GCC women attends conference in London

Also attending were HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom, his wife, HRH Princess Nouf bint Fahad and HE Khalid Al-Dwaisan, Kuwait Ambassador to the United Kingdom, the conference was successfully concluded.

The conference highlighted the role of GCC women in business, politics, education and the media.
Dr. Alanoud Al Sharekh: "Women of the Arabian Gulf have entered divergent fields in the labor force and play a broad role in today's social infrastructure. It is time to redefine their role."

The seminars were led by several academics such as Dr. Sabri Hafith, Lecturer, Contemporary Arabic Literature, SOAS.

"The fundamental aim of this conference is to unveil the fact that women's presence in the public eye in the GCC does not reflect the high qualifications these women have attained, nor the substantial role that they play within today's social infrastructure, despite their entering divergent fields in the labor force," stated Dr. Alanoud Mohammed Al Sharkeh, Head of the English Department, Arab Open University, Member of Kuwaiti Women's Cultural Society, and responsible for organizing the conference. Dr. Al Sharekh expressed her delight at the great success achieved by the conference & the positive media coverage it attracted, in addition to the exceptional attendance which included member of the Arab community in the UK, informed researchers & academics interested in the Arabian Gulf society, and the Kuwait & Saudi embassies in the United Kingdom.

The aim of the conference was to present a realistic picture of GCC women to the western world and to investigate newly established leadership roles for women. The conference focused on women's roles in the economic sector and the role of GCC business women. The discussion groups tackled various topics related to women concerning education, the media, politics, women's roles in these fields and the challenges they face.

The keynote address was delivered by HRH Princess Lulwah Al Faisal, Vice Chairman of the Board & the General Supervisor of Effat College, Jeddah, Member "Women's Uprising Association", Riyadh, in which she deliberated that Saudi & GCC women play an important & growing role in their society and country within the framework of the religious teachings, traditions & culture. Dr. Rasha Al Sabah, Under Secretary Ministry for Higher Education, Kuwait, delivered the closing speech in which she called for making higher education available to GCC women with the aim of enhancing their role within the society.

The conference was sectioned into four panels, each dealing with various women's issues related to business, politics, education & the media. The conference also presented the achievements of GCC women and the obstacles they face. A select group of political, economical, social & academic activists from five GCC countries; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar & Bahrain, participated in the conference. The panels witnessed discussions, interventions & many discussion papers which reflect a positive & widespread development in the manifestation of women's affairs & a variety of opinions concerning the difficulties women face in establishing a presence in the social, political & economical arena that is proportionate to their numbers in the society.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, CEO, Tejari.com, UAE, presented a discussion paper entitled "Business & Technology: The Challenges & The Obstacles", which addressed the importance of technology in the development of GCC women's activities in this field.

Sheikha Hanadi Al Thani, Vice President Nasser Bin Khaled Al-Thani & Sons, presented her paper entitled "Women in Qatar: Partners in Development." Dr. Fawziah Bakr Al-Bakr, Associate Professor, College of Education King Saud University, Riyadh, presented a paper entitled "Women & Education in Saudi: Suffering the changes," Mouza Saeed Al Otaiba delivered a detailed explanation of education system in the GCC. Speakers also included MEP Emma Bonino, European Parliament, former European Commissioner, Dr. Fakhria Shaaban, Member of the Shura Council, Bahrain, Dr. Maha Azzam, RIIA, Dr. Hayat Sindi, Schlumberger Senior Research Fellow, University of Cambridge, Dr. Gail Ramsay, Upsalla University, Sweden and Dr. Naomi Sakhr, University of Westminster.

"Women of the GCC have a broad freedom within the private family sector, this freedom should be widened to include the public sectors, too" stated Robert Springberg, Head of the London Middle East institute.

The conference was supported by The Kuwait British Friendship Society, headed by Abdullah Bshara and the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in London.