News
Delegates from twenty different African liberal parties were represented at the ALN’s second Gender Workshop. This was kindly hosted the Parti Social Libéral in Hammamet, Tunisia from 30 July-2 August with financial support from the Liberal Democrats’ Westminster Foundation for Democracy programme. The participants presented their achievements, difficulties and lessons learnt since their last meeting in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and debated the best practice for gender mainstreaming on the African continent. On the final day, the participants developed their own action plans for the next twelve months with help from an expert trainer from the Liberal Democrats’ Campaign for Gender Balance.
ALN President and LI Vice-President, Dr Lamine Bâ, congratulated the delegates on their hard work saying that they had taken “important steps towards increasing the participation of women in African politics”. His party’s delegate, Mme Aminata Lo, Minister for Institutions, offered the support of the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais in hosting the follow-up meeting in Dakar, Senegal next year.
The delegates also adopted urgent political resolutions calling for an end to violence against women, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and for the immediate holding of elections in Cote d’Ivoire. Both issues had been deliberated at the ALN General Assembly meeting in the Seychelles, and sadly there has been no visible improvement in either case.
The participants issued a vote of thanks to the hosts, the Parti Social Libéral, particularly Secretary-General Mr Mondher Thabet and the Organisation of Liberal Women of Tunisia. The delegates awarded the inaugural Prize of African Liberal Women to Senegalese President, Maitre Abdoulaye Wade for his progressive reforms in favour of female participation in politics, and they called on others to follow his lead.
Finally, the delegates pledged their continued support for Mme Alice Nzomukunda, President of Alliance Démocratique pour le Renouveau, who had been arrested during the recent elections in Burundi, and continues to act as an example for aspiring female politicians.