For the first time in Thamar, a woman has announced that she will run in the upcoming parliamentary elections.  Anisa Mohammed al-Unsi announced her intention to stand for election, despite the fact that several men are also planning to run in the election. She demanded the president’s support in a memorandum, saying she is the top Yemeni women contender. She called upon the government to issue a law that  would allocate 15 percent of parliamentary seats to women. She explained that she aims to serve in parliament to represent women’s interests, pursuant to the right provided by the constitution. She seeks to defend women’s social political, cultural and economic rights in Yemen as well as in all international forums, and hopes to take a firm stand beside President Saleh as the builder of modern Yemen.  Thirty-year old Al-Unsi was born in Thamar in 1974. She has a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from al-Mustansiria University in Baghdad. She is the manager of the Marketing Department at the Technical Trade Institute in Thamar, and the head of the monitoring authority at the women’s Economic Society. The first woman to nominate herself for parliamentary elections was Aidah Ashor from Lahj constituency in al-Hota district. Ashor reiterated that she nominated herself in her district to represent women in parliament pursuant their constitutional right, which was consolidated by the president’s allocation of 15% of parliamentary seats for women.   Ashor said that she nominated herself as a General People’s Congress (GPC) nominee in-spite of the fact that there are nine men running in the election in her area. She thinks she has a better chance because she is the only woman among them. She said that she hopes to represent the will of women, and she will struggle so that women can obtain their political and civil rights, as well as gain effective participation in the community, especially in parliament.  She called on political parties and the GPC in particular to support increasing the rights of women. Ashor added that she seeks to defend women’s health-care, follow up and rehabilitate hospitals, support investment, industries, and educational services. She said that she will seek to rid the government of corruption, and focus on the capital in particularly. Ashor said she will defend women’s rights in order to guarantee they enjoy all social rights to which they are entitled. Ashor is 40 years old, and was born in al-Hota in Lahj constituency in 1972. She holds a degree in education for physics and mathematics. She is now the head of the women’s sector at the GPC, and the district civil society council’s coordinating official. She is also a central committee member at the Yemeni Women’s Federation