Belgrade: Bahrain's parliamentary division delegation, led by Dr. Mohammed Ali Hassan Ali, Chairperson of the Public Utilities and Environment Committee of the Shura Council, participated in the opening session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) Global Conference for Women Parliamentarians (GCWP) under the theme "Advancing parity: Breaking the barriers of gender stereotypes and negative social norms".
According to Bahrain News Agency, the opening session featured addresses by Ana Brnabic, Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia; Dr. Tulia Ackson, President of the IPU; Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary-General; and a representative of the National Assembly of Serbia. The keynote address was delivered by Cynthia L³pez Castro, member of the Mexican Senate and Chair of the IPU Bureau of Women Parliamentarians, titled "From Mexico to Belgrade: Continuing the Path to Equality."
The conference will discuss seven sessions covering issues including dismantling barriers to equality and harmful social norms; promoting equality through diversity; joint action against stereotypes and negative norms; addressing online violence, misinformation and stereotypes against women in politics; advancing gender-sensitive parliaments; changing leadership culture to counter stereotypes; and promoting women's and youth political participation through the "Women and Youth Participation in Democracy" initiative.