Arab first ladies concluded several meetings in Cairo on Sunday by denouncing the 34-year Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and voicing sympathy for the Afghan people, who they said were paying the bill for terrorism, said reports.
All the participants in the extraordinary conference of the Arab Women Summit supported the creation of the Arab Womens Organization (AWO), which will establish a solid foundation on which Arab women can build their future achievements, according to Emirates’ official news agency (WAM).
Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, addressed the participants in her keynote speech about the need for living in peace and putting an end to "terror and violence," for which women usually pay the price.
The Arab first ladies applauded Mubarak when she urged Arab women to speak out for "an independent Palestinian state and an end to violence in the Occupied Territories,” said AFP.
"Egyptian women are standing beside their Palestinian sisters in the legitimate struggle to recover their country," Mubarak said.
Alluding to the US-led war against alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and his Taliban militia hosts in Afghanistan, she said: "We are living through a crucial moment."
She added that "We don't know where the events we are witnessing these days are going to lead us," the agency said.
She also alluded to a perceived anti-Arab and Islamic fallout from the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, which the US government blames on bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network of Islamic militants.
The summit is due to end Monday with the creation of the Arab Womens Organization, which will be under the umbrella of the Cairo-based Arab League but enjoy an independent financial and administrative status.
The organization will have the task of coordinating the views of Arab women at international forums and of exchanging expertise on questions related to the condition of Arab women - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
