Published: March 25, 2006
Middle East Women Discuss Importance of Empowerment
By Kathryn McConnell, Washington File 
Skills learned during U.S. internships will help others, they say
A Saudi woman founds a club to help empower young women in Saudi Arabia. A Palestinian woman advises women entrepreneurs in Palestine. A third woman, from Morocco, cites recent legal reforms in her country that have helped women gain a greater voice in economic and democratic development.
The three women presented their assessments of the progress and remaining challenges for women's empowerment in the Middle East March 22 at the International Research and Exchanges Board in Washington.
IREX is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization specializing in programs that help individuals and institutions gain the capacity to contribute to their societies.
The women were in the United States to participate in the Business Internship Program for Young Middle Eastern Women program, which combines graduate-level academic training with internships at prestigious companies in the United States. (See related article.)
The four-year-old program is part of the broader U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).
MEPI is the Bush administration's program to help citizens across the region to promote political openness, economic liberty, educational opportunity, and the empowerment of women. (See Middle East Partnership Initiative.)
Empowerment Through Education
Alaa Naseif, from Saudi Arabia, said empowerment begins with education. Empowerment means not just having more opportunity; it involves "having a choice in selecting among various opportunities," she said.
However, Naseif, a former assistant professor of early education at the liberal arts Effat College in Jeddah, said education is still not equally available to women in parts of the Middle East and that educational materials still are geared toward men.
Women need more much more training in business and information technologies because, she said, "we need to be prepared if more opportunities are presented to us," and being prepared means being educated to make good choices.
Dana Jamjoum, a Palestinian, said obstacles to creating and maintaining a business at home include fear and limits on transportation and movement that stifle daily activities.
The Palestinian Territories also need more investment, grants and technical assistance from other countries to help people create small businesses so they can advance economically, according to Jamjoum.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, Morocco has worked to mainstream gender awareness and opportunity into its political and economic sectors, said Widad Elhanafi, parliamentary program coordinator for the National Democratic Institute in her country. NDI is a Washington-based nonprofit organization.
Elhanafi pointed to a 2002 change in the national electoral rules that allows women to run for elected office; 35 women won parliamentary seats in the following election.
She also cited changes in divorce law. "A women can now initiate a divorce, is entitled to retain custody of her children after a divorce and may move away from her former husband," she said.
Empowerment Through Experience
While in the United States, Naseif is seeking to gain management and business skills. She is working as an intern at an international school in Washington.
Jamjoum said she hopes to gain skills she can use to help more Palestinian companies improve their competitiveness and enter the global marketplace. She is working with an economic consulting firm in the Washington area.
Through her internship, Elhanafi wants to continue to develop her professional skills, particularly in the area of public relations. She is interning at a Washington-based company involved in advocacy and strategic planning for government relations. (See related article.)
More information is available about MEPI's partner, Leaders for Democracy Fellowship Program on that organization's Web site. Additional informational about IREX, MEPI and NDI is available on those organizations' Web sites.
Source: U.S. Department of State
Search News
Daily News
