The Ceará Council for Women's Rights holds its first meeting.

Ceará 247 - The first meeting of the Ceará State Council for Women's Rights was held yesterday, under the presidency of the new coordinator of Women's Policies for the State Government, Camila Silveira. The council is composed of 16 members, with equal representation from civil society and government agencies. In her greeting to the council members, Camila Silveira stated that she "knows of no other way to liberate women than to propagate feminist ideology."

In addition to the regular and alternate council members, the inaugural meeting was attended by the Chief of Staff, Élcio Batista, and Judge Sérgia Miranda, representing the Court of Justice, as well as the special coordinators for Human Rights, Racial Equality, and LGBT Policies. Also participating as a special guest was pharmacist Maria da Penha, a symbol of the fight against domestic violence, with the law bearing her name, among other authorities.

At the event, Judge Sérgia Miranda announced that during the 2nd Week for Peace, priority will be given to the trials of domestic violence cases.

The Council, created in 1986, is responsible for including women's rights on the agenda of the State and Municipal Governments, with the aim of exercising social control over public policies for women, as well as monitoring the actions of the Municipal Councils for the Defense of Women's Rights. Among the Council's demands is the role of implementing the National Pact to Combat Violence Against Women.

The Ceará State Council for Women's Rights had been deactivated in December 2010. With the creation of the Special Coordination for Public Policies for Women (Cepam), the CCDM was removed from the Secretariat of Justice and Citizenship and became part of the functional organizational chart of the Governor's Office. The new council members were elected in October 2014 and took office in December of the same year. With the change of government and the appointment of the new coordinator, the first meeting was only held now.

Currently, the main tasks of the council members are to approve the Internal Regulations to ensure the full functioning of the Council and to prepare, together with the Women's Coordination Office, the municipal and state conferences scheduled for this year.