Nobel Prize Winning Women

From The Nation:

History was made yesterday when Liberian and Africa’s first democratically elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, led two other women to win the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

The others are: a Liberian peace activist, Leyma Gbowee and a woman who stood up to Yemen’s authoritarian regime, Tawakkul Karman. Tawakkul is the first Arab woman to win the prize.

The trio won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to secure women’s rights, which the prize committee described as fundamental to advancing world peace.

The 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award was therefore split among them.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured the three women “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,” the prize committee said.

Johnson Sirleaf, the 72-year-old Harvard-trained economist, became Africa’s first democratically elected female president in 2005.

Gbowee, who organised a group of Christian and Muslim women to challenge Liberia’s warlords, was honoured for mobilising women “across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women’s participation in elections.”

Karman is a 32-year-old mother of three who heads the human rights group, Women Journalists without Chains. She has been a leading figure in organising protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that kicked off in late January as part of a wave of anti-authoritarian revolts that have convulsed the Arab world.

  

Read more at the Guardian:

Arab Women Protestors - Figureheads & Mascots

From The Guardian:

A common theme since the Arab uprisings started has been the celebration of the role of women in the protests. Some have even gone so far as to say that the "stereotype of the submissive, repressed victim has been shattered by female protesters in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen". I am not sure that women on the ground in these countries feel the same way, or feel that their participation in the protests is unprecedented.

While the prominence of women in the revolutions has been moving, there is a psychology behind celebrating and glorifying women's political activity when it is part of a popular push. In these times women are almost tokenised by men as the ultimate downtrodden victims, the sign that things are desperate, that even members of the fairer sex are leaving their hearths and taking to the streets. The perception isn't that women are fighting for their own rights, but merely that they are underwriting the revolution by bringing their matronly dignity to the crowd like some mascot.

Most Powerful Arab Woman

From the Khaljee Times:

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi has been named the most powerful Arab woman and the 70th most powerful woman in the world by US-based Forbes magazine.

According to Forbes’ list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Shaikha Lubna is “a regional power in her own right” and constantly works to improve the UAE’s global status and bolster the federal government’s efforts to diversify the country’s economy. Her persistent calls for a trade policy that is based on openness and competitiveness helped put the UAE on the road to economic recovery and development, the magazine said.

Shaikha Lubna is the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the UAE: She is former minister of economy and current Minister of Foreign Trade, having run a successful online auction company and worked as a manager for the agency charged with automating the UAE’s federal government, Forbes explained.

Choosing Shaikha Lubna in the 70th place on the list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women was a recognition of her fight to improve the rights of women in the region and humanitarian efforts for sustainable development and issues of children and the youth in other Arab and Muslim countries.

Saudi Women Are Country's Biggest Assets

From Arab News:

A large portion of the Kingdom’s wealth is in the hands of its women who are believed to be sitting on cash totaling $11.9 billion.

“The Kingdom has a veritable treasure trove of human and financial capital in the form of its women who control a large portion of the country’s wealth,” said a report released on Monday by the Cayman Islands-based asset management firm Al-Masah Capital.

Women constitute almost 45 percent of the country’s population, and have a literacy rate of 79 percent. Yet, only 65 percent of them are employed, revealing the huge potential for women employment. In fact 78.3 percent of unemployed women are university graduates.

The report, titled “The Saudi Woman — A catalyst for change,” stated that women could become a major growth driver for the country’s diversification policy with their considerable wealth, which is lying idle, being channeled into the country’s money supply.

Saudi women are not alone. Women in the Middle East controlled 22 percent or $0.7 trillion of the region’s total assets under management (AUM) in 2009. The region, consequently, ranked fifth globally in terms of AUM controlled by women.

A Return To Virginity

From BBC News:

Young Arab women wait in an upmarket medical clinic for an operation that will not only change their lives, but quite possibly save it. Yet the operation is a matter of choice and not necessity. It costs about 2,000 euros (£1,700) and carries very little risk.

The clinic is not in Dubai or Cairo, but in Paris. And the surgery they are waiting for is to restore their virginity.

Whether in Asia or the Arab world, an unknown number of women face an agonising problem having broken a deep taboo. They've had sex outside marriage and if found out, risk being ostracised by their communities, or even murdered.

Now more and more of them are undergoing surgery to re-connect their hymens and hide the any sign of past sexual activity. They want to ensure that blood is spilled on their wedding night sheets.

The social pressure is so great that some women have even taken their own lives.

Saudi Poet Attacks Clerics

From Google News:

A Saudi housewife's bold poems which blast "evil" extremist fatwas by Muslim clerics have earned her death threats but could yet win her a 1.3-million-dollar poetry contest on Emirati television.

Ahead of Wednesday's finals of the "Million's Poet" aired weekly on Abu Dhabi state television, the poems have put Hissa Hilal, who wears a traditional head-to-toe black "abaya" cloak and veils her face, in the spotlight.

If on March 31 she is announced the winner, she will walk away with the grand prize from the competition, which draws masters of bedouin dialect poetry, known as Nabati, which is highly appreciated by Gulf Arabs.

But Hilal has drawn the wrath of Islamist conservatives in her country after criticising its strict segregation of the sexes and blasting fatwas that reject an easing to allow women to take on jobs that are currently for men only.

Bedouin Women of the Negev

From the Alternative Information Centre:

Many women in the West perceived the women of the East as a woman of the noble savage, an obedient woman who sits at home. Their perception of Arab women in the East was a colonial one, and over the years the Bedouin woman was transformed into a magical oriental object. Bedouin women in Israel became exotic research subjects for external researchers, both women and men, who tagged the women as obedient, helpless and under the limitations of male tradition and structures of oppression of both society and the state. The accepted perception was that under these structures, the Bedouin women have no chance to move forward, see the light and liberate themselves from the oppression.

The feminism of Bedouin women is necessary not only for them; their struggle for gender is a struggle for an improvement in the condition of the Bedouin society in general. Their personal struggle is also a political struggle.

JEF: Ushers a Hit

From Arab News:

The Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) has always attracted the attention of young people who want to learn and gain new experiences. It is no surprise to see young men and women, dressed in black and white, standing in every corner with warm smiles on their faces, helping and guiding those attending the forum.

The Gulf Research Center, the organizers of the JEF, has collaborated with Spot Event Management and gave Spot the opportunity to hire the young people. The presence and quality of the ushers is one of the few things that have been well managed at this year's JEF. The young girls wear black abayas and white headscarves and are friendly and professional, giving directions, answering questions and providing headphones for translation.

The volunteers were chosen for their qualifications and experience. "I collected resumes and we chose 17 qualified girls to take part as volunteers at the JEF," she added. The age of the young women ranges from 20 to 23 and they were chosen from different universities and educational institutions in and around Jeddah. They will each receive a certificate at the end of the event.

Saudi Arabia: Women Lawyers

From Arab News:

Justice Minister Muhammad Al-Eisa said on Thursday the Kingdom’s efforts to revamp the judicial system were well under way and that women would eventually be allowed to practice as lawyers representing women clients.

Speaking about women lawyers, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Guwair, director of the Department of Lawyers at the Saudi Ministry of Justice, said they would soon be allowed to represent women clients.

“The women will be issued a restrictive form of license that will give them access to certain areas of the courts and in cases in which they are representing women clients only,” he said.

UAE: Empowering Women

From Gulf News:

Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation and Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, said the achievements by UAE women have made them an important part of the development process.

These achievements and gains reflect a bright future and promise more in the coming years, Shaikha Fatima said in an interview with Al Mar'a Al Youm (woman today) magazine, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

She said the development of women in the UAE started when the late Shaikh Zayed became the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966.

"Emirati women have four ministerial positions now, which is among the highest rates in the Arab world. They also have 9 out of 40 parliamentary seats, which is one of the highest women's representation rates in the world," she said.

"In 2008, the first batch of Emirati judges and public prosecutors was appointed, as well as the first two female ambassadors. "We have over 12,000 businesswomen running 11,000 investment projects worth over Dh12.5 billion," she said, adding that the UAE laws consider women equal to men in all walks of life.

"Women have the rights of work, social security, ownership and business management. They also enjoy education, health and social care, equal salaries to men, as well as maternity leave, which is guaranteed by the civil service law," she said.

Arab Women - Science & Technology

From Zawya:

Under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, Honorary President of Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the conference on "Arab Women in Science and Technology" starts today at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. The conference, including the opening ceremony, will last for a total of three days, closing on the 30th September 2009.

The conference is organised by the Arab Science & Technology Foundation (ASTF)Arab Science & Technology Foundation (ASTF)Arab Science and Technology Foundation ASTF, in cooperation with the DBWC, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) and Etisal Event Management company.

The Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTFASTFArab Science and Technology Foundation is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit regional and international organization. ASTFASTFArab Science and Technology Foundation ASTF was formed out of a need expressed by Arab scientists to develop practical means to advance science and technology (S&T) in the Arab region. During the first international symposium on "Scientific Research Outlook in the Arab World and the New Millennium: Science and Technology," which was held at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in April 2000, 400 Arab scientists from around the world decided to found ASTFASTFArab Science and Technology Foundation ASTF as a non-governmental, non-profit Pan-Arab organization. ASTFASTFArab Science and Technology Foundation ASTF plays the role of mediator between those who produce, develop and fund scientific research on the one hand and those who benefit from it on the other. In all its activities, ASTFASTFArab Science and Technology Foundation ASTF assumes the role of Catalyst, Mediator, and Supporter of innovation in Science and Technology in the Arab world.

Secret crime society ignores

From Gulf Daily News:
"It is stunning that so many Bahraini wives filing for divorce have been victims of violence at the hands of their husbands - 91 per cent according to figures published yesterday in the GDN.

I was also shocked to read that Bahrain's penal law exempts even rapists from punishment, if they are able to persuade the victim to marry them.

Given that society tends to put more blame on the victim than the rapist, I suspect quite a lot of women over the years have had to marry the monsters who attacked them.

To them, this would be the lesser of two evils, since they risk being ostracised by society as 'soiled goods', with no-one likely to offer them the chance of a genuinely loving marriage.

Violence within the home is a social disease that crosses all borders, so it is by no means unique to Bahrain.

But in many other countries, it is taken more seriously as a criminal offence, whereas here it is seen largely as a domestic issue, even when it involves violence against, or the sexual abuse of children."

The Story of Hafsah

From Arab News:
"Hafsah was the only one among the Prophet’s wives who was divorced by the Prophet (peace be upon him). There are several reports suggesting the reason for the divorce, but none of them carries much weight so as to be more probable. It is perhaps better to say that the main reason was Hafsah’s own character, while one or the other of these suggested reasons triggered the Prophet’s action. She was a woman of strong character, bold and self-assured. When the Prophet divorced her, she was extremely sad. However, it was her father who felt the divorce to be his own personal catastrophe.

However, the divorce did not last long. The angel Gabriel came to the Prophet with this order: “God commands you to take Hafsah back, as a kindness to Umar.” Another report suggests that Gabriel said: “God commands you to take Hafsah back, for she is a highly devoted servant of God and she is your wife in heaven.” Needless to say, the Prophet immediately carried out God’s order and Hafsah was back as one of the Prophet’s wives, the mothers of all believers."

UAE Women Leaderships Programme

From Gulf News:
"His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday urged Emirati women to employ all their capabilities and energies to develop themselves and serve their society in all fields.

The statement was made when Shaikh Mohammad attended part of the introductory day of the UAE Women Leaderships programme, organised by the Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) in cooperation with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development."

No Divorce for 8yo Girl

From the Mail Online:
" A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty.

The divorce plea was filed in August by the girl's divorced mother with a court at Unayzah, 135 miles north of Riyadh just after the marriage contract was signed by the father and the groom.

Arranged marriages involving pre-adolescents are occasionally reported in the Arabian Peninsula, including in Saudi Arabia where the strict conservative Wahabi version of Sunni Islam holds sway and polygamy is common."

EU Prize for Saudi Women's Group

From the Daily Star:

"A Saudi charity which helps divorced and underprivileged women has won a European Union prize for human-rights groups in the Gulf, the Riyadh office of the European Commission said Wednesday. The Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women won the first $7,760 Chaillot Prize over several other rights groups for its range of activities, including preparing underprivileged and under-educated women for jobs, setting up a school for children with Down Syndrome, and assisting needy families, according to the European Commission (EC).

The award was announced to mark the 60th anniversary on Wednesday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, originally presented to the UN General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris."

Saudi Women

This is an old article - from 2003 - but I found it still quite pertinent today.

Bright Future Awaits Saudi Women" by Samar Fatany
"Young women today are more aware of their strengths and capabilities. They are no longer intimidated by the male-dominated culture that continues to marginalize their role in society. The status of women in the Kingdom is slowly changing, and women remain determined to assert their position as contributing citizens in all fields: Socially, economically and politically.

The government has provided more opportunities for women in the work force. The latest statistics show that 54 percent of university graduates are women. Employers seek these well-qualified women due to their determination and professionalism.

Saudi women are slowly learning to take advantage of the newly introduced laws, as well as existing ones. They also continue to demand the elimination of discriminatory laws governing legal guardianship, exclusion from the Shoura Council and standing for municipal elections. Women attorneys still await the right to practice law. Women hope to achieve better lives and brighter futures for their sons and daughters. They continue to challenge policies that discriminate against them and elements that resist modernization and constructive change."

But there was one paragraph that really caught my attention:
"The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has implemented new laws to protect women in the work force. Under the new labor law, pregnant women are protected from termination due to maternity leave issues. Women get 10 weeks of maternity pay — four weeks before birth and six weeks after — in addition to the one-month paid vacation allowed to all workers. Employers have to pay full pregnancy-related health expenses. Moreover, companies that employ more than 50 women are now required to have onsite nurseries, and women get an hour during the shift to breastfeed. The laws also stipulate that in the event of employers failing to follow the new regulations, labor office branches will follow up on complaints in order to ensure compliance."

Why did this take my attention - simply because here in Australia we are still arguing over whether women should be entitled to paid maternity leave - and this is 2008! The question of whether women who took maternity should be paid has been hotly debated in Parliament since 2001. Don't get me wrong - women can take maternity leave - unpaid maternity leave!

In 2007, the Australian Democrats (Australian political party) "re-introduced historic federal legislation to establish a paid maternity leave scheme that would provide all working women with 14 weeks Government-funded leave at the minimum wage on the birth or adoption of a child." (Source: Australian Democrats website).

From the ACTU website: "Paid Maternity Leave Is Long Overdue"
"Australia lags well behind the rest of the world in supporting new mothers. Over 157 nations around the world have some kind of paid maternity leave provision. The consequences of Australia not having paid maternity leave means that Australia has one of the lowest levels of workforce participation for women between the ages of 25 and 44 and is ranked 23 out of 24 OCED nations. Australia and the United States are the only two OECD countries that do not offer paid maternity leave.

The ACTU has been campaigning since 1979 to get a government funded paid maternity scheme and we firmly believe that now is the best opportunity to achieve a 14 week scheme that we can build on in the future."

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel .... There was this report from the ABC last week: "Unions Praise Woolworths' Paid Maternity Leave"
"The ACTU [Australian Council of Trade Unions] has praised supermarket chain Woolworths for its plans to introduce paid maternity leave entitlements for staff. From next month, women who have held permanent positions for at least two years will be entitled to up to eight weeks' leave at full pay.It is a similar plan to the one introduced by retailer Myer earlier this year.ACTU president Sharan Burrow says she hopes other retailers will follow suit."This is good news, good news for the women, good news for their families of course, but also good news for Woolworths and the economy more broadly, as women are more easily able to return to work knowing that they've had a period of job security," she said."


So, those of you who have it (paid maternity leave) - enjoy it! Whilst those of us who don't, will just have to keep on waiting.