Magharebia (Washington DC)

Libya: Women in Libya General National Congress Unite

15 January 2013
Photo: Kate Thomas/IRIN
Women at Friday prayers in Benghazi. Out of the 200 members of Libya's current parliament, 30 are women.

Female deputies in Libya's General National Congress (GNC) formed a bloc aimed at promoting women's rights and at ensuring fair representation of women on the constitutional drafting committee, Libya Herald reported on Monday (January 14th).

Misrata deputy Hana Al-Orfi said on Sunday that 28 women in the congress with different political backgrounds joined the bloc.

The move followed a January 8th statement by Az-Zawiya representative Mohamed Al-Kilani calling for segregating the sexes in the GNC. A number of female members reportedly walked out of the session in response to Kilani's comments.

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