Ministers pledge to improve conditions for women
Reports by SA'ODAH ELIAS, SIM LEOI LEOI and FLORENCE A. SAMYPUTRAJAYA: Ministers from non-aligned nations who gathered here to discuss issues affecting women have come out with a nine-point declaration that touches on poverty and economic development, among others.
The Putrajaya Declaration, issued at the end of the four-day Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Women, also included resolutions pertaining to power and decision-making.
The other seven points in the declaration are related to education, health, information and communication technology, armed conflict, violence against women, disasters and gender mainstreaming.
Delegates who had gathered at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre also endorsed a last-minute change for the meeting to be held every two years.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the decision, which has to be endorsed by the respective heads of state and government of the respective NAM countries, was taken to ensure that the proposals at Putrajaya were implemented.
“If we don’t meet again we can’t see how we are doing. It’s important for us to keep track,” she said.
The Putrajaya Declaration is another blueprint for the empowerment of women, complementing the Beijing Declaration adopted in 1995.
It includes actions and programmes to bring progress to the women of NAM and to ensure its implementation.
Malaysia had proposed the setting up of a NAM Centre on Gender and Development to enhance women’s empowerment through a lifelong-learning approach.
Shahrizat said her ministry would set up a joint technical meeting with the Foreign Ministry to come up with a plan of action based on the declaration.
“We will establish a mechanism to monitor that measures spelt out in the declaration are acted out by the respective governments,” she said.
News Poll
- Tan Chong executive director's son dies in car crash
- Boob-staring good for men
- Taxing time for Malaysians
- Najib: Sulaiman wishes to resign
- Much to learn from the Japanese
- MACC chief quits
- Asia’s first valve implant without surgery
- The have and the have-nots
- Only buy from trusted online merchants
- Najib: Sulaiman wishes to resign
- Boob-staring good for men
- Asia’s first valve implant without surgery
- Taxing time for Malaysians
- Tan Chong executive director's son dies in car crash
- The have and the have-nots
- Only buy from trusted online merchants
- Sex in the city of temples
- MACC chief quits
- Najib: Sulaiman wishes to resign
- Cops smash African fake money ring
RSS
