The wives or female delegates of Arab leaders are to attend a first summit in Cairo later this month to debate the condition of Arab women and support their Palestinian sisters, a newspaper reported Thursday.
Sixteen countries have so far accepted the invitation to the November 18-20 summit hosted by Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the government Al-Ahram newspaper said.
It is taking place under the sponsorship of the 22-member Arab League, whose headquarters is in Cairo.
Among expected participants are Safeya al-Kadhafi, wife of Libyan leader Moammer Kadhafi and Sheikha Mayssun Sakr, the female director of the cultural department at the United Arab Emirates culture ministry, the daily said.
Not only will the women discuss the condition of Arab women in general, they will also hold a rally for the struggle of Palestinian women on the sidelines of the summit, the newspaper said.
Many Palestinian women are coping with the tragedy of their children who have been killed or injured in the uprising against Israel that erupted in late September.
A total of 400 people, including all the delegations, are expected to attend the summit.
Arab leaders staged a summit in Cairo on October 21-22 to give support to the Palestinians in their violent conflict with Israel while still trying to save the moribund peace process from total collapse – CAIRO (AFP)
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