was generally limited to menial tasks and the traditional service sectors; few women penetrate to the upper ranks of civil services and the major private enterprises. The challenge is to integrate gender issues across all sectors and involve women in the development process.

Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005 and to all levels of education no later than 2015

9. Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
Ratio of girls to boys in primary school 1986: 0.80 1999: 0.86

While gross enrolment is low, the ratio of girls to boys in primary education is improving

Ratio of girls to boys in secondary school 1986: 0.57 1999: 0.70

The ratio of girls to boys in secondary school is improving, although there are again concerns that the enrolment rate in secondary education is low

Ratio of girls to boys in tertiary education

Information was not available from the MoE

10. Ratio of literate females to males of 15-24 year-olds

Because of concerns about the accuracy of census literacy data information is not available and a literacy survey is required

11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector 1986: 23.16% 1999: 29.59%

In an economy characterised by subsistence production, a small private sector and a ‘dominant’ public sector,, there has been a slight increase in the proportion of women employed in the formal sector employed in sectors outside agriculture

12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament 1995: 2% 2003: 0.00%

There are no women in the current Government although the Women Development Division have a project to promote the political involvement for the elections in 2005