Reem Leila reports on preparations for the ninth conference of the National Council for Women The National Council for Women (NCW) met on Sunday to discuss preparations for a three-day international conference scheduled for 14-16 March. The conference is due to discuss best practices promoting women's advancement, especially in leadership roles. Participants presented an impressive array of facts and figures: there are five women in the Algerian cabinet and 800 women judges, half the total number of judges in Algeria. Eleven per cent of the members of the Moroccan parliament are women while in Syria women occupy 10 per cent of parliamentary seats. Egypt has two women ministers, a woman mayor, while just under two per cent of parliamentary seats are filled by women. Farkhonda Hassan, the NCW's secretary- general, said during the meeting that the council is committed to pursuing women's rights and offering support at all levels. "We have accelerated our activities by building on initiatives and efforts that were already underway in promoting the quality of women's lives, in rural areas, in urban areas, in the political as well as the socio-economic domain. Many of the efforts are geared to responding to the specific priorities and needs of women." Hassan is proud of efforts undertaken to make education more accessible to girls and to secure healthcare and legal rights for as many women as possible. She is also proud that women are finding ways to become involved in politics on the home and regional fronts. Recent years -- women's rights have come increasingly into focus in the last decade -- have witnessed an acceleration in the involvement of women from the grassroots to the national and international levels, in all fields related to human development and security. "Women have become leaders in many fields, as mayors, maazoun [general registrars], judges, MPs and ministers," she said. Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, a member of the NCW and deputy to the chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), believes that women have made the greatest advances over the last 10 years. "Women have won many rights and realised great achievements, outstripping other segments of society. Perhaps it is time for women, along with the NCW, to slow their pace in order to allow others to catch up," he said. Future female leaders require knowledge and skills in order to become active players in Egypt's development. Women business leaders are succeeding at an unprecedented rate, whether in managerial positions in large corporations, or as entrepreneurs heading their own companies. The percentage of women-owned businesses has increased dramatically as increasing numbers find access to the market place. Such success has been achieved despite the fact that the standards expected from women are often higher in any given post than those demanded from their male counterparts. Women's contributions to development issues are inspired not only by the spirit of inclusiveness, but also by the will and energy to succeed as equals in the world of the marketplace. The meeting reviewed detailed plans to provide high quality training for women. Participants also discussed progress in setting up an ombudsman's office, initiated earlier this year, to provide women with a venue to turn to for legal complaints, whether marriage- related or regarding discrimination in the workplace. The NCW hopes to expand the project across the country once the pilot offices are firmly established. The NCW also reviewed ways to increase women's participation in policy-making and in the political arena. Negative images of women in the media, especially in drama production, were also addressed. The meeting adopted a set of recommendations that aim to facilitate greater cooperation between the NCW and other governmental bodies. Closer cooperation is particularly expected between the NCW and the Ministry of Information.
