Royal University for Women, the Supreme Council for Women and ESCWA to establish a Women’s Research Centre

14,Feb 2021

RUW – Bahrain: The Royal University for Women (RUW), the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) agreed to establish the RUW Women’s Research Centre.

The three parties agreed upon several priority areas for cooperation to contribute towards the development of the scientific, intellectual, and cultural arenas of human sciences related to women issues in the Arab region. During the first phase, they will work on the development of the guiding principles and the framework of the Centre to ensure its sustainability and resilience.

Royal University for Women is the only higher education institution in Bahrain, that is solely dedicated to women empowerment through higher education. RUW has had a long and fruitful collaboration with the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) which resulted already in many successful research and community projects over the last decade. SCW welcomed this cooperation of establishing the RUW Women’s Research Centre, that will be the research arm of SCW, in line with the council’s most important objective to conduct research on women studies that will support the formulating policies related to women.  ESCWA appreciated this cooperation of establishing a research Centre on women studies in a renowned academic institution such as the RUW and said that it is not an easy task; however, through this partnership, they will be able to overcome all the obstacles and challenges and successfully carry out the tasks entrusted to this Centre.

Mr Fahad Al Zamil, Chairman of Board of Trustees expressed his pride in this cooperation and said that “RUW is the only women’s university in the Kingdom of Bahrain offering high quality programmes, with a vision to become the regional leader in academic excellence. RUW also encourages and fosters its faculty to conduct high impact research. This collaboration of RUW with SCW and ESCWA will add a global dimension to research related to Women Studies.” He further added that “RUW is very excited to work in partnership with SCW and ESCWA, where they will provide the strategic vision in setting up of the RUW Women’s Research Centre. RUW would strive the Centre to be an interdisciplinary research unit, focusing on women’s issues including leadership, equality, and representation and to instill social consciousness about a gender just society.”

The Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Royal University for Women, Mr. Essa Najibi, stated that the RUW Center for Women's Studies project is one of the aspirations that became reality to emphasize the scientific and developmental field of the women's life. This project is envisioned with a cooperation between the Royal University for Women, the Supreme Council for Women and ESCWA, as a culmination of relentless efforts aimed at enriching the scientific community with research related to women and adding scientific value to women's issues in the region. Mr Najibi pointed out that this cooperation will contribute to setting up the first phase of establishing the center, which will result in an effective framework of research and studies on women.

The Chairman of the Academic Committee at the Royal University for Women, Dr. Aref Al-Ashban, explained that the empowerment and advancement of women have always been the primary goal of the Royal University for Women since its establishment. He added that it will in turn act as one of the tools for empowering women to harness all the possibilities available to invest in research on women and to develop the knowledge and add to the cognitive field through providing quality research. Dr Aref emphasized on women being one of the tributaries of development and a strategic partner in nation-building, is being the driving force behind the university’s vision and mission to be the leading university regionally and internationally for academic excellence for women.

The Acting President of the Royal University for Women, Dr. Mona Suri, expressed her deep pride in this achievement and stated that initiation comes from the role of the three institutions to support and enhance the status of women. Dr Suri explained that the center will be vital with its scientific contributions that improve women and their capabilities and enhance their national and international presence in all areas to ensure sustainable development and to achieve the fifth goal of the sustainable development goals that is focused on achieving gender equality and advancement of women.

The Center will contribute to enhancing knowledge about the reality of women in the Arab region at the political, economic and social levels, and will provide qualitative research to investigate the dynamics of societies to identify factors and interventions that can foster gender equality. The Centre will provide a venue for practical and innovative policy-focused research and documentation to address the situation of women in the region while also building a strong foundation for gender-based innovation and transformation. Findings of the research will be used to support the current endeavours of policymakers in the region to introduce the necessary reform at legislative level and to continue developing programmes that address the needs of women.