National Organization of Sahrawi Women
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| Formation | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Type | Network for Sahrawi refugee women |
| Headquarters | Sahrawi refugee camps |
| Location | |
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Official language
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Hassaniya, Spanish |
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General Secretary
|
Fatma Mehdi |
| Website | mujeressaharauisunms.blogspot.com |
The National Union of Sahrawi Women (Spanish: Unión Nacional de Mujeres Saharauis, UNMS) is the women's wing of the Polisario Front. It was created in 1974, and claims to have 10,000 members, divided between the Sahrawi refugee camps, the Liberated territories, the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara and the Sahrawi diaspora (including for instance Spain, Mauritania or France).
The organization is mostly active in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, where it is a powerful force within the POLISARIO and the Sahrawi republic. It is internationally active in organizing support for Sahrawi women and the Sahrawi cause, but also campaigns for women's rights within the exile community and in political decision-making. As a consequence of this, and of the special circumstances of the Western Sahara war years, the situation of Sahrawi women has improved noticeably. There are presently two women in the Sahrawi republic's government, the Minister of Culture Khadijah Hamdi, and the Minister of Education Mariem Salek Hamada.
The UNMS is directed by a "National Committee" of 66 members, elected in the UNMS congress every 5 years. It is subdivided into several departments:
There are also departments for each Wilaya. The national committee is chaired by a Secretary General, elected also in the congresses, who is at the same time member of the Polisario Front national committee.
Keltoum Khayati, a former secretary general of the UNMS, fled to Morocco and is defending the Moroccan position in the conflict.Fatma Mehdi Hassan has been secretary general since 2002.
The UNMS has been a member of the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) and the General Federation of Arab Women since 1977 and of the Pan-African Women's Organization (PAWO) since 1980.
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Wikipedia