Lolwah emphasises the importance of empowering women

HE the Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah bint Rashid AlKhater participated on Wednesday in the “Women in Islam: Understanding the Rights and Identity of Women in the Islamic World” conference, which was the held on the sidelines of the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The conference was organised by Pakistan, which chairs the current 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC).
The inaugural and the high-level part of the conference is chaired by Pakistan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with the participation of the President of the 77th UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, and Chair of the Bureau for the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Mathu Joyini.
In a speech at the conference, HE AlKhater renewed Qatar’s emphasis on the importance of empowering women in all fields, pointing out that the Constitution of the State of Qatar enshrined the principle of equality for all citizens in terms of rights and obligations, in addition to equality of all before the law without discrimination.
She noted that Qatar carried these values through its regional and international efforts to achieve this goal and supports projects that aim to improve the lives of women around the world.
HE AlKhater stressed the need for the international community to work closely to ensure the establishment of societies that empower Muslim women and help them achieve their rights in both Muslim-majority and non-Muslim-majority countries.
She said that while the conference is a first step in the right direction towards change, but participants must guarantee continued progress.
HE the Assistant Foreign Minister stressed that the status of women is a question that must be answered without being politicised.
She added that the challenges faced by women around the world are almost similar in essence, as women have to deal with, on a daily basis, discrimination, violence, invisible barriers and much more.
HE AlKhater noted that these problems are exacerbated in particular for Muslim women as their rights are politicised.
HE the Assistant Foreign Minister said that Islamophobia, as a phenomenon and discourse, has continued to escalate unchecked over the past few decades.
HE AlKhater touched upon a UN report in 2021 on Countering Islamophobia/Anti-Muslim Hatred to Eliminate Discrimination and Intolerance Based on Religion or Belief issued by the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, which indicated that Muslim women are more vulnerable to discrimination and hate crimes, and often face double punishment for being women and Muslims, and sometimes triple punishment if they belong to ethnic minorities.
She said that Muslim women play a vital role in society but are often wrongly portrayed as either oppressed or dangerous due to stereotypical media representations. – QNA