Dr. Dalya Al Muthanna is the President/ CEO of General Electric (GE) Gulf. In her role, she develops the company’s business strategy for the Gulf region, leading business growth and driving cross business selling across General Electric’s portfolio.
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet is the Robert I. Williams Term Professor of History and director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a scholar of modern Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and the Persian Gulf, having published extensively on these topics.
There are more women than men in parliament in Africa and across developing countries. This is very fascinating. An East African nation, Rwanda leads globally in the percentage of women parliamentary representation with 63.8%, followed by Bolivia with 53.1%, Cuba with 48.9%, two South American countries. Seychelles, Senegal, and South Africa are African countries with over 41% of women representation in parliament. It is indeed enthralling to note that in additional to the remarkable contributions of women in top leading executive positions of Government, such as Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, women are also contributing, very tremendously, to the society as parliamentarians, by making laws that foster inclusive growth and development, empowering and protecting women against violations and other forms of abuses. Over the following weeks, this column will celebrate the achievements of women-dominated parliament and female parliamentarians across developing countries, showcasing their contributions to the society and…
By: Lyndal Rowlands Despite their prominence on the world stage, female political leaders like Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel are part of a tiny minority of women who have risen to the top of politics. Women “who achieve the highest office are highly visible and extremely impressive (but) they’re still extremely rare,” Anne Marie Goetz, Professor at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University told IPS. The recent impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Roussef has bought the number of female heads of state and government globally back down to just 16 out of almost 200 countries. That number may go back up again in 2017, should Hillary Clinton be elected as the 45th President of the United States. Other prominent female political leaders include Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia and Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom yet overall the world is still a long way…
Kenya will host the 12th edition of the Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (WAMM) in 2019. This was announced at the conclusion of the 11th WAMM held in Apia, Samoa and attended by ministers, senior government officials, civil society members and development partner agencies from across the world. Gender Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki described it as an honour for Kenya to be selected to host the high level meeting. “The Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers’ Meeting speaks to the priorities of the Commonwealth and also to the global agenda for sustainable and inclusive development. Some of the key focus areas include gender equality and women’s rights in the period of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she said. “Deliberations from this meeting also contribute to the recently established Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Women’s Forum.” First held in 1985 and every three years thereafter, the meetings discuss issues around gender…
By: Hewater Liu The women’s federation in the Jinghu District of Wuhu, a city in east China’s Anhui Province, has in recent weeks held various activities, in cooperation with local government departments, social service centers and other organizations, to help impoverished children living nearby. Twenty children learned about safety education and self-protection, as well as other topics such as the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 73rd Venice International Film Festival, during a gathering on August 5. Furthermore, staff members from Jinghu Women’s Federation, local entrepreneurs and volunteers distributed learning materials and publications connected with water safety to children at an event held at Fang Village on August 31. At the same time, Ma Benxuan and Zhu Cuihua, two representatives of local inspirational families, spoke with local teenagers about their stories, aiming to inspire them to follow family education closely and observe traditional Chinese virtues in their…
For so many people, the thought of moving from one house to the other spells a lot of stress, and for those who come into town for a short while the endless stories of bad experiences faced searching for a good apartment are always heard. This prompted Argentina’s Valeria Pasmanter to fill in the gap, serving as an intermediary between landlords and foreigners looking to rent rooms. Though with many challenges, she has been able to pull through the turbulence and provide comfort to a good number of people. Here is her story:
