08.03.21

International Women’s Day: Contributing to empowerment of women in the Arab world

Image top: Dubai desert cycling road

For the UN International Day of Women 2021 Dina is honoured to announce that she has become a trustee of the organization: Keys, which has as one of its aims empowerment of women in the Arab world: Our Philosophy – Keys (keysjo.com). With its branches in UAE, Jordan and Bahrain and its commitment to women’s education and employability, Keys is set to become a major force for championing opportunities for women in this region.

Dina very much looks forward to working closely with Dr. Thabet Al Nabulsi, the founder of Keys, and the board of trustees, contributing to Keys growth and projects through her focus on promoting and utilising language capital.

The UN theme this year is: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” This focus has been chosen to highlight the role women have played in the global pandemic on the frontlines of health care, education, homeschooling.  In the words of the UN: “The crisis has highlighted both the centrality of women’s contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.”

During her stay in Dubai over the last two months Dina has had the opportunity to work with local leaders in education and witness the efforts they had to put into working on the frontlines in order to keep their schools running. Dina has worked closely with the Headteacher of GEMS Al Khaleej National School, Mrs Ghadeer Abu Shamat, who has successfully together with her staff negotiated the challenges of the pandemic, secured uninterrupted education for their students and welcomed the opportunity to work in partnership with Dina on a new biliteracy initiative.

According to the World Economic Forum estimates published in 2020 WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf (weforum.org) we were only 202 years away from achieving gender equality at work! And for equality at home … there were no even estimates! Therefore we must not fatigue – even when the road ahead of us seems endless, strenuous and often lonely. Every day and every achievement on that road to equality makes a difference for current and future generations, of women and men. To all my dear friends and colleagues – Happy Women’s Day!