With the aim of supporting and empowering women and girls in conflict and war zones around the world, the Qatar Fund for Development launched the "Women in Conflict Zones" initiative, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

The initiative, led by the Qatar Fund for Development in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program, comes within the framework of Qatar's supportive role in empowering women and girls in societies affected by conflicts, wars and poverty, and motivating them to make positive change in the face of crises.

The "Women in Conflict Zones" initiative reflects the State of Qatar's commitment to strengthening efforts to protect women during conflicts and to ensure their vital participation in building stability and peacekeeping as stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which is the historic decision for the women's, peace and security agenda, and subsequent Security Council resolutions .

This initiative comes in the context of a series of humanitarian and development projects implemented by Qatar represented by the Qatar Fund for Development and other national institutions in conflict areas around the world, including the "Educate a Child" initiative, which provides access to quality education for marginalized communities in 42 countries.

Al-Khater: The aim of Qatar’s launch of this initiative is to eliminate the negative effects that arise as a result of crises (Qatari Press)

constant suffering

During a special ceremony held in New York to launch the initiative, Lolwah Al-Khater, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said, "We do indeed live in a world in which women continue to be subjected to a high level of violence, poverty and exclusion in particular, especially in conflict and fragile contexts," stressing that the "Women's Initiative" In areas of conflict” it will serve as a platform to highlight key issues such as marginalization, poverty and the inevitable consequences of armed conflict.

Al-Khater pointed out that the aim of Qatar's launch of this initiative is to eliminate the negative effects that arise as a result of crises, such as education, health care and basic skills.

The Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister also highlighted the suffering experienced by women around the world as a result of conflicts and wars, in addition to how women are disproportionately affected by conflict and violence, which pushes them to greater vulnerability and poverty.

Al-Khater added that women in fragile or conflict-ridden environments are often left behind and marginalized, noting that during the period between 1990 and 2017, most mediation efforts did not involve any women, despite the fact that they were the most affected.

The Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister revealed that one of the initiative's partnerships between the Qatar Fund for Development and the Afghan Digital Citizen Fund aims to train 90 girls inside Afghanistan to work in the health sector.

Al-Misnad: Qatar continues to protect and care for victims of conflicts and wars (Qatari Press)

A Qatari Approach to Helping Women

For her part, the Qatari Minister of Social Development and Family, Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad, affirmed that her country continues to protect and care for victims of conflicts and wars, regardless of their race, religion and nationalities.

Al-Misnad said - in a speech during the ceremony - that the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, established Qatar's approach to equality and a comprehensive vision of the role of women, so we seek to help women and girls in conflict areas who are considered the most vulnerable victims.

As for the Director of the United Nations Development Program, Achim Steiner, he thanked the State of Qatar for launching this initiative, which seeks to support women affected by wars and conflicts around the world, and to respond to the needs of women in crisis situations.

During the ceremony, Steiner emphasized that women, who represent half of the affected population, do not even sit at the table when designing programs, nor are they at the negotiating table when peace negotiations are conducted, and they certainly do not participate when these programs are implemented.

The UN official stressed that the "Women in Conflict Areas" initiative seeks to empower women in conflict areas through humanitarian and development assistance.

Al-Kuwari indicated that the initiative seeks to empower women to bring about positive change in conflict-ridden societies (Qatari Press).

positive change

In turn, the Director-General of the Qatar Fund for Development, Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Kuwari, said that the core of our message is based on the right of every person, wherever he is, even in areas of conflict, to live a dignified life, including equal access to basic human freedoms such as education, health and economic opportunities.

Al-Kuwari added in a speech during the launching ceremony of the "Women in Conflict Areas" initiative, we launched the initiative to confront violence based on social discrimination and sexual harassment and to guarantee the basic rights of women and girls in conflict areas, including the right to education and work.

The Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development affirms that this initiative seeks to empower women to bring about positive change in societies burdened with conflict, provide them with great protection, and encourage them to actively participate in the economic cycle as a means of protecting them.

Al-Kuwari indicated that the Qatar Fund for Development initiative stresses that women’s participation in conflict resolution and prevention is not an option, but rather an essential and effective component in building and sustaining stability. No transformation within the community.

The session on launching the "Women in Conflict Areas" initiative witnessed the presentation of a short film on the projects implemented by the State of Qatar to support affected women in conflict areas and help them access social and economic services, in addition to the participation of women from Palestine and Afghanistan who presented their experiences despite the difficulties they experienced as a result of the conflicts in their country.

It is noteworthy that the Qatar Fund for Development, in cooperation with the Digital Citizen Fund, signed in April of last year a grant agreement to finance vocational training for women and girls in Afghanistan to enable them to keep pace with the labor market.