FRETILIN Statement in national Parliament: Opening of Gender Study Centre and International Rural Women's Day

Fretilin Media

Translation of Statement by FRETILIN Parliamentary Group Secretary, Josefa Pereira dos Santos MP, on the occasion of the Ceremony to Open the Centre for Gender Studies in the National Parliament, and International Rural Women's Day Celebrations, National Parliament,

Dili, 7 October 2008.

Mr. President of the National Parliament,

Distinct Members,

Invited Guests to this Parliament,

Dear Fellow Women Representatives of Sucos and Suco Councils,

All Guests invited to this Parliament.

FRETILIN would today like to express our appreciation to the efforts, which the National Parliament has made to establish the Centre for Gender Studies and also the opening of the International Day for Rural Women.

The whole world is dedicating this special day to rural women, but we hope that this does not merely become a theme for the calendar as "dead words" but that useful programs are implemented to improve the lives of women.

Despite having attained equality of rights before the constitution, many times women who make up to 75% of the population in rural areas in Timor-Leste, are still neglected, treated as an inferior class and are marginalized, are not given due importance for their existence; but many times their existence merely becomes a project to increase the interests of some groups.
FRETILIN in this parliament maintains the principle of the struggle for emancipation of the woman in all its aspects, which began in 1975 with the emergence of OPMT (Timor-Leste Womens' Popular Organization). Because of this FRETILIN welcomes all programs that contribute to the improvement of the rights and conditions of rural women.

It is true that rural women are yet to fully attain, know, to be informed of their rights. Their lives are in a pessimistic condition, in economic, social and cultural terms, and still exist under oppression from the patriarchic cultural system they live under. These are big challenges for the full implementation of the CEDAW Convention.

These practices have an extremely negative impact on their lives and on attempts to improve their lives.

This highlights the need to undertake studies and promote the participation of men in sharing the load in the everyday lives of the traditional family, starting from children at school, so as that we can put into practice what we term "Gender Equality".

Finally, FRETILIN, in this parliament, as a sovereign institution, we cannot just talk, but we have to actually do what is necessary to implement the CEDAW Convention. Because recently a serious allegation of sexual harassment by a fellow woman in her workplace. We demand that the Office of the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality provide assistance to the victim to attain the justice she is entitled to.

All of us, men and women alike, express our support and solidarity for women in remote areas of our country, in the efforts to eliminating all forms of discriminations that presently persists in our communities.

Thank you.


FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT JOSE TEIXEIRA ON +670 728 7080