Meeting calls for greater role for women

An international conference on "Women and Local Governance", with the objective of exploring means by which women can play a greater role in political and economic development, took place this week in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui, Centrafrique-Presse reported.

Women from Burkina Faso, Canada, CAR, Gabon, Mali, and the Republic of Congo participated in seminars with themes such as "Women and Municipal Management: What is at Stake?"; "Women and Local Politics"; "Women and Local Entrepreneurship"; "Women and Poverty Reduction"; and "Women and Local Administration".

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the mayor of Bangui and head of the Central African Republic (CAR) women's delegation, Cécile Guéret, was quoted by Centrafrique-Presse as saying that the conference sought to "awaken the intelligence of women with regard to urban management", offer a forum for exchange for women, and empower women's organisations.

Amara Ouerghi, head of Metropolis, an international urban management institute stated that "women ... are victims of discrimination, they are under-represented in politics and administration despite the proportion of the population that they comprise, they constitute an undeniable potential asset [to society] who seek only to express themselves and contribute to development", according to Centrafrique-Presse.

For his part, Abdoul Karim of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that although women in the CAR were already highly involved in the process of economic development, much remained to be done to bring about their incorporation into the political arena.

The conference, which took place from 5 to 8 March at the Palais de la Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale, was organised by the CAR government and supported financially and materially by Metropolis; the UN Population Fund, the UN Development Programme, the UN mission to the CAR, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.