WNC to celebrate 10th anniversary [Archives:2006/914/Local News]

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January 23 2006

SANA'A, Jan. 21 ) The Women's National Committee (WNC) celebrates its 10th anniversary this March. Coinciding with the celebration, the group will hold its third women's conference March 6 in Sana'a.

Women activists from different Yemeni governorates are due to participate in the conference. The conference is considered the culmination of successful achievements by the committee, which works to design national women's policies, monitor their implementation and take necessary steps to upgrade women's status in various areas.

Among the committee's achievements is preparing a gender needs report and designing gender policies within the three-year plan for development and poverty alleviation for 2006-2010. Additionally, it adopted the National Strategy for Women's Development, the first of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula.

The WNC made some legal amendments to Yemeni laws discriminating against women and currently is preparing an annual report on the situation of Yemeni women. It plans to distribute the report to all concerned parties working in compliance with its goal to tackle the persistent gender gap.

Supported by Arab Women's Development, the WNC conducted many studies and surveys on women's educational, economic, health and media issues and will review the results and output at its March conference.

The committee also initiated a campaign encouraging women to participate in decision-making positions and advocated allocating a 30 percent women's share in such positions, the main objective being to push forward the wheels of development.

The WNC exerts extensive efforts to enhance women's participation at local and national levels, occasionally holding consultative meetings with ministries, concerned governmental bodies, community civic organizations and political parties. Such efforts aim to integrate women's needs according to well-prepared plans, projects and programs.

The WNC often organizes training courses, sessions and symposiums targeting different social classes throughout Yemen's governorates and issues periodic reports on Yemen's regard for women-related international conventions.
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