Kuwait a pioneer in woman empowerment

Kuwait has been a pioneer in promoting gender equality and women empowerment, said Deputy Chairperson of the Cabinet’s Women Affairs Committee Sheikha Hessah Al-Saad Al-Sabah.

“Kuwaiti government has ensured equality between women and men in all rights,” Sheikha Hessah said on the sidelines of her participation in the opening meeting of the 58th Session of Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN headquarters in New York recently.

“All countries are aware of the success achieved by Kuwaiti women in all domains with the help of the government.” She added that empowering women and boosting their contribution to different domains are a top priority for the government.

“Kuwait is one of a few countries where women have got all their rights.” “Kuwaiti women have become MPs and ministers. God willing, a Kuwaiti woman will be a speaker of the National Assembly,” she said. “Kuwait will be always be pioneering in efforts to boost women status in all domains.” She pointed out that the speeches in the opening session have tackled various educational, health, cultural and other problems facing women across the world.

In a related statement, Undersecretary Coordinator of Fatwa and Legislation Subcommittee at Kuwaiti Cabinet’s Women Affairs Committee, Huda Al-Shaiji, said that a high-caliber Kuwaiti delegation headed by Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad Al-Salem Al-Sabah represented Kuwait in the opening meeting of the 58th Session of the CSW.

She stated that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivering the inaugural speech of the session, underlined the importance of issues to be tackled during the meeting. Al-Shaiji noted that Ban has also called for more efforts to ensure women empowerment in different domainsparticularly in policy and law-making, as well as to address educational, health challenges facing women across the globe.

She added that the Kuwaiti delegation later joined a roundtable discussion on the main theme of the session; “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls”. Al-Shaiji added that during the roundtable, representatives of several countries spoke about the main achievements and serious challenges relative to women status in their countries.

The fifty-eighth session of the CSW is being held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March, 2014. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are attending the session.

The CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Afunctional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by Council resolution 11(1) of 21 June 1946. The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.