Arab Woman Leaders Discuss Social, Economic IssuesThe first ever Arab Women Summit continued meetings on November 19 and devoted an evening session to discussions on social and economic issues.Participants said the summit signalled a beginning of a new era for Arab women characterized by democracy and equality, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported. The Arab world will come to know that women can play a key role not only in the development process but in social harmonization, the participants said. Protection of women's rights is indispensable condition for the Arab countries to maintain peace, development and equality, they said, calling on the Arab world to overcome discrimination against women and to provide equal job and education opportunities to women. Maisaa Salam Shamasi, deputy director of students' affairs of the United Arab Emirates, referred to women's participation in the economic process, underlining the importance of activating the role of women in the use of high-tech communications means. At the end of the morning sessions, Arab woman leaders stressed the importance of recognizing Palestine as an independent sovereign country with East Jerusalem as its capital, the news agency said. Palestine was not erased from the Arab map when it was occupied by Israel or when the United Nations Security Council issued a resolution on its partitioning, said a working paper submitted to the sessions. Jerusalem belongs to the Arabs, the participants asserted, calling on the international community to work on ending acts of violence committed by Israeli forces against the unarmed Palestinians. They also urged support for the Palestinian women, who have been struggling for the liberation of their occupied lands. Egypt's First Lady Susan Mubarak, who chaired the three-day event, will read out the closing communique of the summit on Monday, covering political and other issues of importance for Arab women. The first Arab women conference, opened on Saturday, is jointly sponsored by the Cairo-based Arab League, Egypt's National Council for Women and the Lebanon-based El-Hariri Institute under the title of "Challenges of the Present and Horizons of the Future." |
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