Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo said strengthening women’s involvement and leadership in the next elections would involve a change in people’s mentality and that more support from men was needed.
He said a successful woman needed her family’s support, particularly her husband’s.
“I think we should change it (attitudes) by convincing men to accept and support women’s participation and women’s leadership in the election,” said Araujo in Dili.
While Timor-Leste’s constitution contained the legal basis guaranteeing gender equality, in reality there had been little change due to the existing strong patriarchal culture.
The awareness-raising campaign was therefore important to help improve men’s understanding about gender equality and the advantages for communities, he said.
“We need to strengthen women’s education and women’s financial situation because they can be smart, but they still depend on their husband financially so emancipation is useless,” he said.
Although the government had made efforts to improve women’s economic situation through the Secretariat of State for Socio-Economic Support of Women (SEM), he acknowledged that more still needed to be done.
Meanwhile, SEM Secretary Veneranda Lemos said SEM had allocated funds to civil society to provide leadership and management training to women.
“We are working with the women’s organizations, including the Caucus and Patria, to prepare them and we also support those who are working to strengthen women’s economic [situation],” she said.
However, she said it was the responsibility of all entities’s to work together to strengthen women’s economic situation and involvement in politics, especially civil society as they were the government’s partners.
As patriarchal attitudes remained strong within communities, she said many women felt reluctant to take a more active role in public life, therefore it was important to have men’s support and encouragement.
She acknowledged that currently 38% of MPs in the National Parliament were women, 21% were working in government and 2% at the local level, a high participation rate compared to other ASEAN countries.
Director of Patria Laura Pina said the organization had been providing training to women in the municipalities and rural areas to help prepare them to compete in the next suku (village) and general elections.
She acknowledged that many women were under pressure due to the existing patriarchal culture and needed support and courage to overcome those barriers.
She said it was important to change women’s mentality, as well as raise awareness among men and enourage them to support women to take a role in public life,” she said.
