By:almotamar.net -
SANA’A- The General People’s Congress (GPC) announced Monday its commitment to fulfilling President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s call for supporting women candidates running for the September local elections
Abdu Rabou Mansour Hadi, GPC vice-president, ordered directors of election leaderships
in governorates and districts to make women partners as candidates at the level of districts and governorates, according to the directives of President Saleh and the GPC by-law.
GPC vice-president’s directives came after tens of women- representing various political parties- held a march Sunday at the Presidency House in protest against their parties’ policy towards women candidates.

The Islah Party also participated in the march, and said the GPC could have come over some legal obstacles regarding women candidates for local elections. The Islah Party objects to nominating women to run for elections for religious reasons, and that its leadership (that includes tribal and religious members) maintains harsh stances towards women's political rights.
The GPC always calls on opposition parties to allocate seats for women in the local elections. But opposition parties have left fluctuating impression as the Islah Party governs their performance.
Head of the Islah Political Quarter says the GPC refuses the Joint Meeting Parties' (JMP) suggestions to allocate 20 percent of local election seats for women in main cities of only five governorates. But at the end of last year, he- in a press release- stated the Islah discussed ideological concepts so that its members would reach an ideological contentment and come over ambiguous doctrinal matters. He also affirmed the Parliamentary elections for 2009 will be held at a time when the Islah Party has settled the matter of nominating its female members in the Parliamentary election.

But he was careful enough to make clear the Islah's stance on women's participation in the September local elections, indicating the Islah has not yet made a decision in this regard.
Abdullah Saater, a prominent leader at Islah Party, said during a lecture in Shabwa province woman should be kept at home, and the principle that adopts her participation in political affairs should be fought for fear of temptation.

Last March, Islah Party Secretary-General, Mohammed al-Yadoumi, met with heads of Islah Executive Offices in the governorates. Al-Yadoumi stressed on the importance of women's participation in various leadership positions, as well as in other activities and enable them play a role that matches with their nature and abilities. But he refused any suggestion to support women to run for local council elections, justifying only the Islahi Shoura council can issue fatwa on whether it is allowed to nominate women for local elections.


Former Nasserite leader and civil activist Rana Ghanem said in a statement to the motamar.net the Islah refused to nominate women for the local council elections, for it has probably issued a new fatwa. She denounced the extreme stance of Islahi religious scholars regarding women issues.



By not nominating women for local elections, the Islah justifies that it wouldn't want to go beyond the reality of the society that suffers from illiteracy, and it seeks to bring about internal satisfaction amid the society in general, according to a head of Islahi women sector.

Islah has been criticized due to its stances towards women. Dr. Abdul-Qader al-Banna has already criticized Islah stance towards women, describing it as a retarded stance. "The Islah has not yet settled its stance towards women's political rights, a matter that is related to doctrinal argument," al-Banna noted.

Ali al-Sarari, member of the YSP Political Bureau, said the YSP supports allocating women 30 percent of the election seats. But so far the YSP has not come over the extreme views of Islah Party which governs the JMP.
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