Plan for Gender Sensitive Legislation to Boost Women's Role in Society:Dr.Al-Ibrahim

Doha, May 17 (QNA) - Gender sensitive laws will be developed to enhance women's participation in society, the Secretary-General of the General Secretariat for Development Planning told a forum here Tuesday.
In his keynote address to the Second Qatar International Business Women's Forum opened here today, Dr Ibrahim Al Ibrahim said, "Gender-sensitised legislation will be developed to encourage more women to take active roles in society and a thorough review of gender equity in public sector employment will serve as a first step in removing existing social and cultural barriers."
Dr Ibrahim, who is also the Economic Advisor to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, spoke on the aims of the Forum which are to enhance the role of women in business and investment as well as their contributions in overcoming global economic challenges.
These goals that the State of Qatar shares are articulated in the country's national vision and its development strategy, he said in his address to the gathering today.
"The Qatar National Vision (QNV) empowers all citizens without prejudice to any groups and more directly women by identifying goals to advance their position and status in society," he said.
The Secretary-General of the General Secretariat for Development Planning also highlighted some of QNV objectives on human and social development. High quality training opportunities for all citizens, effective social protection system for all Qataris, enhancing women's capacities and empowering them to participate fully in political and economic spheres and increasing opportunities for vocational support for Qatari women, are essential to make the vision a reality.
Mentioning Qatar's first National Development Strategy (NDS) 2011-2016 launched this March, Dr. Ibrahim said, "The Strategy is an ambitious plan of action containing priority national programmes and related targets. These programmes, as in the case of the QNV, are designed to promote women's empowerment through building capacities, increasing opportunities and removing various constraints."
These initiatives cover four key areas, he said. Building education and skills capacities of Qataris, particularly women; Assisting Qataris to work in private sector and participating in business environment; Removing the obstacles to women's participation in the labour force and lastly promoting women as leaders.(QNA)