Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Misnad, Consort of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar, President of Supreme Council for Family Affairs, and by an invitation by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in the State of Qatar, the Seminar on Woman and Politics and Her Role in Development was held in Doha during the period 21^st -23^rd April 2002.

H.H. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser AL-Misnad, President of Supreme Council for Family Affairs opened the Seminar with an address in which H.H. stressed that the timing of holding this Seminar makes it par excellence the Seminar on the Martyr Struggling Palestinian Woman.

The Palestinian woman's struggle is that most accurate and credible expression about woman's role in political life. Her Highness, likewise, stressed the significance of woman's participation in parliamentary life, in decision making centers in view of the national transformation into institutional state and civil social organizations in view of democracy which broadens participation without discrimination in voting and nominating between men and women. H.H. called upon conferees to come out with a clear-cut envisioning that enhances woman's role in building up the society.

Following that, H. E. Mr. Mohammed bin Aubarak Al-Khulaifi, Qatari Parliamentary President, H. E. Mr. Noorul-Deen Boshkoj, Arab Parliamentary Federation Secretary-General, and Dr. Sulwa Abu Khadhra, Palestine Delegation Chair and Palestinian National Council Member and Palestinian General Woman Federation Secretary-General delivered their address.

Delegations from Arab and foreign countries took part in the Seminar as there were presentations of different experiences in the area of women's participation in political and public life and their role in development.

Two workshops were held on the promotion of women's political participation. In this workshop researchers and activists from the State of Qatar participated, and the workshop was chaired by UNIFEM representatives and representatives from the parliamentary program of the College of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University.

Work paper of over 250 participants were discussed in the Seminar which was an occasion for exchanging ideas and attitudes on the  most significant issues related to the seminar's objectives.

Participants valued the decree of H. H. the Emir of the State of Qatar for granting Qatari women the right to vote and nominate. Likewise, they valued the pioneering role played by the Consort of H. H. the Emir, President of Supreme Council for Family Affairs to encourage Qatari women to be involved in political life aiming at the comprehensive development of the community.

Participants emphasized in their attitudes and discussions the struggle of Palestinian women and their support of the Palestinian people's resistance and heroic stand in the face of brutal Israeli aggression, as well as they stressed the call to all Arab States and other States of the world to use all influential, political, diplomatic and economic means, and to stop all forms of normalization with Israel.

Participants stressed that women's contribution to political and public life of their communities is an undividable part of the democratic involvement of all citizens in determining the destinies of their societies and that the comprehensive development process in the community gets maximized by the maximization of women's participation in it and ensuring opportunities for women's participation in it an ensuring opportunities of productive work to all able men and women equally.

Participants confirmed the role of religion and culture in awareness-raising among all different social groups about women's rights ratified by Islamic legislation among which is the participation in the making of the political, economic and social decision, as well as awareness-raising about the actually valid legislations and law about which some women may not know or don't make use of to ensure their acquired rights.

Recommendations

On the basis of these trends, the participants concluded with the following recommendations:

1.      Call for establishing international funds for Palestinian women based in Qatar.

2.      Call for legislating or amending legislations and laws which enhance the broadening of women's political participation and enabling them to contribute effectively to decision making and facilitate the procedures that ensure their civil and political rights.   

3.      Call to promote women's rights in voting and nomination for all the legislative and executive councils and on all levels.

4.      Call to establishing non-governmental women societies and develop those already existing in order to raise women's capacities and qualify them for political participation and go through the elections experience.

5.      Calling Ministry of Education staff to revise and amend textbooks and curricula in order to highlight women's different roles in the community and also to suit school curricula to the requirements of development and qualify university graduates to join the continuously-renewing labour force.

6.      Calling media staff to highlight the positive aspects of women's work in the different areas of the labour force in order to encourage women in political life in voting and nominating and to put an end for manipulating women's stereo-type image.

7.      Establishing a mechanism inside each state to lay out a national strategy for women and involving them in development, and also coordinating among governmental and non-governmental bodies and follow-up the programs related to this purpose.

8.      Calling to support women to participate in the regional and global organizations especially the Islamic Conference Organization and the Arab League and Gulf Cooperative Council.

9.      Broadening women's database and exchange these data among research centers and organizations concerned with women's affairs and promoting conducting field studies to assess the true capacity of women's affairs and promoting conducting field studies to assess the true capacity of women's participation in economic action and political life.