Bahrain Participates in the 69th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women
Bahrain took part in the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), represented by Lulwa Saleh Al Awadhi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW). The session, taking place in New York, is chaired by Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasil, Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative to the UN.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the ongoing struggles faced by women and girls in many countries, emphasizing the need for CSW to drive transformation and promote peace and dignity for women worldwide. Dennis Francis, President of the UN General Assembly, also underscored the importance of accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The session saw participation from key figures, including Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, and Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, as well as representatives from the European Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Arab Group. The event featured a political declaration marking the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and focused on evaluating the Beijing Declaration, advancing gender equality, and setting global standards for women's empowerment.
Al Awadhi attended a side event hosted by Kuwait titled "Women and Technology: Inspiring Stories from the GCC Countries," where Shaima Shawqi Al Meer, Senior Space Data Analyst at Bahrain's National Space Science Agency (NSSA), shared insights into Bahraini women's achievements in technology, emerging sciences, and innovation. She highlighted Bahrain's commitment to empowering women in technology through initiatives in STEM fields and the establishment of a supportive startup ecosystem.
Al Meer noted that 63% of NSSA employees are women, with 50% holding executive roles and 43% in engineering positions. She also emphasized the Kingdom's dedication to equipping women with future-ready skills in AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and data science, supporting sustainable development and economic growth.
During the GCC side event, Al Awadhi stressed that Gulf countries have influential economies and that women in the region enjoy equal opportunities and services. She also mentioned that there is no gender wage gap in the GCC, attributing rapid economic progress to gender-inclusive legislation.
Al Awadhi attended the "Mother of the Nation" exhibition, organized by the UAE, celebrating the contributions of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak in advancing women's empowerment. Bahrain's delegation also participated in Saudi Arabia's side event, "From Vision to Reality: Saudi Arabia's Story of Women's Empowerment," highlighting women's progress under Vision 2030.
Additionally, Al Awadhi held a meeting with Dr. Moez Doraid, Regional Director of UN Women for the Arab States, to discuss preparations for the launch of the third edition of the Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women's Empowerment, set to launch on March 11 in New York as part of CSW69.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
Syrian Islamist Leader Sharaa Will Speak At UN
The Islamist group which rules Syria from Damascus, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has long been designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, US and UK. But once the hardline group toppled Assad, things changed rapidly. The group's leader and self-declared interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) until very recently had a $10 million bounty on his head. In May, President Trump met with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, praising his 'very strong past' – after which US sanctions on Syria were dropped. That 'strong past' was terrorism plain and simple, including attacks on civilians and overseeing Sharia executions in AQ-held Idlib provice. A week before the Gulf meeting with Trump, Sharaa had suggested the idea of building a Trump Tower in Damascus. Since then, Sharaa has engaged with several US delegations, pushing for positive relations amid an effort to present a 'moderated' and 'reformed' leadership, despite that Jolani had even been part of ISIS early in the Syrian proxy war. This is why a headline which emerged Tuesday is absurd and shocking: the man who founded the Syrian al-Qaeda group Al-Nusra Front is coming to America. One international report says: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will visit New York in September to participate in the United Nations General Assembly, according to Sky News Arabic. Reports of Sharaa's intention to address the UN have emerged in Arabic-language media in recent weeks. This would mark the first time a Syrian president has addressed the UN since June 1967, when Nureddin al-Atassi did so after Israel's victory in the Six Day War. Earlier this week, the US endorsed Sharaa's controversial proposal to integrate thousands of foreign jihadists from his group, HTS, into the Syrian military. This is tantamount to Washington nodding in agreement with a plan to regularize global jihadists in the heart of the Middle East. However, Sharaa has certainly not been universally welcomed even in the region. In April, Iraq invited him to the Arab League summit in Baghdad, but his past as a senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) led to strong opposition, given AQI is responsible for thousands of brutal killings of Iraqi civilians. Sharaa chose not to attend the Arab League amid the pressure, and his reported upcoming visit to the UN in New York City could provoke similar resistance. The legal loop hole in all this is that despite his terrorism past, US law allows for sitting heads of state to attend UN headquarters in NY City. And this question is somewhat moot anyway, given that President Trump has already full embraced him, during last month's Riyadh visit.
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
US Warns Britain & France Not To Recognize Palestinian State
The US has warned Britain and France against recognizing a Palestinian state at a UN conference later this month, Middle East Eye can reveal. France and Saudi Arabia are set to co-host a major UN conference on the two-state solution beginning on June 17 in New York. France is reportedly gearing up to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at the conference. MEE understands that France has been lobbying Britain to do so as well. French officials believe the British government is onboard with the plan, according to French media. But Washington privately begun to warn Britain and France against unilaterally recognizing Palestine, sources with knowledge of the matter in the British Foreign Office told MEE. At the same time Arab states are urging them to proceed with the move, sources said. In late May, UN member states held consultations in preparation for the conference during which the Arab Group urged states to recognize Palestinian statehood. The Arab Group said they would measure the success of the conference by whether significant states recognize Palestine, Foreign Office sources added. Click here to read more… Source Zero Hedge
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
UN says ‘deadly attacks' around Gaza aid sites ‘a war crime'
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said yesterday that 'deadly attacks' on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime'. Rescuers in the Palestinian territory said Israeli fire targeting civilians near an aid distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah killed 27 people yesterday, raising an earlier toll. It came after a similar incident on Sunday when rescuers said 31 people were killed at the same location, witnesses saying they had been on their way to collect aid. 'Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza are unconscionable,' Turk said in a statement. 'For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured.' The US-backed GHF is a recently formed group that Israel has cooperated with to implement a new aid distribution mechanism in Gaza. The United Nations does not work with the foundation because of concerns that it does not meet core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. Turk called for a prompt and impartial investigation into each attack, and for those responsible to be held to account. 'Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime,' he said. 'Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism. 'This militarised system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned.'
