Countries: North Korea
Variables: GIC-LAW-1

"But what about North Korea? Much like in the South, the North has both encouraged and discouraged childbearing over the years, with its population policy going through three distinct phases of pro-fertility from 1945-1970, family planning from the early 1970s to early 1990s and now back to the pro-natalist approach since around 1993. This latest phase under Kim Jong Il and now Kim Jong Un has been limited to propaganda statements extolling the greatness of childbearing and insisting that Korean women should have more children. In 2018, for instance, the Rodong Sinmun editorialized that 'all women must give birth to even more children, for the sake of the motherland’s future'"...more

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ABO-LAW-1

"In 1993, North Korea criminalized abortion, which had been legal for a while" (para 23).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-3

"Jung was fascinated when North Korean defectors she interviewed used the word matriarchy. She related one conversation with a woman in her 50s. She stated that women often say the patriarchy has fallen in favour of the matriarchy … And if women were once under their husband’s thumbs, men are now afraid they will be kicked out of their homes by their wives" (para 8-9).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: DLB-DATA-1

"This situation helps explain why the survey found that women in North Korea are most likely to take on the role of 'raising children' (25.6 percent) and 'supporting the household economy' (22.2 percent) in order to contribute to the development of society" (para 11).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ASR-PRACTICE-1

"The survey also found that restrictions are in place that limit women to certain fields of study, such as teaching, nursing, and accounting" (para 11).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: DMW-PRACTICE-1

"Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions" (para 9).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-LAW-1

"The North Korean government further says it has implemented policies to promote women’s rights and gender equality. These include initiatives to increase women’s participation in the labor force" (para 7).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: LBHO-PRACTICE-2

"The survey found that... only a small percentage (9.4 percent) believe that women can become government or party officials" (para 14).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-2

"Equally troubling, some 70 percent of respondents had never heard of North Korea’s Women’s Rights Protection Law (a 2010 law that establishes basic protections and rights for women), and only 16.7 percent had ever received education about women’s rights" (para 5). "While North Korea does have a petition system that allows women to voice complaints about their circumstances – including corruption and sex crimes – the survey found that most respondents believe the system is useless, and some even did not know where to file petitions" (para 15).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: MULV-LAW-1

"In addition, the survey showed that women in North Korea are significantly affected by the country’s system of 'non-tax burdens.' This system refers to irregular or semi-regular mandatory contributions imposed by the regime, including everything from cash to firewood. The survey found that women are asked to help pay for construction projects in Pyongyang, provide funds to build neighborhoods in their areas, and raise funds to send to the military, which is focused on advancing the country’s nuclear program. Women who do not work (only an estimated 5-10 percent of women in North Korea remain in the workforce after having children) are also required to be members of the Social...more

Countries: North Korea
Variables: WAM-PRACTICE-1

"While women in North Korea are highlighted in state propaganda as 'cogs in the revolutionary wheel of society,' in reality they are expected to fulfill the role of 'faithful housekeepers.' Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions. These cultural attitudes reinforce gender inequalities in many aspects of life. It should come as little surprise that North Korea’s leadership and state-run media play an important role in imposing traditional roles on North Korean women" (para 9-10). "North Korean women’s attitudes appear to have been affected by...more

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-3

"In interviews in Human Rights Watch’s 2018 report “You Cry at Night but Don’t Know Why,” North Korean students and teachers explained that in mixed gender classes boys were almost always made leaders and that male teachers usually made decisions in schools, even though the majority of teachers in the school were women" (par. 3).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-3

"North Korean students and teachers explained that in mixed gender classes boys were almost always made leaders and that male teachers usually made decisions in schools, even though the majority of teachers in the school were women" (par. 3).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-1

"The wages of North Koreans in official, state-approved ordinary workers’ roles are capped at pre-1990s prices, equivalent to an average of seven to nine kilograms of corn per month, which were eclipsed by market vendor earnings. Many North Korean women became the primary breadwinners of their families" (par. 10).

Countries: North Korea
Variables: ABO-PRACTICE-1

"The 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry report on the human rights situation in North Korea found that North Korean escapees who are forcibly repatriated face systematic torture, arbitrary detention, and sexual violence, including invasive body searches and forced abortions, that amount to crimes against humanity" (par. 8).