National workshop mulls progress in women’s rights
Members of the Lao Women’s Union and UN Women Asia-Pacific as well as Lao and foreign officials met on February 1 at the launch of the national workshop on Transforming Economies and Realising Women’s Rights. The purpose of the workshop was to report on women’s progress worldwide in 2015-2016 and to share knowledge and experiences in planning women’s development around the world and to discuss how to help organisations in the development of women in Laos. Two key speakers addressed the workshop, namely the President of the Lao Women’s Union, Dr Inlavan Keobounphanh, and the Regional Director of UN Women Asia-Pacific, Ms Miwa Kato, who discussed gender equality as well as the empowerment of women. Laos has supported women’s increasing role in society, especially in solving issues surrounding poverty and nutrition, as well as promoting gender equality and generally supporting women to apply for leadership positions in all fields including the National Assembly, which is made up of approximately 30 percent of women.
