USAID Women in Development (WID): Country Snapshots - East Timor (Timor-Leste) and Legal Right's & Governance

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The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is a new country. It gained its independence from Indonesia and ratified its Constitution in 2002. East Timor held its first elections in September 2001 and elected 24 women to the Constituent Assembly. Today women constitute 25% of the Assembly.

Twice as many women die in childbirth in East Timor than anywhere else in the Western Pacific or East Asia. Some 200 midwives serve a population of 924,642 (2004 national census).

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Country Snapshot: East Timor and Legal Rights and Governance

Photo of Women from Dato village in Liquiça district gain new confidence for public speaking. (Photo by Isabel Ximenes, USAID/East Timor)
Women from Dato village in Liquiça district gain new confidence in public
speaking. (Photo by Isabel Ximenes, USAID/East Timor)

Photo of Caucus, a print publication distributed throughout East Timor. It is read by women across the country, including Maria da Glória (left) and Agusta Soares.(Photo by Lisa Rogers, USAID/DAI Small Grants Program) "Caucus" is distributed throughout East Timor and is read by women across the country, including Maria da Glória (left) and Agusta Soares. (Photo by Lisa Rogers, USAID/DAI Small Grants Program.)

USAID supports cooperation among national and local legislative and executive bodies, the justice sector, civil society, and the media to promote an equitable, accountable, transparent, and representative democratic system. The roles of women politicians and women leaders in civil society receive special attention and encouragement.

Civic Forum
Women's Communication Forum
Women's Caucus

Civic Forum

USAID supports the Civic Forum program in partnership with The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). The program works with community groups to provide information on East Timor's political activities, support democratic values, and develop skills necessary for community advocacy on community issues. Almost 200 women have gained new confidence in voicing their opinions after a series of three-day public speaking training sessions held across the country. By strengthening women's speaking skills and boosting their confidence, the sessions also improve women's organizational and leadership skills.

Women's Communication Forum

USAID and Catholic Relief Services are conducting training courses as part of the Engaging Civil Society Project, targeting four national NGOs in East Timor to strengthen their relationships with their communities and improve their organizational skills and interactions with the government. The courses have helped the NGOs raise local funding for themselves. In particular, Fokupers, the Women's Communication Forum, has benefited from this activity.

Women's Caucus

USAID's assistance to women's organizations helped increase the number of women candidates in 16 political parties. The International Republican Institute (IRI) supported women candidates for the East Timorese Constituent Assembly elections through the Women's Caucus. In eight districts, the Caucus helped register women as independent candidates. Post-election, the Caucus also helped form gender working groups to develop a charter on women's rights, continued to advocate for its adoption in the draft constitution, and publishes a popular newsletter to encourage women's participation in public life. The Women's Caucus also promotes women candidates for the village-level elections scheduled for 2005.

East Timor Program Objectives

Economic Governance
Health
Legal Rights
Governance
Women's Literacy
Civil Society

Selected Activities

Bila Bala Pottery Project
Cooperative Café Timor
Irrigation Projects
Microfinace Support
Health Care Services (Cooperative Café Timor)
Civic Forum
Women's Communication Forum
Women's Caucus
FHA literacy Project
Strengthening Independent Media
Association of Men Against Violence (AMKV)
Domestic Violence Legislation
Gender-based Violence Research
Domestic Violence Justice Support
Survivors of Torture

Visit USAID/East Timor link to the Mission
Global Snapshots: East Timor Homepage

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Last Updated on: June 09, 2008