Islah Party encourages women candidates [Archives:2006/909/Local News]

SANA'A, Jan. 3 ) The Islah Party has nominated five women out of 35 candidates in upcoming local elections.

Amal Al-Basha, head of Arab Sisters Forum, affirmed the party's nomination of five female candidates to be trained for local elections in September. “It is good news that there are five female trainees nominated by the Islah Party. We congratulate the Islah Party for this initiative,” she said at the opening of the training program for local elections. She urged other parties to follow suit.

Abdu Al-Janadi, head of the Information Sector of the Supreme Committee for Elections, said in previous elections, women's participation as candidates was not encouraging, even though there are millions of women in Yemen.

He added that everyone is looking forward to getting to know the women candidates of the Islah Party, which is the largest opposition party. He invited other parties to give women chances to nominate themselves in elections. “It is fair that women exercise their rights in nominating themselves in local and general elections,” he said.

In February 2001 local elections, there were 84 female nominees and 38 won their elections. Twenty-nine belonged to the General People's Congress, six to the Yemeni Socialist Party and three were independent.
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