CDPF launch program to support women's access to Parliament

Atendees discuss the cultural and social obstacles to women’s participation in politics.

The Cultural Development Programs Foundation (CDPF) launched its Human and Democracy Program that supports women's access to Parliament and stresses the need to reach a political agreement requiring support for Yemeni women regarding the imposed quota system.
 

The program was done in cooperation with the European Commission on May 10, 2009, in the presence of representatives of the five main political parties in Yemen as well as the International Foundation for Elections.
 

The Acting Representative of the European Union in Sana'a, Mr. Michele Cervone, confirmed that technical solutions are not enough to support women's access to Parliament, without the presence of political will. He called for the adoption of practical and serious solutions, and for Yemen to take note of  the mixed electoral systems used in other countries like Italy.
 

 The Representative of the Joint Meeting Party, Ali al-Sarari, confirmed the need to link the treatment of women and community development with this issue. Therefore, he stressed the need for positive discrimination of women, saying that "this is the duty of all those who want to progress and have interest the community." He then praised a system of proportional representation as a good chance for women to be represented.
 

The Head of the CDPF Foundation, Dr. Raufa Hassan, talked in general about the objectives of the program. She divided them into specific and general targets, indicating that the program’s main target is to guarantee support for women's access to the Parliament, in addition to increasing the number of women themselves who accept and support women's participation in political issues. Journalist Ahmed al-Zurqa, wrote a paper explaining the political system in Yemen and how in Yemen the party, not the person running for office, affects the ultimate vote count. The proportional representation system, in this case, is the perfect first step for Yemeni women to gain access to the political sector.

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