KUWAIT, March 8 (KUNA) -- The International Women's Day is an opportunity to reflect on how far women have come in the struggle for equality and how far they still have to go, said British MP Ann Clwyd on Monday.
The MP, who is also the British Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Human Rights, was addressing guests at a dinner jointly hosted by British Ambassador Frank Baker and the British Council, marking the International Women's Day.
"This (day) is an opportunity to reflect on how far we've (women) have come in the struggle for equality and how far we have to go," she said, noting that it was still difficult for women to "get into politics." On this occasion, she congratulated Kuwait's four female MPs on their election, saying that "this is a signal for the whole region, and I hope that they all understand that sooner or later women will be seen on all platforms." Commenting on the First Forum on Women, organized here this morning by the National Assembly's Women Affairs Committee, the British MP said that it was "amazing to see so many feisty, confident women coming to the podium to make speeches ... there is no lack of confidence in Kuwaiti women." MP Clwyd noted that on this day, throughout history, women not only stood up for their rights, but also protested and overthrew regimes "to change the face of democracy" around the world.
Moreover, she said that with the adoption of March 8 as the International Women's Day by the UN General Assembly 99 years ago, this day "assumed a global dimension," and today the UN continued to strongly advocate the rights of women.
The British MP also noted that last year, the UN Assembly passed a resolution that called for the amalgamation of four existing UN offices dealing with women's affairs into a single body to create a new, more powerful agency for women to be headed by an undersecretary general.
This agency, she said, would a "testament of the UN's commitment to the empowerment of women," adding that "the message is 'invest in women' because there can be no better investment." On the quota system in parliament, she said that she believed in "positive discrimination in favor of women," which was why she backed this method of allowing more women the opportunity to take part in political decision-making.
On her part, Kuwaiti MP Dr. Maasouma Al-Mubarak said this was the first time that Kuwait celebrated the International Women's Day after the election of women into parliament, adding that "now in Kuwait we are struggling for civil and social rights." She said that it was "not easy" for women, no matter how high the level of their education, to convince men of their competence, adding that if women wanted to be elected into parliament they had to work for it themselves.
"We (women) must fight for our rights" because discrimination against women is everywhere, she said, urging women to share their experiences and to network in order to achieve what they wanted.
She explained that in Kuwait, "men were not happy" when women attained their political rights, and the Constitutional Court had to be resorted to three times in matters related to women and the ruling were "always on the side of justice - on the side of women." "If we want change, we have to work hard ... if we achieve little things we will move forward and people will accept that we (women) are here ... Islam does not discriminate against women," she concluded.
Ambassador Baker, meanwhile, also congratulated women on this occasion, saying that he was "very proud" to be here to celebrate International Women's Day for the first time since female MPs were elected into the Kuwaiti parliament.
As for Director of British Council Kuwait Stephen Forbes, he said, "As governments and employers in the Middle East increase their recognition of the significant contribution that women can make to the future social, economic and political success of the region, the British Council aims to provide opportunities to make a positive difference to women's lives through programs such as the Springboard Program." On her part, Assistant Director of the British Council Kuwait Denise Waddingham said on this occasion that the latest edition of the Springboard coursebook featured the "inspiring personal stories" of three Kuwaiti women; Nabila Al-Anjiri, Sara Akbar and Aziza Al-Bassam.
The event was attended by over 100 prominent women in Kuwait, including representatives from a variety of women's groups and alumni from the British Council's Springboard course. - Kuna