Qatar Stresses Commitment to Women's Empowerment

The State of Qatar stressed Thursday on the importance of providing all resources that help in the empowerment of women in all fields and backing all regional and international efforts in that regard.
This came in Qatar's statement during the sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which was read by Najat Daham Al Abdullah, who is the director of family affairs at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor, and Social Affairs.
Al Abdullah said that holding the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women was important due to the emphasis on empowering women as part of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. She highlighted the fifth and eighth goal in particular, which focus on achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, as well as promoting inclusive economic growth.
In light of gaining high rankings in recent years in the Human Development Index, Qatar remained committed to ensure that the benefit of that growth goes to women and men equally. The statement noted that Qatar National Vision 2030 prioritized the empowerment of women through her right to work and enhancing social protection for women. Qatar also remains committed to all the international and regional agreements it signed on the rights of women led by The UN's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the statement added. Qatar's statement then discussed the legislation in Qatar and highlighted that it prevents discrimination against women when it comes to employment, whether in the public or private sector. It also provides women with equal opportunities with men in the assumption of leadership positions.
Al Abdullah highlighted that Qatari women worked as ministers, ambassadors, and directors of public and private institutions. Qatari women also became the region's first judges and prosecutors, Al Abdullah added.
Qatari law also ensures women's right to balance between their work and families. Qatar also encourages dividing family responsibility between all its members through a number of means including providing flexible workhours, providing the option to work from home, and offering maternity leave. As a result from such policies, Al Abdullah says that Qatari women participated at a higher rate in the work force in profession in diplomacy, medicine, academia and police.
She noted that females represent 35.1 percent of the workforce in Qatar, which is higher than the average percentage in the region. This statistic reflected the increased access to education that women benefited from in Qatar. Al Abdullah added.
The statement said that Qatar also encourages to get involved in business activities and implemented a number of projects to encourage women to establish their own small businesses at home. These projects involved helping the women market their products.
Al Abdullah then stressed on the importance of international cooperation to empower women. She highlighted Qatar's role in helping out women in countries suffering from poverty that resulted from violence and occupation.
The Administrative Development official concluded the statement by expressing Qatar's alarm at the difficult conditions facing Palestinian women in the occupied territories, particularly in Gaza strip. The statement called on intensifying efforts in order to improve the situation of women in Palestine and support all her human rights, starting with the right to establish and independent Palestine states in line with international resolutions.

Source: QNA