Conference suggests big changes Helping women get into government [Archives:2003/05/Reportage]

By Yemen Times Staff
Under sponsorship of Dr. Waheeba Farea, Minister of Human Rights, the Arab Human Rights Foundation (AHRF) in co-operation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung organization held a three-day discussion meeting about “Obstacles and Challenges that Female Candidates Face and How to Overcome Them.”The event was in to support the female candidates in the next parliamentary elections April 27.
A number of heads of parties constituencies submitted papers to give an idea about the procedures that should be taken by parties to support females candidates and expose the difficulties parties face in helping females reach to the parliament.
A number of female candidates of previous parliamentary elections and local councils exposed their electoral experiences and impediments that prevented them to reach to the parliament and local councils.
Participants were divided into three groups to conclude the practical recommendations and suggestions that guarantee supporting female candidates, in condition that AHRF is going to follow and collaborate to activate these following recommendations.
Media
1)Invite all the bodies concerned to activate the legal protection for female candidates ” protect the posters, electoral festivals …etc).
2) Invite all the official, political and private mass media to give the female candidates similar space than the male candidate gets.
3)Invite the ministry of Religious and Endowments and the mosques imams and preachers to raise awareness about the women political rights as a nominee and candidate.
4)Invite the media to highlight the violations and transgressions that parties practice against female candidates.
5)Invite the mass media to prepare and implement programs to build awareness in favor of female candidates.
6)Invite the mass media to give space to shed light on the electoral elections of female candidates.
Civil and Party
1)Invite each party to give special percentage for female candidates of the total constituencies that expected to win.
2)Forme organization committee from of parties and civil organizations and journalists to follow and contact with parties that have announced it readiness to support the female candidates in the next parliament April 27.
3)Invite the parties and civil organizations to cooperate in preparing and implementing election awareness for female candidates.
4) Invite the parties to seriously select the female candidates according to the qualifications and the public attendance in each constituency.
5)Invite the parties to just distribution for constituencies that have a great effect on the nominees and not to margin the female candidates by giving them marginal constituencies that party does not expect any success.
Financial
1)Invite the parties to equally distribute the financial allocations for nominees without exception.
2)Invite the civil organizations and official and party institutions to establish special fund to support female candidates.
3)Invite the Supreme Election Committee and international donor organizations to offer the financial support to fund of non-nominees females.

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