Libyan young women and women on top of the Libyan agenda
UNFPA, The United Nations Population Fund (Libya Office) organized a workshop on "Strengthening the status of women and their participation in the Libyan society", from 14 to 16 May in collaboration with the National Council for Economic and Social Development,The Forum for the Empowerment of Woman and Youth, and with the participation of a number of Libyan national institutions. Several government service-providing sectors such as Education, Health, Social Affairs, Justice and Interior Sectors took part in the workshop, along with representatives of the municipal councils and a number of civil society organizations from four municipalities: Tripoli, Benghazi, Sabha and Jadu in the Nafusa Mountains.
The workshop aimed at identifying the needs and priorities of women and young women, with the goal of protecting and enabling them to meet the challenges they face in accessing education, employment and community building in Libya.
The meeting adopted an operational plan of action for the four municipalities, aiming at promoting the civic participation of women and young women, an objective that all participating actors agreed on.
“The workshop effectively managed to create the framework for cooperation between all relevant parties on issues related to the protection of women and youth and their participation in the Libyan society, said Hani Tarhouni, from the Council For Economic and Social Empowerment. The plan is realistic. It identifies methodologies and a time frame for each entity in charge of the activity, which could be, the government, civil society or international organizations, he added.”.
At the end of the three working days, the participants presented their work plans by sector in front of a panel of donors and the UNFPA Libya Office Director. The participants highlighted the importance of the workshop and agreed to continue working through a meeting at the level of each of the municipalities to start the implementation phase.