A/HRC/61/49/Add.2 opportunities and support for small businesses. In many parts of the country, despite legal equality, cultural norms pressure women to drop out of school if they are pregnant, discourage them from returning post-childbirth, and hinder them from taking office and public responsibilities. 66. Whereas many roles need to be fulfilled in society, from a human rights perspective, women should have the same rights as men to develop and fulfil their potential, including through access to education and work opportunities, and to choose freely in which capacity they wish to contribute. Discussions about the position of women in society must be brought to the forefront, to challenge the hesitation to change. Cultural norms cannot legitimize violations of their human rights or force them into taking on only certain functions, such as that of “silent chief”. The authorities should consider adopting temporary special measures to break gender stereotypes and strengthen conditions for real equality. 67. A lack of formal sexual education and the absence of informal spaces to discuss menstrual health maintain a general shame that impedes many girls and women from taking part in sports, in particular in swimming. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that many sports trainers are men. Experiences with World Aquatics in addressing menstrual health as part of training have produced good results and can inform the practice for other team sports, such as basketball, volleyball and baseball. It was reported that a United Nations Population Fund project had used theatre to inform the audience about consent, which is a commendable approach that should be duplicated. 68. In many islands of the country, the matrilineal transmission of land used to provide women with differentiated, but competing, powers to those of men, which contributed to their social protection and functions. Successive colonial administrations eroded those practices, both in law and in practice, until decisions about land were entrusted to the states. Where some families still operate according to the matrilineal systems, other families’ land has been divided between the male children, entrusted to collective ownership or transferred to only one son at some point. Accordingly, across the Federated States of Micronesia, women’s rights to land and their related powers differ greatly and some may need the protection of public institutions and the rule of law more than others. 69. Considering their importance in maintaining and transmitting cultural meanings and practices, it is up to the women to decide freely whether practices violate their rights. They should be represented equally in decisions about which cultural practices to uphold, adapt or abandon. The national Government must ensure that such dialogue continues in an informed way, taking the opportunity of reporting to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women as an incentive to set benchmarks in the implementation of women’s rights. It is also up to the Government to educate society, create properly functioning shelters or take other measures that the women themselves value. F. Vision of development 70. In many ways, the peoples of the Federated States of Micronesia and political leaders do not aspire to follow the development paths taken by other islands of the region, such as Guam or Hawaii. Most people with whom the Special Rapporteur spoke defined development as better care for people and nature, increased education, food security, self-sufficiency, and a sustainable nature and water management. Micronesians seem to agree in wanting to avoid a detachment from their ways of life and cultural practices and a weakening of their distinct identities, proving that there is a different conception of richness. They affirmed that they cannot change the past, but they want to be the ones deciding how the country should go forward. The government has to facilitate the discussion about the vision of development Micronesians want and define with them a new, bold and different development pathway, one that will pursue democratic ideals and self-determination while being anchored in the values of their peoples. 71. The development paths favoured by the colonial powers and the Compact of Free Association have moved Micronesians away from a self-sufficient economy and towards a high dependency on foreign grants. For many, the introduction of the cash economy has justified harmful practice towards nature and led to the import of objects people do not need. 14 GE.26-01464