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Journalism of Courage
Women leaders from across Asia converged in Delhi over the weekend to participate in the Women Leaders of New Asia Conference. It was organised by Asia Society.
The leader discussed the challenges that women face while striving to get their due in the new and emerging economies of Asia,fighting poverty and lack of adequate healthcare and education.
Focussing on new Asia,Vishakha Desai,president emeritus of Asia Society,emphasised the paradigm shift as countries stand at the cusp of tradition and modernity. The conference agreed on the importance of building an economic case for womens leadership and empowerment issues,linking them to economy and climate change, she said.
Participants pointed out how even as womens participation in politics grew,in most countries they seemed to be kept out of key portfolios like defence,finance. Pakistan,said Attiya Inayatullah,member of the National Assembly there,is an exception,with a woman holding the foreign portfolio,another heading the state bank. WLNA welcomes the 33 per cent reservation in local bodies in India,Pakistan and Bangaldesh,We have begun to see the impact of such a move,the confidence that it has given to women and how it has become a means to highlight womens problems, she said.
This was the fourth summit of WLNA and participants have made commitments to tackle issues of gender violence and help their countries achieve millennium development goals,she added.
Nilar Oo,deputy country representative of Myanmar at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue,spoke about her efforts to get in place a womens party ahead of her countrys elections in 2015 and how she was returning with ideas to raise the very low participation of women there in politics and peace building.
