This Background Note synthesises the results of three extensive literature reviews prepared as part of continuing work by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) exploring the extent to which gender justice for adolescent girls is shaped by formal and informal laws, norms, attitudes and practices that limit them in the attainment and exercise of their capabilities. Providing a snapshot of the social, economic and political conditions that shape girls’ everyday lives, this paper covers reviews conducted over three regions: East and South-East Asia (ESEA), South Asia (SA) and East Africa and the Horn of Africa (EA). These regions were chosen to represent geographic diversity and a range of levels of economic development, socio-cultural institutions and governance conditions, including fragile and conflict/post-conflict state contexts.
This paper focuses on major discriminatory trends, behaviours and macro processes in each region; key issues and gender-based vulnerabilities; and regional and local perspectives, priorities or conceptual frameworks established by groups working on gender justice and adolescent girls.
The literature review was carried out in three stages: (1) a survey of known reports, to provide key regional themes; (2) an iterative key word search based on themes from stage 1; and (3) a ‘snowball’ bibliographic search. Research was limited to resources published since 2000, with the exception of certain foundational resources. Landmark reports on adolescent girls in the global South as well as regional follow-up reports to international commitments on gender equality provided the starting point for building a relevant bibliography of key issues.
Key Findings:
East Africa and the Horn of Africa:
- Of all regions, sub-Saharan Africa scores the lowest on the SIGI. Widespread and persistent poverty is an underlying threat to attempts to build gender equality. Entrenched patriarchal norms and values that prioritise males for resources and opportunities expose females to higher risks in times of crisis. Gender discriminatory practices such as early marriage, SGBV and FGM/C, further impede girls’ development of their capabilities. SGBV is aggravated by the level of political and social instability in EA, especially the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
- Girls and young women often have less access to health and education services. Maternal mortality rates remain high, and women and girls – particularly adolescents – disproportionately suffer from HIV/ AIDS. HIV also increases the burden on young girls orphaned by AIDS, as they are expected to give up school or work to care for other children.
South Asia:
- Although the SIGI records substantial progress towards gender equality in SA, it remains the third-lowest-ranked region. Despite rapid economic growth, high levels of poverty and extreme inequality persist. Further instability results from conflict, insecurity and the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters. Human development indicators, such as education, health and life expectancy, remain low. The region has the second highest rates of maternal mortality and HIV/AIDS after sub-Saharan Africa and the highest number of undernourished children under five in any region.
- Lack of mobility contributes to a number of discriminatory social outcomes for women and girls in the region, including restrictions on schooling, work outside the home, participation in labour markets and socialisation.
East and South-East Asia:
- East and SEA boasts the second-highest regional SIGI ranking after Latin America and the Caribbean, and most countries are in the medium or high category of the Human Development Index. However, there are extreme disparities: Singapore’s per capita income, for example, is 20 times that of Lao PDR. Despite three decades of rapid economic liberalisation, urbanisation and migration, patriarchal norms persist, particularly among the many ethnic minority populations and those in rural areas.
- Sexual and gender-based violence is widespread, especially in relation to trafficking and sexual exploitation linked to tourism. Domestic violence is often implicitly condoned, though in public it is taboo. Girls from ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer from gender-discriminatory practices such as early marriage, which are otherwise on the decline in the region.
- Women and girls remain marginalised from the political domain, and discriminatory assumptions about their role in society limit access to opportunities for civic participation.
