STC Women's Commission Holds Meeting with Norwegian Special Envoy

The Women Commission assisting the Presidium of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), headed by Dr. Suhair Ali Ahmed, Head of the Commission, and in the presence of several female leaders in the STC, held a meeting on Wednesday in the capital, Aden, with a Norwegian delegation, led by Ms. Heidi Johansson, the special envoy of the Kingdom of Norway to Yemen. 

The meeting, which included Mr. Adani Florence, Head of the Middle East Cooperation Unit, Mr. Erle Lindemann, Member of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and the presence of Dr. Najwa Fadl, Advisor to the STC's President for Women’s Affairs, touched on a range of vital issues related to the empowerment of women of the South, highlighting the importance of women's full participation in the political process, including peace negotiations.

The Commission stressed the need to rectify historical wrongs committed against women of the South since 1994 and restore their dignity, reaffirming the STC's strong commitment to women's empowerment and its pursuit of providing women with full opportunities to participate in decision-making at all levels of its institutions.

The meeting also discussed the deepening economic and humanitarian crisis in the capital, Aden, and other governorates of the South, which requires urgent solutions to alleviate the suffering of the population.

Dr. Suhair highlighted the urgent need for international community interventions, particularly Norway, to support efforts in vital sectors, primarily empowering women of the South and implementing development projects in the capital Aden and governorates of the South.

Dr. Suhair has urged the international community to support the women's agenda in the South, calling for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the empowerment of the joint negotiating team, and the fulfillment of commitments by empowering it to carry out its tasks, as well as developing a special negotiating framework for the cause of the people of the South in all phases of the political process.

For her part, Ms. Heidi, the special envoy of the Kingdom of Norway, expressed her great pleasure at visiting the city of Aden, praising the warm welcome she and her delegation received, noting a marked improvement in security conditions and a return to normalcy during her visit, and highlighting Aden’s significant potential for further progress and prosperity amid stable conditions and lasting peace.