With a large attendance... the conclusion of the "Yemeniyyat" conference on advocating women's issues in Yemen

The "Yemeni Women" conference concluded in the city of Taiz on Thursday, which was held under the slogan "Partnership and Media Empowerment for Women for Peace", with the attendance of more than 100 male and female participants, with the support of the French Agency for Media Development CFI, and the organization of the Center for Studies and Economic Media SEMC.

At the conclusion of the conference, the participants stressed "moving forward with more effective steps to advocate for women's issues, support their presence in the media, and enable them to reach decision-making positions and play tangible roles in the peace process."

The closing statement of the conference, a copy of which was obtained by "Yemeni Youth Net", referred to "the sensitivity of the conditions that our country has been going through since March 2015, and the impact of what happened on Yemeni women politically, economically and socially."

They stressed that these challenges are “a great incentive to work on improving the status of women in all possible ways, and in a way that enhances their presence at all levels, leading to creating a complete conviction among decision-makers and parties to the conflict of the necessity of involving women and giving them the opportunity to play their role guaranteed by law.”

The participants called on the parties to the conflict to neutralize women from their conflict and remove them from the circle of moral and material targeting, stressing that "Yemeni women have paid a heavy price, and it is time to stop this and open a new page in which all parties believe in women's partnership and the importance they represent at all levels."

The statement stressed the necessity for "all Yemeni parties to believe that comprehensive and sustainable peace will not be achieved unless all Yemeni parties are partners and active in it, and the most important actors are women."

The participants called on "all local and international organizations to enhance interventions that contribute to empowering Yemeni women and strengthening their presence, enabling them to reach decision-making positions and contribute to economic and social development, and to work to support their presence in peace negotiations and contribute to shaping the features of Yemen's future with the participation of all its people without exclusion or marginalization."

The statement also called on "the UN envoy to Yemen, Mr. Hans Grundberg, to work with all Yemeni parties to ensure the presence of women in any upcoming peace negotiations, in a manner that reflects their active and influential presence and effectiveness in society at the present time, and to go beyond the minimal representation observed in previous negotiations and conferences organized by the United Nations and all international sponsors."

The statement concluded by saying: “It is time for us to see Yemeni women in decision-making positions, with the power and effectiveness to influence decision-making and policy formulation at the national and local levels.”

The participants recalled that "the continued disregard for the true partnership of Yemeni women is one of the main reasons for the deteriorating situation that Yemen has experienced and is experiencing at the present time. If we want Yemen to rise and progress, women must have leadership and a real and effective presence in power and society," according to the statement.