Austrian Green Member of Parliament and spokesperson for the European Green Party, Ms Ulrike Lunacek met Alternattiva Demokratika Zghazagh - Green Youth during her visit here last month.

The main subject under discussion was the participation of women in politics. Ms Lunacek said that most political parties found it difficult to attract women, but the Greens were always on the forefront to come up with ways to redress this imbalance.

A tool that is often successfully used is the quota system in elections and although some people may not agree with it, the system has managed to give visibility to women and emerging role models.

Ms Lunacek mentioned various barriers for women to integrate in politics, highlighting the fact that childcare was still largely viewed as the women’s role and if the women happen to be single mothers, then they might even find it more difficult to be active in politics.

Also, the prevailing structure does not help as most of the decision-making meetings are held in the evenings, often involving endless discussions till late.

ADZ-Green Youth informed Ms Lunacek that the organisation retained equality as one of its core values and integrated priority and was committed to providing political training opportunities by having delegations sent abroad to undergo training at workshops and seminars organised by the Federation of Young European Greens. ADZ-GreenYouth is also keen to provide training on a national level.

Ms Lunacek suggested that among other things, the young women in ADZ-Green Youth should organise public discussions addressing women’s’ issues and inviting women speakers.