Call to sustain women empowerment progress in Bahrain

TDT | Manama                                                

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com     

Report by Ashen Tharaka

Women's empowerment in Bahrain has achieved tremendous progress when compared to the other countries in the GCC.

This fact was revealed at the 6th Annual Derasat Forum, which was held at the Wyndham Grand Hotel last night.

The main focus of the Derasat forum is to examine the causes of the existing gender imbalances by directly engaging current think tank leaders and the next generation, who will be looking to take over the reins in the coming decade.

H.E. Professor Hala Mohammad Jaber Al-Ansari, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Women, delivered the introductory speech in the event, and she affirmed that "Bahrain is ready to do anything to enhance the Bahraini women’s expertise and to raise the levels of their qualitative participation before the quantity."

"We need the support of regulatory bodies to enhance women's participation in the fields of scientific research," H.E. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Derasat Centre, highlighted during his remarks at the event.

Regional heads of women's empowerment programmes participated in this crucial forum to make an impactful dialogue to ensure women’s representation in the top positions of the region.

Incredible

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Tribune, Dr. Fernanda Lonardoni, Head of UN-Habitat Country Programme, Regional Office for Arab States, said: "Women’s representation in the Bahrain Parliament, Municipal Councils, and Government Entities is incredible."

Dr. Lonardoni added that "respect for women is a unique characteristic that we could see in Bahrain."

National initiatives in the field of women’s advancement and the governance of gender balance were discussed in the first session of the forum, which included five more topics related to women's empowerment.

Sessions were aimed at looking at empowerment and trust in female researchers by weighing the significance of their research cases and the extent to which positive outcomes had been consequently realised and addressed. Opportunities

Dr. Lynn Monzer, Associate Director of EmpowerME, Atlantic Council of the US, told The Daily Tribune that "Bahrain has talented women, but "we should expand opportunities for them in the economic sector." She added that "creating such an environment is not a big task for Bahrain."

Ideas

Hend Sameer Alawadhi, the first female aircraft engineer in Bahrain, participated in this forum to share her ideas with the global think tank leaders.

She said, "We should make our own ladder to climb up to achieve our goals. Bahrain is the best place to do that."

Derasat organised this global forum in partnership with the Supreme Council of Women to showcase Bahrain’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030.

The forum will continue until tonight, and the last session will discuss the topic "Eliminating Misconceptions".