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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


S T A T E M E N T  by  Dr. Ahmed Esmat Abdul-Maguid 
Secretary-General 
League of Arab States 
[Read out on his behalf by  
Ambassador Ahmed Sadry,  
Assistant Secretary-General, League of Arab States] 

at The Fourth world conference on Women 
[Beijing: 7/9/1995]  
[Original: Arabic] 
 
The Chairwoman, 
The Conference Secretary-General, 
Distinguished Heads of Delegation, 
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
May I convey to you, at the outset, the greetings of the Secretary- 
General of the League of Arab States, Dr. Ahmed Esmat Abdul-Maguid, and  
his best wishes for the success of this conference and the  
fructification of its work . I should also express profound appreciation  
for the People's Republic of China, the great country which is playing  
host to this august assembly of governmental and non-governmental  
representatives of countries the world over. For such massive and  
impressive representation reflects the faith of the human society that  
the cause of woman is of interest to nearly one full half of the  
inhabitants of our planet as much as it has a strong impact upon its  
advancement. 
 
Our meeting today is in fact the culmination and crowning of joint  
efforts made by the United Nations and its specialised agencies and  
committees, on the one hand, and international and regional  
organisations including the League of Arab States, on the other hand.  
The underlying co-operation has been guided by such principles and goals  
as are enshrined in the texts of the constituent instruments of both the  
United Nations and the League of Arab States. These are noble principles  
and objectives which ameliorate the values of right, righteousness,  
progress and peace. Co-operation between our two organisations has  
markedly been based upon mutual understanding, mutual respect and the  
coordination of parallel efforts. 
 
While paying tribute to such joint efforts, we find it befitting to  
reiterate our conviction that any consideration of the issue of woman is  
but a consideration of the whole issue of our human society. For woman  
is the one member of the human family who brings up children, who  
injects the enlightened ideas and noble values into the minds and  
conscience of human generations and who remains the nucleus of the  
family and pillar of family life. Moreover, it is woman who upkeeps the  
daily life of the human family by seeking to promote the viability of  
the family and taking care of the health and education of family  
members, in effect pushing hardly and sincerely for ensuring the welfare  
of the family. 
 
Woman, over and above, is the beacon of happiness at home; and she  
shoulders the responsibility of managing and steering home life in such  
a way that turns home into a real haven for all members of the family. 
 
It is expected that the discussions and deliberations to take place in  
this conference will include, inter alia, a review and reappraisal of  
the progress achieved so far in implementation of the forward-looking  
Nairobi strategies that the international community has expressed  
commitment to accomplish in the Second International Woman Decade. 
 
In this connection, the General-Secretariat of the League of Arab States  
has maintained the view that sustained efforts need be exerted to ensure  
the availability of all ways and means deemed necessary for meeting the  
basic and urgent needs of the Arab woman. Such efforts should cover the  
fields of decision-making, promoting her awareness, education, learning,  
illiteracy, training, the elimination of impoverishment, the provision  
of additional health services, the correction of the image of woman in  
the media and the amendment of legislations of relevance to woman and  
her status in such a way that runs in harmony with religious and  
national values and that does not contradict Divine laws. Due care  
should also be devoted to enhancing the capacities of central agencies  
in charge of woman affairs and to the launching of such agencies in  
countries where they have so far not been established.  
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
In the Arab homeland, the status of woman enjoys a distinguished  
position that emanates from the understanding that woman is both the  
nucleus of the family and an indigenous contributor to socio-economic  
development. Proceeding from this understanding, Arab governments have  
sought to provide woman with due access to education, health care and  
the exercise of social, economic and political rights. Arab governments  
have also opened the door wide for woman to actively participate in the  
process of advancing the quality of physical and moral life in society. 
 
As a matter of fact, the keen interest in promoting the status of woman  
in Arab countries emanates, as recognized by many of us, from deeply- 
rooted appreciation and respect for woman in the very conscience,  
culture and civilization of the Arab nation. The Arab woman lives in an  
area whose inhabitants speak one language, have one and the same history  
and culture. Arab civilization, admittedly one of the world's most  
gracious civilizations, has therefore been characterized by internal  
harmony in value systems as well as in the social configuration and  
educational setup. Some other civilizations have unfortunately harboured  
inaccurate images of the Arab woman and may have constructed an  
erroneous impression, implying partiality towards her, either as a  
result of the lack of knowledge or by way of overlooking the role of the  
Arab woman. In the face of such inexact images, the Arab woman has over  
the past couple of decades managed to make outstanding accomplishments--  
thanks to the supreme care devoted to her and the permeation of fee-free  
education throughout the Arab world. 
 
Vocational and technical training have provided women in the Arab world  
with considerable opportunities to have access to the job market.  
According to the latest statistics, woman trainees represented some 10  
to 36% of the total number of trainees. Health conditions for the Arab  
woman have also improved enormously as a result of increased expenditure  
on the provision of health services and the promotion of health  
awareness. 
 
Such progress is also a reflection of the policies pursued by Arab  
countries to the effect of prioritizing the enhancement of human  
resources by means of education and training, in addition to boosting  
the chances of women and young girls to really benefit from their  
education. It may also be worth-mentioning in this context that women in  
Arab countries have had access to many jobs, including medical, judicial  
and attorney jobs. And they have equally had access to decision-making  
posts as cabinet ministers, ambassadors and members of parliament. 
 
While looking forward to greater participation, the Arab woman has  
proved herself capable of shouldering all such responsibilities with  
acknowledgeable capability, efficiency and capacity for remarkable  
contribution to the building of a modern society in the Arab world. 
 
Ladies and Gentlemen 
 
Our present task is to evaluate the accomplishments of the decade that  
has followed the drafting of the Nairobi strategies and ensuing national  
and regional plans of action, and to review the basic issues in our  
approaches to the problems which face the majority of women in the  
world. Such problems include less participation in decision-making,  
violence, literacy, the scene of woman rights as an indivisible part of  
human rights, the role of woman in the realisation of global peace, the  
question of impoverishment, environmental and other critical issues  
which not only impede the advancement of woman but also cripple the  
progress of the human society as a whole. We therefore assume that this  
conference, with its plenary session as well as its affiliate committees  
and working groups, would be required to make huge efforts in the  
direction of reconciling and harmonizing the diversity of views and  
standpoints in order to achieve the goals that have been originally  
aspired. 
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
The League of Arab States pins great hopes on this Conference as a forum  
to seek the upgrading of the potentials of woman and her skills and  
talents through a consideration of prospective measures to overcome the  
obstacles reported in the eleven areas of priority. Discussions in this 
Conference are likely to focus on ways of eliminating the causes of  
impoverishment, illiteracy, violence, wars and armed conflicts. Other  
matters that may be raised for consideration include ways of improving  
the image of woman in the media, intensifying the participation of woman  
in decision-making processes a tall levels and in all fields, promoting  
awareness of woman rights, giving due care to woman since childhood and  
the dismantling of any existing patterns of discrimination between men  
and women. For never will the status of woman undergo any positive  
change without the prior correction of how any given society looks to  
woman and the enhancement of relevant legislations in line with  
developments. Equally, further measures should be adopted to facilitate  
the tasks of the working woman through the provision of necessary  
potentials and satisfactory family services. Such approaches and  
measures should contradict neither the Divine ordinances nor the  
national norms and traditions. Special reference should be made in this  
context to the need for ensuring the exercise by the Palestinian woman,  
living in areas under occupation, of her rights intact, and also for  
safeguarding the rights of the Arab woman in occupied or seige areas. 
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
We are looking forward to the realisation of just and comprehensive  
peace on the basis of the principles of international legitimacy, to  
bring to an end the conditions of occupation, sustained conflicts and  
all forms of siege and blockade which have adverse effects on human  
families in general and on women, children and the ageing in particular.  
We hope that peace and stability will permeate not only our Arab region  
but also the world as whole. We are confident that the participants in  
this Conference have the full resolve to contribute to the achievement  
of this target. 
 
May God guide us all to accomplish what serves the common good of  
humanity at large. 
 
Peace, God's mercy and blessings be upon you all. 
[END OF TEXT]