HISTORIC CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, the first Muslim woman chosen to be President of the UN General Assembly

Since 1997, WFWP has been recognized by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations as an NGO (non-governmental organization) in General Consultative Status. This is a recognition shared by only 130 organizations in the world, based on the global scope of our humanitarian service activities.

Each September, the UN General Assembly re-convenes in New York with a newly-elected President. While the name and face of the Secretary General may be well known, as he or she can serve up to two five-year terms, the President is not so familiar to most, perhaps because each President serves the General Assembly for just one year.

This year, for only the third time in its history, a woman was chosen President of the UN General Assembly, and for the very first time, they chose a Muslim woman. Her name is Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, a lawyer, activist and international diplomat from the tiny archipelago nation of Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. That nation's population is 650,000, the majority of whom are Shiite Muslims.

Ms Al-Khalifa addressing the UN General Assembly

Ms. Al-Khalifa, called "Sheikha Haya" as a title of respect, is 53 years old and is unmarried. Her achievements have been extraordinary. She was one of the first women in Bahrain to practice law, and she founded her own successful law firm. She is trilingual in Arabic, English and French. She was the first female diplomat from Bahrain, serving from 1999 to 2004 as that country's ambassador to France. She has been active in the movement to elevate the legal position of women in Bahrain and is an advocate of a progressive interpretation of Islamic texts as they apply to women.

As reported in the online "Voice of America" news, when asked for her perspective as a Muslim woman on the challenges facing the United Nations today, she responded, "It does not matter if I am a Muslim or a Christian or Jewish, we are human beings and we have the same worries and the same problems..."

Ms. Al-Khalifa stated in the UN Chronicle Online Edition that she wants to see concrete results coming out of the next session, especially in regard to reforming the United Nations and helping poor nations improve economically. As she put it, "I don't believe in too many resolutions or too much talk." Her desire is to keep the Assembly focused on the "human dimension of our work."

Ms. Sheikha Haya Al-Khalifa

She said, "This house is for all humanity – not for the interest of only one State or another. We may sometimes fail ..., but we provide great support in the area of development and humanitarian aid to millions of people in developing countries, especially Africa. ... I am President only for one year – this is a very short period – so time is very important to me. I don't want to lose time merely having discussions. We have to concentrate and find solutions, reach concrete results."

Stating that the problem of gender inequity is beyond the scope of government and must also involve non-governmental organizations, she said, "These (NGOs) are the people who work closely with communities and explain to women what their rights are.... In many societies, there is still a gap between government policy and ...public acceptance... For example, there are four countries in the Gulf region that have given women the right to vote and to become parliament members; however, during elections no one elects women. Some religious people even say that it is not good to elect women. ... I hope that this will change with time and as understanding deepens."

Emphasizing the value of education, Ms. Al-Khalifa said, "A key to gender equality is education, not only of women but of men as well. ...Education is not merely about reading and writing. It's a way of thinking, it's philosophy, it's how you develop ideas. In the absence of quality education, you see violence of all kinds."

She said that since she was a young girl, she questioned the assumptions of society. She wanted to know why women could not move about as freely as men. When she was in school, she said, "(A) teacher told me that no woman could leave her house without her husband's permission; otherwise, the angels would condemn her. I asked the teacher, 'Must a man also ask his wife's permission so that the angels will not condemn him?' The response was, 'No, no, it does not work that way.'

"I wanted to know what was behind these taboos. This is the reason I wanted to study law. A background in law gives you the ability to see things more clearly...And it gives you a method for finding answers to difficult questions, and solutions in difficult situations."

Such a brave and determined woman will surely find a way to push the United Nations forward in its mission to make this world safer and healthier for all people. We congratulate Sheikha Haya Al-Khalifa and the UN General Assembly for electing her, and we look forward to hearing more from this remarkable woman in the coming year.