A number of Majlis committees are studying a new plan to establish a ministry of women. The plan is going to be discussed at the open session of the Majlis in the near future. The plan falls within a policy to renovate administrative structure of the government, female lawmaker Fatemeh Alia said in an exclusive interview with the Mehr News Agency. If Majlis approves the plan, all organizations on women affairs will be merged, she noted.

The paltry participation of women in politics is but an extension of their limited bearing on meaningful decision- making in general. To improve that, the condition of the ordinary woman has to be improved first. Also, empowering women means giving them the opportunity to take their lives into their own hands. This is not possible for as long as our archaic mentalities, fuelled by the intervention of religious and socio-cultural groups, keep pushing them down.

Councillors Jan Harder and Marianne Wilkinson are teaming up to offer encouragement and advice by hosting a Women in Politics Campaign School on Feb. 27, aimed at providing information on how to budget, develop a platform and deliver a strong campaign message. "I was thinking back to when I first ran for election in 1997 and I knew nothing about campaigns, the rules and asking for money," said Coun. Harder. "Women are still challenged today with being the main caretaker of the family and have also been involved extensively in the community and want to make a difference. We want to reach out to them with information that allows them to make that giant leap."