Shura Council's First Deputy Chairman stresses importance of promoting gender balance

Manama, Mar. 16 (BNA): First Deputy Chairman of the Shura Council, Jamal Mohammed Fakhro, has asserted that the best means to enhance women’s role and achieve gender equality is through increasing their representation at parliaments by 50%, at least, and across various sectors. This came as Jamal Fakhro participated as a keynote speaker in the fourth session of the side event, held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Themed “Working in Partnership with Men to Advance Gender Balance”, the virtual panel session was moderated by the Vice-President of IPU’s Forum of Women Parliamentarians, Hala Ramzy Fayez. Chairperson of the Woman and Child Committee at the Shura Council, Dr. Ibtissam Mohammed Saleh Al-Dalal, and MP Fatima Abbas also took part in the event. While addressing the session, Jamal Fakhro indicated that increasing the percentage of women's representation can be achieved by continuing to emphasise the importance of their role in educational curricula at all stages, the media and social media, in addition to developing medium and long-term plans to achieve that goal. He affirmed that society can be developed through the joint efforts of both men and women, noting that women have proved their distinction in various fields. He added that the great number of keynote speakers during the online panel discussion confirms the extent of the development of the role of women as essential partners to men in work, legislation and the decision-making process. Parliamentarians from various countries participated in the virtual session, organised by IPU on Tuesday. It provided a platform for the participants to highlight their countries’ experiences to enhance partnership with men to advance gender balance.