During the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, United Arab Emirates Minister of State Noura Al Kaabi called attention to the importance of bridging the digital divide facing women and girls and encouraged the international community to work together to promote equal access to technology for women and girls around the world.

Delivering the UAE’s national statement at CSW67, HE Al Kaabi highlighted the need to increase opportunities for women in technology and innovation, leverage the power of the digital age to strengthen women’s political participation, and ensure women and girls are meaningfully included in preparing for the future.

“I would like to emphasize that bridging the gender digital divide requires a global partnership to maximize results, and hence ensure equal and affordable access of women and girls to information and communications technologies,” HE Al Kaabi said. “It is time to intensify our efforts in this regard and work relentlessly to bridge these gaps.”

HE Al Kaabi also joined a high-level CSW67 side-event on the current state of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan through a dialogue with Afghan women both inside and outside the country. It was organized in partnership with the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan, the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the UN, UNESCO, and UN Women.

On 7 March, HE Al Kaabi participated in an open debate of the UN Security Council on “Women, Peace and Security: Towards the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325”. She called for the meaningful inclusion of women and girls in discussions on emerging and new threats, strengthening women’s roles throughout the entire conflict continuum, and the protection of women and girls as one of the strongest tools to defend their participation and empowerment.

HE Al Kaabi also joined a ministerial discussion on addressing barriers to bridge the gender digital divide and promoting education in the digital age for achieving gender equality as well as a conference hosted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on “Women in Islam: Understanding the Rights and Identity of Women in the Islamic World.” At the latter, she highlighted how the distortion, misrepresentation, and misperception of Islam has led to systematic discrimination against Muslim women.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation