Al-Abdallah of Jordan has devoted much of her time and effort to championing humanitarian and social causes locally, regionally, and internationally. A mother of three and the youngest Queen in the world, she has paid special attention to advancing the status of women in Jordan and the Arab World. She spoke to Dahlia Hammouda about the upcoming Arab Women's Summit that Jordan is hosting on 3 and 4 November -- her expectation for the event, the challenges facing its work and her hopes for the future Click for abigger image What will the agenda for next week's Arab Women's Summit be? The summit will bring together figures committed to the advancement of women across the Arab World, to openly discuss the challenges and aspirations of women in the region in order to further activate their role in the sustainable development of their communities. This includes first ladies from the Arab World, representatives of women's movements, non-governmental organisations as well as some key international figures. The summit also aims to coordinate Arab efforts towards ensuring equality between men and women in the Arab community. A strategy and an implementable action plan for the next two years will also be developed to enhance women's political participation and contribution to the economic development of their countries. A critical part of the discussion will focus on issues that have been raised by the 2002 UNDP Arab Human Development Report. The report acknowledges the progress achieved in human development in the Arab world, but also stresses that much still needs to be done to enable women to capitalise on their capabilities. It draws our attention to the fact that the basis of good governance lies in the promotion of human rights and the protection of human freedoms. We understand the summit will be witnessing the launch of the Arab Women's Organisation, provided a certain number of countries ratify its creation. What is standing in the way of securing these signatures? I wouldn't say there is anything standing in the way. However, establishing a new organisation of such impact and weight, with a membership of 22 Arab countries, requires time and effort. It has to be an open process whereby we discuss the various issues and ideas, and come to agreement on them. I believe it is just a matter of time until we witness the actual creation of this organisation. What does Your Majesty expect the organisation's most vital aims will be? To empower our societies, we need to empower our women. We therefore have an important role to play in unifying Arab and international perceptions on women's issues in order to promote their status, develop their capacities and empower them to play an efficient role in nation building. The organisation will help in placing women's issues at the forefront of the agenda of the international community and the Arab world in order to upgrade women's conditions at all levels and in all aspects of life. The organisation could work on further improving women's skills to encourage them to actively participate in the economic development process. The organisation can also provide information through professional research on key issues relevant to the needs of Arab women. Will acquiring financial support for the work of the Arab Women's Organisation be a matter of concern? As with any new organisation, securing financial support can be a challenge. However, due to the importance of such an organisation, the likelihood is high that it will succeed in generating the financial and technical assistance necessary to grow into an independent, active and sustainable organisation. What are your thoughts on the progress of Arab women in the past few years, particularly women in Jordan? Arab women have made tremendous progress in the past few years, and this has been most evident in the field of education. As the Arab Human Development Report states, women's literacy rates have expanded threefold since 1970, and female primary and secondary enrollment rates have more than doubled. A lot of effort has also been exerted to improve the lives of women in Jordan, especially women living in less privileged areas. The progress being made in this field is an accomplishment. In many areas across the kingdom, women are not only feeling the need to take part in the economic development process, but they are making real change on the ground. I have been fortunate enough to witness this first hand, where I have visited a lot of centres that have been set up to provide women with training on how to establish their own businesses and provide them with work opportunities. However, there is still much to be done to increase women's participation in different fields of life and in different areas of nation building. Women continue to be a minority in the workforce. There are still some laws that discriminate against them, and certain cultural and social perceptions still work against them. We have some real issues and challenges to deal with. The summit will focus on some of these issues and discuss them in an open manner.
