Meeting in Madrid in support of women’s rights

The conference “On the road to gender equality in North Africa and the Middle East” will be held on September 9 and 10. It is organized by Spanish Cooperation within the framework of the MASAR Program, which aims to collaborate in the formulation of institutional, social and economic development policies that consolidate democratic governance in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East.

The director of Cooperation with Africa and Asia of the AECID, Alberto Virella, the director of the Diplomatic School of Spain, Enrique Vigueras, and the Egyptian writer, Nawal Al Saadawi, were in charge of opening the conference. The director of the FIIAPP, Pedro Flores, and the director of the Information and Special Programs department of the Foundation, Isabel Ramos, also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, five workshops will be held where participants will be able to discuss the current situation of women on issues such as political participation, violence against women, social awareness of women’s rights, economic empowerment, access and participation of women in the labour market and access to and application of justice.

At the closing ceremony, the conclusions of these five workshops will be presented, which will serve to enable the MASAR programme of the Spanish Cooperation to identify future regional and national projects in response to the concerns of the participants.

Participating in the sessions are women such as the Egyptian writer and feminist Nawal Al Saadawy, the Jordanian Rana Hussein, specialised in “honour crimes”, Aminetouy Ely, threatened with death for confronting the practice of slavery in Mauritania or the Moroccan farmer Charifa Beja.

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) manages the MASAR Programme in collaboration with the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).

Final Declaration of the Conference