Turkey's First Lady, Emine Erdogan, Among Top 10 Influential Muslims
New Age Islam News Bureau
14 September 2020
• Noor Nugali Appointed Assistant Editor-In-Chief of Arab News
• Saudi Designer Princess Nourah Al-Faisal Details
Discrimination by French Newspaper
• Saudi Women Entrepreneurs Fight Cultural
Conditioning
• Working on The Ground to Meet Basic Needs of
Beirut’s Women and Girls
• Arabic Press Review: Egypt's Female Journalists
Tackle Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
• Veteran and Newcomer Women Candidates in Battle for Kukusan
In Sabah State Election
• How Coronavirus Has Impacted the Lives of Women in
The Arab World
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/turkey-first-lady-emine-erdogan/d/122853
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Turkey's First Lady, Emine Erdogan, Among Top 10 Influential Muslims
Aamir Latif
13.09.2020
An international think tank
on Sunday placed Turkey's first lady among the world's top ten most influential
Muslim figures.
-----
An international think tank on Sunday placed Turkey's
first lady among the world's top ten most influential Muslim figures.
The Institute of Peace and Development (INSPAD), which
simultaneously operates from Pakistan and Belgium, has nominated Emine Erdogan
for its International Peace Awards 2020 for the ten leading Muslim figures
across the globe for their services in different fields.
The list also includes former Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir bin Muhammad, head of Bahrain's Council of Women Shaikha Noora Al
Khalifa, Muslim World League Secretary-General Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa
of Saudi Arabia, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, UK House of Lords member Lord
Nazir Ahmed, Chairman of Muslim Institute of Pakistan Sahibzada Sultan Ahmed
Ali and Ibrahim Bin Salah Al-Naumi, the under secretary of higher education and
chairman of the Doha International Center for interfaith Dialogue in Qatar.
INSPAD's President Muhammad Tahir Tabassum told
Anadolu Agency that Emine Erdogan was chosen for her tremendous services in the
fields of social development with a focus on women's empowerment, the
environment, culture, arts and social awareness.
The body, which has 5,000 ambassadors of peace and
over 12,000 members from different countries, every year selects eminent Muslim
figures around the globe.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkeys-first-lady-among-top-10-influential-muslims/1972129
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Noor Nugali Appointed Assistant Editor-In-Chief of
Arab News
September 13, 2020
Noor Nugali
------
Arab News, the Middle East’s leading English-language
daily, announces the promotion of senior Riyadh correspondent Noor bint Osama
Nugali to assistant editor-in-chief.
Her new role will encompass several local, regional
and international editorial and managerial responsibilities. She succeeds
Somayya Jabarti, who left this position earlier this year.
“We are delighted to announce the promotion of Noor to
this new role. Throughout the time she has worked with us at Arab News, she has
successfully covered foreign policy, the diplomatic community, and has obtained
several high-level interviews and exclusives for the paper,” said Faisal J.
Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News.
“The promotion falls in line with the Kingdom’s
general direction of empowering young, talented and highly capable Saudi
women,” he added.
“Among her first assignments in her new role will be
to manage our coverage of this year’s G20 meetings, which Saudi Arabia hosts
for the first time.”
Nugali joined Arab News in October 2017. Prior to
that, she had worked for three years at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She had also been a reporter and freelance feature
writer for both the Saudi Gazette and The National, a UAE-based English daily.
At Arab News, she handled several major editorial
projects. Most recently, Nugali was part of the launch team of Arab News en
Français, the digital French edition of the newspaper that was successfully
launched in July this year.
Last year, she was a lead researcher and interviewer
for two major Arab News Deep Dives: “Prince in Space,” which marked the 35th
anniversary of Prince Sultan bin Salman being the first Arab astronaut to go to
space; and “Juhayman 40 years on,” which retold the story of the atrocious
takeover of the Holy Mosque in Makkah in 1979.
Nugali has also covered, moderated and participated as
a panelist at several major events and forums in the Kingdom.
She will assume the role as of Oct. 1. She will work
alongside Deputy Editor Tarek Mishkhas out of the newspaper’s headquarters in
Riyadh, and will report to the editor-in-chief directly.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1733951/media
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Saudi Designer Princess Nourah Al-Faisal Details
Discrimination by French Newspaper
BY NOOR NUGALI
KHAOULA GHANEM
September 13, 2020
RIYADH/DUBAI: Princess Nourah Al-Faisal, Saudi founder
of Paris-based fine jewelry label Nuun Jewels, took to social media this week
to share an exchange between her team and French newspaper Les Echos, who,
according to the designer, refused to run a portrait of her because she was
wearing a hijab in the image.
“As a Saudi female jewelry designer working in Europe
there have been times when I have come up against all kinds of discrimination,”
she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post shared on her personal account.
“Something happened today that I feel I cannot let pass,” she added.
The designer went on to detail the incident, stating
that the professional headshots she provided to illustrate an interview set to
run in the magazine were the subject of much furor.
According to the designer’s Instagram post, “we were
sent a message through the coordinating PR agency explaining that the images
shared did not conform to the images of the other designers and that unless we
were prepared to share an image without a hijab, they would not be using Nuun
Jewels in their article.”
The designer spoke to Arab News to share her
disappointment.
“I highlighted this incident because we can’t fight
these behaviors by keeping quiet and silent. Rasicm and discrimination is
everywhere around the world. It’s something we must address… as a society, we
have to keep talking about it.”
Even though the incident occurred with a French
publication, the designer wants to stress that it is in no way a representation
of French people or the country, making sure to point out, “My French friends
and coworkers have all sent me messages saying this is not acceptable.”
Indeed, many users took to Al-Faisal’s comment section
to write heartfelt messages of support and denounce Islamophobia and
discrimination.
She has also received much support from people all
over the world following the incident, and remains hopeful despite her experience
with discrimination as a hijab-wearing woman.
“I’m an internal optimist,” she mused. “I fully believe that humanity is
wondrous at its core.”
“When it comes to my work I’ve always wanted to be
judged by my craft. Look at the work, judge me on that and if you don’t like
it, it’s fine. But don’t dismiss my work for a presumption,” she said.
Can such behavior be abolished? Al-Faisal believes so.
“Racism is a taught behavior,” she stated. “You can unteach it."
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1733876/lifestyle
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Saudi Women Entrepreneurs Fight Cultural Conditioning
Sebastian Castelier
Sep 13, 2020
When Saudi entrepreneur Amal Albasheeri opened her
first business in 2003, women were not allowed to enter most commercial
premises. “It was a totally different era,” said Albasheeri, founder of the
interior design platform Makan.Design. In 2018, women obtained the right to
register a business without the consent of a husband or male relative.
“Now we feel like we have the right to exist!” she
told Al-Monitor.
In recent years, the Saudi leadership ended the
world's last ban on female drivers and encouraged women to enter the workforce,
accelerating the inclusion of women into the local economy. The moves aim to
increase the number of dual-income families at a time when deteriorating
economic conditions are eroding the country’s welfare system.
The government also outlawed discriminatory practices
in accessing bank credit. But beyond an improved legal framework, empowering
women might require a profound change of mentality at the society level.
While more than half of Saudi university students
being women, female entrepreneurship is yet to be entirely accepted. The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that in the
broader Middle East and North Africa region, gender-based discrimination in
laws and social norms costs $575 billion a year.
Decades of cultural conditioning
Unlike regulatory restrictions, internal boundaries
built in the minds of Saudi women by decades of cultural conditioning and a
draconian male guardianship system cannot be repealed in the blink of an eye
and are likely to resist state-led reforms.
Human rights organizations have long criticized the
Gulf country for making women second-class citizens. A study published in 2018
found Saudi women tend to lack self-confidence due to gender limitations
“deeply rooted in the culture.”
Arwa Shafi is a program associate at TAQADAM, one of
Saudi Arabia’s top startup accelerators. She told Al-Monitor, “The challenges
that remain are all at a personal level. There are still a lot of built-in
ideas of what you can or cannot do as a female.”
Mentorship and accelerator programs like TAQADAM help
participants explore opportunities that were previously off limits and turn an
idea into a marketable product. “More than 30% of our founding entrepreneurs
are female,” said Shafi, who said the flexibility offered by the six-month-long
program has been vital to achieving such high participation by women.
“I could attend with my newborn son and continue
breastfeeding,” Moudi Alghashyan, co-founder of the online wish list Hadiya
Registry, told Al-Monitor.
TAQADAM also provides zero-equity funding to
facilitate access to finance, one of the biggest challenges faced by women-led
ventures as bank credit available to small and medium-sized enterprises in the
Arab region is the lowest in the world.
“It has been the opportunity I needed. I got to
socialize with other entrepreneurs, built connections and received a $20,000
grant,” said Alghashyan. During the COVID-19 crisis, Hadiya Registry’s sales
tripled as “many started buying online for the first time.”
The importance of role models
For those who wish to reconcile family life with a
job, the pandemic has been a wake-up call as business opportunities in the
digital economy surged and online shopping gained momentum. The pre-pandemic
growth rate of Saudi e-commerce already exceeded 32% annually.
But aspiring female entrepreneurs struggle to identify
with the male-led businesses that dominate the headlines. “Saudi women do not
have role models, that is what we lack,” London-based Saudi political analyst
Najah Al Otaibi told Al-Monitor.
According to Babson College, a global leader in
entrepreneurship education, “Role models have a greater impact on a woman’s
entrepreneurial self-efficacy than on a man’s.”
In Saudi Arabia, less than 2% of business owners with
at least one employee are women, according to a 2018 Mastercard study. While
“the number of Saudi women entrepreneurs grew significantly from 2007 to 2017,”
entrepreneurship remains the exception as the vast majority of Saudi citizens
prefer public sector employment attracted by high wages, social benefits and
job security — government departments pay 59% more than the private sector.
In the long term, new curricula could play a crucial
role in nurturing a generation of female entrepreneurs. For decades, the
education system upheld “dominant socio-cultural norms that emphasize the role
of women as wives and mothers,” read a study by prominent Saudi researcher
Hessah Al Sheikh.
According to World Bank estimates, women in the Middle
East and North Africa enjoy half the legal rights of men. International
organizations and experts have long called on Gulf governments to favor
critical thinking-centered teaching methodologies.
“Music and arts, which used to be banned, are now part
of the curriculum in public schools. This is a great development! We should
have an environment encouraging creativity, freedom of thought, freedom of
expression,” Al Otaibi said.
'Saudi Arabia is now a police state'
Since he was named crown prince in 2017, Mohammed bin
Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has portrayed himself as a reformist and Western
leaders initially commended this posture. In early 2018, UK Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson said the kingdom's de facto ruler “has demonstrated by word and
deed that he aims to guide Saudi Arabia in a more open direction.”
Critics argued the move is an attempt to create a
smokescreen. “The new regime had to make reforms to gain legitimacy in the
West,” said Lina al-Hathloul, whose sister is behind bars along with other
female activists who had campaigned for the right to drive.
According to Human Rights Watch’s former Middle East
director, "Their only crime was wanting women to drive before Mohammed bin
Salman did." Al-Hathloul told Al-Monitor, “Saudi Arabia is now a police
state; no one dares to talk,” and lamented new regulations like the public
decency law have “blurred the line” between what is allowed and what is not.
Saudi entrepreneurs like Albasheeri are hopeful,
saying a more inclusive society is taking shape as the kingdom has entered a
new era. “As much as we want to keep our traditions, we don't want to live as a
conservative country forever,” she said.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/09/saudi-arabia-female-entrepreneurs-cultural-conditioning.html
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Working
on The Ground to Meet Basic Needs of Beirut’s Women and Girls
September
13, 202
BEIRUT
— A month after the Beirut Port explosion, life remains uncertain for thousands
of women and girls. Among the displaced are an estimated 84,000 women and girls
of reproductive age.
UNFPA,
the agency specializing in reproductive and maternal health worldwide, is
working with 12 partners on the ground to distribute dignity kits, which
contain sanitary pads, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and towels.
These
items are helping women and girls maintain their personal hygiene even amid the
destruction and displacement. This is essential, community members have
emphasized.
“Just
like I would want my girls to be fed, I would also want them to have these
basic hygienic needs,” said Hayat Merhi, a woman with three adolescent
daughters whose family was affected by the blast.
Pandemic,
economic turmoil
The
blast and its aftermath comes on top of the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic
crisis, years in the making. Job losses have curtailed family spending, even as
disease prevention is becoming more urgent than ever.
Too
often, the needs of women and girls are the first to go unmet.
“There
was a time when my daughters were using a piece of cloth instead of pads,"
said Lina Mroueh, who also has three adolescent daughters.
UNFPA
partners have been canvassing blast-impacted areas as they distribute the
dignity kits, speaking with women and girls about their circumstances. The work
is challenging, but rewarding, they say.
“Bringing
light into their broken homes and telling women and girls that their dignity,
safety and personal needs matter to the world in these difficult times is the
least we can do,” described Rima Al Hussayni, director of Al Mithaq
Association.
Life-saving
information
The
distribution of dignity kits is also an opportunity to address yet another
crisis: gender-based violence, according to UNFPA.
Gender-based
violence is known to increase in humanitarian settings and in times of economic
stress. Amid the pandemic, many countries are reporting increased violence
against women and rising demands for support services.
“It
is very important to remember that dignity kits are helpful to women and girls,
not only for the menstrual hygiene products, soaps and other items, but also as
a way to reach women and girls with key messages about sexual and reproductive
health and rights, gender-based violence, the prevention of sexual
exploitation, and abuse services and information,” said Felicia Jones, UNFPA’s
humanitarian coordinator.
The
dignity kits contain referral information to connect survivors with help. The
people distributing the kits are also trained to provide this information.
In
some cases, they explain even more.
“We
trained our staff to demonstrate how to use and maintain the items in the kit”,
said Gabby Fraidy of the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women. “We
had 11-year-old girls who came to us, and our role was to share information
about menstruation and explain to them that it is a natural and a biological
process that occurs, and that it’s a part of growing up.”
Additional
vulnerabilities
Akkarouna
and Al Makassed associations are also distributing dignity kits to women and
girls with disabilities, who often face additional vulnerabilities and
challenges accessing sexual and reproductive health services and commodities.
It is
estimated that around 12,000 disabled persons have been affected by the blast.
— UN News
https://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/597905/World/Mena/Working-on-the-ground-to-meet-basic-needs-of-Beiruts-women-and-girls
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Arabic
Press Review: Egypt's Female Journalists Tackle Sexual Harassment In The
Workplace
By
Mohammad Ayesh
12
September 2020
Dozens
of female journalists in Egypt have issued a statement denouncing sexual
harassment in the workplace and demanding action to change the situation.
According
to London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the group accused the Egyptian
Journalists Syndicate of ignoring an official memorandum on the subject, signed
by more than 150 journalists and submitted by them on 27 August.
They
reiterated the memorandum's call for the formation of a "permanent
committee for women" within the syndicate, designed to combat harassment
and sexual violence against female journalists.
They
also demanded an investigation into sexual harassment and assault incidents in
the media industry, including recent claims of sexual misconduct by Egyptian
investigative journalist Hisham Allam, and asked for "clear
mechanisms" to be put in place to protect the identities of those who
bring forth such complaints.
The
group called on their female colleagues, who represent nearly 40 percent of all
journalists in Egypt, to sign the memorandum and adopt their demands.
Research
by the UN in 2013 estimated that 99 percent of women in Egypt had been
subjected to some form of sexual harassment at some point in their lifetime.
Despite
legislation and civil society efforts to address the problem, surveys have
shown that nearly 60 percent of women have been the target of this form of
violence in public spaces, and an equal proportion of men have admitted to
harassing women in public.
Yasser
Arafat's family disavows widow's statements
The
family of the late Palestinian Authority (PA) president Yasser Arafat has
harshly criticised his widow, Suha, after her recent statements to Israeli and
Gulf TV channels attacking the Palestinian leadership and supporting Israel's
normalisation agreement with the UAE, according to the London-based newspaper
Al-Quds Al-Arabi.
The
family, who live in Gaza City, said in a statement: "The irresponsible
statements made by Suha Al-Tawil, wife of the late President Yasser Arafat,
regarding the political leadership of the Palestinian people, are totally
rejected because they are inconsistent with the culture, spirit and morals of
the Arafat family."
The
family said that Suha had not obtained approval from Arafat's family to speak
on their behalf through the media, and accused her of "using the name of
her martyred husband, leader Yasser Arafat, to speak on behalf of the
Palestinian people, taking advantage of him being a symbol for the Palestinian
people".
The
family affirmed its absolute respect for all political decisions issued by all
countries, considering them "an internal matter that other countries must
not interfere in".
At
the same time, it declared its respect, appreciation and commitment to all
decisions issued by the Palestinian leadership, represented by PA President
Mahmoud Abbas.
Thousands
of Israelis set to pour into UAE
Sources
in the Tourism Business Union in Tel Aviv have reported that thousands of
Israelis have called to reserve seats on Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights, according
to a report published by Asharq al-Awsat. The surge follows recent moves to
normalise ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Israel's
Israir Airlines previously announced it had signed agreements enabling it to
start organised and direct tours from Tel Aviv to the UAE from 15 October,
while also mentioning ongoing intensive talks with Fly Emirates and Etihad
Airways to organise flights to Israel.
An
Israeli tourism company official described "tempting" tourism package
proposals by the Emiratis, such as "a tourism trip including hair planting
or plastic surgeries in Dubai".
Such
flights currently go to Turkey, but the Emiratis are offering a better price,
the Saudi newspaper said.
Business
trips between Israel and the UAE after expected soon, following the signing of
their normalisation treaty.
The
UAE has declared that Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister
Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be heading an official delegation,
including senior officials, to Washington on 15 September for the signing
ceremony.
He
was invited by US President Donald Trump to participate in the event at the
White House, in the presence of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Economic
sources quoted an Israeli business delegation, currently visiting the Emirates,
as saying that signing the treaty will also expand business relations between
Israel and India, considering the latter's strong business relations with the
UAE.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arabic-press-review-egypt-female-journalists-tackle-sexual-harassment-workplace
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Veteran
and Newcomer Women Candidates in Battle for Kukusan In Sabah State Election
14
Sep 2020
TAWAU,
Sept 14 — The new seat of Kukusan is witnessing a clash between a veteran and a
newcomer in the 16th Sabah state election.
And
if the 12,640 voters in the constituency are looking for a woman representative
in the September 26 polls, it’s a toss-up between Chaya Sulaiman, 60, and Rina
Jainal, 39.
Chaya
of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Rina of Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) are the
only women candidates among the seven contestants.
Chaya,
the Kalabakan Wanita Umno chief, is an old hand in politics, having been with
Umno in Sabah since 1991.
“My
selection as the Umno candidate for Kukusan is the result of my patience and
undivided loyalty to the party. I want to achieve history by becoming the first
woman elected representative here,” she told Bernama.
If
elected, she wants to do more for the women folk, apart from creating an
education hub in Kukusan, one of four state seats within the Kalabakan
parliamentary constituency.
“We
want to continue generating economic growth, and an important task is to
strengthen education by making it an education centre so that our children need
not go out of this area to further their studies,” said Chaya, the older sister
of Kalabakan Member of Parliament Ma’mun Sulaiman, who is from Warisan.
Rina,
on the other hand, considers herself a newbie but far from being a pushover.
She
pledged to continue working hard for the people and to bring development if
given the trust to be the state assemblyman.
“I
ventured into politics three years ago with Warisan, and before that I
concentrated on my career as an entrepreneur apart from being actively involved
in non-governmental organisation work through Jalinan Sokongan Komuniti
Keluarga in Kalabakan.
“My
advantage is that I’m involved in charitable and community work like workshops
to empower women and self-improvement activities including on education,” said
Rina, the Kalabakan Wirawati chief.
Rina
said she was confident of being accepted by the voters, as she could relate to
both the youth and older generation.
The
other candidates in Kukusan are Ismail @ Taufik Muin of Parti Cinta Sabah, Lee
Boon King of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, Wong Jin Soon of Parti Harapan Rakyat
Sabah, Ismail Idris of United Sabah National Organisation and Rosdiansah Mohd
Nor of Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/09/14/veteran-and-newcomer-women-candidates-in-battle-for-kukusan-in-sabah-state/1903040
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How
coronavirus has impacted the lives of women in the Arab world
14
Sep 2020
By
Nabila Rahal
With
more than 25 million infected and 852,000 dead globally, there is no doubt that
the coronavirus is a generation-defining event. From visitor-centric industries
such as hospitality, tourism and entertainment to essential community services
like education and healthcare, few areas of modern life have not been
devastated by the pandemic.
However,
its impact has been far from uniform, particularly when it comes to gender.
Whereas research has shown that women were less likely to suffer from health
complications than men if they catch coronavirus, they are much more likely to
bear a social brunt, especially when it comes to the labour market, domestic
violence and unpaid work – whether that’s domestic work, childcare or looking
after elderly relatives.
According
to US based consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, “women make up 39 percent
of global employment but account for 54 percent of overall job losses to date”.
The main reason behind this, according to the paper, is that women are
shouldering the majority of unpaid work, which has increased with school
closures and healthcare sector challenges. This invariably ends up effecting
women’s job performance.
Women
are also overrepresented in the industry sectors that have suffered the most
under coronavirus, such as retail, hospitality and food services in which women
hold 54 percent of the global jobs. With those sectors slowing down because of
lockdown measures, women are inevitably impacted more than men.
Another
way coronavirus has negatively impacted women is in the increase of
gender-based domestic violence, which a policy brief by UN Women indicates has
increased by 25 percent in countries with reporting systems in place. This is
likely due to “crowded homes, substance abuse, limited access to services and
reduced peer support exacerbating pre-existing conditions.”
Women
in the Arab world are suffering under largely the same impacts of the pandemic
that their global peers are, but with more regional-specific nuances. To shed
more light on the impacts of coronavirus on women in the Arab region, Arabian
Business talked to the regional director of the coordination division of UN
Women, Moez Doraid.
AB:
What are the key objectives for UN Women in the Arab states for the remainder
of 2020 and into 2021?
Moez
Doraid: One of the UN Women’s key objectives in the Arab states is to end
discrimination against women. This manifests itself in three areas. The first
is to end violence against women such as domestic violence and also
gender-based violence in areas of conflict and crises. The second area is to
empower women economically through jobs, earning incomes and sustainable
livelihood. The third is to increase women’s economic participation with the
goal of having more women in parliament and leadership positions.
For
2021, of course the pandemic will be shaping our objectives because we want to
build better for women. The recovery plan should include gender and economic
responsibility and also ensure that we overcome this gender-based violence
which heightened in the pandemic because of the lockdown.
AB:
What, in your view, are the biggest challenges faced by women during the
Covid-19 pandemic – both regionally and globally?
MD:
We are facing a worsening of existing inequalities and discrimination against
women in several areas. The first is in domestic violence and gender-based
violence. Across the world, including in Arab countries, there has been a rise
in domestic violence against women.
AB:
Is it more pronounced in Arab countries as compared to other parts of the
world?
MD:
Generally, violence against women, according to our data, is slightly higher in
Arab countries compared to other regions. The estimate before the pandemic was
that about 37 percent of Arab women suffer from and are victims of domestic
violence at least once in their lifetimes. This compares to about 33 percent
for the world average. The pandemic has worsened this situation and we have
observed that from hotline services across the Arab world in places such as
Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia.
AB:
What are the other challenging areas you were mentioning?
MD:
The second one is economic empowerment. According to United Nations data,
during the pandemic an estimated 1.7 million jobs in the Arab region were lost,
700,000 of which are provided by women.
A
third area which we are focusing on both currently and in the coming year is
protection against the pandemic. During the pandemic we have helped distribute
and provided personal protection equipment in many Arab countries. This is
noteworthy because across the world, including in the Arab countries, women
constitute around 70 percent of workers in the healthcare sector. In countries
like Egypt, women constitute 90 percent of the nurses. In Lebanon, 80 percent
of the total Lebanese nursing staff are women so this protection issue is
important.
And
the last area to touch upon now is that of unpaid work. We are working with
other non-governmental agencies and donors and other partners to ensure men
take up responsibility in terms of household work, childcare and looking after
the elderly. Currently, in the Arab region, we have one of the highest
imbalances between the share of unpaid work provided by women and men. Here,
women work nearly five times more than men in these roles.
AB:
What has UN Women been doing to tackle this issue across the Arab region?
MD:
We have media campaigns in which we’ve partnered with media outlets such as
your magazine to raise awareness on changing traditional stereotypes. We also
aim to facilitate women’s participation in the labour market by, for example,
providing supporting services such as day-care. You know, the interesting thing
is that the pandemic offered some support for this issue because women
increased the time they spend on such unpaid work but at the same time men have
also increased the time they spend on unpaid work. So we have to sustain this
improvement in the time men spend on unpaid work.
AB:
In terms of schooling, do you think girls in the Arab region were more
disadvantaged than boys when it came to digital learning and education during
the pandemic?
MD:
In the Arab region, like in many other countries, women and girls are
disadvantaged in the school system with many societal preferences given to the
boy with respect to school enrolment. While we do not have exact data to answer
your question, there is definitely the phenomenon of girls being disadvantaged
during the remote-learning academic year in, for example, their access to equipment
or online access.
AB:
Some people would find it unusual, or maybe even inappropriate, that a man is
in charge of UN Women. How would you answer that and what is the value that you
have brought to this role?
MD:
Well, UN Women walks the walk, and applies what it preaches so there are no
gender discriminations in our jobs. What made UN Women appoint me to this job
is my experience and expertise in working for 30 years across the UN system in
development, poverty reduction and human rights. That has given me the
experience and the expertise which I bring to the job, not my gender.
AB:
Based on your experience in the UN, why do you think it is indispensable and
how can it adopt to the challenges of today and tomorrow?
MD:
You know, if the UN did not exist, the world would have had to create a UN. Dag
Hammarskjöld, one of the UN’s early secretary generals who was killed in the
service of the United Nations, said UN was established not to take humanity to
heaven but to save it from hell. We see indicators of that across the world.
In
the Arab region, for example, the UN leads and coordinates the world
humanitarian response to all of its worst conflicts that are taking place in
countries like Yemen and Syria. In Yemen, the UN system provides lifesaving
food and services to about 14 million Yemenis, the largest humanitarian
response and food provision in the world. Of course, UN Women is active in this
regard ensuring that women and girls receive their rightful and equal share.
In
Syria, the UN system is also very active whether in trying to negotiate with
the warring parties or developing humanitarian responses. We have succeeded, as
UN Women, in supporting Syrian women and Syrian parties in these negotiations
to ensure that 30 percent of the Syrian Constitutional Committee is composed of
women. This is because we know, from our analysis, that peace treaties which
have women engagement live longer and are more successful. Yet, only 26.8
percent of the peace negotiations in the Arab world have women participation in
them.
AB:
In October, UN Women is supporting the Arab Woman Awards. Why did you feel this
was important to you?
MD:
It is because recognition and credit are due. Through acknowledging successes
in advancing women’s rights by acknowledging accomplishments and achievements
of women, we publicise success stories that can be replicated by the multitude
of empowered ingenious women and girls.
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/451591-women-the-coronavirus
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