First Lady Participates in Conference on Women’s Empowerment, Education
On 5 September, First Lady Dr. Mariem Fadel Dah participated in a conference entitled: “China and Africa Hand in Hand: Education as a Mechanism for Women’s Empowerment,” held on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, at the invitation of First Lady of the People’s Republic of China Peng Li Wan.
In her speech on the occasion, the First Lady stressed the importance of the conference, which she is participating in with other African First Ladies, given the need for African countries and the world at large to strengthen women’s empowerment, as well as the critical role of education in this context.
Dr. Mariem Fadel Dah stressed that Mauritanian women represent about 52% of the country’s total population and are strongly present in various sectors such as administration, education, agriculture, trade, and services, adding that they are well represented in decision-making centers where they make up about a fifth of the members of the government and parliament and more than a third of municipal and regional councilors, and occupy sensitive positions such as the Regional Council of Nouakchott, the General Directorate of Television, the Food Security Commission, the directorate of the Public Transport Company, and other important administrative positions, as well as their strong presence in the national diplomatic corps, the defense and security corps, and the regional administration.
She added that the Mauritanian government has ratified all international conventions and charters relating to the protection and promotion of women’s rights and works in great harmony with the international community for the advancement of women, following the various updates of the Beijing Platform for Advancing Women.
She pointed out that Mauritanian women benefit from special attention from the public authorities in education and vocational training, stressing that the government has designed special programs for social care and assistance to vulnerable groups, including women, the elderly, and people suffering from chronic diseases.
The First Lady stressed that to contribute to the national effort to support education as the strongest pillar of women’s empowerment, and in response to her keen interest in this subject due to her personal experience, she has paid great attention to the issue of education, particularly the education of children with disabilities and special educational needs. She worked to create a collective awareness aimed primarily at the education and rehabilitation of disabled children by opening an education center for autistic children. It is also the first specialized center of its kind in Mauritania.
Dr. Mariem Fadel Dah shared with mothers of children with disabilities their concerns about establishing a special education system for this category of children in support of the government’s efforts in this regard.
The First Lady indicated that she oversaw the launch of the strategic plan for developing preschool education, which has enabled more than 50,000 children to access preschool education to date. Last year, she also launched a major national initiative called the Campaign for the Political Empowerment of Mauritanian Women, which resulted in the significant presence of Mauritanian women in high elected office. In addition, she oversaw the financing of several income-generating projects for productive women in the country and the launch of the National Observatory for the Rights of Women and Girls. It is an advisory body mandated to monitor and report on issues related to the rights of women and girls and to guide and raise the government’s awareness about the importance of safeguarding women’s rights.
The First Lady expressed her honor to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate the National School of Social Work as a major educational and training edifice aimed at training and graduating human resources capable of keeping pace with the modern renaissance of social protection and addressing the accompanying shortage of expertise to care for vulnerable groups. She added that she is increasingly convinced that there is no alternative but to continue to redouble efforts in this area, noting that nothing is more powerful than education for the advancement of women and nothing is more effective than women’s empowerment for the progress of nations and peoples.