UN Women for Peace Association honors Sheikha Rima with peace award
Kuwait participates in 62nd session of UN Commission on Status of Women
NEW YORK/PARIS:
Special attention to women empowerment
The United Nations Women for Peace Association (UNWFPA) honored late Thursday the spouse of Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US and Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah with the prestigious Peace Award for her extraordinary philanthropic work for over a decade.
During the UNWFPA’s annual awards luncheon, held at the UN headquarters, which also marks the International Women’s Day, the US Permanent Representative to the UN Nikki Haley presented Sheikha Rima with the Peace Award describing her as a “a doer, a mover, a shaker and a global game changer,” saying “today it is our turn to celebrate you and honor all that you have done.”
Haley highlighted in her remarks all the great philanthropic work Sheikha Rima has done, saying “she doesn’t sit around and talk about people in need... she goes out, she gets to work and she helps people,” having raised over $18 million over the last 12 years to support different causes. She shed light on the Syrian refugee women on the ground in Jordan and Lebanon and how their lives were changed because of the medical and education resources that Sheikha Rima has helped provide.
“I think about women in the Middle East who have graduate study scholarships and microcredit loans to empower their lives, give them the financial independence and provide for their children because of Rima,” she noted. She added “I think about the girls in Afghanistan who have schools and the children in Basra, Iraq who have a hospital all because Rima did something about it,” as well as the help she provided the American wounded service members and their families here in the US. “So much good in this world can be traced backed to Rima and the ripple effect of generosity she had for causes including fights against malaria, epilepsy, breast cancer and so much more,” she remarked.
Haley stressed that Sheikha Rima “has long used the power of her voice for good as a philanthropist but has done so much more with her voice than talk.” Meanwhile, Sheikha Rima said in a speech that for the past three years through her work with the UN Refugee Agency, she has come to “deeply appreciate the critical and live-saving work that it does for refugees and other forcibly displaced persons.” On this occasion, Sheikh Rima noted that “Kuwait has been one of the biggest humanitarian donors trying to alleviate the enormous suffering witnessed in our region. A fact that led then UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to bestow His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah with the title of Humanitarian Leader in 2014.” Meanwhile, she said that UNHCR works hard to “ease the particular struggle faced by women and girls. We do this, first of all, by ensuring that women are individually registered and provided with relevant documentation to ensure their individual security, freedom of movement and ability to register and trace children. “We also work to ensure girls’ access to education and manage programs that help women to improve their leadership skills and access livelihood opportunities,” she remarked.
Engineering contributions
In other news, UNESCO and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) granted Friday Kuwaiti Engineer Bashayer Al-Awwad an award for her contributions to use of engineering in women empowerment.
Awwad was recognized for her contributions in engineering and philanthropy during her presidency of WFEO’s international women committee for four years. Speaking to KUNA following the award ceremony, Awwad said she was very proud to have been recognized because it affirmed role of Kuwaiti women at international level. She said support of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber AlSabah to women in Kuwait enabled them to develop their abilities and became creative in many domains.
The award was granted during a ceremony organized by UNESCO and WFEO, during which participants she light on under-representation of women in engineering, what engineering can do to improve lives of rural women and girls in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and successful case-studies of women in engineering. Awwad said participants also highlighted WFEO member countries which sought to empower women over the past 10 years, including France, Kuwait, the US and Nigeria. Awwad, also Deputy President of Kuwait Society of Engineers, thanked WFEO for strengthening role of engineers as well as humanitarian action around the world. WFEO, she noted, was also boosting professional, cultural and civilizational exchange among member countries. She dedicated the award to His highness the Amir, describing him as “our role model that we follow.”
Women empowerment
Kuwaiti achievements in women empowerment, boosting their role in sustainable development, as well as attaining rights will all be displayed before the UN, Chairperson of the Cabinet-affiliated Women Affairs Committee Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad Al-Salem Al-Sabah said yesterday.
Sheikha Latifa, in a statement upon her departure to New York, heading the Kuwaiti delegation taking part in the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, said Kuwait’s speech during the Committee will include government steps taken to upgrade status of Kuwaiti women on social and cultural levels, as well as in terms of healthcare and legislations.
Sheikha Latifa further said the delegation would urge the international community to activate Kuwait’s initiative tabled at the last session to adopt a more serious stance toward anti-women violence in many turbulent countries, namely Palestine and Syria, where they are continuously under geopolitical distresses.
The Kuwaiti delegation would also seek to implement the Kuwaiti initiative, presented during the 58th session, stipulating dispatch of women delegations to troubled regions in the world and help women there in face of violence, killing and displacement, she pointed out.
Special attention
The Regional United Nations Development Program dedicates special attention to empowering women in the State of Kuwait, said the program regional director. Murad Wehbeh, also the Assistant United Nations Secretary General, said in an interview yesterday that the program policy aims at maintaining cooperation on sustainable basis and in a manner that would not contradict with the Kuwaiti culture. The program works with communities to empower women and limit violence against the females so they may contribute to the civil society development. It also seeks to encourage Arab women in emerging communities to venture into the world of businesses. About his first visit to Kuwait, Wehbeh said it was fruitful and successful by all standards, noting that he had held talks with the Minister of State for Social Affairs, Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Hind Al-Sabeeh, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, Dr Khaled Al-Mehdi, who all expressed great readiness for cooperation with the UN agency.
The visit aimed at expressing gratitude to the State of Kuwait for its limitless support for the UN and its agencies, its stances toward international peace and relief missions, backing sustainable development in troubled nations namely Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Wehbeh praised Kuwait’s support for needy nations namely countries that host refugees and face difficulties in securing their needs. He indicated at the UNDP activities in Lebanon and Jordan affirming that the Kuwaiti aid eased off the burden borne by these nations in accommodating the refugees.
At the local level, the UNDP cooperation with the State of Kuwait has resulted in great success in empowering the women, he said, also indicating at coordination at other levels namely the environment. Moreover, he praised the Kuwaiti leaders for adopting the policy “of open doors and minds” in cooperating with the UN agencies. The UNDP aspires, this year, to more support from Kuwait and other donating nations to countries neighboring Syria, which host millions of refugees “so we may contribute to improving economic, social and political conditions in them.”
The UNDP renovates and builds schools, hospitals and other vital facilities in countries hosting refugees, he said, noting that a third of the people in Lebanon are refugees, which is a major challenge in the face of the Lebanese Government and the concerned UN agencies. —KUNA