Virus hindering economic development for women, Costa Rican VP says

ABU DHABI: Costa Rican Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr said the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened to set back the economic development for women.

She was one of the speakers at the inaugural Women’s Virtual Forum on Monday, which was hosted by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF).

“It is essential to make money available to women so they can develop their businesses and communities amid the pandemic,” said Barr, a trained economist.

The UAE’s Minister of Culture and Youth Noura Al-Kaabi, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and Irina Bokova, the former director-general of UNESCO, were among the other female leaders, experts and activists at the forum.

Other attendees were UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, Director of the University of Maryland SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors Susan Esserman, Secretary-General of Religions for Peace Azza Karam and Latifa Ibn Ziaten, the recipient of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2021.

Mlambo-Ngcuka called on measures and policies to be passed specifically to support women while Al-Kaabi said the UAE has a strong legal framework that ensures women are not disadvantaged in any way in the job market.

Esserman warned that criminal traffickers are using the parallel economic crisis to prey on and exploit those most desperate for income, housing, and security.

“Cash assistance and other recovery programs should be designed to take into account the needs of women and others most affected by the pandemic,” said Esserman, the former US assistant secretary of commerce and deputy trade representative.

Judge Mohamed Abdel Salam, the HCHF Secretary-General, told the forum that women face several challenges in most of the world’s communities.

“This requires practical projects and programs to overcome such challenges,” Salam said.