BY BETELHEM BEDLU
The World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap report ranked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a leading country in gender equality in the region. The achievement is said to come from the fundamental belief that women and men are equal partners in society.
Through a series of public and private sector initiatives, women are playing an increasingly stronger role in business, government and STEM fields, according to the official website of the UAE Embassy. Demonstrating the UAE’s progress in women’s inclusion, justice and security, the UAE is also ranked 24th among 170 countries and the highest regionally in the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security’s 2021 WPS Index, it stated.
With special recognition to the necessity of gender equality, enhancing women’s representation and preventing all forms of discrimination against them, the UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa organized a webinar session under the theme “Gender equality & the empowerment of women” with perspectives from the UAE & Ethiopia.
Reflecting UAE’s strong commitment towards the development of gender sensitive initiatives, exchanging knowledge and experiences on innovative tools and programs to empower women, and providing an effective platform for women to share their recommendations was said to be the major objectives of the event.
During his opening remark, Head of the Political, Economic and Media Affairs at the UAE Embassy, Talal Alazeezi said that UAE has always demonstrated a strong sense of commitment regarding empowering women and girls.
He said promoting their full and effective participation in all sectors of society including education, health, economy, law-making, environment, social domain, information, political participation and decision-making is also part of the government’s commitment.
The Head further highlighted the different national initiatives and strategies that UAE put in place to ensure the empowerment of Emirati women in all areas of sustainable development. “Gender equality is evident in the UAE Constitution, which guarantees equal rights to all its citizens in regard to legal status, access to education, and the right to inherit property.”
In order to ensure the continued consideration of gender in national frameworks, he said changes were made to the country’s laws, in 2020, which amended and introduced new and progressive laws on inheritance, divorce and crimes against women, based on the principle of equality which recognizes women as essential partners in the development process.
In the same context, the UAE has recognized the importance of education as a critical key to the socio-economic empowerment of women, and according to the World Economic Forum’s report on gender for 2020; the UAE was one of the region’s best-performing countries, closing the overall gender gap by 65.5percent, as to him.
Furthermore, the UAE plays an active role in humanitarian relief and development work, with the aim of supporting countries suffering from natural disasters, conflicts and wars, with particular attention to women, recognizing the critical role of women in the international relief efforts. To further stress this commitment, he added that the UAE has dedicated 322 million USD for humanitarian initiatives focused on women and girls, as of session.
In line with UAE’s foreign aid policy and to ensure the empowerment of women both regionally and internationally, the government developed a “100 percent Women” policy to be integrated into all the country’s funded humanitarian programs and projects implemented in humanitarian crises, with the objective of enhancing the UAE’s efforts in protecting the rights of women and girls.
The achievements of the UAE with regard to women’s empowerment demonstrate that the government recognizes the important role of women in sustainable development and growth, and the need to continue to advance their rights and empower them in all fields, he emphasized.
Speaking with special focus on the economic and social empowerment of women at the grass root level as well as the experience of Women in Self Employment Organization (WISE) in advancing gender equality in Ethiopia, Tsigie Haile, Director of WISE stressed the great impact of a collective action of women in protecting the environment and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
She shared the various initiatives and strategies of WISE, including organizing women into credit cooperatives so that they can access financial services, as well as the provision of knowledge, skills training and opportunities, and creating spaces for women to engage in the economic sphere.
In terms of the biggest obstacles while working on the ground with respect to advancing gender equality in Ethiopia, she highlighted the negative gender norms, traditions and mindsets ingrained in the society, as well as the low level of literacy.
Thus, she recommended that ensuring the holistic empowerment of women, and said a strategic entry, is working on the immediate needs of women and their interests. Noting that merely economic empowerment of women is insufficient; she stressed women must be supported in their efforts to make decisions in all sectors of development.
By the same token, Nigest Haile, Founder and Executive Directorof Center for Accelerated Women’s Economic Empowerment (CAWEE) spoke focusing on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the opportunities present for women entrepreneurs.
As the continent implements the free trade agreement, Nigest stressed on how African women stand to benefit from the Continental Free Trade area, and how their businesses can thrive within the continent. Similarly, she noted the necessity in supporting the emerging and potential women exporters in the continent, considering the extremely low figures of African trading within, Africa and with other countries globally.
The need for a holistic approach and materializing of gender favorable trade policies is crucial, this includes reducing trade costs and integrating markets. She shared that in this regard, the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade is taking the lead in developing the national Continental Free Trade Area Strategy, in which CAWEE is part of the national steering committee, as to her.
Moreover, highlighting the commitment of CAWEE to gender equality, Nigest shared initiatives of the organization including the launching of an ecommerce platform, the organization of an intra-Africa trade fair, as well as the establishment of bilateral cooperation with Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
For her take on the issue, Tigist Alebachew, Executive Director of New Millennium Women Empowerment Organization (NMWEO) reflected on Gender Equality and Self-sustainability. She shared the various ways NMWEO contributes to advancing gender equality within Ethiopia, including promoting the financial freedom and economic empowerment of women, and raising awareness on the gender gaps in society.
Similarly, she noted the importance of women in the agriculture sector and protecting the environment, stressing on the role of rural women in enhancing ecosystem protection and the sustainable use of natural resources. Speaking on Women’s Contribution to Policy-making, as well as the challenges and best practices, Program Quality Manager of Women Empowerment-Action (WE-Action) Nadia Idris, highlighted the efforts of WE-Action in empowering both women and men on gender equality and transformation of households and livelihoods, this includes through the raising of awareness of men and boys, with the objective of promoting positive behavior and perceptions on gender.
Moreover, she noted the need for gender budgeting commitment and gender responsive services, and the integration of a gender sensitive approach in institutional gender transformation, development and humanitarian response.
Nadia also elaborated the challenges to gender equality and empowerment, such as the negative social norms, preventing them from being active actors in their communities, and the low representation of women in local communities. Similarly, she mentioned positive development in Ethiopia, referring to the government’s efforts in adequately integrating gender issues into sectors’ plans such as health, education and agriculture.
The Ethiopian Herald December 8/2022
