Sheikha Fatima calls for end to suffering of women

WOMEN'S RIGHTS: Women shout and chant slogans in front of the UN building in Gaza City to mark IWD. (Getty Images)

Women continue to endure serious human rights abuses and the international community must bring an end to their suffering, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak said on Saturday in a statement to mark International Women's Day (IWD).

Sheikha Fatima, wife of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, called for concerted efforts at regional and international levels to improve the condition of women and provide the necessary protection for them, reported state news agency Wam.

"We look with great concern and deep sadness the deteriorating condition of women as a result of abuse and violence being perpetrated against them," she said, quoted Wam.

Sheikha Fatima expressed particular concern over the plight of women in volatile regions around the world, where wars and conflicts have led to tragedies in which women suffered most, she said.

Nearly 100 years old, International Women's Day has become an occasion to highlight the ongoing battle to ensure equal rights for women across the world.

This year the International Women's Day global theme is 'Shaping Progress' in honour of the first IWD in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

The UN theme for this year's International Women's Day is ‘Investing in Women and Girls’, which focuses on financing for gender equality.

The day was marked across the Middle East and Asia in countries including Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia and China, with calls for greater rights and equality.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said on Friday that laws discriminating against women were still on the statute books of virtually every country in the world, and repeated promises by states to repeal them were not being honoured.

Arbour said this lack of equality was "having a detrimental effect on women in many countries - sometimes to a devastating degree".

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