Special Election Observation Mission of 35 Women go to First Free Elections in Tunisia
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAKES GENDER MONITORING MISSION POSSIBLE
Gender Concerns International, an NGO stationed in The Hague, is sending 35 women as election observers to the first tangible result of the Arabic Spring: the up-coming free elections of Tunisia. The observers will monitor the elections exclusively from a gender perspective.
The observation mission, consisting of women who have been carefully selected from both inside and outside the region, has been financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Democratic processes will only ensure peace, safety and stability if different levels of society are open to the idea. When women, for whatever reason, are unable or unwilling to participate, the democracy does not work. Change is then needed.
Tunisia is the country where the Arab Spring began last year. The first free elections will take place on the 23rd of October 2011. The population will vote for 218 seats, which the Tunisian Constitution will re-write. Around 11,000 candidates from approximately 110 political parties are taking part in the elections.
Gender Concerns International supports women world-wide in claiming their role as “agents of change”. Currently, the organization is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, South-Sudan and the MENA region (Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya)
For more information, please contact Philippa Parmar Public Relations and Communication, tel 070 444 50 82, email philippa@genderconcerns.org, or Sabra Bano, director of Gender Concerns International, tel 06 539 657 84, email sbano@genderconcerns.org
From 16th October until the 25th, Sabra Bano will be in Tunisia. Salle Monastir (EU Missie), Sheraton Hotel, Avenue de La Ligue Arabe, B.P. 345, Tunis Carthage Cedex 1080, Tunesië, sbano@genderconcerns.org, tel. +216 25 997596.
