SUDAN: Women Demand 30 Percent Representation

[chlamor]

SUDAN:
Women Demand 30 Percent Representation

Sanjay Suri


LONDON, Apr 11 (IPS) - Sudanese women's groups have come together to demand a minimum 30 percent representation for women in a post-conflict Sudan. The demand followed a meeting held in Oslo in Norway Sunday ahead of the two-day donors' conference on Sudan. The women's groups' demands are due to be discussed on the second day of the conference Tuesday.

The women's groups came up with a series of recommendations at the Sunday meeting held under the auspices of the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

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The women's group said it stands by the principle of equal representation for women and men but was seeking 30 percent representation for now ''given the context, situation and issues at stake.'' They asked for this minimal representation in the Constitution-making and review processes, and in transitional institutions and all commissions established under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The group asked also for ''urgent programmes for addressing negative customs and practices which continue to foster women's marginalisation and exclusion in all spheres of life.''

The women asked the donor conference to ''ensure the protection of women and girls in terms of safety from sexual and gender-based violence, especially in war-affected areas'' and to ''create and strengthen institutional mechanisms so that women and girls can report acts of violence against them in a safe and confidential environment.'' The women want to establish a ministry of women and gender equality with ''full resources, as provided for in the comprehensive peace agreement, and create gender divisions in all other sectors.'' The women have recommended creation of a women's fund within the Multi-donor Trust Fund (MDTF) ''for women-specific programmes, and ensure a formal role for women's organisations in the management and disbursement of funds.''

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=28245

[Kagemusha]

1. Maybe they haven't heard the opposition leader's been arrested.

If men's rights are being abused thusly, what do they expect from women's in that country?