Women and Democracy held a webinar on increasing the role of women in building a society where empowered women live.
The webinar was open to panelists on the topic of "The Role of Women in Maldivian Society"
Lakshmi Goyal, on behalf of the Center for Civil Society, delivered the key note speech of the webinar. In her speech, she said that women have been involved in the development of Maldives since olden times. The role of women within households have changed and women's involvement and participation in various fields have increased, she said. Lakshmi said women's participation in the government, legislature and other institutions need to be increased to expand their role in society. She noted that there is a need for greater participation of women in leadership roles.
The webinar was moderated by journalist; Raaia Munavvar. The panelists included Hinnavaru MP and Chairperson of Human Rights and Gender Committee of the 19th Parliament Jeehan Mahmood, Equal Rights Initiative Chairperson and Co-Founder Dr. Marium Jabyn and owner of local business “Gift Basket” Yumna Rasheed.
The panelists shared some of their own experiences as women in modern Maldivian society during the webinar. The panelists stressed the need to increase the role of women in judicial and legal institutions as well as establishing women in decision making roles. They also discussed the challenges women face in various fields including obstacles to career growth.
Dr. Jabyn said the role of women in the legal profession should be increased and the biggest challenge in ensuring the basic rights of women is the reason for the lack of women's involvement in legal fields and the enactment of laws that conflict with women's rights.
Dr. Jabyn mentioned the importance of expanding the role of women in institutions that provide assistance to women in various situations. She said women should be there to ensure their rights are being met and provide the most appropriate assistance in various sensitive cases. The role of women in police service and victim support units should be increased as well, she said.
MP Jeehan spoke in favor of Dr. Jabyn’s statement to increase the role of women in the legal institutions to ensure women's rights. If a woman does not have a say in the development of laws, it may not contain provisions that will best protect women's rights, she said.
She also said that there are committees in the parliament that do not include female members and some bills are being worked on without their opinion. There are only four members in the current parliament, MP Jeehan said, adding that women are not being represented in law creation.
MP Jeehan said the constituency needs more female MPs to provide equal opportunities to women in various constituencies and to secure the opportunities and empowerment they deserve in parliament. She also said that the number of female parliamentarians should be increased to overcome the challenges in achieving some of the basic rights of women and to provide equal opportunities to advocate for women's rights.
The panelists also noted discrimination against women due to the country’s cultural and religious beliefs. They reiterated that more efforts should be made to reduce the gap between men and their female counterparts in various fields, in terms of salaries and career development opportunities.
During the webinar, entrepreneur and owner of local business; “Gift Basket” Yumna Rasheed spoke about how she started her business and the rise in the number of women in the business sector.
Women and Democracy organized a webinar in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation of Freedom (FNF). The aim of the webinar is to raise awareness of the role of women in Maldivian society and discuss ways to increase women's participation in various fields.
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