Speech of Dr. Nadine Abou Zaki
Editor-in-Chief of Al Hasnaa Magazine
NAWF Executive Chair

At the Opening Ceremony of “The New Arab Woman Forum (NAWF)”

H.R.H Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein,
Yours Excellencies,
H.E. Mrs. Sarah El Jariya, Minister of Women's Affairs, Family, Children & the Elderly, Tunisia
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to “The New Arab Woman Forum” organized by Al Hasnaa magazine. Since it was first launched nearly a century ago, specifically in 1909, Al Hasnaa has raised the banner of defense of women’s rights and remains loyal to its pledge and diligent in its mission to carry this banner all over the Arab world.

In this forum, Al Hasnaa magazine passes from the world of the press to the world of conferencing, thus consolidating its role, diversifying the means of its message and putting forth the case for the modern woman with all its challenges and expectations.

Al Hasnaa magazine is a member of Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group, publisher of Al-Iktissad Wal Aamal Magazine and other specialized journals, and the largest conferencing and event organizer in the region. In view of its multifaceted role, we have taken advantage of the Group's expertise and network of relations so that the Forum may achieve its targeted objectives, especially that it includes in one of its aspects issues of women’s leadership in business and other affairs.

We are pleased to hold this Forum in Dubai, this leading Emirate, under the leadership of its ruler H.E. Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid, and we are doubly pleased that it is being held under the auspices of H.R.H Princess Haya, a lady and a princess in the true sense of the word.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You probably expect me to speak today of women’s rights, of the oppression of women, violence against them and other issues that we are accustomed to hear about. You may even expect me to claim and call for equality between men and women notably, especially in terms of opportunities.

In fact I am here to claim my right first to be a woman, at a time when the concept of feminism has turned against women and criteria have become mixed up between for both sexes. I claim to be a woman without losing my feminism, and to get rid of the obsession to identify myself as in the eyes of a man.

I claim a separation ... even a discrimination that does not make me, the woman, subject to men. In fact, I long for a positive distinctiveness or discrimination that protects differences between the sexes and asserts them. Thus, equality starts from a mutual sound knowledge of both sexes and each gender's recognition of the other. No civilization, no future can be contemplated devoid of respect for differences between the sexes.

I claim my right to be a woman, but not a woman victim, a prisoner of the struggle between a woman's role as a worker and as a mother.

I claim my right to live in harmony with my body, mind, and soul so that I may enjoy my inner potential, as a fighter, without sacrificing any part from me and within me.

Since its establishment Al Hasnaa Magazine has been these issues that I put before you to benefit from your experience in looking for the differences and distinctiveness that we witness and strive for nowadays. Indeed, being a woman is a continuous ongoing project. Our meeting in this forum is part of this project and will enrich it with our discussion and debate.

Our Forum this year is only the beginning, the first step on along road into the future. It is indeed the first step but shall not be the last. And for that reason I take the opportunity to announce to you today that our plan is to hold the second session of the Forum next October 2008 under the patronage of H.R.H Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein and that it will become a leading annual event on the agendas of both women and men after that, held in different Arab countries but in this same month. We want it to be a conference for woman as well as men, since the two sexes will always complement each other in every way.

Once again, I welcome to our first Forum which is open to all segments, groups and opinions and aims among other things at formulating and proposing policies and actions that aim at improving the performance of women in all fields, and their situation and position in society.

In closing I would like to express my deep appreciation to H.R.H. Princess Haya for her kind patronage of the Forum and my sincere thanks to our partners in this Forum: Al-Iktissad Wal Aamal Group, ESCWA, the General Secretariat of the Arab League, MBC and V-Day Karama, for their active participation and support in making it such a success.

I also thank the sponsors: Pantene from Proctor & Gamble P&G, Plus Property, B.E. International, Microsoft and Intel for the invaluable contribution.

I will not say more, but thank you for your valued presence with us today… and pass the word over to you.