Libya Gets its First Female Foreign Minister

Najla el-Mangoush, will be sworn in next week as part of a new unity government, a rare female voice at the top table whose appointment many Libyan women welcomed on Thursday. Mangoush, a lawyer who had a role in the transitional council that briefly governed Libya after its 2011 uprising, will be joined by four other women in the cabinet, including Halima Abdulrahman as justice minister. “I think this is a win for all of us women in Libya. I hope it’s a first step to going further: a woman reaching head of government,” said Afia Mohammed, a pastry maker in Tripoli, adding it would encourage more women to enter politics. The 75 Libyan delegates selected by the UN to take part in those talks laid out a commitment for the new government to include women in 30% of senior government roles, including in top cabinet posts. Women represent only 15% of the posts in Dbeibeh’s cabinet but the proportion will rise when deputy ministers are app

SOURCE: BUSINESS DAY LIVE