Kiribati

Formerly the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati ended its history as a British protectorate in 1979. The islands, which include 33 separate Pacific coral atolls, are still largely agricultural, and 56 percent of the population live in rural areas, although the service industry (66.8 percent) provides the lion's share of Kiribati's Gross National Product. The per capita income is approximately $5,300, but the islands are heavily dependent on financial aid from the European Union, the United States, Australia, and other countries as well as on remittances from I-Kiribati (Kiribati citizens) who work abroad. Kiribati has long been a patriarchal society, with well-defined roles for women and men. In recent decades, the government has made a conscious effort to remove barriers that have historically limited women, and Kiribati joined the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2004. Ethnically, Kiribati is homogeneous, and 98.8 percent of the population are Micronesian. The people are more diverse religiously, however. More than half of the residents are Roman Catholic, and another 40 percent are Protestants. English is still the official language.

[Page 815]In response to a changing economy and the conscious effort to address inequities, women are now entering the workforce in large numbers. By 1990, 60.9 percent of women were in the workforce, but most of them labored in low-paying unskilled and semiskilled positions. In 1999, women broke down the barrier that had shut them out of politics by electing the first female to Parliament. By 2008, there were two women in the 45-member legislature, and a number of women were serving as permanent government secretaries.

The median age for females in Kiribati is 21.3 years. With a total infant mortality rate of 43.48 deaths per 1,000 live births, female infants (38.36) have a distinct edge over male infants (48.35) that continues throughout their lives, resulting in a female life expectancy of 66.45 years as compared to 60.14 for males. Kiribati ranks 46th in the world in fertility, and women give birth to an average of 4.04 children each. Both females and males stay in school for 12 years.

There are no laws against sex discrimination, but women do have full rights of inheritance and property ownership. Domestic violence is considered a serious problem in Kiribati society, but it is often dealt with only by community censure. Rape laws exist and are enforced when necessary. Contrary to husbands who marry noncitizens, I-Kiribati wives cannot confer citizenship on foreign husbands.