Newsroom
OSCE Mission helps raise the visibility of problems faced by women in politics
BELGRADE 8 October 2004
BELGRADE, 8 October 2004 - In light of the recent local elections in Serbia, 25 women, representing their respective municipalities, gathered yesterday in Belgrade to evaluate the "Women can do it 3" project aimed at the political empowerment of women in local government.
This evaluation meeting, conducted by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, was an opportunity for them to assess the project and to discuss possibilities for women in local administration in carrying out democratic change.
The recently held local elections show that the mandatory quota of 30 per cent women candidates on the party lists, introduced in 2002, led to a 15-25 per cent female participation in municipal assemblies. It was noted that women candidates did not receive sufficient support within their own political parties, and that the main focus of gender activities should shift to work with political parties.
For that reason, the participants have set up an agenda for future gender activities which will include: building cross-party networking for gender issues, extending support to the urgent adoption of the Law on Gender Equality and exploring ways of increasing sensitivity of media towards gender issues.
Finally, it was also agreed that the newly elected representatives to local assemblies, both women and men, should receive gender awareness training.
The activities of the "Women can do it 3" project were implemented during the period April to July 2004 in the municipalities of Jagodina, Loznica, Krusevac, Kragujevac, Zrenjanin, Topola, Nis, Zajecar, Pirot, Kucevo, Novi Becej, Pozarevac, Knjazevac, Novi Pazar, Valjevo, Velika Plana and Kikinda. Some activities were complemented by local media campaigns to further promote gender equality and raise the visibility of problems faced by women in politics.
This evaluation meeting, conducted by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, was an opportunity for them to assess the project and to discuss possibilities for women in local administration in carrying out democratic change.
The recently held local elections show that the mandatory quota of 30 per cent women candidates on the party lists, introduced in 2002, led to a 15-25 per cent female participation in municipal assemblies. It was noted that women candidates did not receive sufficient support within their own political parties, and that the main focus of gender activities should shift to work with political parties.
For that reason, the participants have set up an agenda for future gender activities which will include: building cross-party networking for gender issues, extending support to the urgent adoption of the Law on Gender Equality and exploring ways of increasing sensitivity of media towards gender issues.
Finally, it was also agreed that the newly elected representatives to local assemblies, both women and men, should receive gender awareness training.
The activities of the "Women can do it 3" project were implemented during the period April to July 2004 in the municipalities of Jagodina, Loznica, Krusevac, Kragujevac, Zrenjanin, Topola, Nis, Zajecar, Pirot, Kucevo, Novi Becej, Pozarevac, Knjazevac, Novi Pazar, Valjevo, Velika Plana and Kikinda. Some activities were complemented by local media campaigns to further promote gender equality and raise the visibility of problems faced by women in politics.