The Asia Pacific Human Development Reports – Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific – was launched in Kathmandu today on the occasion of International Women's Day. The report say discrimination and the neglect are threatening women's survival with lowest rates of political representation, employment and property ownership.<br/><br/>Launching the report – Chairperson of the Fundamentals Rights and Directive Principles of the Constituent Assembly Mrs. Binda Pandey says, 33 percent representation of women in Nepal's constituent assembly and the adoption of Domestic Violence Act 2009 are noteworthy progress. She however added that the challenge lies with effective implementation of the law into practice.<br/><br/>Speaking at the launch event, UNDP Resident Representative Robert Piper has said while overall progress has been made in literacy, school enrolment, labour force participation and political representation, the Asia Pacific region often ranks low in gender indicators. He says this year's theme of gender equality is highly relevant in the region as well as the Nepal context.<br/><br/>AIR Kathmandu Correspondent reports that the report calls for building economic power of women by increasing their participation in labour market and providing job security that will improve their own welfare as well as that of their children and family. Stating that the Asia Pacific Region has second lowest representation of women in parliaments around the world, the report calls equal access for men and women in political arena to articulate and shape solutions that will unleash progress for themselves and the society at large. The third and final theme covered in the report is advancing legal rights for women to ensure equal legal rights for men and women in property ownership etc through legal reforms and improving access to justice.