Source: Tunis Afrique Presse
"47% candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections are women with only nearly 12% are heads of list," Secretary of State for Women and Family Affairs Neila Chaabane said Monday.
Speaking at a seminar on "Women's rights at election time and the role of the integral law in combating violence against women and girls," Mrs. Chaabane said women's participation in political life is still modest and should be strengthened to ensure full gender equality, particularly, regarding access to decision-making positions.
For his part, President of the Independent High Authority for the Elections (ISIE) Chafik Sarsar said the Authority had complied with the principle of parity and man-woman alternation in the validation of electoral lists, adding that it is now seeking to devise a strategy of risk management during the elections to ensure the success of all the electoral process.
Sarsar emphasised the need to conclude a charter of good conduct during the election period, to fight against violence and guarantee a healthy and democratic climate, calling on all parties and civil society components to contribute to these efforts.
Ambassador Head of the European Union Delegation to Tunisia Laura Baeza said the EU will fund as of January 2015, a new 7-million-euro bilateral programme to reduce gender inequalities at the national, regional and local levels.
"This programme will, in particular, help launch projects to be implemented by civil society organisations and will include a chapter on supporting women's participation in political life and another on fight against violence," she added, recalling that the EU is now funding more than 10 initiatives on gender equality in Tunisia.