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In an effort towards
realizing the National Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Yemeni government
has included women and gender issues in all fields of development. This is
aimed not only to improve the status of women but to empower them with the
necessary tools crucial to the progress of our nation. The national
report, prepared by the Women National Committee, showed that Yemeni
government has made wide strides over the past years to boost women's role
in the society.
According to the Central Statistical organization, there has been a
remarkable increase in the ratio of Yemeni females to males in the primary
and secondary educational system. This has progressed to include tertiary
studies among young women. Consequently, there has been a noticeable
influx of females joining various non agricultural sectors of the labor
force.
One particular sector where women surpassed would be the political arena.
The Women National Committee is actively working to adopt a quota system
for all elected councils at the central and local levels, demanding to
raise the quota of women in parliament and in the elected councils to 30%
to allow higher levels of their participation.*
Several Non Government Organizations (NGOs) are continuously contributing
to consolidate the participation of women in economic activities. Primary
focus has been on vocational training for poor women, thereby creating new
opportunities for acquiring professional skills. Several sessions – in
recent years were held to spread awareness of the importance of girls'
education especially in rural areas, increasing job opportunities,
agricultural development and poverty reduction. Many women's rights
groups' such as the Women's Affairs Support Center, run trainings and
workshops to educate women on crucial issues relating to violence against
women, media training and local rights. Moreover, local NGOs such as the
Human Rights Information and Training Center and the Arab Sisters Forum
primarily address issues related to the treatment of women prisoners by
police.
Extending from the previous
strategy, the National Strategy for Women Development and Gender, 2006 –
2015 has been introduced to empower women’s status and their roles in all
aspects of society and community development.
Another increasingly paramount aspect for women capacity-building revolves
on reproductive health. Numerous courses, workshops and seminars dealing
with women's issues in urban and rural areas have been carried out. Both
the Government and the NGOs are working hand in hand to increase
reproductive health awareness, prenatal and maternity care in an effort to
reduce maternal mortality rates.
Yemen's Stance on
International Treaties to promote women Rights:
To solidify it's stance on the importance of women's position in the
society, Yemen joined forces with major international treaties and
conventions promoting women’s rights. Yemen signed the Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1984.As
a result, amendments were made to the following laws: Nationality,
Personal Affairs, Labor, Jails Organizing, Civil Affairs and Civil
Registry.*
Women and Political
Participation:
In 1967, women received the
right to vote, making Yemen the first in the Arabian Peninsula. Over the
years, there has been a remarkable increase in women political
participation and decision making. The Supreme Commission for Elections
and Referendum reported that the number of women rate in the electoral
registration in the 2003 election reached to an approximately one million
and two hundred and seventy two thousands with an average of 42% of the
total tally of voters casting their ballots. This was against 27% in 1997
elections and 18% in 1993 elections.
Concerning the number of women members in political parties, a 25% to 50%
increase is evident across the four main political parties. In 2006, the
permanent committee of the General People Congress (GPC) includes (35)
women out of (700) members, the central committee of Yemeni Socialist
Party (YSP) includes (13) women out of (270) members, the central
committee for Yemeni Grouping for Reform includes (7) out of (160) members
and the central committee of the Nasserite Union Party includes (4) out of
(74) members.
Participation within the judiciary field is slowly gaining momentum. The
judiciary system in Yemen was restructured in 2006 to assign the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court as the head of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC)
instead of the President. During the same year, in September, a female
judge was appointed to the Supreme Court and another woman was appointed
as the head of the civil court of appeals for Aden Governorate. Meanwhile,
five women were admitted to the Higher Judicial Institute as part of the
judicial reform program in Yemen. There are approximately 35 women lawyers
while 11 women work as prosecutors as opposed to 199 men in the same
field.*
Women and Education:
Official statistics show that women are more illiterate than men in Yemen,
standing at 29.8 percent for men and 62.1 percent for women.*
One of the country's key priorities has been to promote and advance girl's
education.
Recent studies have shown a wide gap in the educational system between
females and males. Primary school education indicates a total of 63 girls
per 100 boys in the primary schools. Similarly, a higher gender gap is
evident in the urban/ rural areas illustrating the enrollment of 45 girls
per 100 boys. Tremendous efforts are being made by the government to help
bridge this gap. The government's role is complemented through support and
affiliations with three major multilateral donors such as World Bank,
World Food Program, UNCIEF and other international communities.
In September 2006, Yemen witnessed the launch of the Business Partnership
for Girls Education, a partnership between the government, private sector
and UNICEF in attempts to reduce the gender gap in education. This
partnership depicts the first major private sector initiative to overcome
the barriers to promote girls education. Several campaigns were carried
out extensively to boost enrollment and counter the high levels of
drop-outs in girl's education within the country.
Such collaborations reiterates both the government's, private sector's and
international communities' dedication and commitment to this cause, which
has emerged as a national challenge demanding collective social action.
USAID has played a pivotal role in boosting Yemen's education sector. Some
of the programs focused on building and renovating schools, providing
basic equipment, training female teachers provided literacy classes for
women. Moreover, a $10 million Yemen Accelerated Learning Activity (YALA)
was launched to boost children's access especially girls to primary
education, thereby reducing gender inequality in the education system.
* Sources:
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IRIN,SANA, 8
March 2006
Saba news, May 12,2007
Freedom House Report Yemen 2007
Saba news, March 20, 2004
IRIN, January 21,2007
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