Rural women encouraged to assert their leadership abilities

The women in rural areas who get actively involved in the sociopolitical life in their community can become members of a platform that promotes feminine leadership. The Platform of the Forum of Rural Female Leaders was launched by the Federation “Agroinform” in cooperation with the Partnership for Development Center and Winrock Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on December 14, Aurelia Bondari, executive director of the National Farmers Federation of Moldova “AGROinform”, said the platform was initiated in the Forum of Rural Female Leaders that was held on November 23. It involved about 80 rural female leaders and 50 invitees who were representatives of the Government and Parliament, embassies working in Moldova, international organizations, civil society and the mass media. “The forum discussed the most important problems concerning the active involvement and participation of women in the social and political spheres, and the equality of chances. There was adopted a resolution and formulated recommendations for the Government, Parliament and civil society. The proposals and measures are aimed at promoting rural women and encouraging their participation in the rural, socioeconomic development, and at harmonizing the relations between men and women in politics or business,” said Aurelia Bondari. The main objective is to promote and encourage the women, including in business. Within the platform, there will be held discussions with different players. A network of female leaders will be created by areas of interests and at different levels - national, regional, and local. In the future, the platform will launch a website where there will be published success stories and useful information for women. There will be initiated programs that will help them to assert themselves as personalities and to take part in decision-making. Daniela Terzi-Barbarosie, head of the Partnership for Development Center, said the women will be able to include problems confronting other women in the public agenda. It was important for these women to organize themselves into a platform within which to discuss the identified problems, carry out activities and feel that they are supported. The authors of the initiative said there are many well-trained women in the Moldovan villages, who are ready to cope with the problems rather than stay in the kitchen and discuss local issues.