Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

Eighty-seven percent of currently married women age 15-49 say that they make decisions
about their own health care either by themselves or jointly with their husbands, and 86 percent say
that they participate in decisions about major household purchases. Most currently married women
say that they participate in decisions about daily household needs (95 percent) and in decisions about
visits to their own family or relatives (91 percent). Overall, 74 percent of currently married women
participate in all four decisions, and 1 percent do not participate in any of the four decisions.
There is little difference in participation in decisionmaking among women by age and by the
number of children they have. It is interesting to note that women who are employed for cash, those in
urban areas, those with higher education, and those belonging to wealthier households are less likely
to participate in all four decisions. It will be interesting to see if these women are also vulnerable to
domestic violence, which is discussed in greater detail in the next chapter.
The number of decisions in which a woman participates by herself or jointly with her husband
is positively related to women’s empowerment and reflects the degree of decisionmaking control that
women are able to exercise in areas that affect their lives and environments. Figure 15.1 shows the
distribution of currently married women according to the number of decisions in which they
participate.
Figure 15.1 Number of Household Decisions in Which
Women Participate
80 Percent
60
40
20
210 | Women’s Empowerment and Demographic and Health Outcomes
0
1
2
8
0 1 2 3 4
Number of decisions
15
74
Timor-Leste 2009-10
Men were also asked about their attitude toward their wives’ participation in the
decisionmaking process. Table 15.5.2 shows the percentage of currently married men age 15-
49 who think that the wife should have a greater or equal say with her husband on five
specific kinds of decisions. More than three-quarters (78 percent) of currently married men
age 15-49 believe that a wife should independently or jointly with her husband have a say in
all five specified decisions. More than 90 percent of men agree on women’s participation in
each of the decisions specified. This is an indication that Timorese men think that women’s
participation in household decisionmaking is essential, although the previous table indicated
that in reality this was not the case.