The Sultanate highly supports women empowerment and takes all efforts in upholding their rights, according to the UNFPA representative. Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of an exclusive media briefing on International Women’s Day, Karl Kulessa, Representative for the Sub-Regional Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council, said that Oman gives opportunities and freedom to both men and women equally.
“Oman comes up in women’s protection in various aspects and this includes in terms of laws being made for all identically, and Oman addresses the issue of equality, while many services are distributed among women without any gender bias’’, Kulessa said.
However, according to him, less women are entering the national labour force and they generally focus on some segments only. Women themselves need to change this scenario.
“The level of education among Omani nationals, especially among women, is very high. However, not all educated women are entering the workforce of the nation, while those interested to work are focusing on some sectors alone. We need to drive Omani women towards engineering, hardcore surgical and medicinal roles etc.”
Various factors such as marriage, children and striking a perfect balance between the two are main factors. To address these, we need more proactive strategies.
Karl Kulessa, Representative for the Sub — Regional Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council[/caption]
Karl Kulessa opines that women have suffered a lot during the pandemic.
“Economically, women work predominantly in people-oriented, small scale, retail, social service, education sectors and Covid-19 has affected their work. Secondly, nearly 44 per cent of women are social workers, whereas in the Arab region it’s 80 per cent and chances of infecting with Covid-19 are high,” he said, adding that thirdly, domestic violence across the world is increasing and these are the three factors we need to look into when we talk about women empowerment.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme was “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world”, and focuses on the enormous contribution of women in leadership at all levels and across all sectors. UNFPA considers addressing the issues pertaining to women more crucial than ever as we tackle the enormous challenges of addressing the health and socioeconomic impact of Covid-19 because women are in the fore front and centre of local, national, regional and global recovery plans.
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