Theresa W. Devasahayam – författare

In the coming decades, challenges and risks associated with rapid population ageing will be paramount in Asia-Pacific. Examining key trends, dilemmas and developments with reference to specific nations, the book draws conclusions and policy recommendations that apply to Asia-Pacific as a whole. Individual chapters focus on the impact of population ageing, along with urbanization and industrialization, on the lives of people in the region. The book shows how leaders in Asia-Pacific – political, community and others – need to respond to changes in family and social structures, disease pathology, gender roles, income security, the care of older citizens and the provision of social and health welfare.

The book examines the health rights of older persons who are more likely potentially to face various disadvantages in terms of healthcare access and affordability, thereby impacting on health outcomes. The point of departure in the analyses is that the health security of older persons is guaranteed only if a country approaches the health of its citizens out of moral obligation, viewing health and well-being as a right rather than an entitlement. Data from five countries in the ASEAN region are analysed with the intent of highlighting the health inequalities and barriers at the societal and individual levels, on the one hand, as well as the gaps at the health and healthcare policy and programmatic levels within each country, on the other. It is also intended that the analyses of the data from the selected countries which represent different stages of development, and thus income levels, provide a useful comparative framework for policymakers in the ASEAN region.

In the coming decades, challenges and risks associated with rapid population ageing will be paramount in Asia-Pacific. Examining key trends, dilemmas and developments with reference to specific nations, the book draws conclusions and policy recommendations that apply to Asia-Pacific as a whole. Individual chapters focus on the impact of population ageing, along with urbanization and industrialization, on the lives of people in the region. The book shows how leaders in Asia-Pacific – political, community and others – need to respond to changes in family and social structures, disease pathology, gender roles, income security, the care of older citizens and the provision of social and health welfare.

The book examines the health rights of older persons who are more likely potentially to face various disadvantages in terms of healthcare access and affordability, thereby impacting on health outcomes. The point of departure in the analyses is that the health security of older persons is guaranteed only if a country approaches the health of its citizens out of moral obligation, viewing health and well-being as a right rather than an entitlement. Data from five countries in the ASEAN region are analysed with the intent of highlighting the health inequalities and barriers at the societal and individual levels, on the one hand, as well as the gaps at the health and healthcare policy and programmatic levels within each country, on the other. It is also intended that the analyses of the data from the selected countries which represent different stages of development, and thus income levels, provide a useful comparative framework for policymakers in the ASEAN region.

This book aims to contribute to the discourse on women and politics in Southeast Asia. The chapters, covering Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Singapore, analyse the asymmetrical power relationships between the sexes and how power differentials between men and women play out in the realm of politics are a reflection of the power contestations women face with men in other spheres of everyday life. Each chapter seeks to ask a different question in terms of where women viz. men stand in the political landscape of their countries, in an effort to answer the question of Where are the women in the gender trope in Asian politics. While the chapters are primarily empirical as they delve into the challenges, contradictions and conflicts Southeast Asian women encounter, the main assertion is that womens struggles in the realm of politics are a result of having to operate within power structures created principally by men, thereby producing barriers for women to enter politics, on the one hand, and to increase their numbers and widen their sphere of influence, on the other. Recognizing that Asian politics is dominated by men, the question of how women have negotiated a value system that is inherently male-centred and male-controlled is also discussed. The implicit narrative demonstrated in this book is that the political arena should not be considered in isolation from other arenas but instead is essentially a mirror of other arenas whether the home, workplace, nation, and/or global spaces each marked by power contestations between men and women and having a spill-over effect on the other, as well as shaping womens experiences in the political realm.

This book aims to contribute to the discourse on women and politics in Southeast Asia. The chapters, covering Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Singapore, analyse the asymmetrical power relationships between the sexes and how power differentials between men and women play out in the realm of politics are a reflection of the power contestations women face with men in other spheres of everyday life. Each chapter seeks to ask a different question in terms of where women viz. men stand in the political landscape of their countries, in an effort to answer the question of Where are the women in the gender trope in Asian politics. While the chapters are primarily empirical as they delve into the challenges, contradictions and conflicts Southeast Asian women encounter, the main assertion is that womens struggles in the realm of politics are a result of having to operate within power structures created principally by men, thereby producing barriers for women to enter politics, on the one hand, and to increase their numbers and widen their sphere of influence, on the other. Recognizing that Asian politics is dominated by men, the question of how women have negotiated a value system that is inherently male-centred and male-controlled is also discussed. The implicit narrative demonstrated in this book is that the political arena should not be considered in isolation from other arenas but instead is essentially a mirror of other arenas whether the home, workplace, nation, and/or global spaces each marked by power contestations between men and women and having a spill-over effect on the other, as well as shaping womens experiences in the political realm.

Many women in Asia engage in full-time work and continue to shoulder home and familial responsibilities in accordance to social and cultural norms. As larger structural, economic, historical and social forces impinge upon the way women negotiate roles as mother and worker in everyday life, the definition of "motherhood" in Asia, as in other parts of the world, is highly nuanced and variegated.The model of the male as breadwinner, a feature of middle and upper class households, has undergone tremendous change in recent time. Increasingly, women (particularly those who are better-educated) have entered the job market owing to rising costs of living and a desire to work. This book examines how Asian women negotiate, contest and reconfigure motherhood in a region characterised by different cultures, societies, ethnic, religious and class groupings.This book reveals recurrent themes on patriarchy, labour and relationship, strategies of accommodation, conflict and emotion management, the role of fathers, socio-cultural definitions of "good mothering", and the political meanings of "maternity" and "family", and last but not least, it provides an important counterpoint to studies based on white middle-class North Americans, which is the focus of much of the earlier research on this subject.

Research on women and food security in Southeast Asia has been limited. The collection of chapters in Ensuring a Square Meal: Women and Food Security in Southeast Asia is one of the first attempts at providing a lens into the linkages between women and food security at the household, community, national, and transnational levels. More broadly, the chapters examine women's contribution in households, resource distribution to produce food, and the purchasing power to buy food. In analysing the various facets of food security in relation to gender, the analyses focus on the meanings of 'private' and 'public', and the extent to which the effects of the two spheres spill over into each other. Given women's critical role in food production and provision, the book assesses the structural forces enabling women to access productive resources and, in turn, ensure sustainable strategies for food security; as well as it evaluates how governments might address the constraints women face in this vital role.

The chapters in this book are an assembly of commentaries by a distinguished team of specialists on the social impact of the Singapore Women's Charter on women and men. The Women's Charter is the main legislation protecting women's rights in the context of the family in Singapore. Highlights of this book include the reasons for the significance of legislation to protect women's rights in marriage; how the legislation came about; case studies from Southeast Asia; how the Singapore Women's Charter evolved and became established; how the Charter goes beyond protecting women's rights by reinforcing men's and women's obligations and duties in a marital partnership; how the Charter has come to be perceived by men and women especially in its enforcement in the context of divorce; and the social repercussions of the Charter on the family in its application. There has been ongoing discussion on the implications of the Charter on the lives of Singaporean women and men for some years since its implementation. The purpose of this book is to enrich our understanding of this legislation further - its objectives, efficacy and shortfalls.