Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Amman, 30 April 2000
N° 2

More than 140 women parliamentarians from 90 countries took part in the Third Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Amman, Jordan, in the context of the 103rd Inter-Parliamentary Conference to be held until 6 May at the Grand Hyatt/Zara Expo Conference and Exhibition Centre. Women will comprise over 22 per cent of the total members of parliament from some 127 countries who are expected to participate in the IPU Conference.

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, which after over 20 years of existence has become part of the official structure of IPU conferences last year, addressed two core issues: the contribution of women to the dialogue among civilizations and cultures; and the parliamentary input to the UN General Assembly special session: "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century" (New York, 5-9 June 2000).

Mrs Leila Sharaf, a member of the Jordanian Senate and former Minister of information, who presided the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, stated in her speech that "the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians is the result of women's struggle in the world to be partners in the process of development and decision making in their countries under the umbrella of the Inter-Parliamentary Union."

She also highlighted "the importance of supporting the decisions that were adopted at the meeting of Women Parliamentarians of the Third IPU Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (Marseilles, 30^th March - 3rd April 2000) concerning the social, economic, political, and humanitarian situation of women caught up in war and unrest, where they tend to suffer the most. In addition to that, the speech included the main points of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995 about sexual violence and rape during wars being considered as war crimes and therefore within the responsibility of the International Criminal Court.

Moreover, Mrs Sharaf was delighted about "discussing the idea of dialogue among civilizations and cultures in this meeting since Jordan is part of the area where the three religions were revealed. Recently, Jordan has been an ideal example to the world of how to achieve a comprehensive and just peace, as well as stability and cooperation in the region and in the international community."

Mrs Yakin Ertürk, Director of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, who engaged in a lively dialogue with the participants, said: "we are embarking upon another historic moment in the global agenda for gender equality, which is the upcoming special session of the General Assembly on 5-9 June 2000, entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century". The Beijing Conference helped to put the goal of gender equality firmly on the agenda of all actors at the national as well as international levels. Beijing +5 must turn promises into reality. However, this requires greater understanding of the dynamics of gender relations, greater political will and commitment, and deliberate and innovative action on the part of all actors. … Overall analysis of the implementation of the Platform for Action has revealed that, despite much progress toward achieving gender equality between women and men, there has been no major breakthrough with regard to equal sharing of decision-making in political structures and other critical institutions at national and international levels. In most countries of the world, the representation of women in decision-making structures remains low. For example, according to the recent IPU publication "Participation of Women in Political Life", the percentage of women in parliament worldwide grew only slightly from 11.3 per cent to 12.9 per cent from 1995 to 1999. … Furthermore, according to DAW figures, women held 7.4 per cent of cabinet minister posts in 1998".

Mrs Ertürk added that the current challenges associated with poverty, changing demographic trends, such as increased female migration and ageing populations, economic instabilities and hardships, armed conflict, environmental degradation, natural disasters and epidemics, often overshadowed the progress made with regard to the strategic objectives of the 12 critical areas of concern of the Platform. Perceptions regarding male and female identities and roles posed persisting obstacles to the achievement of gender equality in all regions of the world. Innovative approaches were needed to transform these gender-based perceptions and to encourage men to participate actively in transforming patriarchal attitudes and institutional structures.

Dr Najma Heptulla, Vice-Chairman of the Indian Council of States and President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council, said that "the work done by IPU on gender parity and partnership provides a parliamentary dimension to the UN and should be reflected in the reports of the UN. Parliaments are a key actor to achieve the Beijing commitments. Government agreements could well remain a dead letter if parliaments were not closely informed and even associated in the decision-making process. Such information is decisive for productive institutional follow-up at the national level. Governments must therefore ensure that the elected representatives of civil society, parliamentarians - both male and female - are included in national delegations."

Both Dr Heptulla and Mrs Ertürk urged that all parliamentarians present in New York on 7 June take an active part in the consultation regarding the proposed outcome of the Beijing +5 process which the IPU and UNDAW are organizing among representatives of government taking part in the General Assembly Special Session, representatives of parliament and representatives of the UN system. Such consultation between these three institutional actors will be the first ever of its kind.

Dr Najma Heptulla, stated that "While welcoming the new century and millennium, I hear many people saying that the new century belongs to women. We too believe so, but for that we will have to use all our endeavors to fulfill our commitments to gender parity and democracy. We believe that democracy ensures partnership between different groups who have too long remained on the margins of society. Among such groups women are the most marginalized, and have been denied their rightful position in every field - political, social and economic. Democracy alone can correct this imbalance.

As parliamentarians, therefore, we have a special obligation to make democracy comprehensive. It should be participative, interactive and should meet the aspirations of all sections of society. … However, this acceptability is not reflected in numerical terms. This has been the paradox of modern democracy. Democratic institutions have not been able to match the fast emerging social consensus on equal participation of women. … Women are the most vulnerable section of society. Not only are they subjected to gruesome sub-human treatment but they also suffer the emotional trauma of displacement. When men become casualties to inter-sectoral violence, women are left to face a hostile world without any family to support them. They are the least mobile due to family obligations and therefore suffer the brunt of violence", Dr Heptulla concluded.

Mr Rifai, President of the Jordanian Senate, said that one of the obstacles to broader participation by women was to be found in the electoral laws of those countries. Moreover, women were often too poor to put themselves forward as candidates. Although it was up to society as a whole to remove such obstacles, feminist movements had a special role to play: they should close ranks, set themselves priorities and take the necessary steps to defend their cause before the public. In Jordan, women's participation in public life had made great strides thanks to the Constitution and the electoral laws. Women had the right to vote and to stand for election; there were women in municipal assemblies and in the National Assembly. The authorities had made sure that women had received ministerial appointments and taken high-ranking positions, especially in the judiciary. A national committee for women had been established.

Mr Majali, President of the Jordanian House of Representatives, said that he was delighted that women had won major victories in the course of history and that their political participation was also increasing in developing countries. More needed to be done before complete equality was achieved, and the question was a complex one. There was no denying the current trend, however. Jordan played an avant-garde role in this area. Women had already entered demanding professions, becoming doctors and engineers. The Jordanian Constitution guaranteed equality to all citizens, regardless of gender or race. Women were playing an increasingly significant role in the parliamentary assembly and in the Senate.

At the close of a very thorough debate on the dialogue among civilizations and cultures, Ms Badia Skali, MP from Morocco, made the following motion of solidarity which was adopted unanimously:

We, women parliamentarians of the world, meeting at the 103rd Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union extend our solidarity and support to the women and parliamentarians of Jordan in their endeavors to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of "crimes of honor" committed against women and girls in the name of traditions which are a grave violation of human rights.

Contact in Amman for information and interviews (on the spot or by telephone): Mrs Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer. Tel.: 463 7639, fax 462 8430, e-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cd@mail.ipu.org