Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed attended the launch of the ‘Women on Public Life in the Maldives’ report and ‘Strides’ documentary, by the United Nations Development Programme.
‘Women in Public Life in the Maldives’ report is a snapshot of women’s participation and leadership in public life, and the political, economic and social obstacles women in face in public life.
‘Strides’ documentary is a collaborative project between UNDP, Football Association of Maldives and Embassy of Switzerland with Maldivian Women’s National Football Team, with the objective of strengthening and enhancing empowerment of women and girls through football.
Reflecting on the findings of the ‘Women in Public Life in the Maldives’ Report, the Vice President said the findings were “alarming”, said much needed to be done to increase women’s participation in public life and the development.
Suggesting immediate measures to increase women’s participation and leadership in public life in the Maldives, the Vice President stressed “we need to get women activated in politics.”
“We need to get women out and become active in politics in all political parties. If there is no room for women to be active and to come out and be in front and compete and to succeed, then I think we should consider other political parties.”
“Performance of a political party should also be judged on the basis of the extent to which the party addresses women’s issues,” he added.
Among his other suggestions include, setting targets for recruitment of women into public posts, particularly in the government.
He also noted the importance of providing education and training to increase capacity of women to be especially active in the economic sector.
Finally, the Vice President asked the members of the parliament to begin conducting gender audit of the national budget from next year onwards.