Bahraini women offer fine examples of major role in national pandemic efforts

Manama, Feb. 18 (BNA): Bahraini women offered fine examples of the key role women can play in national pandemic efforts, a senior health official has said. “During the pandemic, 400 female nurses were employed immediately to provide care for the covid patients,” Mariam Adhbi Al Jalahma, CEO of the National Health Regulatory Authority, Member of the Supreme Council of Health and member of Bahrain’s National Medical Team to combat covid-19, said. Addressing a webinar organized by IPI MENA to highlight the fundamental role of women in the MENA region, Al Jalahma stressed the critical role of the private sector in providing facilities for quarantine and services in tackling the challenges of the pandemic. Keynote speaker Wided Bouchamoui, former head of the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, co-founder of the Tunisian National Socio-economic Dialogue Quartet and Nobel Laureate recipient, emphasized how small-and-medium women-owned businesses were disproportionately hit in the MENA region. “Women entrepreneurs need to sacrifice more than their male counterparts, largely due to the fact that women are grappling with already existing economic restrictions exacerbated by the pandemic,” she said. Reforming laws towards more inclusive legal frameworks in enhancing women’s rights is one of the solutions to address the socio-economic imbalance, she said. Bouchamoui also suggested the removal of systematic barriers in business by investing in training and mentorship of women in non-traditional sectors to facilitate their integration in STEM fields. “We need you men as our partners,” she told the webinar as she noted the necessity and requirement of male counterparts in society to address these issues. Professor M. Dahmani Fathallah, former Harvard Medical School scientist and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Bahrain, emphasized the importance of both education and technology in fighting gender discrimination. Acting as principal discussant, he also highlighted the development of the second-generation vaccine at AGU and said that its success was due to the contribution of its female researchers. Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy Margaret Nardi underscored the importance of recognizing the negative impacts of the pandemic on women through the stark rise in domestic violence and unsustainable workloads. German Ambassador o Bahrain Kai Boeckmann built on Nardi’s comment and stressed the need to work together to find sustainable solutions to these realities. He pointed out specifically to the impact of the pandemic on climate change and women. IPI MENA hosted the webinar "The Role of Gendered Private Sector in Tackling Pandemics” to highlight the fundamental role of women in the MENA region both as front-liners during the onset of Covid-19 and as a cornerstone in the private sector. “Women are at the forefront of all efforts deployed to mitigate the challenges brought by covid-19 and to achieve harmonious regional sustainable development,” IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji said as he launched the webinar. The webinar, in which several diplomats participated, commemorated the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.