The “Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Women Leaders” praises the organization of conferences that address the challenges faced by Arab women.

Addressing the challenges faced by Arab women requires building their capacities and supporting both their families and political leadership. The women’s quota system does not guarantee genuine representation for Arab women, as our Arab societies are still patriarchal. I commend the efforts of the Union of Afro-Asia Universities in organizing conferences that tackle the challenges faced by both Arab and Afro-Asian women.

Dr. Hala Al-Adly Hussein, the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Women Leaders, praised the efforts of the Union of Afro-Asia Universities in organizing international scientific conferences to study the challenges facing the Arab and Afro-Asian communities. She commended the Union for holding a conference at the end of this month in Istanbul, addressing contemporary women’s issues. She emphasized the importance of building on the conference’s outcomes and implementing its recommendations to benefit Arab women.

Dr. Hala Al-Adly Hussein stressed that Arab and Afro-Asian women need support from their political leadership, their families, and in building their educational, cultural, health, economic, and political capacities. This support would help them understand the political and economic challenges facing their countries, allowing them to have a clear vision based on sound foundations, enabling them to occupy leadership positions.

The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Women Leaders expressed reservations about female representation in many countries through the “quota” system, asserting that the quota does not constitute true representation. “Our Arab societies are still patriarchal and have not matured yet… and because women in many countries have not received the education that qualifies them to defend their rights.”

She pointed out the significant and clear difference between women in the Arab world and their counterparts in the Western world in terms of their rights to education, health, and economic empowerment. This gap helps women in the West choose their paths in social and political life, providing them with societal security.

Dr. Hala urged Arab women to work on succeeding in their lives, saying, “You are the most important project in your life, so work to make it successful so that you can build a successful family as a nucleus of a well-balanced and structurally sound society, capable of facing the demands and challenges of life.”

She emphasized the importance of women’s role in building their families, raising their children, respecting their husbands, and adhering to religious teachings to build a strong family, considering this “one of the most important successes for women.”

She explained that God created women with a special ability to endure life’s problems and difficulties and the capacity to think and plan for more than one issue at the same time. This makes them suitable for managing the economy as they manage their homes and leading educational processes as they raise their children.

The Union of Arab Women Leaders, according to its strategic goals, aims to activate the roles of leading Arab women in all fields, including government and non-government sectors, civil society organizations, and the private and artisan sectors. It also aims to enhance cooperation opportunities between Arab and Afro-Asian countries and strengthen their relations while opening up to the international community through genuine economic, social, educational, scientific, cultural, and environmental participation.

Dr. Hala Al-Adly Hussein noted that the Union seeks to become a distinguished Arab platform within the framework of Arab joint action, with regional and international resonance for female leaders in governmental and non-governmental institutions. This would enhance the economic and social returns of Arab women’s activities and strengthen cultural ties between Arab countries through Arab women’s participation in public Arab work.

The Union operates through focused pillars aimed at achieving sustainable development goals, primarily in education, health, digital transformation, climate, and food security.

She highlighted the importance of the partnership between the Union of Arab Women Leaders and the Union of Afro-Asia Universities, as well as the exchange of mutual membership and the signing of a cooperation protocol. She pointed out their joint efforts to achieve shared objectives, including sponsoring scientific conferences.

Dr. Hala noted that the Union of Arab Women Leaders includes prominent Arab leaders and has members in 13 Arab countries working to achieve the Union’s goals. Therefore, she expressed hope that in the near future, the partnership with the Union of Afro-Asia Universities would be activated, benefiting from its wide presence in Afro-Asian countries and complementing cooperation with the Union’s offices in Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Ghana, Pakistan, and Iraq.

The Secretary-General’s statement came during an interview conducted by Dr. Jehan Sibaq, from the media committee for the conference “Contemporary Women’s Issues in the Writings of Reformists – Challenges and Mechanisms for Addressing Them,” scheduled to be held from the 25th to 26th of this month in Istanbul. The conference is organized by the Union of Afro-Asia Universities and will feature over seventy peer-reviewed research papers, with the participation of official figures from several Arab and Islamic countries, dozens of academics, experts, specialists, and organizations concerned with women’s and family issues.