Decades spent ‘building bridges’ for Arab women earn Al Kaylani royal recognition
▶ OBE also honours services to youth and cultural ties, writes Lemma Shehadi
For more than 20 years, London resident Haifa Al Kaylani has sought to empower women in Arab countries by connecting them to institutions in nations around the world, including Britain.
The Arab International Women’s Forum, which she founded in 2001 and still leads, supports women and young people by helping them to set up businesses and develop their skills.
“The Arab world is part and parcel of the international community, we’re not an island by ourselves,” Mrs Al Kaylani told The National from her home in Abu Dhabi.
“I wanted to build those bridges between women in the Arab region together, but also between their counterparts in the UK, and globally.”
She has been rewarded for her work, being appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in King Charles III’s New Year Honours List for 2024.
The award is in recognition of her services to women, young people and cultural relations between Britain and countries in the Middle East. “I’m truly thrilled and equally grateful and humbled,” she said.
Mrs Al Kaylani was born into a Palestinian-Lebanese family and went to school in Britain, later studying economic development at the University of Oxford.
“In all my work, I am addressing the subject as an economist, not as a feminist,” she said.
“I am a development economist, and for me, without empowering 50 per cent of its population, no country can develop politically, socially, or economically.”
She was motivated to establish the forum in London partly because of the negative stereotypes about Arab women in Britain at the time.
“There was a lot of misunderstanding about the role of women in the region,” said Mrs Al Kaylani.
She encountered these stereotypes while serving as president of the Federation of International Women’s Associations in London.
People were surprised to see an Arab and Muslim woman in charge of the organisation.
“I would be asked: you’re an Arab? You’re a Muslim?” she recalled.
Since then, her forum has evolved to support women, young people and sustainability efforts.
Her early projects including an initiative to help women in Arab countries set up businesses. “It was important to think of women as engines of growth,” she said.
The Arab uprisings in 2011 further inspired her to set up an initiative for young Arab women leaders.
“The youth were educated but they were not able to find jobs. They were not fully utilised,” she said.
Focusing on women aged between 20 and 40, the forum held conferences in regional capitals – including Abu
Dhabi – as well as elsewhere internationally.
“This was in order to discuss what is stopping them from optimising that potential,” said Mrs Al Kaylani.
The forum has focused on women’s roles in addressing climate change and sustainability and joined forces with the Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy platform, run by Abu
Dhabi clean energy company Masdar, to produce a report before the Cop28 summit.
Mrs Al Kaylani gave four addresses at the conference in Dubai, including moderating a panel at the Arab Women Leaders’ Summit.
“Women have to be at the table. Their voices must be heard,” she said.
Her understanding of the culture in Arab countries helped her make progress, she said.
“I come from the region. I am an Arab, very proudly with three roots, and a UK citizen,” she said.
Mrs Al Kaylani’s third Arab root comes from her late husband, who was Jordanian.
“I understand our culture, I was brought up in our region with the appreciation for our heritage,” she said.
“When I address issues about empowerment, I am saying we must support women’s roles as partners, at home, in society, in government and in the business sector.”
Mrs Al Kaylani will meet King Charles when she receives her award. But that will not be her first time meeting the British monarch.
She met him in 1975, when he was Prince of Wales, during the coronation of Nepalese King Birendra.
Her late husband, diplomat Wajih Al Kaylani, was Jordan’s ambassador to India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and led his country’s delegation at the event.
Mrs Al Kaylani met King Charles again when she was on a committee overseeing an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. After she receives her OBE, she hopes to have lunch with her son and his wife at their London home.
Mrs Al Kaylani paid tribute to her husband, who she says was her greatest supporter.
“The AIWF took a lot of my time over the years, and a lot of my family time. Without my husband’s support and encouragement, I could not have done it,” she said.
But looking to the future, she fears the effects the Gaza war could have on the region.
“It’s women and children who suffer the most. We have seen that with our own eyes,” she said. “It’s very important that we try to foster peace.
“Without peace there cannot be growth, there cannot be prosperity, people cannot work, cannot build a better future for their families. And, of course, women’s empowerment also suffers.”
When I address issues about empowerment, I am saying we must support women’s roles in society and business