CAIRO: Arab women are converging on Tunisia to discuss methods to fight violence against women. It is a chance for women's activists to discuss and develop ideas on ways to fight against the growing social problem facing the region. Women representatives from 16 Arab countries met on Sunday to open the meeting, where they called for a larger role for women in the Arab states. “Tunisia is keen to unify Arab efforts to protect women from violence and improve their situation in a comprehensive approach to human rights in line with the various international agreements and conventions,” Tunisian Minister of Women, Family and Children Sarra Kanoun Jarraya told reporters at the meeting's opening ceremony. “Violence is not limited to direct physical abuse, but extends to other forms such as preventing women from education and participation in public life,” she added. Jarraya stressed the need to forge a united action and exchange experiences to fight against such issue. “The aim of this meeting consists in defining efficacious procedures to eradicate violence against women and take benefit from the various Arab expertise and experiences,” she said. During the three-day meeting, representatives of member countries of the Arab Women Organization and civil society will seek to identify a preventive and strategic approach and develop joint front to set concrete mechanisms to trim violence against women in Arab societies. In Cairo, women's leaders are hopeful that the conference will help bring women's issues to the forefront of government and civil society agendas. The New Women Foundation in the Egyptian capital, told Bikya Masr in a statement that they are looking to see what agreement or proposal can come from the meeting. “We often talk of these meetings and yes, they are very important, but without a concerted effort to achieve a change and develop a means of promoting women's values, these meetings are going to do nothing. We need action and hopefully, this conference will achieve that,” the statement read. Workshops on women's rights in international conventions are on the agenda of this event. Participants will also discuss Arab women's rights and the legal definition of violence against women. BM
