Dr. Mastura bint Obeid Al Shammari, Chairman of the Social, Educational, Cultural, Women and Youth Affairs Committee of the Arab Parliament, affirmed that the positive discrimination policy guarantees a minimum exercise by Arab women of their political rights and enshrines the principle of equal opportunities for both sexes on the ground .
Al-Shammari, representing the Arab Parliament, said during her participation in a workshop organized yesterday by the Arab Women’s Organization to present the results of the second phase of the regional research project “Modes of women’s participation in political life and the impact of positive discrimination policies in favor of women”: many the Arab countries have witnessed quality steps and progress in the field of women’s political empowerment, which is reflected in her holding the highest positions at the national, regional and international levels.
She pointed out that affirmative action policies have become a mechanism to promote equality, not to limit it, and to enact fairer and less biased electoral laws, explaining that the quota system, by its very nature, remains a temporary measure and a step towards achieving equality, drawing attention on the importance of creating an environment that incubates the idea of political participation for women.
