KUWAIT: Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel stressed that Kuwaiti women have achieved a lot in many fields and that 85 percent of them had won their political, social and professional rights. The minister made her statements on the sidelines of sponsoring Kuwaiti Women's Day organized by the Secretariat General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in collaboration with Kuwait University's women's research and studies center and UNDP Kuwait.

Speaking at the ceremony attended by the Supreme Council for Planning and Development's Secretary General Dr Khaled Mahdi, UN Resident Coordinator to Kuwait Dr Tareq Al-Sheikh, UNDP Resident Representative Hideko Hadzialic and the head of KU's women studies center Dr Lobna Al-Qadhi, Aqeel added that Kuwaiti women have assumed various leading positions, marking new successes and achievements. She also noted that 2006 was a turning point for Kuwaiti women. Mahdi stressed that women still have a long way to go to activate empowerment policies in Kuwait, adding that only 15 percent of officials in leading positions in both the private and the public sectors are women.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi