VZCZCXYZ0033
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMK #0583/01 1011254
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111254Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4417
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS MANAMA 000583 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMPI KWMN KDEM PGOV PREL BA REGION HUMRIT
REFORM 
SUBJECT: MEPI/GOB REGIONAL ARAB WOMEN'S CONFERENCE A 
SMASHING SUCCESS 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  MEPI and the Bahraini MFA joined forces to 
co-host a MENA regional conference March 27-28 to celebrate 
the "Successes of Women as Leaders of Change". More than 120 
women leaders from 16 Arab countries shared their recent 
unprecedented achievements of reform in the legal, economic 
and political fields, and developed strategies for action to 
build on these successes.  Press coverage of the event was 
positive and extensive, including Bahraini press, regional 
press, and satellite television CNBC Arabia.  Those 
interviewed welcomed this form of foreign assistance, which 
focuses on local knowledge transfer and capacity-building 
enabling women to work for change within their societies. 
End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Women from 16 Arab countries converged on Manama, 
Bahrain for the "Successes of Women as Leaders of Change" 
conference March 27 and 28, co-hosted by MEPI and the 
Bahraini MFA, and supported by the Bahraini Supreme Council 
for Women. The one hundred twenty-one women and fourteen men 
that attended represented leaders across a wide range of 
fields, including: legal professionals, civil society 
activists, parliamentarians, entrepreneurs, businesswomen, 
journalists and academics.  The conference highlighted the 
successes of women,s movements that have pushed for and 
achieved reform and are contributing to their nation,s 
democratic advancement. The American Bar Association provided 
logistical support. 
 
-------------------- 
Conference Offerings 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The first day of the conference highlighted 
successful models of women,s collective action in the areas 
of family law reform, economic empowerment and political 
participation. The Moroccan delegation discussed the 
strategies they employed and coalitions they built to push 
for successful reforms of the Mudawana family law.  A second 
panel on economic empowerment featured businesswomen from 
Bahrain, Tunisia and the UAE who discussed the increasing 
role of 
women as part of the labor force and production, the success 
of small business loans to women who have subsequently 
developed large model businesses, and the growing importance 
of women-run family businesses in Arab economies.  On the 
political participation panel, the Director for Women,s 
Empowerment at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 
discussed Saudi women,s recent successful efforts to 
participate as voters and candidates in various Chambers of 
Commerce elections across the Kingdom.  The Kuwaiti 
delegation represented three generations of women that fought 
for and achieved the right to vote.  They shared with the 
plenary how they were able to mobilize support, their 
strategies for success, and future plans to utilize this 
newly gained power for increased opportunities for women. 
 
¶4.  (U) The second day was dedicated to workshops on skills 
and strategies for taking these successes to the next level. 
Participants were given the choice of participating in one of 
three skills-building workshops on coalition building, 
negotiation or communication. The women provided enthusiastic 
feedback on this professional training, and many approached 
the organizers to suggest that even more such training be 
done in future conferences.  In the afternoon, the women 
broke into working groups along the three themes.  They 
outlined specific challenges to reform and developed plans of 
action using lessons learned from successes achieved to date 
and new strategies to move forward.  These action plans were 
presented in the concluding session and were taken back by 
each delegation to their respective countries. 
 
--------------------------- 
Media Coverage and Reaction 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Opportunities for media coverage included a press 
conference with five panelists, a press roundtable with 
NEA/FO Senior Advisor Erin Walsh and the DCM, and several 
individual interviews (television and print) with 
participants.  Coverage was extensive and included Bahraini 
Arabic and English press, regional Arabic and English 
press, and participant interviews and multiple-day coverage 
on CNBC Arabia satellite station. 
 
¶6.  (U) Arabic Daily Al-Wasat devoted a two-page spread April 
2 to the conference.  The editor of the special 
report, Nada Al-Wadi, questioned in an op-ed piece why only 
foreign countries and institutions support the empowerment of 
women while efforts of Arab governments and institutions to 
empower women are lacking.  She wrote: "We need Arab or GCC 
organizations that will unify the efforts of women and take 
 
advantage of the experiences of women in other Arab 
countries.  Do we always need foreign support to teach us how 
to do this?" 
 
¶7.  (U) Women interviewed by Al-Wasat drew a distinction 
between foreign interference in local issues and foreign 
assistance to develop women to work within their 
environments.  Jordanian journalist and activist Rana 
Al-Hussaini said that the conference did not impose foreign 
beliefs upon the participants but gave them an opportunity to 
talk openly of their problems in order to resolve them. 
Kuwait-based Arabian and Regional Center for Environment 
Legislation Chairwoman Badriya Al-Awadi said, "Unfortunately 
Arab countries have not paid attention to the issues that 
MEPI has tackled.  MEPI has focused on women's issues because 
giving women their rights is an important aspect of 
democracy."  Bahraini political opposition leader and 
professor Munira Fakhro asked rhetorically, "How can we 
accept democratic principles and at the same time reject 
ideas that are in favor of women's rights, considering them 
foreign interference?" 
 
¶8.  (U) Columnist Abdulla Al-Ayoobi from Arabic daily Akhbar 
Al-Khaleej, traditionally critical of U.S. foreign policy, 
March 29 welcomed the conference as another example of how 
civil society groups are working to empower women against 
traditions and customs that have oppressed them.  He wrote: 
"We need continued hard work to cause a revolution against 
those traditions that are mostly attributed to religion.  We 
need a continuity of conferences such as this, and we must 
make efforts to abolish discrimination against women." 
 
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Comment 
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¶9.  (U) The conference was a model of multilateral 
cooperation that resulted in a prominent, effective event for 
the region, advancing the objectives of the US Freedom 
Agenda, and supporting MEPI and mission goals to promote 
women's empowerment in Bahrain and the greater NEA region. 
MFA officials were very pleased with the outcome of the 
conference and the raising of Bahrain's profile in terms of 
supporting women's progress.  Participants were very 
appreciative of the opportunity the conference afforded to 
draw attention to women's movements across the Arab world and 
celebrate recent advances. 
 
MONROE