Paulina Quintao – CAUCUS is providing training for female members of political parties in Aileu, Ermera and Liquisa in preparation for them to compete in the 2016 municipal elections.

CAUCUS executive director Paula Corte Real said the training was targeted to those areas as they had been selected by the government as pilot areas for municipal elections.

The training provided to the women aimed to give them the confidence to make decisions and compete with men. "(The training aimed to) increase their know-how in relation to leadership management, conflict resolution, debating and so on," she said.

Participants were given the opportunity to join in a practice debate. Real said the training would continue into the future, with more events planned to teach women about campaign tactics and public speaking techniques.

The two-day training was attended by women from the Democratic Party, Fretilin, the National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor (CNRT), the Social Democratic Party and Frente Mudansa.

State Secretariat for the Promotion of Equality representative Filomena Babo appealed to all participants to take the most this opportunity to contribute to the development process.

"We should take advantage of this to contribute to the development of women. Don't just keep quiet; if we are quiet, nobody knows what women want and need", Babo said.

CNRT representative Maria Santina da Costa Tilman thanked CAUCUS for the training.

She said she and her fellow women were prepared for the chance to compete for election but their political futures rested with their party leaders. "It depends on whether the person trusts me to run," she said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/12928-women-ready-for-election-challenge