Gender equality, financial crisis high on Women's Forum 2009 agenda

Women delegates from China and some 29 African countries brainstormed on Tuesday solutions to gender equality and means of lifting the world from the economic downturn at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Women's Forum 2009, a follow-up event in the framework of China-Africa cooperation.

"Egypt has made some progress in obtaining gender equality since the 1970s, from when women lawmakers emerged in the legislature," Farkhonda Hassan, secretary general of Egypt's National Council for Women, told the plenary session on "Role of Women in Promoting the Political and Social Dialogue between China and African Countries."

Meanwhile, she warned that the representation of women is still "low" in Egypt, adding the situation would be improved by 2010 when a law that ensures more fixed seats for women come into effect.

According to Li Yuezi, president of China's Zhejiang Women's Federation, women's participation in politics mirrors the level of social development, and China now has 637 women delegates in the National People's Congress, who account for 21.3 percent of the lawmakers.

Women's federations in China have persuaded the government to allocate special funds for medical checkups for cervical and breast cancers among women living rural areas, she said.

"The representation is still modest," she said, vowing to "carry out the study on women's involvement in politics and ... learn from other countries, especially the Africa," which has witnessed the first woman president, the first women Nobel Prize laureate and the first women deputy secretary general of UN.

Earlier in the day, Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's first lady and president of the National Council for Women, said in a written statement that "women have a special role in consolidating China-Africa cooperation, especially under the financial crisis, which, in spite of signs of recovery, is still prevailing."

During the panel discussion on "Partnership in the Present Global Economic Crisis," the participants exchanged their views and experience on the issue which has made headlines since last fall.

"Global financial crisis needs a global response," said Rose Mary Muyinda Najiemba, president of Uganda National Women's Council, adding "women play an important role in job creation, anti-poverty and the fight against the crisis."

Specifying the repercussions of the crisis that stalks the African continent, Ndeye Soukeye Gueye, director at Senegal's Ministry of Family, asserted that women suffered more than men in the economic slowdown, in which many women were thrown down the poverty line.

"The prices of raw materials are going down, the exports of cotton and coffee are slumping," she said, adding that the governments have thus adjust the policies on health care and education, which might hurt the interest of women, who are in urgent need of public services.

During the opening ceremony of the forum, Chen Zhili, President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress, has made some proposals that will help African sisters faced by the challenges.

"China will encourage more dialogues among women leaders, in a bid to share their experience in gender equality and development," Chen said.

The communication between the two sides should be carried out at multilevel, which involves women lawmakers, teachers, scientists and businesswomen, as well as others, Chen said.

In order to support women and children's development in Africa, Chen pledged that China will provide more aid for African women charities and organizations and establish more training centers to facilitate the communication and cooperation.

Chen also called on both sides to improve women's cooperation mechanism in the framework of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and raise the gender awareness among respective governments and civil societies, from which women will benefit a lot.

The two-day forum, which was co-organized by ACWF and its Egyptian counterpart, is aimed at consolidating the traditional friendship among Chinese and African women with panel discussions on gender equality and women's development.

As a follow-up event of the "Beijing Declaration of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation," a joint communique is expected at the end of the forum, which will submitted to the 4th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation scheduled for Nov. 6 to Nov. 9 in Egypt.

Source: Xinhua