almotamar.net - Member of General People’s Congress GPC, the Head of the Woman Office Fatma al-Khatri has affirmed Tuesday GPC’s orientations to encourage a large number of Yemeni women to participate in the parliamentary elections scheduled in April 2009. Meanwhile an official statistic on empowering the woman politically, economically and socially revealed appointment of 23 ladies in the post of director general in different ministries and government establishments in the year 2007.


Ms al-Khatri also said the GPC General Secretariat is considering the subject of pushing women to engage in contests for the 2009 parliament in a positive form and full conviction in the necessity engaging the woman as candidate in a manner leading to her success in the upcoming elections. She has also pointed out that the GPC’s rules of procedure stipulates on the necessity of the existence of 15% women in the leaderships, whether at the level of office or governorate or membership of the permanent committee and the general committee.

Al-Mithaq weekly quoted the GPC leading member as saying,” Whenever the woman is there as candidate the man has to support her. We at the GPC do not differentiate between candidates with regard to the morale, financial and organizational support and sometimes support for the women may be increased.”