DOHA, 7 May 2003 — Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al-Thani yesterday appointed the country’s first woman minister, the official Qatar News Agency reported.
Sheikha Al-Mahoud took oath in front of the emir and in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah ibn Khalifa Al-Thani as minister of education. She succeeded Ahmed ibn Khalifa Al-Mansouri. She had her BA in 1976 and has taken several posts in the Education Ministry.
Another Qatari female Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al-Thani, deputy chairman of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, has been appointed at the level of a minister. The last Cabinet reshuffle in Qatar was made in July last year.
Also yesterday, Qatar created a national committee on human rights, the first such body in the emirate, according to a royal decree. The 13-member committee is made up of eight representatives from government ministries and five human rights experts. The five are a lawyer, a doctor, two university teachers and a woman, Qatar’s representative to the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF, Sheikha Ghalia bint Muhammad bin Hamad Al-Thani.
