Arab Women Leaders Discuss Status of Women in Arab WorldThe first ever Arab Women Summit held two sessions on Sunday to discuss the status of Arab women and factors which influence the improvement of their conditions.The three-day summit, which opened in the Egyptian capital Cairo Saturday, was attended by a total of 400 Arab female dignitaries, including nine first ladies and representatives from all strata of life in the Arab countries. The two sessions will deal with media, culture, legal, political, social and economic issues pertaining to the status of Arab women and its improvement. As host of the summit, Egypt is expected to submit five working papers to the participants for debate, covering the situation of Arab women between genuine religious teachings and their current status quo, empowering women in decision-making, the cultural role of women, rearing new generations and the role of women, as well as Arab media and the problem of women stereotype. The Palestinian delegation, led by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's wife Soha, would demand setting up a fund to support the Palestinian women, who suffer from Israeli occupation and low economic resources, the agency said. The ongoing clashes between the Palestinians and Israeli troops in the Palestinian territories have claimed over 200 lives, mostly Palestinians, and left thousands others wounded since it broke out on September 28. The Morocco and Kuwait delegations would demand a fund for supporting all impoverished Arab women, it added. The summit is expected to issue on Monday a strategy and an Arab plan of action for 2001, marked as the year of Arab women, aimed at upgrading the role of Arab women in the development of their societies and shaping a media code of ethics for the Arab women, the agency reported. The first Arab women conference is jointly sponsored by Egypt's National Council of Women (NCW), the Lebanon-based El-Hariri Institute and the Cairo-based Arab League under the title of " Challenges of the Present and Horizons of the Future." Egyptian first lady Susan Mubarak, as chairwoman of the NCW, presided over the meetings and made an inaugural speech at the opening session of the summit. |
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