Women’s right to secure work environment underlined

The Researchers’ Center for Women Studies (RCWS) reaffirmed in Riyadh on Sunday the recommendations of the first Saudi women’s conference on the rights and duties of women in Islam that included the need to provide a secure working environment for them.The forum, which dealt with 15 papers on the issue, featured prominent scholars, think-tanks and specialists, including Saleh Abdurahman Al-Hussein, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs and former Minister of Social Affairs Ali Al-Namla. Talking to Arab News, RCWS' Secretary-General Fuad Abdul Kareem Al-Abdul Kareem said the forum, which came out with 18 resolutions, reaffirmed its opposition to foreign interference in the internal affairs of Saudi women. He suggested women could work from home in cooperation with relevant government bodies.The resolutions of the conference were read out on Sunday night by Dr. Noorah Ibrahim Al-Omar, RCWS' director for women affairs. The forum called for drafting papers relating to family and women’s rights so that they could be referred for approval. Other resolutions included working on a documentary that would outline the legal rights of Saudi women and to put in place appropriate procedures and an effective mechanism enabling women to gain quick access to their legal rights.It also called for reviewing and upgrading the system for women’s rights, as well as simplifying the mechanism for enforcing legal provisions for a divorcee in a way that would safeguard their rights and those of their children and ensure their dignity, justice and fairness. There was a call to include women’s legal rights in the Saudi school curriculum, to support agencies working for family law reforms, to order government bodies and NGOs in their respective fields to undertake awareness campaign and also educate women on their rights.It said women needed to be provided with a safe working environment. The forum called for facilitating and supporting the establishment of associations, institutions and centers for educating women on their rights and promoting human rights issues.It recommended conducting studies on the bilateral agreements concluded by government agencies with some international bodies to avoid any negative impact on women’s rights.The forum said women who stayed at home should be paid a monthly allowance to look after her family and community. It stressed the need to rid Saudi society of customs and traditions that deny women legal rights through awareness programs and the media.It also came out in favor of limiting the arbitrary manner in which some men abuse their rights over women. To this end, it recommended that scholars, preachers, intellectuals and the media should be mobilized as part of a mission to educate the community on women’s rights. The forum recommended holding regular meetings to debate other rights and duties of women.The first Saudi forum on women’s rights in Islam, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, was held at the Hotel Intercontinental in Riyadh under the patronage of Princess Cheetah bint Abdullah.