The world marked International Women’s Day yesterday, celebrating women’s achievements in all fields and calling for removing barriers to women’s empowerment all over the world. Qatar has made tremendous work in ensuring women’s rights and making them an active part of the society. Women are occupying key positions in the public and private sectors in Qatar.
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser has been a role model for women not only in Qatar, but in the wider Arab world and beyond. As Chairperson of Qatar Foundation and a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, she has played an active role in spearheading social and educational reforms in Qatar and around the world for the past two decades.
She has led several initiatives for sustainable development around the world. Two key initiatives launches by Sheikha Moza are Education Above All, which delivers quality education to out of school children, and Silatech, which empowers marginalised youth economically and socially.
Sheikha Moza also paid a tribute to women yesterday.“In my life and work, I have encountered women from educators to caregivers and from artists to scientists. What unites them is their capacity to strive for better futures, not only for themselves, but for their families, their communities and their nations. Today we celebrate these women,” she wrote in a post.
Sheikha Moza has inspired a generation of women from Qatar and abroad to excel in education and science. Following in their mother’s footsteps, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani and Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani have been playing leading roles in education, science and research, and culture and art in the country.
Qatari women are an integral part of the governance and decision-making process, with women holding three ministerial portfolios. Qatari women also occupy key positions in the diplomatic corps, and other executive and administrative positions. They are also an active part of the legislative process. Women also outnumber men in the higher education sector. More than 2,600 female students graduated from nine colleges of Qatar University last year.
In fact, Qatar’s leadership has placed guaranteeing women’s rights at the forefront of national strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030. Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah has also lauded the country’s achievements in protecting and upholding women’s rights. Qatari women have achieved success in the fields of science, engineering and technology. They also participate, along with men, in supporting the digital economy based on innovation and applications of artificial intelligence.
