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RIGHTS: Women’s Movement Gathers Pace in Yemen

Nabil Sultan

SANA'A, Mar 25 2005 (IPS) - Women’s groups are coming together in Yemen to demand a quota system in jobs and political representation.

“A quota system will emphasise the importance of women’s contribution in areas still monopolised by men, especially the local councils, the legislative assembly and the cabinet,” Fawzia Noman, secretary-general of the Yemeni Women’s Union told IPS.

The union which works to fight female poverty and to support women in the courts has collected more than a million signatures in a new campaign, in a nation with a population of 20 million. It is now looking for help from Arab and international organisations.

“If the political parties, the Yemeni community and civil organisations stand by us, and if all women’s groups inside and outside the country come together on this, we will succeed,” said Noman, who has also been recently appointed undersecretary in the education ministry.

Chair of the independent Women’s National Committee Huriya Mashehour has also encouraged women to come together. “We have to focus on including a women development strategy in the third socio-economic development plan (2006-2010) based on the Millennium Development Goals,” she told IPS.

The latest Labour Force Survey by the government shows that women form a 21.8 percent of the work force. The survey revealed also that 62 percent women work as unpaid family workers in rural areas.

The ruling General People’s Congress (GPC) has recently proposed a quota of 10 percent seats for women in parliament and 15 to 20 percent in local councils. But the GPC says all parties must support the proposal if it is to go ahead.

Yemen has at present just one woman MP and one woman minister. Minister for human rights Amat al-Alim al-Soswa, the only woman minister in the cabinet has been promoting the quota proposal actively.

The strongly Islamic Islah Party has made no comment on the proposal. Mohammed Qahtan from the party says the leadership is studying it. GPC leaders say Islah is dragging its feet over the proposal.

Amat al-Salam Raja’a, head of the women’s wing of Islah is campaigning strongly for the quota within her party, but says the GPC can do this on its own. “The quota was the starting point for women in many Arab and Islamic countries to get effective political participation,” she told IPS. “The GPC, as the majority party, should ensure women’s participation in local and parliamentary elections, and remove obstacles.”

The unionist Nasserite Party which has had no women participation for more than a decade has set up a committee to study the quota proposal. But it seems in no hurry to approve it. “A woman must be effective in her party first so that she can prove her capability through her interaction with developments,” said Shafiqa Abdu Saeed, head of the women’s wing in the party.

Human rights activist Rahma Hojaira says women must not place themselves at the mercy of political parties for quotas. “I don’t like this idea,” she told IPS. “Our dream should not be limited to 10 or 30 percent of the seats. A quota system shows up women like decoration. We should strive for political rights, and contest elections freely, like men.”

Sociology professor Susan al-Shoutari says that in the present scenario a quota system might work. “Unfortunately, a quota of 10 percent of parliament seats for women may be satisfactory since not all women have the competence to take up the post of representatives. To be successful policy makers women must be self- confident to engage in hot debates, specially in our parliament.”

But several women’s groups have warned in a joint statement that they would boycott elections if the government does not meet their demands. “We refuse to be a chess game in a qat-chewing session,” chair of the Arab Sisters Forum Amal al-Basha said (qat is a leaf many Arabs chew).

“We have so many girls who do their best to get the perfect education, but they cannot find jobs,” said Mashehour. “This situation cannot support women’s role in society.” According to official reports, illiteracy among women stands at 67.5 percent.