The Sultanate of Oman is joining the rest of the world in celebrating the International Women’s Day marking major strides in the empowerment and development of qualified and skilled women in alignment with the Royal efforts of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik who always emphasised on encouraging women in Omani society to empower themselves and scale greater heights in personal as well as professional lives.
The Royal directives also make sure that Omani women enjoy their rights and work side by side with their brother men in building the nation. He said: “The partnership of citizens in the industry of the country’s present and future is an essential pillar of national action, we are keen for women to enjoy their rights guaranteed by law and to work side by side with men in various fields in the service of their country and society, emphasising our constant care for these national constants that we do not deviate from nor tolerate.”
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate some successful Omani women at the national and international levels and in a tête-à-tête with the Observer, some of them open their minds sharing the secret recipe of their success with the fellow readers.
Jumana bint Saeed al Busaidiyah, a PhD student in the debate stage in the United Kingdom and an employee at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, says she has reached where she is now by several main factors, the most important of which is the desire and ambition to achieve the goals that she aspired to achieve.
“Likewise, family support and my father have a great role in overcoming many of the difficulties. If it were not for the obstacles and difficulties, people would be equal. Obstacles are challenges that filter abilities between one person and another, and in particular, at the same time, skills are refined,” a contented Jumana said.
She feels that there is a difference in the role that Omani women play in the past and present. “There is a difference in roles being played by different women in different situations. The first is due to the impact of the world order on the Sultanate at the beginning of the renaissance in 1970, built by late Sultan Qaboos.
It is the combined efforts of both men and women that build the state and this transformation has evolved, monitored, and documented over a period of time since the First Renaissance and continued through the Renewed Renaissance.
She feels that the Modern Renaissance of the Sultanate of Oman has allowed a wider freedom allowing them to excel in science, technology and knowledge.
Nadhira bint Ahmed al Harthiyah, the first Omani woman to climb Mount Everest (the highest mountain peak in the world). With a Master’s degree in geography, she works as the Assistant Director-General for Girl Guides at the Ministry of Education (MoE). She says that the difference lies in the means between the past and the present.
“We learned from childhood about many Omani women personalities which were able to have a great impact in various fields, such as literature, medicine, politics and others. Today, Omani women are making the same positive impact in society with different fields such as sports, law, education, among many others,” Nadhira said.
Sumayya al Shehhi is one of many Omani women who passionately chased her dreams and graduated from Al Zahra College for Women with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She is currently employed at the ‘Aquarium Tourist Company’ located in Muscat Mall.
She had great difficulty finding a suitable job that corresponding to her specialisation after her graduation. Initially, she was trained in a private company for 3 months and her journey began after a year of patience and waiting when she was employed as customer service executive in the Aquarium Company.
After a while, she was promoted as a tour guide and encourages Omani women looking for work not to lose their passion and to continue searching for job opportunities in the private and government sectors.
Syeda Tabinda Bukhari, newly appointed External Relations/Media & Communications Strategist at the CMA, said that women in Oman excel in the soft skills needed for business leadership keeping pace with the women around the world and now that the world is moving towards an inclusive corporate structure it is time to recognise the power that lies in our diversity.
“Women in Oman need to come together with our male counterparts and partners to carve the niche of an exclusive inclusive society in our home base and not to be hesitant to step up our representation in key fields whether it be scientific discovery to law making to construction. Let’s build a solid inclusive foundation for a future progressive society together for our children,” Tabinda adds.
Nasra al Adawi, renowned poet and the brain behind the initiative of ‘Healing Pen’ says that while our grandmothers were homemakers, their husbands and sons, the sole breadwinners for the families sailed across the globe for days and months seeking a living.
“We need to remind ourselves to stick to community ties and uphold family relations so that we can have a stronger generation. It worries me that the rate of divorce is on an increasing mode and the impact of technology has a toll on our kids. We, as parents, need to know that raising the generation is not only in the hands of mothers but the responsibility of fathers as well,” said Nasra.
The shades that protect us from the heat today, the facilities that we enjoy today, and the oases that we see amid the deserts are the results of the sweat and pains endured by our forefathers and one shouldn’t forget the hardships of living in an era without technology or any advanced facilities and continue to uphold the rich traditional and cultural heritage of the Sultanate of Oman.
