Women push for political status at China-Africa forum in Cairo

CAIRO: China and African countries should take special measures such as quota allocation and specific timetable to create better conditions for women to participate in political affairs, the Women's Forum on the China-Africa Cooperation Forum 2009 said in a conference-ending declaration Wednesday.

When coping with the financial crisis, government economic stimulus plans should take full consideration of the interests of both genders to avoid aggravating the gender gap and inequality, the declaration said.

More than 110 delegates from 29 countries participated in the two-day conference, co-organized by All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and Egypt's National Council for Women. Ministers of gender and children issues and leaders from women organizations exchanged their ideas and shared experiences in gender equality, women's capacity building, new measures in coping with the financial crisis and meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Participating countries said they would also:

Strengthen cooperation between women in China and Africa, including women entrepreneurs, to help them get more business opportunities and acquire new technologies.

Push to incorporate gender awareness into the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to ensure that women will not only participate in development but also fully enjoy the achievements of development.

Chen Zhili , vice-chairperson of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress and president of the ACWF, said that the summit was an important step to expand China-Africa cooperation and the Beijing Action Plan 2007-2009 and a major achievement of the Sino-African new strategic partnership.

She said that ACWF has established ties with women's organizations in 51 of the 54 African countries, and provided micro-finance loans to women in 45 African countries in the past five decades. Since 2007, China provided a total of 6.58 million yuan ($1 million) to 13 African countries in microcredits.

China will also push for dialogue among women leaders in government and women's organizations in order to share experiences in gender equality and development. China will also provide scholarships for more female students to study in China, and the share of women beneficiaries will be raised from 26.5 percent to over 30 percent in three years.

China will provide more aid for African women's and children's organizations and establish more training centers to facilitate the exchanges and cooperation, Chen said.

Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's first lady, said the financial crisis has led to higher prices for food and a decrease in the number of projects that get financing, so women need new vision and strong commitment to ensure fairer participation.