Can Women Be Engines of Economic Growth?

LONDON, 2 October 2005 — Can women be engines of economic growth in the Arab World? According to the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF), women have a valuable contribution to make to the development of Arab economies.

In the salubrious surroundings of the Locarno Suite at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), the AIWF under the aegis of the FCO and the League of Arab States and in the presence of Cherie Blair, wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, on Friday launched its 2005 program report and Recommendations on how to promote “women as engines of economic growth in the Arab World.”

The setting and platform for the launch was rather curious. The report and recommendations, according to AIWF Chairman Haifa Al-Kaylani, is to be presented to governments participating at the 10th anniversary of the so-called Barcelona Process to be held in the Catalan city in November 2005. The Barcelona Process is the euphemism for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership launched in Barcelona during the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in November 1995, and is a wide framework of political economic and social relations between the member states of the European Union and the partners of the southern Mediterranean.

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership comprises 35 members — the 25 European Union countries and 10 Mediterranean partners. This is not even half the membership of the League of Arab States. Some critics point out the conspicuous absence of the AIWF from what they perceive as perhaps more relevant platforms such as the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) and IDB (Islamic Development Bank) summits.

“The value of women’s contributions to the economy,” stressed Al-Kaylani, “remains at the heart of the AIWF program. It is essential that women be integrated into the mainstream — taking advantage of education and skills training, accessing micro-credit or venture capital, and developing their full economic potential. When women prosper, families and communities prosper. Women’s contributions to the economy help nurture a secure, stable and peaceful society. The Arab world is facing many challenges and needs to explore how to turn these challenges into opportunities. The future growth of the region must be built on making better use of its human resources.”