http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=61773&d=8&m=4&y=2005&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
Friday, 8, April, 2005 (28, Safar, 1426)
More Needs to Be Done on Women's Empowerment'
M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News
RIYADH, 8 April 2005 - Saudi Arabia should exert more efforts to
integrate women in mainstream Saudi society. Despite efforts made by Riyadh to
promote the status of women, it is widely seen that Saudi women have little
role to play in many domains of public life.
This is one of the key issues addressed by the Arab Human Development
Report (AHDR). The report was released by El-Mostafa Benlamlih, United Nations
resident coordinator, at the UN office here. The releasing ceremony was
attended by senior UN officials and newsmen including Mamoon Muhsen, UNHCR's
external affairs officer, and Dima Bashir Al-Azem, coordination associate at
the local UNDP office.
The 248-page report which gives an overview of political, economic and
social life of the whole Arab bloc comprising 22 member countries of Arab
League, has accused Arab countries of not meeting peoples' aspirations for
development, security and liberation. The report suggests immediate action to
reform methods of governance across the Arab world.
The report has been prepared by a group of Arab scholars including
researchers, civil society activists and opinion-makers. The group of authors
also includes some prominent Saudi scholars such as Majid A. Al-Muneef, a
senior Saudi economic adviser to the minister of petroleum and mineral
resources, and Siham Abdul Rahman Al-Suwaigh, associate professor at King Saud
University. Al-Suwaigh is also a leading educational consultant.
Referring to the need to integrate women in Saudi society, which has been
advocated by AHDR, Benlamlih, who is also UNDP's resident representative, said:
"There is room for improvement on women issues. The municipal elections in
Saudi Arabia could have been more inclusive with women as voters or
candidates." He, however, lauded the efforts of Riyadh, which experimented with
the first-ever election of the municipal council. "And, the elections were
conducted in a very peaceful and positive way," Benlamlih said.
On the progress made by the Kingdom, the report said: "At the beginning
of 2004, Saudi Arabia witnessed an unprecedented number of civil initiatives,
distinctive insofar as they were relatively acceptable to the government."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease?
Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/uTGrlB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
