By: Jamil al-Jadabi - Marib (East Yemen) - The Organization of Female Journalists Without Restraints (FJWR), one of the civil society organizations in Yemen announced its intention to train four Yemeni women nominees competing for winning local councils seats in district in the Yemeni governorate of Marin, east of Yemen.

In precedence, the first of its kind in the democratic experiment in Yemen, four Yemeni women managed to break the barrier of fear and surmounted all social hindrances and succeeded in nomination for the local councils elections in one of most Yemeni governorates known for its social conservativeness.
In implementation of the recent directives by president Ali Abdullah Saleh, leader of the General People’s Congress (GPC) on supporting female candidates in the wake of the woman demonstration in protest to political parties the GPC candidate Salwa Al-Amrani has been chosen to run the competition for the local council seats in the district of Marib, while the three other candidates, namely, Salma al-Sheikh, Ashwaq al-Baihani and Fatima al-Khawlani nominated themselves as independent ones. They decided to run the competition as none of the political parties were willing to support them.
The training course for candidates of local councils in the districts and the governorate scheduled in Yemen on 20th September, coinciding with the presidential elections, is to be inaugurated in the governorate of Marib.
Chairwoman of FJWR Arwa Atif told almotamar.net the training course comes in response to requirements of the political stage and in complementary of the organization’s awareness program specified for women candidates for the local councils that the organization has already begun. She said the course held by her organization comes as part of the program of the political empowerment of the woman in Yemen. The course is organized in cooperation with the Union of Yemen Women, support of the UNDP and in coordination with the branch of the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum in the governorate of Marib.

It is scheduled that the course inauguration will be attended by deputy of Marib governor, leaders of political parties and personalities, leaders of civil society organizations, mosque preachers and social figures.
It is worth to indicate that FJWR has succeeded in encouraging and supporting the four candidates to run for lections of the local councils in the districts and governorate of Marib from among 12 women who intended to nominate to the elections there.

The executive manager of the organization, Nabil al-Habshi, clarified to almotamar.net the course lasts for 3 days the candidates will receive lectures on controls of electoral propaganda, future tasks of local councils, political right of the woman in Yemeni and international texts and legislations.