Section 2: Background The current status of gender equality in the Asia Pacific Region “A backlash against gender justice” This section headlines the reviews of documents produced by the APF Secretariat, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and UN Women Asia and the Pacific, on the current status of gender equality in the region. Amnesty International3 reports: … while there have been ‘modest’ gains for the rights of women, girls and gender diverse people in the region, the overall situation is concerning. Positively, a new law criminalising torture and enforced disappearance was adopted in Thailand, the mandatory death penalty was abolished in Malaysia and legal obstacles to participation in elections for married women were removed in Fiji. Thai lawmakers have begun a process of legalising same-sex marriages. Court rulings in Nepal give greater recognition to the rights of same-sex couples and/or transgender people. Conversely, the reality for many women, girls and gender diverse people in the region remains one of systemic discrimination and violence. High numbers of incidents of harassment and violence including rape and other sexual violence, continue to be reported, and accountability is rare. Women and girls face discrimination in law and practice, including in relation to the rights to freedom of movement, expression, bodily autonomy, inheritance, divorce, political office and employment opportunities. Women are under-represented in public office across the region. Long-standing discrimination against gender diverse people persists. Human rights defenders, political activists and journalists, including women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are arbitrarily arrested and detained. People belonging to these, and other marginalized groups are particularly hard hit in countries suffering economic crises. They are also vulnerable to the often-deadly consequence of climate-change induced weather events. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has intensified their repression especially against women and girls. In South Korea, the Constitutional Court has upheld the criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual relations within the Korean military. In India, the Supreme Court refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage. In Malaysia, books and other materials considered to promote LGBTI lifestyles were banned, and in Mongolia a pro-LGBTI march was banned. Amnesty International (2024), The State of the World’s Human Rights: April 2024, at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/7200/2024/en/ 3 Gender Baseline Assessment of NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region – July 2024 13