Homs Businesswomen Committee Seeks Empowering Women, Improve their Economic Status

Homs, (ST) – Throughout  ages, women have been distinguished by their active participation in different fields. Since Beijing Conference in 1996, there has been an increasing interest in the issue of women empowerment to help them play an effective role and contribute to decision-making in various areas.

 Adopting this trend, the Businesswomen Committee in Homs Chamber of Commerce has played an important and distinguished role in supporting Syrian women.

To know more about the activities and objectives of the Committee, we met Mrs. Afaf Al-Hassan, Head of the Businesswomen Committee in Homs, who said: “The committee was established in 2001 aiming at enhancing the competencies and skills of businesswomen to help them take part in the development of the national economy and to enrich their knowledge about the different laws and regulations of various economic activities at home and abroad through holding seminars, training courses and workshops.”

 “Representing the Syrian businesswomen in Arab and international forums as well as cooperating and coordinating with local, Arab and international economic gatherings are also among our goals,” she added.

Enhancing women’s status

Regarding the Committee’s work technique, Al-Hassan said: “our committee is one of the committees emanating from the Chamber of Commerce with the aim of enhancing the status of women and developing their economic and social role where we hold periodic meetings, which are either monthly or extraordinary, through which several topics are presented and discussed so as to be activated later on the ground                 

Restore self-confidence

Mrs. Al-Hassan stressed: “Despite the difficult circumstances during the years of the war, the Committee has proudly worked at all levels to support women and help them restore self- confidence. It held marketing exhibitions, mainly for handicrafts such as embroidery, crochet and recycling works, and provided all necessary requirements for women to participate in these events without bearing any financial burdens.” The revenues obtained from marketing these works go to the participants as a kind of economic support, she noted.

” The First Marketing Exhibition for the Businesswomen Committee was held in the old city of Homs in 2016. Its success was an incentive to hold successive exhibitions in 2017 and 2018 accompanied by awareness and cultural seminars, such as the First Cultural Week that discussed a number of economic, cultural, social, legal and medical issues,” Al-Hassan added.

She went on to say: “Workshops played a key role in reactivating our work during the war. For example, we organized workshops in Homs city and its countryside on producing domestic mushroom in cooperation with agricultural engineers to help women obtain this production at a low cost to enable them to secure their living and ensure a decent and respectable life for their families”.

Rural women

Mrs. Al-Hassan clarified that the committee is preparing to hold several exhibitions, workshops and seminars in the near future aiming at activating and expanding the role of the committee in empowering rural women.  She stressed that the Syrian women, despite the harsh conditions of war, are still able to stand again and be strong, self-confident and an example to be followed in struggle, sacrifice, management, patience and self-assertion.

The Syrian women have proven their competence and efficiency at work and production sites armed with a firm determination to overcome all difficulties and harsh circumstances.

Amal.Frhat