RIYADH, 19 December 2005 — Saudi women need a modified educational curriculum which would enable them to perform jobs in addition to those as nurses, teachers and housewives. This was the consensus of participants at the second day of the workshop, “Women and Millennium Development Goals,” held yesterday in the Diplomatic Quarter here.
The need for a modified educational curriculum was discussed following a speech by Dr. Fowzia Al-Bakr who spoke on the Kingdom’s education and labor market. The workshop participants felt that Saudi women could be more useful to both family and society if the education system were tailored to their needs and aspirations.
Other topics discussed included “Women’s Empowerment,” “Leadership Qualities for Women in Developing Society,” and “Women and Education.”
The speakers were Dr. Muneera Al-Nahed, Dr. Hannan Al-Ahmadi, Dr. Wafa Al-Rusheid, Dr. Hatoon Al-Fassi, Salwa Al-Hazha and Nagla Arafa.
Responding to negative comments on the workshop, Samar Fatany, a Saudi radio journalist and a workshop participant, said, “It is a pity that people do not understand things in the proper perspective. This is a meeting at which important matters on women are being discussed at a professional level which could bear fruit in the future.”
The participants were also guests at a dinner reception hosted by El-Mostafa Benlamlih, United Nations resident coordinator as part of the UN’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Saturday. At the reception, popular Saudi soccer star Sami Al-Jaber of Al-Hilal Club and television personality Muna Abu Sulayman were appointed national goodwill ambassadors by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Muna, who works as executive manager in the Strategic Studies Department at the Kingdom Holding Company, hosts the MBC talk show “Kalam Nawaem” on MBC TV.
El-Mostafa said the idea of the workshop was to provide a platform for Saudi women to exchange information and share ideas about areas of interest to the Kingdom’s women. In September 2000, Saudi Arabia became a signatory to the convention, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
