The International Women’s Group (IWG) celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on Sunday March 5, at Al Baraka Ballroom in Crowne Plaza Hotel, Farwaniya in the presence of lady ambassadors accredited to Kuwait, HE Aliya Mawani, Ambassador of Canada, HE Melissa Kelly, Ambassador of Australia, HE Lena Maryana, Ambassador of Indonesia. H.E Tubanur Sonmez, Ambassador of Türkiye.
An insightful moderated discussion was hosted on Women’s Empowerment. The IWG panel featured some extraordinary women of substance from Kuwait including the Honourable Alya AlKhalid , Member of Parliament, Sundus Hamza, co-founder of Abolish 153, Nisreen Rubiyaan, Representative of the UNHCR in Kuwait, Thuraya Al Baqsami, pioneering Kuwaiti artist, Neera Dukhi, Charge d’ Affairs of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and Dr Sahar Ghannam, a renowned dermatologist based in Kuwait. The panel was moderated by Chaitali B Roy from Arab Times and Radio Kuwait.
The event began with a presentation of roses to the IWG members and guests by their Excellencies Osama Shaltout, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Rami Tahboub, Ambassador of the State of Palestine, Miguel Isidro, Ambassador of Mexico, Carlo Baldocci, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy.
In her opening speech, IWG president, Mrs. Ghada Shawky, wife of the ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, welcomed members and guests, and added that Women’s Day, is a remarkable annual tradition, a symbol of appreciation, respect, love and care towards women. Mrs. Shawky gave a rousing overview of the history and significance of the International Women’s Day. She also shed light on the achievements of women in the MENA region in particular, where Arab women excelled in all fields, giving an example from the Middle East of eight Kuwaiti women, who were recently added among Forbes Middle East’s 100 most powerful businesswomen, as well as an example from North Africa of the Tunisian tennis Champion, Ons Jabeur. Mrs. Shawky was then delighted to congratulate all members on this special occasion, stressing that the focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society.
The panel discussion focussed on experiences, perspectives and insights of six exceptional women leaders. While speaking of barriers in her career, MP Alya AlKhaled mentioned the stereotyping of women as unsuitable for politics. Sundus Hamza, Co-founder of Abolish 153, spoke of Thouba, the first App of its kind in Kuwait to fight soaring domestic violence crimes by giving women access to a hotline and live chat where they can report emotional, sexual, financial and physical abuse while creating a safety plan. Thuraya Al Baqsami, spoke of her journey as an artist and urged the government and society to patronize and support artistic endeavours. Nisreen Al Rubyaan of the UNHCR spoke of the absence of women in the higher echelons of leadership and the need for women to amplify their contributions. Neera Dukhi, Charge de Affairs of Guyana spoke about ways women can find balance in their lives. Dr Sahar Ghannam, a famous dermatologist shared her view of how ambitious women are perceived by society. The panel discussion concluded with a short slogan from each panellist for International Women’s Day. The insights and experiences shared by these trailblazing women was widely appreciated by the women present in the audience.
The IWG celebration of International Women’s Day also included a magnificent fashion show carefully curated for the IWG by highly accomplished and famous Italian citizen of Moroccan origin, fashion designer Hayat Karimi. The members were stunned by the display of the beautiful collection of traditional Moroccan caftans.
The event was then followed by a raffle, kindly offered by Seba Med and Quttaina Medical Center.
The members then enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by the Crowne Plaza chefs
The delegation was received by Mrs. Maryam Jabr, President of the Palestinian Heritage Center, Dr. Suhal Al-Fulaij, President of the Social and Cultural Association, and Faten Abu Ghazaleh, the exhibition coordinator.
The delegation toured the sections of the exhibition, which included Palestinian embroidery, Palestinian handicrafts, books related to the Palestinian cause, in addition to Palestinian popular food. The group listened to a detailed explanation from Mrs. Abu Ghazaleh about the exhibition, and was very impressed with its contents.
At the end of the visit, Ms. Shawky, president of IWG, presented a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the group’s board and members to the Palestinian Heritage Center. It was received by Ms. Maryam Jabr, the head of the center, who thanked the group for this honor.
