The efforts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ethiopia governments in empowering women politically through parliament, were highlighted on Wednesday, at a webinar organized by the UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa.
The particular focus of the webinar, held under the theme “Women in Parliament: Perspectives from the UAE & Ethiopia”, was to exchange experiences between the two countries in the domain of women’s political empowerment and leadership, as well as their respective efforts in enhancing the role and representation of women in political life.
Within this framework, Ethiopian Deputy Speaker of the House of Federation, Zahra Humed, pointed out that her government is actively working towards ensuring equal opportunities for the participation of women in parliament.
She further added: “A number of measures are being taken to increase women representation in the two houses of Parliament, which is currently less than 50 percent including the enacting of additional laws aimed at capacitating parliamentary women and preparing young women for parliament.”
Head of Political, Economic, and Media Affairs at the UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa,Talal Al Azeezi, on his behalf said that extensive support is demonstrated by UAE leadership in empowering Emirati women in the domain of politics.
“The decision of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, late President of the UAE, in 2019, to raise the percentage of women’s representation in the National Federal Council (UAE Parliament) to 50 percent has ensured the position of the UAE among the four countries globally with a high percentage of women in national parliaments.”
Other Ethiopian speakers who were present at the webinar included Dr. Mesrak Mekonnen, Secretary General of the House of People’s Representative (HoPR) and Ms. Keymiya Jundi, Chairwoman of Women Caucus at the House.
Both speakers presented the history of women in the Ethiopian Parliament, the efforts of HoPR in ensuring the empowerment of women in the national sphere, as well as the role of the Women Caucus.
Other guests included representatives of governmental organizations, civil society, and media representatives.
