Welcome all of you. It is my pleasure and honor to have this opportunity to talk to you in this important event that seeks to shed light on aspects that may receive little attention from the media and different governments and have an effect on the situation of women within their societies. There is no doubt that a topic like this usually provokes intense debate as a result of conflicting desires and viewpoints.

In recent years, women have made important achievements in terms of their political, economic and social rights, but not to the extent that it can be said that discrimination against women has become a thing of the past. Many policies and measures continue to violate those rights, es evidenced by countless discriminatory practices.

These anti-women violations continue to increase, especially in what can be described as invisible conflicts, especially since existing laws put women's rights and their family stability in jeopardy. Indeed, family disputes are a real indication of prejudice against women. In most countries, personal status laws do not help achieve gender justice. Every day, scores of violations against women’s rights take place in issues related to divorce, child custody, inheritance and economic rights. Unfortunately, such violations do not receive an adequate attention from governments, simply because the latter deal with them as normal cases that do not need any intervention.

Ignored invisible conflicts include what women are exposed to in displacement or refugee situations. Most of the time, women bear a double responsibility, as they are concerned with the care and protection of children, especially if the father is absent for any reason. So, intelligent humanitarian interventions are urgently needed to notice such difficult cases. In this context, we would not be exaggerating, if we say that women are among the groups most exploited by extremist and armed groups, and by gangs of organized crimes like human trafficking, sexual exploitation, organ selling, and so on.

 

Dear friends,

Women more than anyone pay the price for wars and armed conflicts, be they at the domestic or foreign level. We all know how such thing comes to happen, and many peoples keep painful memories in this regard. In the current war waged by the Putin regime on Ukraine, horrific reports are emerging daily, including raping, stealing children from their families and killing of peaceful civilians with the aim to force people to surrender. I do not need to remind you that Syria suffered for more than what is going on in Ukraine. Syria was a victim to several serial killers, namely Putin’s army, the fascist al-Assad regime’s troops and Iran’s ideological militias and its regional proxies, who were responsible for the greatest destruction against the Syrian people. 

 

Dear friends,

Women live under very difficult conditions in most cases. In stable societies, men continue to receive much more privileges than women despite the fact that there is no need for discrimination, like obtaining aid or cooperative small project loans. Ready justifications for such practices are always there. But as mentioned before, each case should be carefully examined, instead of dealing with men as if they were more worthy of work and assistance than women.

The pro-men privileges extend to include travel document requirements. It is noted that many countries still look at women as a non-independent being, even if they have educational qualifications men do not enjoy, and even if they have greater positions or responsibilities.

It is true that many countries have begun to reconsider the laws that impede women from obtaining their rights, but this remains insufficient to build healthy societies that enjoy their various rights. In some countries in the Middle East, granting women some rights is exploited for propaganda purposes, because women working in the political or human rights field are subjected to crackdowns and to all forms of extortion.

 

Dear friends, 

Let us agree that a large part of women’s suffering ignored by media news has to do with the unfair prejudice against women in some societies. Failing to exert appropriate efforts to correct the misconception, re-examine proverbs and expressions disrespecting women, will further contribute to making women being subject to all forms of violations. I find myself in solidarity with all the voices calling for stopping targeting or exploiting women. Societies with ambitious aspirations never allow one of their wings to be broken. Men and women deserve a decent life, a matter that we must strive to achieve.

In this context, I believe it is important for different governments to seek to develop common policies that protect women from being exploited, and from suffering the consequences of political or military conflicts, as is the case in most of cases. Such immoral logic should be avoided in this context, whatever the political justifications.

At the end of my brief speech, I see it is important to refer to the active participation of Yemeni women in popular protests of 2011, and later in the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference. Yemeni women stood with courage and determination in the face of the Houthi militia. It is true that the militia continues tirelessly in its attempts to deprive women of the political and economic gains and rights, and to prevent them from having access to the public sphere under various pretexts. But eventually it will not succeed in achieving its goals.

Let me finally salute women everywhere and tell them that tomorrow will definitely be better, whatever the reality today. 

Many thanks to you!