The Royal University for Women organizes a dialogue with women parliamentarians & Shura Council Members

27,Feb 2021

The Royal University for Women organizes a dialogue with women parliamentarians and Shura Council Members

As part of its annual tradition in celebrating the National Action Charter of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Royal University for Women organized a dialogue hosting Shura Council member H.E Ms Fatima Abdul Jabar Al Kooheji, and parliamentarians including H.E Deputy Ms Zainab AbdulAmeer Ebrahim, H.E Deputy Ms Sawsan Mohammed Kamal, and H.E Deputy Ms Masooma Hasan AbdulRahim, for a talk about Bahraini women participation in the National Action Charter, the legislative life and the decision making in the parliamentary – Nuwab Council and Al-Shura Council. The dialogue was moderated by Dr Samar Al Bargouthy, Associate Professor at the College of Business & Financial Sciences and witnessed the attendance of more than 100 students from different colleges of the university. 

The Acting President of the Royal University for Women, Dr Mona Suri, delivered a welcoming speech in which she congratulated all Bahrainis and welcomed the speakers participating in the event and highlighted that the Kingdom of Bahrain, since the establishment of the National Action Charter 20 years ago has witnessed women empowerment and advancement in its best initiatives and actions and that RUW is proud of holding this annual celebration despite the circumstances of COVID-19 which made it happen virtually instead.

The dialogue started with H.E Ms Zainab Abdulameer, a parliamentarian in the Nuwab Council, who explained that currently she in Cairo representing the kingdom of Bahrain as a parliament in the Arabian Parliament, which is one of many indicators on Bahraini Women empowerment within the rights and opportunities given to her through the National Action Charter. Ms AbdulAmeer said that the National Action Charter included unprecedented initiatives that aimed to empower and advance Bahraini Women, starting with having six Bahraini women as members in creating the National Action Charter project in the year 2000, and then voting for this project on 15 & 14 February 2001 which had 49% representing the Bahraini women participation. She also explained that the National Action Charter emphasized equal opportunities for men and women which resulted in having female members in the Parliament and Shura Council. 

H.E Ms Fatima Abdul Jabar Al Kooheji, member of the Al-Shura Council added that the National Action Charter highlighted that the Family is the basis of the society and the goodness of the family results in the goodness of the society overall, which is driven by morals, religion, faith and the love of the country and nation. This all resulted in having rules and regulations that protected and assured the rights of women and children. She lauded that the National Action Charter is a milestone in the national history of the Kingdom of Bahrain and a qualitative leap that transformed the work in all fields with granting freedom, equality and political rights and became a strong base for building the modern state and investing in the Bahraini people as they are the key to the country’s success. 

H.E Dr Masooma Hasan AbdulRahim also mentioned that Bahraini women, during the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, marked themselves in many fields already and her empowerment was completely shown during the current COVID-19 circumstances and explained that for the goal of assuring the health and safety of the society and for the love of their country, we remember the medical staff who have put themselves in the frontline during this pandemic. Ms AbdulRahim said that Bahrain women statistics in the health sector who worked and contributed during this pandemic were 80% working in the executive positions were Bahrain women, 64% working in quarantine and checkup centres were Bahraini women, 75% frontline workers to heal patients of COVID-19 were Bahraini women, 71% of workers in laboratories are Bahraini women, 69% of workers in specialty jobs were Bahraini women, 68% of the doctors were Bahraini women, 76% of the nurses were Bahraini women, 78% of workers in the data analysis are Bahraini women too. She emphasized that these statistics of Bahraini women working to compact the COVID-19 is a source of proud to the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

H.E Ms Sawsan Mohammed Kamal highlighted the times that were pre-the National Action Charter and explained that the political life experience was initially practised in 1973 and it was stopped for some certain circumstances in 1975 to be resumed partially again through the creation of the Al-Shura Council in 1992 and then to be finally formed in its completed way as of what we are witnessing today through the National Action Charter and the Reform Project of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in which it envisioned the democratic life practised fully and the progress of the national development.

The Dialogue gave an opportunity to RUW students to interact with eminent women leaders, who are the befitting role models for the youth of today.