ABU DHABI: Tomorrow, the UAE will celebrate the annual International Women’s Day to highlight its support for women, their empowerment, and advocacy for their rights globally and regionally.
The UAE leadership gives high importance to women’s issues and empowerment in economic, political, and social spheres, considering them crucial partners in overcoming challenges and achieving holistic development.
This year’s International Women’s Day coincides with the UAE’s ongoing efforts to introduce initiatives, programmes, and strategies to elevate women’s status and strengthen their role in various communities.
The UAE’s efforts to support women are notably represented by the initiatives of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), who is a leading advocate for women’s issues globally.
Over many years, Sheikha Fatima ha
s sponsored, chaired, and supported a series of specialist regional and international conferences aimed at empowering women and enhancing their stature, such as the World Conference on Women in Mexico in 1975 and Copenhagen in 1980, and the 3rd Regional Conference on Women in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula in Kuwait in 1981.
The country hosted the same conference in Abu Dhabi in 1984 and the 11th Arab Conference for Arab Female Guides in Abu Dhabi at the end of 1988.
Sheikha Fatima’s sponsorship of women gradually took on a more specialist and comprehensive character, as she has led conferences covering the topics of women in technology, women and media, elderly care, businesswomen, women and humanitarian security, and other related areas. She was also one of the founding members of the Arab Women Organisation (AWO), as well as the Arab Women Summit, and sponsored the establishment of the Arab Family Organisation, which is based in the UAE.
Under the gracious patronage of Sheikha Fatima, the UAE hosted
, in October 2019, a ceremony and seminar to launch the Arab Charter on Women’s Rights, organised by the Federal National Council (FNC), in collaboration with the Arab Parliament.
The UAE’s efforts have been pivotal in issuing and adopting many historic international initiatives, decisions, and draft resolutions whose positive impacts extend to women around the world. Most notable is COP28, which was recently held in the country and showcased women’s contributions to climate change issues. The Gender Equality Day at COP28 witnessed the announcement of a new partnership aimed at achieving an organised, responsible, fair, and logical transition in the energy sector while considering gender equality, supported by more than 60 parties.
In early March 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations (UN) Women Liaison Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries launched, under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima known as the ‘Climate Change and Gender Equality’ initiative.
Last October, the
UN Human Rights Council, with the participation of both the UAE and the UK, adopted a draft resolution on achieving equality and ensuring every girl’s right to education.
Last June, the UAE announced an additional US$15 million contribution to UN Women from 2023 to 2025.
Currently, the UAE holds, for the second time, an executive membership in UN Women from 2023 to 2025, having been elected as a member of the council from 2013 to 2019 and after becoming its president in 2017. The UAE has provided more than $46 million in voluntary contributions to UN Women.
Women’s empowerment in peace and security is one of the UAE’s top priorities during its membership in the UN Security Council for 2022-2023.
In partnership with UN Women, the UAE launched, in 2019, the ‘The Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Women Peace and Security Initiative,’ which graduated hundreds of recruits from the Arab region, Africa, and Asia, with the aim of achieving full, equal, and effective women’s participation in the security sector.
Last A
pril, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution drafted by both the UAE and Japan, as co-penholders for the Afghanistan file, condemning the Taliban’s decisions to ban Afghan women from working for the UN in the country.
Looking back at the past few years, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously adopted, in June 2017, a draft resolution presented by the UAE during the council’s 35th session in Geneva regarding the right of girls to education.
Since the establishment of the country in 1971, the UAE has been keen to join international conventions that address women’s issues and protect their rights.
Source: Emirates News Agency
Almost 13 million jobs can be created in 12 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by 2035 through investments in care policies on childcare-related leave, breastfeeding breaks for working mothers, and the expansion of early childhood care and education (ECCE) and long-term care services, a new ILO report has found.
The report calls for investments in care policy packages across the region to significantly boost economic and social returns, including narrowing the gender employment gap, and to help achieve gender equality in the workplace.
The new report, titled ‘Care at Work: Investing in Care Leave and Services for a More Gender Equal World of Work – Companion Regional Report for the Middle East and North Africa,’ provides a regional lens on issues outlined in the ILO’s global Care at Work report .
Investing in care policy
To close care policy gaps, a sustainable annual investment of over $204 billion by 2035 is required, equalling an average of 5.8 per cent of GDP per country,
the report notes. This investment is projected to reduce the gender gap in employment rates by 7 percentage points and the gender gap in monthly earnings from 15 per cent in 2019 to 1.8 per cent in 2035.
Every dollar spent on care packages is expected to result in around three dollars of GDP increase, emphasizing the positive economic impact of care investments, according to the report.
The projections were generated using the ILO Care Policy Investment Simulator for the 12 MENA countries with available relevant data: Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Jordan, Tunisia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE.
‘There will be no full, gender-equal, sustainable and inclusive future in the MENA region without serious investments in transformative care policy packages,’ said ILO Regional Director for Arab States Ruba Jaradat and ILO Chief of the Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Branch Chidi King in a joint statement in the report. ‘This is the main message of this report, which we hope will reso
nate among governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations as well as the multiple global, regional and national partners working together to build a more caring world of work,’ the joint statement added.
It brings together insights from across the MENA region on how care policies – including policies on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services, maternity protection, paternity leave, parental leave and long-term care services – play an important role in fostering child development, supporting women’s employment and creating jobs.
It outlines the gaps in current policies, the economic and social benefits of investing in care, and the way forward for transforming care policy packages.
A right yet to be fully realised
Despite the universal acknowledgment of maternity protection as a fundamental human and labour right, its implementation across the MENA region remains inconsistent.
The report underscores that, as of April 2022, Morocco is the only country in MENA to have ratified the ILO Materni
ty Protection Convention (No. 183), which mandates a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave.
The average duration of maternity leave across the region stands at 17 weeks, with three countries since 2011, namely Iran, Iraq and Kuwait, aligning with or surpassing this standard.
Yet, 12 countries still fall short of the ILO’s minimum standard, and the current pace of legal reforms suggests a lengthy journey ahead to universal compliance.
Paternity leave, essential for achieving gender equality and shared caregiving responsibilities, is recognized in seven MENA countries. The average leave duration is approximately seven days, with four countries having introduced or extended paternity leave since 2011. The report calls for broader inclusion and protection to enhance uptake rates, noting the absence of statutory provisions for adoptive parents and a general lack of employment protection related to paternity leave.
The provision of parental leave and other special care leaves emerges as crucial for supporting
parents throughout their life course. Six countries in the region offer statutory parental leave, with an average duration of almost 77 weeks. The report highlights a significant care policy gap, particularly for children aged 0-2 years, underscoring the need for substantial policy enhancements to support child development and women’s employment.
Workplace safety and health
Addressing workplace safety and health, the report reveals that all countries, except Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, have laws protecting pregnant or breastfeeding workers from hazardous work. However, comprehensive protection and provisions for prenatal care are largely lacking, pointing to an urgent need for legislative improvements.
The right to paid nursing breaks is recognized in 15 MENA countries, though the duration and provision vary. The report advocates for enhanced support for nursing mothers, including the establishment of workplace nursing facilities, to promote positive health outcomes.
A foundation for the future
H
ighlighting the absence of statutory ECCE programmes for the youngest children, the report stresses the importance of ECCE services in child development and supporting female employment. The existing childcare policy gap of nearly six years underscores the vital need for investment in quality ECCE services.
With the demand for long-term care services rising, the report identifies a pressing need for comprehensive public systems to support older persons and persons with disabilities, emphasizing the role of state responsibility in funding and providing these services.
In May 2023, the ILO convened a regional conference in Amman to deliberate on the findings of its report, emphasising the critical need for urgent investments in ECCE to foster a more gender-equitable work environment, create numerous job opportunities, enhance employment prospects for women, and contribute to the professionalisation of the sector.
The conference highlighted the importance of exchanging insights and best practices in the advan
cement of inclusive, equitable, and high-quality ECCE services.
It also aimed to identify shared recommendations and actionable strategies for achieving universal access to quality ECCE through transformative care policies and the promotion of decent work conditions.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon