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Doha: The vision of a young and courageous Qatari woman materialised with the launch of the country's first national forum aimed at empowering women.
Hessa Al Kuwairi, 24, a graduate from the Information Sciences and Library Faculty at Qatar University, has set up the Qatar Ladies Forum, a non-government organisation that will support Qatari and expatriate women.
"This project is my baby, I am investing all my energy in it since March, when I first got the idea following a conference on women's empowerment," Hessa told Gulf News yesterday.
The forum was launched on Qatar's National Day, September 3, with the official inauguration of its website. A range of social, political and cultural activities are already in the pipeline, said Hessa.
The initiative will be open not only to women in Qatar, but also to those men interested in supporting women's emancipation.
Inspired by the calls of Shaikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al Misnad, the Qatar Emir's wife, for the active participation of women in social life, the forum will promote cultural and social growth, said Hessa.
The first objective will be to prepare women for the parliamentary elections next year, in which women are expected to participate as both candidates and voters.
"The elections will represent a major opportunity for Qatar's women, who will finally have a chance to demonstrate their skills. The problem of women here is that they have a lot of potential but few chances to show it," she said.
Hessa's ambition has been strongly supported by her family. Relatives Dhabia, Lulua and Aisha have formed a support team to take care of the forum's legal, communication, finance and information affairs.
"The males of the family are strongly backing us also, because this is a very important initiative for the country," said Hessa.
The self-financed group will rely on sponsors and donations to run its activities, Hessa said.
Some governmental departments and institutions have already pledged to provide human and logistic support.
"We will organise courses, meetings, lectures, where all the topics related to our everyday life, from family to politics and religion, will be debated," said Hessa's sister Ameena.
"There is a need to connect people, women and men, because our country needs both."
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