The Sultanate of Oman affirmed its commitment to the principles of human rights and achieving gender equality in order to ensure that women’s needs and stability are met to enhance and develop areas of their participation in community development and improve their quality of life.
This came during the participation of the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Social Development, in the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, entitled “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by combating poverty and strengthening institutions and financing from a perspective that takes into account women’s needs,” which is being held in New York City until the 22nd of this month.
The participating delegation of the Sultanate of Oman was headed by Her Excellency Dr. Laila bint Ahmed Al-Najjar, Minister of Social Development.
Her Excellency the Minister of Social Development said in her intervention: The Sultanate of Oman guaranteed justice and equality to women in order to enhance the humanitarian approach, and national legislation and policies were consistent with human rights in general and women’s rights in particular, noting that the basic law of the state emphasized justice, equality and non-discrimination between women and men. The Social Protection Law also guaranteed all social benefits, as women’s rights were covered in particular in most benefits within the categories: widows, divorcees, and women with disabilities, and women were covered in all social insurance programs such as insurance for the elderly, disability, death, maternity leave insurance, and insurance. Job security, insurance for work injuries and occupational diseases, insurance for sick and unusual leaves, and insurance for foreigners. The percentage of women enrolled in benefits reached 49.4% until the end of January 2024.
Her Excellency added that the labor law in the Sultanate of Oman was in line with the basic labor standards of the International Labor Organization, as its legal texts expanded to include a number of privileges for the benefit of women, most notably: increasing maternity leave for working women to cover the period before and after childbirth. The law also allocated paternity leave. In order to enhance the shared responsibility in building the family by seven days.
In the field of “empowering women and girls,” Her Excellency explained that the level of women’s economic participation has achieved a continuous increase in parallel with the progress witnessed in other fields, so their participation in the workforce increased in 2022 to reach 32%, and the percentage of Omani female workers in the government sector reached 26%. During the year 2022, the percentage of female workers in the private sector reached 30%, and the percentage of Omani women working as public administration and business managers and investors increased to 37% in 2023.
Her Excellency touched on the real expansion of the application of decentralization in project management and decision-making and giving the active role to partners and rural women in identifying appropriate projects to reduce poverty in partnership with supportive community institutions, in addition to supporting modern technology and keeping pace with achieving sustainable development and developing the skills of rural women and girls to use low-cost technologies. It is characterized by its high productivity, efficient use of limited resources, and preservation of natural resources.
This came during the participation of the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Social Development, in the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, entitled “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by combating poverty and strengthening institutions and financing from a perspective that takes into account women’s needs,” which is being held in New York City until the 22nd of this month.
The participating delegation of the Sultanate of Oman was headed by Her Excellency Dr. Laila bint Ahmed Al-Najjar, Minister of Social Development.
Her Excellency the Minister of Social Development said in her intervention: The Sultanate of Oman guaranteed justice and equality to women in order to enhance the humanitarian approach, and national legislation and policies were consistent with human rights in general and women’s rights in particular, noting that the basic law of the state emphasized justice, equality and non-discrimination between women and men. The Social Protection Law also guaranteed all social benefits, as women’s rights were covered in particular in most benefits within the categories: widows, divorcees, and women with disabilities, and women were covered in all social insurance programs such as insurance for the elderly, disability, death, maternity leave insurance, and insurance. Job security, insurance for work injuries and occupational diseases, insurance for sick and unusual leaves, and insurance for foreigners. The percentage of women enrolled in benefits reached 49.4% until the end of January 2024.
Her Excellency added that the labor law in the Sultanate of Oman was in line with the basic labor standards of the International Labor Organization, as its legal texts expanded to include a number of privileges for the benefit of women, most notably: increasing maternity leave for working women to cover the period before and after childbirth. The law also allocated paternity leave. In order to enhance the shared responsibility in building the family by seven days.
In the field of “empowering women and girls,” Her Excellency explained that the level of women’s economic participation has achieved a continuous increase in parallel with the progress witnessed in other fields, so their participation in the workforce increased in 2022 to reach 32%, and the percentage of Omani female workers in the government sector reached 26%. During the year 2022, the percentage of female workers in the private sector reached 30%, and the percentage of Omani women working as public administration and business managers and investors increased to 37% in 2023.
Her Excellency touched on the real expansion of the application of decentralization in project management and decision-making and giving the active role to partners and rural women in identifying appropriate projects to reduce poverty in partnership with supportive community institutions, in addition to supporting modern technology and keeping pace with achieving sustainable development and developing the skills of rural women and girls to use low-cost technologies. It is characterized by its high productivity, efficient use of limited resources, and preservation of natural resources.
