ROUND TABLE: POSITION OF WOMEN MUST BE IMPROVED

ZAGREB, March 8 (Hina) - The state can, through legal regulations, impose the equality of women and men in the areas of education, employment and politics, but it will not be possible to achieve equality without changing the conscience of society as a whole, it was said at a round table, organised on the occasion of Women's Day in Zagreb on Thursday. The meeting, entitled "The Social Position of Women and Their Role in Public Life," was organised by the State Institute for the Protection of the Family, Maternity and Youth and the government's Commission for Gender Equality. MP Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic said, among else, the position of women in Croatia since the last election had improved at least in that women's problems and rights could be publicly discussed, which, she reminded, had been equal to treason over the past decade. Certain progress has been made by introducing equality-promoting regulations in laws on labour and employment, she said. It must be remembered, it was said at the meeting, that the awareness of gender equality is formed through the education of children and via the media. (hina) sb rml