Paulina Quintao – The Caucus organization has provided training to 180 potential female candidates in rural areas to help prepare them for the suku (village) elections to be held in October.
Program Coordinator for Capacity Building Pascoal da Cruz Gomes said the training was important to encourage women to participate in the development process by taking on a leadership role.
The training topics covered transformative leadership, public speaking, management administration, advocacy and fundraising. Women were also encouraged to be more creative in their initiatives for earning money and developing their sukus.
"When they become xefe sukus (village chiefs) they have skills in management administration and can develop their sukus," said Gomes at his office in Kaikoli, Dili.
Participants were from Ermera, Liquisa, Ainaro, Aileu, Lautem, Manatuto and Dili municipality, with every municipality sending 25 representatives each. He said the program would be extended to other sukus, which had not yet had access to training.
However, political observer Camilio Ximenes Almeida said he was concerned that the existing patriarchal system in Timor-Leste continued to limit women's participation in public life and also meant that men had all the power in society.
"Our system condemns women's participation," he said. He urged women's organizations to ensure that women took part in the elections, especially those in remote areas.
Data from the last suku election for the 2009-2015 period showed that only 10 women or 2% were elected xefe sukus of 442 sukus, while just 1.8% were elected head of sub-village of the 2225 sub-villages in Timor-Leste.
Meanwhile, the Director of Patria Foundation, Laura Pina acknowledged that women faced many challenges in relation to tradition, but said they must be brave and move forward. She also called on men to support women's participation in politics.
She urged women's groups to collaborate with municipality authorities and xefe sukus to encourage women to run in elections. She said the new law provided opportunities for women to get involved in politics.
The Secretary of State for the Socio-Economic Support of Women (SEM), Veneranda Lemos, said the government had entrusted women's organizations Caucus and Patria to provide training to potential female candidates and encourage them to run in the suku elections.
She hoped that women's participation in politics at the local level would increase dramatically in comparison to the 2009-2015 elections.
Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/13959-180-women-receive-training-ahead-of-suku-elections