Media Center

To celebrate the International Women’s Day, in cooperation with the European Union and the Pavilion of Italy at the Expo 2020 Dubai hosted a high-level webinar symposium on “Women’s Status in Institutions and Culture”. H.E Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director General of Culture and Arts at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, participated, in this major event, held on 8 March 2022.

Ms. Susanne Mikhail, the Regional Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) for the Arab States, participated in the symposium, in addition to a number of women figures from the public and private sectors.

H.E Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa highlighted in this online panel meeting the marvelous efforts made by the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities to empower women in the cultural scene. H.E has appointed out to the very active participation of Bahraini women in all cultural events and activities in the Kingdom, and stressed that many women in Bahrain promoted the cultural and historical assets through their innovations and creativity in the fields of plastic arts, literature, music and others. H.E added that women have played an important role in Bahraini society since ancient times, as they played a key role in the flourishing of the pearl trade and industry, carrying the heavy burdens of managing daily life matters for many months while their sailed far and left for pearl diving long seasons.

This symposium, which comes to shed light on the urgent needs to enhance the status of women in the post-pandemic period and the stage of recovery from the global crisis, aims to discuss women’s participation in the cultural and creative sectors and gender responsive policies to guarantee equal participation at equal conditions, namely in funding and finance, to women working in music, painting, fashion design and other art and creative expressions.