'World's future lies in wider participation of women in all sectors'

AMMAN — The future of communities is based on the participation of women and men alike in all economic, social, political, cultural and ideological aspects of life, former Kosovo president Atifete Jahjaga said Thursday.

Speaking at the Women in Parliaments Global Forum (WIP) for 2016, which concluded in Amman later in the day, Jahjaga highlighted the need for a world of equal rights between the two genders, especially that women are entrepreneurs in all fields of business and active in human rights.

Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Mari Kiviniemi said there will be no sustainable economic development without women's participation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra reported.

Kiviniemi, who was Finland's prime minister between 2010 and 2011, added that there are challenges hindering women's endeavours to reach real representation in politics, citing the lack of commitment, awareness and acceptance as examples.

Women's representation in the legislative arena in the entire world does not exceed 22.6 per cent, and the ratio of women leading parliaments in the world is around 17.8 per cent, she added.

Meanwhile, Edward Kallon, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Jordan, said women's role in achieving peace around the world is still weak, noting that they assume peace-related posts that are much less superior than men's, according to Petra.

Bineta Diop — the African Union special envoy on women, peace and security — stressed that women are always part of the political solution to achieving peace.

On the sidelines of the forum, attendees participated in a public session dubbed "Promise of peace: women's role in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and solving solutions".

Also on Thursday, Senate President Faisal Fayez discussed bilateral relations with a Bahraini delegation of parliamentarian women taking part in the WIP. 

Fayez voiced the Senate's interest in expanding relations and increasing cooperation with the Bahraini Shura Council.

For her part, Dalal Al Zayed, president of the Legislative and Legal Committee at the shura council, commended Jordan's support for Bahrain and voiced her country's interest in boosting relations.

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh also met with the delegates and talked about the political and parliamentary experience of women in the Kingdom, Petra reported.