Ten per cent of the seats in a proposed Libyan constituent assembly will be reserved for women, according to a draft electoral law that has triggered harsh reaction from a human rights watchdog.

“The General National Congress (constituent assembly) is to be composed of 200 members elected freely and directly. 10 per cent of the seats will be reserved for women,” said the draft released on the website of the election preparatory committee on Monday.

The constituent assembly election is scheduled to be held in June in the conservative Muslim North African country, which is still dominated by tribal traditions that are likely to prevent women winning openly contested votes.

The draft stipulates that candidates must be more than 25 years of age and should have held no position of responsibility under Muammar Gaddafi’s regime nor benefited financially from his rule.

The minimum age for voters has been kept at 18.

A bloody uprising ended Gaddafi’s four-decade rule and the ousted leader was later killed attempting to flee the fall of his hometown Sirte on October 20.

The Libyan Human Rights Alliance strongly criticised the proposed bill.

“As it is now, Libyan women currently make up over 50 per cent of the population in Libya, and the idea that they will be strictly limited to only 20 seats is extremely outrageous,” said the alliance in a statement released in English.

The Libyan Human Rights Alliance, a network of non-governmental organisations, said that Libyan women had worked hard during the revolution that toppled Gaddafi.

“We as an alliance … believe that it is the duty of civil and political actors to work together and synchronise efforts to ensure a fair representation of women in the upcoming elected governing body,” the group said.

“The gains that Libyan women have achieved over these past months were not granted, nor were they good luck. They were the result of hard work and struggle, and we demand that the rights of women in the political sector be met.”

It urged the ruling National Transitional Council to ensure that the election for the assembly does not sideline women but endorses them at a local as well as national level.

“If for any reason the NTC believes that there would be a lack of representation from Libyan women with a larger quota, then their response should be to mobilise women and to support them, not to limit them,” the group added.

Later on Monday, NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil stressed that the proposed legislation was just a draft and could still undergo changes.

“The representation of women (in the constituent assembly) can be discussed,” Abdel Jalil said at a news conference with visiting Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki.

“We want greater participation for women who participated alongside men in the Libyan revolution.”

By Imed Lamloum

Article originally appeared here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8397678/libyan-plan-sets-10-quota-for-women