A Symposium at Arab Open University by The Northern Governorate Celebrating Bahraini Women's Day
“The high level of trust from the part of His Majesty has granted Bahraini women this ‘decision-making status’”, said Al-Asfoor.
On the occasion of Bahraini Women's Day, which falls on the first of December, His Excellency Mr. Ali Al-Asfoor, Governor of the Northern Governorate, extended his best congratulations and sincere blessings on behalf of the people of the Northern Governorate to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and to Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty, President of the Supreme Council for Women.
During the symposium held by the Governorate at Arab Open University, His Excellency, Mr. Al-Asfoor stated that the high level of trust from the part of His Majesty has granted Bahraini women this ‘decision-making status’, as His Majesty began his reformation project in his auspicious era by establishing the Supreme Council for Women and granting Bahraini women the right to vote and to be nominated in the 2002 constitution, which was the first breakthrough for women in the political, social and economic fields. Furthermore, as His Majesty granted his royal trust to the Bahraini woman, he enabled her to occupy the largest positions, as a minister, judge speaker of the House of Representatives, a member of The Bahraini Parliament, of the Shura Council, of the Municipality, an ambassador and/or a diplomat at various international organizations.
His Excellency added that as The Northern Governorate celebrates, today, the Bahraini Women's Day by holding this symposium as part of its celebrations of the National Holidays. During such events, he asserted, we recall the developmental roles of women in the Kingdom of Bahrain as indicators of the comprehensive national development—all followed by success stories achieved by Bahraini women, stressing the solidarity of the Northern Governorate with the Supreme Council for Women in supporting its policies regarding gender equality and women's empowerment in all fields. Finally, Mr. Al-Asfoor congratulated all attendees and thanked the cadres of Arab Open University for hosting this symposium.
Engineer Rana Ahmed Khalifa, Planning Advisor at the Supreme Council for Women, indicated that the Council is working with all official authorities to introduce more laws and legislations to contribute to the empowerment of women; so as to assert their gender equality in all fields and ensure their social rights.
From her part, Mrs. Zainab Attia, representative of the Ministry of Labor, confirmed that 35% of the workforce in the Kingdom of Bahrain are women, with hopes to increase this ratio by Ministry of Labo; seeking to empower Bahraini women.
Dr. Fajr Mohammed Danesh, Head of the Student Counseling Unit at Arab Open University in the Kingdom of Bahrain, praised the efforts made by His Majesty the King's and the Bahraini Government to empower Bahraini women and grant them equal rights in all fields.
Later on, Engineer Noor Al-Mutawa highlighted the role of women in urban development, praising the initiative of Her Royal Highness, Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women, to launch the “Ever Green Bahrain” campaign that is aimed at farming and increasing green areas which might be declining in the face of urban sprawl. She further focused on the role of women in this regard and their individual efforts to maintain sustainability and food security.
The symposium was then concluded with the speech by the artist Dr. Zainab Swar, who showed that all successive civilizations that lived in the Kingdom of Bahrain have emphasized the role of agriculture on the life of the Bahraini people, linking this to art and its effects on the social and economic development of Bahrain.
At last, attendees were welcomed to take part to further add and discuss their views, after which His Excellency the Governor and his Deputy thanked and honored all participants, handing everyone a rose.