4. PRUEBAS Y ANALISIS DE RESULTADOS
4.4. Aplicación del Método EigenFaces
with a stronger focus on the nuclear family and the strengthening of the role of the father as the provider for his children. Often elder women are seen to be challenging these practices and accusing men for not caring sufficiently for their “real children“, their nieces and nephews but investing too much time and resources in their wives children. This unethical behavior may result in forced divorce by the extended family. In rural and atoll settings or islands removed from the population and economic centers subsistence is essential to survival. On larger islands (Palau, Yap proper, Pohnpei proper and Kosrae) agroforestry is commonplace and men and women may be involved in both gardening and fishing practices. Traditional sailing, fishing, and navigation is still commonplace on a few Atolls in Chuuk, Yap (amongst the Chuukic speaking minorities) and in the Marshall Islands. Here sailing canoes are used to fish and commute between the islands as public transportation is very irregular. Otherwise transportation is reduced to the operation of fiberglass dinghies and is very costly. Coastal reefs are therefore overfished around and close to inhabited islands because fuel and motorized vessels are too costly to operate (ca. 9 USD/Gallon on remote atolls with wages at ca. 1.20 USD/hour). Housing usually consists of wooden structures, often built on elevated platforms. In recent years cement houses have become commonplace when families can afford to build them. Many families though might not have more than one room in their home which is mostly used for shelter at night only and might not be more than 12-25 sqm. Most people still do not have access to electricity, modern communications or clean drinking water and sanitation. Lack of sanitation is a threat to the safety of children at public schools (kids, and especially girl children do not drink in the mornings because there is no safe place to relieve oneself other than in the jungle where one may be preyed upon by waiting males).
Yap’s patrilineal kinship system is coupled with a caste system based on land ownership and titles to land that define a person’s cultural rank, title and obligations. The system includes serfs. Women lose all property and inheritance rights and rights to their children if they leave or divorce from a violent or abusive spouse. Not only are women marginalized here, but
also people of lower rank and Chuukic origin who live on the outlying atolls
surrounding Yap proper , have limited residence rights on Yap proper and who by custom may not obtain a primary position of leadership in Yap. With the economic success of Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea in the 1980s and 1990s, and most recently the Peoples Republic of China, these islands have seen a surge in tourism and imported labor from Asia. Palau has been leading the way with over 140,000 tourists visiting the islands in 2014 and up to 5,000 foreign laborers (25% of the population) registered as residing in Palau in recent years, most of whom are involved in manual labor (males) domestic helpers and “entertainers“ (females). In the 1990s a tuna fishing industry emerged, but the government-run efforts to boost the local economy failed. Today, fleets of Asian, American and European fishing vessels sail the seas of this region in search of their prized tuna estimated at an annual market value of over 7 billion USD. The
ocean area falling within the borders of three nations is 7.2 million square kilometers, an expanse so large that, given Asian, American and European interests in its tuna, is far from being controllable by these small island nations. In recent years the Marshall Islands have become the main hub for transshipment of ca. 500,000 tons of tuna annually at Majuro Atoll. The influx of foreign sailors during certain times of the year seeking entertainment on Majuro may amount up to 1,000 or more. In Pohnpei where regulation is more lacking, fishing vessels pre-arrange the number of sex partners to be provided by local bars and business partners prior to the arrival of a vessel. An unidentified amount of laborers on foreign fishing vessels may be considered as slave laborers.
The overall population in the Micronesian region presented here is close to
200,000, scattered across an ocean area the size of the continental USA with limited patches of land.
The Micronesian countries have been addressing gender inequality at different levels. At the international level FSM and RMI have ratified CEDAW in 2003 and 2006 respectively. Palau though, is one of six countries
worldwide that has not signed The Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This is connected in part to the dominance of women in many areas of Palauan society that have seen a greater neglect of male children versus female children. Nevertheless, various key government planning documents reflect an attempt to include gender equality. These include:
1. Republic of Palau
• Palau National Master Development Plan 2000-2020 (PNMDP)
• Palau ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1995. This is the only Human Rights Convention to which Palau has acceded.
• Palau has taken an active role in regional and global forums on children and social development.
• Palau has endorsed the Beijing Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the World Fit for Children goals at the highest policy levels. These documents are used to guide national development (see PNMDP).
• Numerous reports and national strategy plans for education, health, etc.
2. Federated States of Micronesia
• FSM Strategic Development Plan (2004-2023)
• The FSM ratified the Convention on the Rights of the
COUNTRY SNAP-SHOT
Independent since 1986 (FSM, RMI), 1994 (RP). Member of ACP, PIF, PNA, SPC, UN, WCPFC, etc., aspiring to ASEAN.
•
Population (2015 est.): 105,216 (FSM); 21,265 (RP); 72,191 (RMI)•
Demographics (2015 est.): Women 49%, Men 51% (FSM, RP & RMI)•
Age structure (FSM, RP, RMI) 0-14 years: 31%, 20%, 36% 15-24 years: 20%, 17%, 17% 25-54 years: 38%, 46%, 37% 55-64 years: 7%, 9%, 6% ≥65 years: 4%, 7%, 4%•
Landmass/EEZ: 702 km²/2,996,419 km² (FSM) 459 km²/603,978 km² (RP) 181 km²/1,990,530 km² (RMI)Child (CRC) in 1993
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was ratified in 2003.
• The FSM has adopted the following international platforms:
• Pacific Platform for Action on Women (PPA), 1994
• Cairo Platform for Action on Population and Development, 1994
• Global Platform for Action on Women (GPA), 1995
• Beijing Global Platform for Action (GPA) in 1995
3. The Republic of the Marshall Islands
• The Strategic Development Plan Framework (2003-2018)
• The RMI have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1993
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was ratified in 2006.
4. Summary
Some customary laws and practices in the Micronesian island region are not in harmony with key UN conventions on human rights, the rights of the child or women as
these societies hold on to views of the person that do
not subscribe to the principle of equality, individuality and autonomy of person as do some of these conventions. The search for equality between women, children and men must consider these differences in research, policy and programming options as change for the well being of all members of these societies can only come from within. Historically, boy children have been more neglected and discriminated against with regards to access to resources than girl children in the predominantly matrilineal societies where girl children are more treasured than boy children. This is a factor often overlooked by Western policy makers and human rights activists. Much of the violence in later life is a result of poor treatment and neglect during early childhood. Young males in Micronesia account for the highest suicide rates in the world. My research findings point to the identification, analysis and use of indigenous value systems, including those of masculinity, religion (faith and culture) to effect change for the common good. Traditional concepts of the person are what has kept Palau from becoming a signatory to CEDAW – among others. Nevertheless, actions have been taken to improve equality at the workplace. But as long as cultural perceptions in support of inequality and neglect prevail, many of these actions or provisions remain without effect on the everyday lives of women, men and children.