Ilagan urges women to engage in politics

DAVAO CITY, Mar. 09 (PIA) – Gabriela Party-list Representative LuzvimindaIlagan  urged women leaders to involve in politics as she believed that women could contribute and achieve more to the development of the country.

Gracing Davao City’s 16th Women Summit where more than 300 female leaders and male advocates from across the city converged annually, Ilagan called on women to actively participate in the political arena.

The solon had high hopes that in the next Women Summit more women will declare that they will be seeking seats in the local councils or in the parliament in time for the forthcoming 2016 elections.

The Women Summit, a yearly undertaking led by the Davao City Integrated Gender and Development Division, was centered on strengthening the advocacy on involving women in the political and public sphere.

Ilagan lamented that only 27 percent of women is taking seats in the Congress, comparing figures with Ruanda, Africa which has 64% of its women participating in the parliament.

“The more (women), the better. But it’s not enough that they run or participate, they need to be gender sensitive,” Ilagan emphasized in her speech during the summit held recently in the city.

She also advocated for men’s support to women who will take part in the political arena, believing that more men nowadays are becoming open minded.

The Congresswoman also raised the need of updating the Davao City’s Women Development Code of 1997. “The city needs to amend the law, has to enrich it with the women’s experiences,” she stated.

Meanwhile, IGDD OIC Lorna Mandin said her office has been implementing a program focused on preparing and capacitating women leaders such as training them how to compose agenda or platform and on communications skills.

Mandin along with female leaders and several female lawmakers in the city led more than 4,000 women including male advocates during Friday’s Early Morning Parade, the culminating activity for the celebration of the 106th International Women’s Day.

She said the biggest delegates came from the national government agencies followed by the different women’s groups, non-government agencies and barangay councils.  (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)