More than 400 women of the Yemen Women Union (YWU) called for improvement in girls education aiming to increase by 36 percent by 2012. This came during the Union’s Second General Conference held on Monday, June 16 at the 22 May Hall in Sana’a.
The 400 participants are representing 46 thousand members of the union branches in the 22 Yemeni governorates. The conference aims to elect a chairwoman and 121 female members for the Union’s central council for the next four years as well as electing an administrative board of the Union’s executive office and a committee of monitoring and inspection.
The conference also evaluates accomplishments achieved by Yemeni women along the past four years in addition to discussing the Union’s financial and administrative reports. It also holds a workshop on women’s rights in reproductive health. Union’s branches had conducted their elections in the past two months.
Around 18 female representatives of various Arab and foreign countries have also participated in the conference exchanging experiences in different fields. The chairwomen of the YWU, Dr. Ramzia al-Eryany revealed in a press conference held on Sunday, the Union’s new plan for preparing a strategy for the next four years. According to Dr. al-Eryany, the plan aims to raise the rate of girls’ education to 35 percent, to reduce the illiteracy among Yemeni women and to establish more branches in other three governorates. The union has 145 centers for illiteracy eradication and it seeks to establish more centers in the different governorates.
“Yemen needs to empower women economically, socially and politically for achieving comprehensive development. Thus, we try to struggle against all kinds of discrimination against women, and to apply Islamic teachings which respect to women and their rights,” said Dr. al-Eryany.
She also indicated that the YWU has also tried to raise people’s awareness on kidnapping tourists through producing films, explaining dangers of such bad phenomenon and its consequences. The Vice President, Abdrabu Mansour Hadi, said that Yemeni women have a lot of rights which empower them to attain many achievements in different fields.
“Within the great support for women, the political leadership promised to give 15 percent of the parliament and local councils seats for women in the upcoming elections,” he said in the opening ceremony of the conference’s works.
YWU is one of the oldest and largest volunteer civil society organizations in Yemen. It is an independent organization and it represents all women in Yemen. The YWU’s ambition is to improve social and economic conditions for women. It is trying to guarantee justice for women and empower them so they would be able to fight for their rights and to participate effectively as partners in the developmental process.
YWU, which was formed in 1990, has a Special Consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. It is also where women go when they need help, whether legal or social help. It is also a supporter of the developmental and democratic participation of women and it is helping women all over Yemen to obtain their constitutional and legislatives rights that the Yemeni laws entitle them to have.
- Yemen Observer
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