Social Action Minister: ‘Mauritanian Women Have Made Great Strides on the Road to Progress and Prosperity’

Addressing delegations participating in the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on 13 March in York, Ms. Savia Mint Ntehah, the Minister of Social Action, Children, and Family, declared that ‘Mauritanian women have made great strides on the road to progress and prosperity, with appreciable progress in several areas such as the strengthening of the human rights system, economic empowerment, support for political participation, and access to decision-making centers’. 

The minister added that the Mauritanian government has made significant efforts to provide and bring basic services closer to the most vulnerable groups in society, particularly women and girls, including women with disabilities. 

She indicated that despite the efforts made, the results obtained do not live up to expectations due to the lack of awareness among women of the importance of these services. 

The minister listed the measures taken to improve the status of Mauritanian women over the last five years, particularly the financing of income-generating activities for the most deprived women, the training of women and out-of-school girls in sought-after professions on the national labor market, the distribution of prizes to deserving girls to encourage them to continue their studies, the change in mentalities and family education through the creation of a television channel specializing in family issues, the use of social mediation to resolve and deal with family conflicts, and support and advocacy for women before courts. 

Ms. Mint Ntehah added that these measures also relate to the development of a draft framework law to combat violence against women and girls, the issuance of a fatwa prohibiting female genital mutilation, the training of imams of mosques in areas where this phenomenon is widespread, the creation of the National Committee to Combat Gender-Based Violence, the creation of sectoral committees to institutionalize gender in all government sectors, and the continuation of the program of voluntary abandonment of harmful practices against girls throughout the national territory. 

She also noted the opening of eight reception and accommodation centers for women victims of violence, the approval of a feasibility study on the Family Bank, which will be opened soon, and the launch of a fund for collecting alimony this year.