JEDDAH, 8 March 2005 — Celebrating International Women’s Day is a subdued affair here. Except for a few events marking the occasion today, very few people are even aware of it or its purpose.

At Dar Al-Tarbiyah high school for girl, the Girls’ Education Administration in Jeddah is organizing a seminar on women and the job market tomorrow.

“We are inviting entrepreneur women who started businesses at home to speak to the girls as success stories and role models,” said Nawal Fakeeh, media coordinator at the administration.

“The emphasis is on the private sector as a way of opening new job opportunities for them rather than rely on jobs in the public sector,” she told Arab News.

A Saudi businesswoman, Sarah Al-Ayed, is participating in the Women in Business Conference, an event dedicated to enhancing the leadership capabilities of women professionals in the Middle East, but it is taking place in Dubai.

Other than that, there is barely a whisper of any kind of celebration for Saudi women speaking about their role, problems and aspirations in our society or the plight of women in the world.

This year’s IWD coincides with the Ten-Year Review and Appraisal meeting, as part of the 49th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW49), that takes stock of the progress made in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls since the 4th World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. It will also make recommendations for concrete steps for future action.

A member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is addressing the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York today on the work of the ICRC in helping women and their families whose lives have been devastated by armed conflict. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan marked the occasion to speak about the devastating toll global HIV/AIDS is taking on women especially in sub-Saharan Africa and the critical role of women in fighting AIDS.

Putting women and women’s rights to equality on the global agenda is the moving force behind International Women’s Day. The idea of a day for women, celebrated all over the world, began at the beginning of this century in America and Europe. The focus was the movement for women’s rights and achieving universal suffrage for women. Since those early years, much progress has been made for women in developed and developing countries alike.

In many countries, provisions guaranteeing the enjoyment of human rights without discrimination on the basis of sex have been included in constitutions; legal literacy and other measures have been introduced to alert women to their rights and to ensure their access to those rights; the world community has identified violence against women as a clear violation of women’s rights; incorporating gender perspectives into regular programs and policies has become a priority at the United Nations and in many member states.

Still more needs to be done and March 8 provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women and to highlight the needs and concerns of women on national, regional and global agendas.

“We are part of the world and I think its important that we participate in all international occasions that do not conflict with our religion, and this occasion is about marking women’s achievements and struggles, so we should have organized proper events to highlight our issues in the media and to the world,” said columnist and writer Nabila Mahjoob.

She finds that women’s role is not being recognized enough and the consequences of that affect whole society. “For example, I think that the reason there is little turnout and attention given to the municipal elections taking place now is that women are not involved. Without family discussions of the issue and exchange of ideas at women’s events, you cannot expect much interest in it,” Mahjoob told Arab News.

“I did not know that today is International Women’s Day, and I think we can blame the media but also ourselves for not being more proactive and taking the initiative,” said Um Ahmed.

However, she went on to say that every day is women’s day because every day women have to struggle and fight for their rights.

“It’s not enough to educate women about their rights though, society needs to be informed of each member’s rights — the women, men and the children — and work together at protecting those rights,” she added.

Lawyer Mais Abu Dalbouh agrees. “Society has a role in raising women’s awareness of their rights but women themselves should seek to know their rights under Islamic law by consulting lawyers,” she said.