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18-10-2018

Oman Observer

Participation of Omani women at the German-Arab Women Business Leaders Summit, which was concluded in Munich on Wednesday, is a good example of women empowerment in the country, said Lyutha Sultan Ahmed al Mughairy, Sultanate’s Ambassador to Germany. Oman celebrated Omani Women’s Day on Wednesday. The day falls on October 17 every year. Among the participants are 200 businesswomen from the Arab world, Gulf countries, Europe and the Middle East. The delegation from Oman included Huda bint Abdullah al Jahouri and Amal Abdulrahman Alyarbai.

“The celebration of the Omani Women’s Day is not limited to the ceremonial aspects alone. It is in fact a reviewing day: How much is still to be achieved, and in which fields? It is perhaps first worth taking note of the global context in which we should look at the role of Omani women in society in general and in business in particular,” Al Mughairy said.

Al Mughairy reminded the gathering of the success journey of Omani women and quoted one speech delivered by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. “In a speech delivered on November 18, 2011 (National Day), His Majesty the Sultan declared: ‘Since the beginning of this era, we have paid our full attention to the participation of Omani women in the Renaissance process. We have provided them with opportunities for education, training, employment and support for their role and position in the society. We emphasised the need for women to contribute to various fields of development and make them able to achieve self-improvement, experience and skills to build and raise their country.””

She said, the Basic Law of the State confirms the equality between men and women in Oman. Based on this principle, step by step, Omani women have been ensured equal opportunities in education, healthcare, business job vacancies and participation in making political decisions.

“According to the official statistics of 2016, Omani women consist of 47 per cent of the total government jobs in the civil service compared to 44 per cent in 2013. For the private sector, the figure is 24 per cent in 2016. Statistics also indicate that girls outperform boys academically and that more than 50 per cent of university students are girls.” Citing further data she said: “Percentage of girl students in medicine and health sciences is 50 per cent, girls in commerce and economics is 44 per cent and in engineering it is 21 per cent.”

Admiring Oman’s efforts towards Omani women, the Ambassador said: “The Sultanate has developed several mechanisms to support the participation of women in economic life through the Al Rafd Fund (founded in 2013) to serve as a leading platform to support Omani entrepreneurs. The fund is part of a large government strategy that embraces and supports small and medium-sized Omani enterprises to help move the Omani economy forward and create new jobs in the Omani market. The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an active partner in these efforts.” It is worth noting that in 2011 the Women’s Working Committee of the General Federation of Oman Trade Union was established.

The activities of this Committee have contributed to greater women’s participation in the public and private sectors, and a qualitative contribution has been made to the effective penetration and participation of women in trade union activity.

She suggested some areas as next steps to ensure equal participation of Omani women in the workplace overall, in business as well, and at all levels in particular.