Situation of women in the East African sub-region with specific focus on : participation of women in decision making economic empowerment of women for poverty reduction women's legal and human rights

Abstract

The social and economic situation in these countries is reported to have declined significantly in the 1990s as the countries have recorded a marked decline in GDP and a corresponding decline in per capita income. In addition, the majority of these countries have not only been implementing structural adjustment programmes which have resulted in severe social consequences due to government cut-backs and withdrawal from investment in the public sector, retrenchment of public-sector employees, and disinvestment in social services, they also have a heavy debt burden and heavy debt overhang.