15 - 21 November 2001
Issue No.560
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 15 - 21 November 2001 Issue No.560 |
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Hopes for a different
At a Cairo summit, Arab women agreed on the need for a larger role for themselves in decision-making and on greater support for Palestinian women. Dahlia Hammouda reports
At an extraordinary session of the Arab Women's Summit hosted by Egypt this week, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak said the conference was a message to the world that Arab women were not oblivious to the ongoing global events and developments and shared as partners the age's hopes, dreams and concerns.
Heading the gathering at the Cairo International Conference Centre on 11-12 November, Mrs Mubarak said the success of the first Arab Women's Summit, held in Cairo last November, was to reveal that Arab women's issues are at the heart of the comprehensive development of the Arab nation and the determining factor of its future.
Attended by representatives of the 22 member states of the Arab League, the summit was organised by Egypt's National Council for Women, the Lebanese Al-Hariri Foundation and the Arab League.
To an audience that included Queen Rania of Jordan, Leila Ben Ali, Tunisia's first lady, Sheikha Latifa Al-Sabah, wife of the Kuwaiti crown prince, Fatima Al-Bashir, Sudan's first lady, Sabika Al- Khalifa, wife of Bahrain's emir, and Soha Arafat, wife of the Palestinian president, Mrs Mubarak underlined the two main aims of the extraordinary session. First, she said it was meant to project the achievements and the results of the seminars that took place in a number of Arab capitals throughout the year. More importantly, it was expected the conference would come up with an organisational framework through which Arab women's efforts to advance their societies can be coordinated and supported.
The first Arab Women's Summit was billed as a historic occasion; never before had there been such a high-level gathering devoted exclusively to the causes of Arab women. The conference aimed at changing inequitable conditions and creating a better life for Arab women. The year 2001 was declared the "Year of the Arab Woman," and it was agreed the summit would be held every two years, with a special session to be held in November 2001 to evaluate the year's achievements. Six forums were agreed to be held in Arab capitals to deal with various spheres in which women are involved in. To date, Jordan hosted the Women Abroad Forum, Tunisia the Women and Politics Forum while the Women and the Law Forum was held in Bahrain.
Wishing the three future forums every success in achieving their aims, Mrs Mubarak moved to the second objective of the extraordinary session. "We have covered extensive ground towards establishing the Arab Women's Organisation, which is to be a specialised agency with an independent financial and administrative structure that aims at advancing the status of Arab women through ensuring their effective participation in nation-building," she said.
The organisation will work under the auspices of the Arab League and will utilise the knowledge and experience of experts in women's issues on all government and non-government levels.
Current world events left their mark on the summit proceedings, with Mrs Mubarak urging full backing for Palestinian women. "Women are the ones who pay the price for violence and terrorism and bear the brunt of conflicts," she said.
International developments require that Arab women be empowered to play a more active role, Mrs Mubarak said. "Women now need a louder voice calling for international justice, comprehensive peace and stability... especially when it comes to ending the violence in the occupied territories, recognising a Palestinian state and realising peace in the region," she said.
On the summit's final day, Mrs Mubarak issued the Cairo Letter, a document emphasising Arab women's rejection of terrorism in all its forms and declaring that eradicating terrorism can only be achieved through eradicating its causes.
"We believe that if international justice and equality between people prevail, we will all live in a different world in which women stand side by side with men to confront all that impedes development," she said.
The Second Arab Women's Summit will be hosted by Jordan, Mrs Mubarak announced.
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