Women and youth [Archives:2006/1011/Viewpoint]

Editor
We had a marvelous discussion at the Yemen Times last Thursday with 30 Yemeni students between ages 12 and 24. They came in response to our invitation to attend an awareness session on the quota system proposed by the Yemeni women's movement as a temporary measure to attain gender balance in both elected and unelected governmental decision-making positions.

The enthusiasm we witnessed was overwhelming – it sometimes was hard to make them listen because they had so much to say! Some girls also were present, so it was good to see how they fit into the session. They were a little quieter than the boys, but still actively participating by asking questions and suggesting ideas.

For one thing, I realized that Yemeni youth really are out of the loop. They aren't included in any activities or awareness, regarding not only women's issues but also human rights, democracy, health, the economy, politics, international relations, etc. What information they had they learned through the media and word of mouth. Needless to say, the Yemeni education system is doing a terrible job of educating.

We eventually encountered three schools of thought, so to speak. One supported the quota system, understanding that it involves urgent action. Those with this viewpoint mostly were young boys and girls who had certain exposure via their families or firsthand contact with such issues.

Another school of thought supported the quota system, but didn't consider it a priority. They believed education, health and other basic needs are more important than politics or dedication to women's issues and that poverty should be eliminated before thinking about politics.

The third and final group believed women are better off performing their normal social and reproductive roles. “Why do they want into politics anyway? Many men are repelled by politics that women would find interesting,” one obviously male attendee observed.

We tried talking with the three groups to gain a better understanding of where they are coming from and how they arrived at such thinking. It all became clear when we understood how much exposure they had to drawing up policies, strategies and budget allocations.

We agreed on 30 recommendations to forward to those working in this field. We also decided to hold regular sessions with this particular group of students about issues concerning them. They jumped at the idea of creating a roundtable and bombarded us with ideas for the next discussion, which will be Jan. 18 and entitled, “Bridges between Western and Yemeni youth.”

The students were so eager to learn about their Western counterparts, what they're experiencing, their difficulties and their aspirations, we decided to be the means to make this happen. The medium of discussion will be English, so if you're an English-speaking Yemeni between ages 12 and 24 or a Westerner in the same age group, then we'll be more than pleased to accommodate you at our January discussion. Be there because we will.
——
[archive-e:1011-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-12-28-p:view]