ID :
34073
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/34073
The shortlink copeid
WOMEN SHOULD BE GIVEN ROLES AS DECISION MAKERS AT NATIONAL LEVEL
By Zakaria Abdul Wahab
SINGAPORE, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- It is important to empower women to
participate in decision-making at the community and national levels, according
to Singapore's Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon Thursday.
She said the Singapore government welcomed women to leadership positions
based on meritocracy.
"In the domain of politics, for example, female representation in the
Singapore Parliament has been increasing," she said when speaking at the Gender
Trends in Southeast Asia Symposium at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
here.
"Women make up 24.5 per cent of the Singapore Parliament today. This
percentage exceeds the Inter-Parliamentary Union's world average of 18.3 per
cent," she said.
The minister said the number of women holding public office had increased
especially in local government at the higher levels of political
participation.
She gave examples of women in Laos, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, who prided
themselves in holding more than 25 per cent of national parliamentary seats last
year.
Other Southeast Asian countries have between eight and 16 per cent of seats
held by women in national parliament.
Yu-Foo also said although women in some Southeast Asian countries might
have lower literacy rates than men, a "new gender gap" had emerged in the newly
developing countries in the region.
For instance, in Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and also
Singapore, enrolment at the tertiary education institutions among females had
been higher than males, she said.
The higher proportion of females in higher education had been said to have
led to the flourishing of a range of non-governmental organisations focused on
women's issues since the 1980s that had advocated women's equality in various
arenas, she added.
She said the fact that all Southeast Asian countries had signed the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
demonstrated the commitment of governments in the region to advance and promote
gender equality.
-- BERNAMA
SINGAPORE, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- It is important to empower women to
participate in decision-making at the community and national levels, according
to Singapore's Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon Thursday.
She said the Singapore government welcomed women to leadership positions
based on meritocracy.
"In the domain of politics, for example, female representation in the
Singapore Parliament has been increasing," she said when speaking at the Gender
Trends in Southeast Asia Symposium at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
here.
"Women make up 24.5 per cent of the Singapore Parliament today. This
percentage exceeds the Inter-Parliamentary Union's world average of 18.3 per
cent," she said.
The minister said the number of women holding public office had increased
especially in local government at the higher levels of political
participation.
She gave examples of women in Laos, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, who prided
themselves in holding more than 25 per cent of national parliamentary seats last
year.
Other Southeast Asian countries have between eight and 16 per cent of seats
held by women in national parliament.
Yu-Foo also said although women in some Southeast Asian countries might
have lower literacy rates than men, a "new gender gap" had emerged in the newly
developing countries in the region.
For instance, in Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and also
Singapore, enrolment at the tertiary education institutions among females had
been higher than males, she said.
The higher proportion of females in higher education had been said to have
led to the flourishing of a range of non-governmental organisations focused on
women's issues since the 1980s that had advocated women's equality in various
arenas, she added.
She said the fact that all Southeast Asian countries had signed the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
demonstrated the commitment of governments in the region to advance and promote
gender equality.
-- BERNAMA
