Make women’s rights a campaign issue - US official

Make women’s rights a campaign issue - US official
By Gift Chanda
Fri 17 June 2011, 04:01 CAT

"Women’s rights issues should have a place in this year’s election campaigns"
POLITICIANS should make women’s rights issues a priority in their campaigns, says a visiting senior US official. Melanne Verveer, who is US Ambassador-at-Large for global women’s issues, said women’s rights issues should have a place in this year’s election campaigns.

She urged politicians to explain specific policies they hoped to introduce to guarantee women’s rights and increase their participation in decision-making positions.

Verveer, who was in the country over the weekend for the AGOA forum and to visit US-funded projects, said the presence of more women in top decision-making and management roles would assist address specific problems women faced.

“It is important that women participate in the economies of their countries.

When they are engaged in politics at a level where they bring their talents and experiences at decision making, we have better outcomes for countries,” she said.

Verveer, an aide in former president Bill Clinton's administration, said currently there were many entrenched practices, norms, and policies that kept women away from taking up decision-making positions.

“What we need from what we have seen not just here but around the world are commitments and all kinds of efforts at the top, at decision making level whether in governments or civil society organisations to up lift women rights,” she said.

“We also need pressure from the bottom, pressure at grass root level. The “heat” should be on both sides.”

She commended Zambia for enacting a law against gender-based violence.
She said although it was not a perfect law, it was a good step in the right direction.

“That law now needs to be implemented and enforced and as it begins to bring about positive change, improvements can be made in the future,” she said.

Verveer urged journalists to raise issues on women’s rights with aspiring political leaders so that they were made mindful of their responsibilities.

Ambassador-at-Large for global women’s issues was new foreign policy position the US President Barack Obama created in 2009 to tackle global women's issues.

President Obama named Melanne Verveer as Ambassador-at-Large for international women's issues and she serves at the State Department under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.