Kuwait award for outstanding women launched

KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh launched yesterday the Kuwait international award for outstanding women. The award is organized by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD) and the Women’s Research and Studies Center (WRSC), College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University.

It recognizes women’s contributions to all fields of life, and prompts the rising female generation to unleash their potential capabilities and effectively work for promoting the society, Minister Sabeeh told a press conference. In addition, the award is part of the efforts to achieve the fifth of the 17th Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, namely, ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere and boosting legislations that encourage them to hold top leading posts, the minister noted.

This is the first of its award in Kuwait, the Gulf region and the Arab World at large, and will be offered to outstanding women in various domains, which reiterates Kuwait’s leading role in women empowerment. Launching the prize is part of Kuwait’s being a pioneer of global humanitarian work, the minister said, noting that the award will help realize goals of the state national development plan that provides caring for and empowering women.

GSSCPD Secretary General Dr Khaled Mahdi said meanwhile that the newly-launched award is unique in the region. It will explore distinct women who have played significant roles in promoting their communities. The award comprises three categories, the government, and the private sectors and the civil society, he added. An international committee supervises the award. Minister Sabeeh is the committee’s honorary chair. Winners of the first award will be announced on International Women’s Day (IWD), March 8, 2019. Head of the College of Social Sciences’ WRSC Dr Lubna Al-Qadhi, told the conference that Kuwaiti women had proved themselves in all fields, saying that the slogan of the award was ‘role model.’

In other news, Kuwait’s Ambassador to Belgium and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jassim Al-Bedaiwi expressed how proud the nation is of its women’s achievements in all fields. Bedaiwi mentioned the achievement during a lunch reception on Tuesday in honor of the President of Belgian Senate, Christine Defraigne, and many women ambassadors posted in Brussels to celebrate the anniversary of women gaining their political rights in Kuwait, the embassy said in a statement.

“On these occasions, we get the chance to discuss women’s movements in Kuwait from the 60s to today to be a successful model for women in the GCC and Arab world”, said Bedaiwi, adding “the occasion is the result of the Embassy’s efforts in communicating with all the governmental and parliamentary Belgian institutions involved along with private sectors.”

Defraigne mentioned her visit to Kuwait last October and her meeting with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in company with some Women’s Associations, noting her visit contributed dearly to the Belgian-Kuwait ties in all aspects.