Saturday, Apr 26, 2008
Gulf News
Sana'a: A 14-year-old girl has been elected to the post of speaker of the new children's parliament in Yemen. Another girl and a boy were elected to the posts of deputy speaker.
This was the second time that a girl was elected to the post since the children's parliament started eight years ago.
Children from all over Yemen now take part in elections for the children's parliament after it initially covered Sana'a only.
The children's parliament held a meeting on Wednesday, attended by the deputy speaker of the adult parliament and the minister of education.
In a free and fair election, the girl, Rania Arasi from the southern province of Aden, received eight votes as the speaker.
Shahrazad Al Arashi from Sana'a and Mohammad Al Amoud from Sa'ada province both got six votes in the election for the deputy speaker position.
A total of 46 children (aged from 12 to 15), including 19 girls, were elected to the children's parliament.
Some 25,000 children from all 22 provinces participated in the elections.
The 46 elected children include children from marginalised groups, the disabled, labourer's children and orphans, said Jamal Al Shami, head of Democratic School, the local NGO organising the children's parliament.
"The aim is to teach children democratic principles from an early age," Al Shami told Gulf News.
The most important issue before the new children's parliament, Al Shami said, is to draw up a report on the status of Yemeni children.
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
