Abu Dhabi, April 24: The inaugural ‘Forum of institutions supporting the protection of women and children in the United Arab Emirates’ has called for legislation to counter passive violence against women. It also asserted that the Children’s Act in the UAE will contribute to the protection of children.
The Forum hailed the decision of Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairperson of General Women’s Union and Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation, for setting up a Supreme Committee for the preparation of the national strategy for maternity and childhood.
Participants in the Forum, which concluded recently, also thanked Lt. General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, for his support for the care and protection of women and children in the country.
In its recommendations, the Forum underlined the importance of partnership between federal and government agencies and the civil society organisations and urged to unite their efforts to protect women, children and families through the creation of a mechanism to ensure the continuity of partnership and networking.
Participants also called for activating the supervisory role by the country’s regulatory authorities on the institutions and associations working in the field of protection of women and children so as to ensure the effectiveness of the roles played by these institutions.
Other recommendations included the establishment of a database, research on national level to study the status of women and children including disabled children, a unified training programme to develop capabilities of those providing care for women and children, and a workshop for those who are about to get married to prepare them for the responsibility of marital life. The Forum also stressed the importance of developing consolidated training programmes at the national level aimed at the development of the care providers for the protection of children and women and enhance the capabilities of all agencies working in the field.
The Forum, in its recommendations, also stressed the need for awareness creation among women and children about their rights guaranteed by the country and elimination of gender discrimination. The recommendations also touched upon several areas pertaining to the rights of women and children. The participants also pointed out the importance of partnership between the government bodies, at both the local and federal levels, and civil organisations to unify efforts in curbing violence against women and children, and urged the authorities to work towards the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in education curricula in schools and universities. Brigadier Ahmed Mohammed Nukhaira, director of Human Rights Department at the MoI, stressed on the importance of cooperation, exchange of expertise and implementation of the best practices in this key humanitarian and social aspect.
–Agencies