Papua New Guinea's Community Development Minister, Dame Carol Kidu, is confident that Parliament will support a call to reserve parliamentary seats for women.
Earlier this week the Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, told Commonwealth Parliamentarians in Port Moresby that she hopes to introduce legislation by 2007 to reserve seats for women.
Dame Carol says the 20 provincial governors seats could be set aside for women but this may take until 2012.
She says she's confident a handful of seats will be reserved for the women by the time of the 2007 poll.
"I have already taken to NEC the submission for an Office for the Development of Women to be established within the bureaucracy, and one of their first tasks in the terms of reference will be to ensure that legislation for reserve seats is in place before 2007 - I believe it will be supported by the Parliament."
