In the course of the forum, a special theme was introduced about women's experience in Arab parliaments. A principal intervention was presented that was followed by a round of discussions by the participants in the forum. The intervention dealt with the conditions of Arab women and the obstacles that prevent them from fully participating in parliamentary work in particular and in political life in general. The intervention also pointed out that women constitute half of society and no people can develop and progress if half of it is backward, persecuted or deprived of political and social rights.

The intervention pointed out that we cannot generalize about Arab women because their situations differ legally, socially and politically from one Arab country to another. While in Kuwait, for example, women are deprived of their political and electoral rights, Tunisia is considered one of the Arab countries that has made great progress in consecrating women rights since 1956. In contrast, the family law in Morocco impedes women from acquiring all their political rights.

The intervention concentrated on the situation of the Algerian women. The Algerian constitution provides women with the full political rights that are given to men, including the right to be nominated to the presidency of the republic while, in contrast, the family law deprives them of the simplest political rights. Although the Algerian woman is to become a judge or a minister, the family law impedes her participation in public life and political activity.

The intervention specified three principal obstacles that impede women's involvement in political activity in Algeria:
1. Violence: The phenomenon of violence that Algeria is experiencing contributed to the regression in women's conditions. The effects of generalized violence on Algerian society were, of course, reflected on the conditions of women. Consequently, the number of women participating in the parliamentary elections was reduced to 11 women in 1997 and it did not take long before their number dwindled to 9 MPs after the appointment of two of them to ministerial portfolios. However, these female MPs won their seats in parliament because they were party candidates as no independent female candidate can win on her own. The five female MPs belonged to five political parties out of seven parties represented in the Algerian National People's Council (parliament).
2. Family law: The family law is considered the legal and institutional obstacle impeding women from exercising their right to participate in political life. According to this law, a husband can prevent his wife from participating in politics and public affairs. Keep in mind, however, that this law contradicts the prevailing mentality in Algerian society and is not an expression of the prevailing culture. On the contrary, it is- as the intervention described it- a law imposed from above for political and ideological reasons that contributed to the regression of this prevailing culture in some of the modern aspects of Algeria's social life.
3. The effects of the adoption of structural adjustment policies on the economic and social levels: these policies led to the retreat of public services, in education, public health, transportation and other services. They were also reflected in the increase of child suffering, and consequently on the role of women in political work and in public affairs. The intervention estimated that the ratio of female workers in Algeria does not exceed 10% of the total workforce, that is 800 thousand women according to official figures. However, this number is, in reality, higher because many women perform jobs that are not registered in the Social Security.

The intervention underlined that we should not consider the women in the Algerian parliament as the representatives of Algerian women in parliament. Rather, they constitute a part of the political contradictions, economic interests and social relations existing in society where men and women are equally involved. Hence, the women's role in the Algerian parliament depends on their partisan and political backgrounds and on the position they take on national and other issues put to parliament.

Furthermore, the intervention pointed out that the fluctuating conditions which women suffer from are not confined only to the Arab countries. Rather, it is a world phenomenon even if it is relatively different from one country to another. In France, for example, the law discriminates against women in job compensations while this discrimination does not exist in the Algerian law. However, women enjoy legal rights in the West that are not to be found at all in the Arab countries.

On a different level, the intervention saw that there are some world developments that affect negatively the conditions of Arab women. These include the economic and social policies adopted by international institutions which contribute to the subversion of the laws and regulations on social protection in a large number of states. Even ILO is bowing to the pressure of these institutions. Consequently, some international conventions are being revised in ways that threaten the interests of the labor force, and specifically the interests of women.

In general, the intervention considered that it is not possible to speak of the experience of female Arab parliamentarians in isolation from the political and social environment, the nature of the social order and the nature of parliaments in each country as well as from the tendencies and positions of the political parties on this issue.