Mona Al Hammoudi (Abu Dhabi)
As part of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Initiative for Women, Peace and Security, to build female cadres in the fields of military work and peacekeeping, the third batch of trainees started their training organized by the General Women’s Union, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, and in coordination with the United Nations Women. The training, which will last for nine weeks, confirms the UAE’s keenness to enhance women’s participation in the fields of security and peace, increase the number of women qualified to work in the military sector, and achieve the strategic objectives of Security Council Resolution 1325. 140 trainees will participate in the third batch of the training program From various Arab and African countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Socotra), Bahrain, Liberia, Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Pakistan, Chad, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Mauritania. The training program extends for nine weeks, the first seven weeks of which witness intensive military training, and the last two weeks of it are devoted to training in peace-building and peacekeeping measures, and all training activities are held in Abu Dhabi at the Khawla Bint Al Azwar Women’s Military Academy of the Ministry of Defense.
The trainees were received at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Center for Women, Peace and Security, which was inaugurated by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, President of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation “Mother of the Emirates”, as part of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Initiative for Women, Peace and Security. The establishment of the center aims to enhance international cooperation to build national, regional and global capacities in the field of women, peace and security, contribute to creating an enabling environment for women, and increase public awareness about gender and peacekeeping, as well as support the role of decision makers in the Arab region and the international community to build their capacities in supporting the participation of women. Women in peacebuilding processes and activities.
The launch of the training program for the third batch coincides with Abu Dhabi’s hosting of the United Nations Conference on Women, Peace and Security, which will be held from 8 to 10 September, with the participation of a group of international decision-makers, senior officials, diplomats and personalities concerned with women’s issues, security and peace in the Arab region and the world. The conference is organized by the General Women’s Union, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations Women and the League of Arab States.
It is worth noting that with the participation of 140 trainees in the training program for the third batch, the total number of trainees within the Fatima Bint Mubarak Initiative for Women, Peace and Security has reached 497 so far, as the first batch of women enrolled in the training program was received in January 2019 with the participation of 134 Arab women from 7 countries. The great program for the first session of the program It was agreed between the UAE and UN Women to expand the scope of participation to include countries from Africa and Asia, in an unprecedented manner in the history of the United Nations. In January 2020, the second batch began with the participation of 223 women from 11 African and Arab countries.
In this regard, Noura Al-Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the General Women’s Union, said: “The reception of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Initiative for Women, Peace and Security for a new batch of trainees after the previous two batches is a confirmation of the success of the training program, thanks to the support of our wise leadership and the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak. And its continuous efforts to achieve a breakthrough in supporting women’s participation in all sectors, especially the peace and security sectors, and we hope that the trainees at the center will be a qualitative addition to peacekeeping and security operations in various countries of the world after they receive specialized training that qualifies them to work in the security sector.”
Sima Buhous, Executive Director of UN Women, said: “The United Arab Emirates has been a strong champion and an outstanding partner in achieving progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly its fifth goal. In this regard, I appreciate the initiative of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to Empower Women in Peace and Security, which provides training and capacity building opportunities for women from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in the military and peacekeeping. UN Women is proud of its partnership in these efforts that advance the agenda of women, peace and security, and help us achieve the desired progress in this important file.”
Her Excellency Dr. Sima Bohouth, Executive Director of UN Women, praised the role of the training program during her visit to the General Women’s Union at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, which comes as part of her official program during her visit to the current United Arab Emirates to attend the United Nations Conference on Women, Peace and Security, which is hosted in the capital Abu Dhabi.
During the visit, the two sides discussed the importance of drawing on expertise and experience in the process of empowering women around the world by promoting the agenda of women, peace and security.
The Executive Director of UN Women was keen, during the visit of the General Women’s Union, to meet the female members of the third batch of the training program, and to encourage them to obtain maximum benefit from the outputs of the program to reach the required levels of excellence, which will contribute in an influential way to spreading and promoting a culture of dialogue and peace, and achieving security, stability and development for their societies. And for the whole world.
The training program for building women cadres in the fields of military action is based on a memorandum of understanding signed in 2018 between the UAE Ministry of Defense, the General Women’s Union and the United Nations, at the headquarters of the UAE Mission to the United Nations in New York, and in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs And international cooperation, in a clear confirmation of the commitment of the United Arab Emirates to promoting the agenda of women, peace and security, while the initiative of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to empower women in peace and security was launched on this pioneering training program in September 2020, on the sidelines of the celebrations of the United Nations twentieth anniversary Years after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000.
Female trainees in the Women, Peace and Security Program expressed their pride in participating in the program and receiving training that contributes to preparing them militarily, thus achieving the full involvement of women in all efforts to maintain peace and security in conflict areas around the world.
Naima Al Balushi, from the Kingdom of Bahrain, said: “I joined the Women, Peace and Security Program in order to gain experience and coexistence with the peoples of other countries, in addition to gaining experience and exchanging cultures between us.”
She stressed that the trainings, through the training program, played a major role in providing them with new skills different from those they received in their countries, and that field training in the army is different from what they acquired while working in the police corps. She indicated her ambition to honor her homeland, and to achieve one of the first positions in theoretical and practical training.
She thanked Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation “Mother of the Nation” for her efforts in supporting the agenda of women, peace and security at the global level, and for launching the training program on women, security and peace “HH Initiative” Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to empower women in peace and security.
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First Lieutenant Engineer Aseel Atef Hajaya from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan pointed out that her participation in the peacekeeping course for women held in the United Arab Emirates is an honor for her and her colleagues from Jordan.
She said: “The training course increased our skills, our cultural communication, and the acquisition of experience with the rest of the other participating countries. We also gained the advantage of speed of simulation, different languages and dialects, and an increase in military skills and extensive training experiences provided to us by women pioneers of military action from Khawla Bint Al-Azwar Military School.”
She stressed that women are of great importance in the military sector, as they participated in all military fields, whether peacekeeping forces, training skills or military raids, including the engineer and the pilot, and there are those in the navy, noting that women have proven their worth in all military fields, and have proven Its presence, and it had a clear and effective imprint in society.
Rashaya Ryabkon, from southern Sudan, indicated that her goal from this training is to know the right position for her as a woman in the military field, and the right to participate in any field, stressing that she will learn a lot and more from this program and training.
“The Women, Peace and Security program brought together all of us as women from different countries which is very important, and I know we will make friends with women from different countries, and that is one of the important things,” she said.
She added, “Therefore, I appreciate my country when I am sent to the UAE to have the opportunity to enroll in this program.”
For her part, Raimedina Stephanie-Chad said: “I came here to learn a lot about military life, especially since we suffer somewhat in our country from this matter, such as terrorist attacks and others; So when dealing with this problem, we have to be strong, and know more about the military, how to defend yourself and your country, and even how to deal with people who are not like them.”
She pointed out that some men in her country do not give importance to women, and it is assumed that the strength of women in military life is recognized, that she can perform what men do in the military, and that the use of weapons is not exclusive to men.
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