President Timofti criticized for discriminating women

The National NGOs Council is criticizing Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti for not respecting gender equality, this being particularly visible in the way the presidential team is formed, in how members of official delegations are selected or events featuring the President are organized, the organization said in an open letter. The 25 NGOs signing the letter noted that at the recent President's meeting with political analysts and opinion leaders on July 12 no woman was invited. “The way the meeting was organized indicates that the Moldovan President's Office considers that our country doesn't have competent women to speak and provide analysis during public meetings on subjects of social, economic or political nature”, reads the letter. It is further claimed that the gender dimension is also ignored in the case of presidential delegations, which are mostly composed of men. “We reiterate the National NGOs Council's appeal on the need to promote women in decision-making processes across the country. We express our hope that in his future actions the President will observe the Moldovan Constitution, the Millennium Development Goals and the European principles on equality between women and men”. The Council expects that vacant presidential adviser's posts would be filled by women so that the gender balance in decision-making is respected, “as a key indicator of democracy and an imperative of social equity”.