Head of the standing delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia to the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie MA Jadranka Jovanovic is taking part in the meetings of the Network of Women Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF) hosted by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco in Rabat, 1 to 3 March 2023.
At the meeting of the APF Parliamentary Affairs Committee, the participants were presented a report and attended a hearing on the topic of parliamentary democracy in the face of disinformation. They also discussed the topics of the developing legislation for the protection of whistleblowers and parliamentary competences and actions in emergency situations. They then exchanged opinions on traveling abroad for French-speaking parliamentarians and proposals for promoting the French language in the world.
At the meeting of the APF Network of Women Parliamentarians the attending were presented analyses, projects and results achieved so far on promoting gender equality independently or in cooperation with other international organisations. They also addressed the topics of equality of women and men before the law, stereotypes and concrete steps taken to improve women's reproductive health, promoting the choice of education for girls, violence against women during armed conflicts, formation of a network of female parliamentarians in one or more African parliaments and possibly a centre for gender responsive budgeting in Morocco with a focus on the possibilities of using innovation, technological change and education in the digital age to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
In the debate, women parliamentarians shared their experiences concerning the implementation of the policy of combating violence against women in the parliament. MA Jovanovic pointed out that "...Serbia is a country where women in leadership positions are a common and natural phenomenon, with a third of the ministers in the government being women and women also being in leading positions in numerous important state institutions, public enterprises, large private companies, cultural institutions and sports organisations."
The Head of the delegation, Jovanovic drew special attention to the fact that Serbia has a female Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Governor of the National Bank, President of the Constitutional Court, and that when it comes to the presence of women in the National Assembly, they make up has 35.2% of the parliament, compared to the 29.5% European average. She said that a law was passed demanding a mandatory minimum of 40% women at all levels of the parliamentary government and although setting quotas is not an ideal solution, their introduction has proven to be a good way towards it.
"In the past few years, Serbia has done a lot in terms of gender equality. Firstly, we have improved the normative framework and adopted all relevant legislative and strategic documents for the suppression of all forms of gender-based violence. We worked and are working on establishing mechanisms for gender equality at all levels, from local to the national. Women in Serbia make up 51% of the population and their equal participation in all areas of society directly contributes to its growth and progress," concluded MA Jovanovic.