The Global Summit of Women in Abu Dhabi focused on Women Empowerment & the removal of negative image of women worldwide

Abu Dhabi recently held a Global Summit of Women, which urged women’s empowerment and a fight against stereotyped and negative images of women around the globe.

The summit was attended by delegates who came from almost 100 countries. They were all focused on the topic of ‘the role of women leaders in establishing peace, social integration, and driving prosperity. The World Muslim Communities Council (WMCC) and the General Women’s Union (GWU), organized the summit which coincided with the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.

It was an event of two days, which featured many distinct sessions, and addressed the academic, social, and cultural barriers to women's empowerment.

The event was attended by numerous prominent women dignitaries, including ministers, community leaders, intellectuals, media personalities, and writers from around the world who shared their perspectives, experiences, and solutions to important women's issues while also revealing their stories about great achievements accomplished by them.

The summit aimed and urged women globally to come together and work to break the negative stereotypes and step forward courageously to take on challenging situations. The women were instructed not to apologize for looking after their careers and take brave steps in the decision-making

“Role of female leaders in establishing peace and social integration, and driving prosperity,” was the title of the discussion which was held under the patronage of UAE’s Mother of the Nation Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, who is also chairwoman of GWU and Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.

Sheikh Fatima addressed the outstanding achievements made by the UAE under the leadership of her husband and Father of the Nation Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan. “Ever since the foundation of UAE, Sheikh Zayed was keen on the pivotal role to be played by women and he had been instrumental in enabling UAE and its people to gain remarkable achievements during a period of 50 years that many other nations and peoples achieved within a century or more. One of the top priorities of Sheikh Zayed was putting trust in women and exerting all-out efforts to empower them,” she said.

Sheikha Fatima spoke about the speech that was presented by the UAE leadership which set an exemplary example of establishing peace, social integration, and prosperity for women in a country that hosts people representing more than 200 nationalities. “The summit is the launching pad of unifying global efforts to contribute to the leadership in establishing peace and social stability and prosperity for the entire humanity, especially women,” she added.

Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of WMCC and Supreme Organizing Committee of the Summit, and Maja Gojkovic, deputy prime minister of Serbia presented their opening speeches while President of India Droupadi Murmu addressed the session virtually.

The crucial role that the UAE is playing in empowering women in all sections of their life and also providing eminent support to them worldwide. The importance of celebrating and promoting women leaders' contributions to the advancement of humankind was suggested by Dr. Al Nuaimi. He is also the chairman of the Defense Affairs, Interior & Foreign Affairs Committee at the UAE Federal National Council.

Among the keynote speakers in various sessions, prominent women leaders of the UAE were present which included Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan, president and CEO of UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators; Sheikha Hissa bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al-Nahyan and Dr. Sheikha Moza bint Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan, advisors at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Over 12 brainstorming sessions revolving around several key topics and vital issues concerning women worldwide were performed at the summit. The sessions covered the topics about the most accomplished women from all walks of life who shared their unique experiences in a way inspiring the younger women generation to leverage their leadership and influence for greater social impact and transformations. Former Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim; Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Maja Gojkovic, Founder and Chairwoman of the French IMAD association Latifa Ziaten, and CEO of USA Fons Vitae Publishing Virginia Gray Henry were also a part of the brainstorming session. Ameenah shared the secrets of her success including the power of education, self-confidence, hard work, and unwavering support from her family in her speech.

The members also discussed "Women Leadership in the Media and Creative Industry." The negative portrayal and stereotyping of women in the global media had undergone meticulous review with disclosures about heroic fights to correct negative images of women.

The session was chaired by Mona El Shazly, the Egyptian talk show host where Saba Zaman, a prominent British journalist, and broadcaster of BBC and CTVC, a Saudi journalist and writer Samar Al-Mogren, Sanjoy Roy, managing director of India’s Teamwork organization, and Chantal Saliba Abikhalil, news anchor at Sky News Arabia were the speakers.

In her speech, Saba Zaman said the stereotyping and creating a negative image of Muslim women was so intense even in free societies like Britain. “While I am wearing a hijab, I am becoming an ambassador of my faith and propagating the human values represented by Islam. When speaking to someone, I have had to take great pains to remove his apprehensions about me and my faith initially, but after some time, he or she becomes very friendly and appreciates my faith and values,” Saba said, adding that she was the only woman with a hijab among the 200 BBC staffers.

Saima Ashraf, the deputy leader and cabinet member for community leadership & engagement at the London Mayoralty, cited her efforts to advance the interests of the general public, particularly women, and claimed that this earned her their respect. “When I migrated from France, I did neither have any proficiency in English nor have any friends there but my passion for social work had produced an electrifying impact. I volunteered at a charity show and was instrumental with networking and engaging and participating with activities of residents, taking up their issues including domestic violence,” she said while speaking on the topic “Women and the power of networking.”

Saima has been appointed as a Councillor at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham four times in a row. “I was first elected in 2010 and re-elected three times and became deputy leader of the Labor Party in 2014. I did a lot of networking and it was the networking to the hearts of people through taking up their issues, finding a comfortable place in their hearts, with a bonus of proficiency in four languages,” she said. Dr. Mouza Al-Shehhi, director of the UN Women UAE Liaison Office for the GCC, chaired the session in which the speakers included Lina Jalouqa, partnerships manager, UNICEF Gulf Area Office, and Swati Thapa of Nepal.

Prominent women leaders in diverse fields shared their experiences, success stories, and solutions for women’s challenges in a series of sessions titled ‘Women leaders driving climate action’; ‘Women’s role in promoting circular economy and sustainability’; Sustainability, philanthropy, and poverty alleviation; ‘Women leadership in education and science’; ‘Women leadership in parliament and diplomacy’; ‘Women in fine arts and cultural heritage’; ‘Gender balancing during transformations’; ‘Women Think-tankers and policy advisory’; ‘Women’s leadership in sports and tourism’; and ‘Women in advanced technologies and megatrends of the world.’