Arab Women Organization Presents the “Arab Reference Guide to Concepts on Women’s Issues”

9/7/2026

The Arab Women Organization (AWO) held a virtual workshop on Monday, September 7, 2026, to present and discuss the “Arab Reference Guide to Concepts on Women’s Issues: A Conceptual Approach to Understanding Gender-Based Disparities and Standardizing Terminology.”

The workshop was opened by H.E. Prof. Dr. Fadia Kiwan, Director General of the Arab Women Organization, who emphasized the importance of holding the workshop, noting that the Guide was prepared in response to a request by the Organization’s Executive Council to conduct specialized academic research on concepts and terminology related to women’s issues.

Dr. Kiwan expressed her appreciation for the academic efforts of Dr. Maysoun Al-Atoum, Professor of Sociology and faculty member at the Center for Women’s Studies at the University of Jordan, who prepared the Guide. She noted that completing this work required considerable time and effort, as well as great patience and perseverance on the part of the researcher.

She explained that the Guide had been reviewed by a number of experts specializing in the field, with the aim of enriching and refining its content. She stressed that the workshop provided an important opportunity to discuss the findings of the research and exchange views and comments on its content, with a view to developing a more precise version that responds to the needs of researchers, practitioners, and activists working on women’s issues across the Arab world.

The Director General underscored the importance of accuracy in the use of concepts and terminology, explaining that imprecise terminology can lead to misunderstandings and affect the integrity of research and the production of scientific knowledge.

She further emphasized that the Guide is intended not merely to standardize terminology, but also to provide an academic reference that can contribute to improving the quality of discourse and research on women’s issues and promoting a shared understanding of the concepts used in this field.

In a related context, Dr. Kiwan welcomed the participating members of the Organization’s Executive Council, stressing the Organization’s commitment to involving Council members in its activities and programs and ensuring that they remain informed of its ongoing efforts, initiatives, and programs.

The participating members included Ms. Natalie Zaarour, Secretary of the National Commission for Lebanese Women and Member of the Organization’s Executive Council; Ms. Dima Joueihane, Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women and newly appointed member of the Executive Council; Ms. Ma’ani Al-Busaidiya, Member of the Executive Council representing the Sultanate of Oman; and Dr. Nesreen El-Baghdady, Vice President of Egypt’s National Council for Women, who attended on behalf of Counselor Amal Ammar. Dr. Kiwan also expressed her appreciation for Counselor Ammar’s support for the Organization. She further welcomed Dr. Shafika Saeed Abdo, Member of the Executive Council representing Yemen.

Dr. Kiwan concluded her remarks by stressing the importance of allocating sufficient time for the academic presentation delivered by Dr. Maysoun Al-Atoum, followed by discussion and interventions, in order to enrich and refine the Guide and arrive at a final version that is more useful and accurate for its intended users.

In her remarks, Ms. Ma’ani Al-Busaidiya, Member of the Arab Women Organization’s Executive Council representing the Sultanate of Oman, expressed her sincere appreciation to the Arab Women Organization for its continued efforts to advance joint Arab action on women’s issues and for providing spaces for the exchange of expertise and strengthening cooperation among Member States.

She commended the workshop and its organizers, emphasizing that standardizing concepts and terminology would contribute to greater consistency in indicators, data, and reports related to women, facilitate more accurate comparisons, and support closer cooperation and the exchange of expertise among Arab countries, thereby contributing to the development of evidence-based policies and programs.

Al-Busaidiya affirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to the principles and provisions of human rights conventions in general and women’s rights in particular, within the framework of the visions pursued by the government since the beginning of the country’s modern renaissance. She noted that these principles are grounded in the Basic Law of the State, which affirms that a safe life and human dignity are rights of every person, and that the state is committed to respecting and protecting these rights and ensuring equality between men and women.

Concluding her remarks, she affirmed Oman’s commitment to continuing its cooperation with the Arab Women Organization and Member States, and to supporting efforts aimed at advancing joint Arab action on women’s issues and benefiting from shared expertise and experiences in ways that serve Arab women.

For her part, Ms. Dima Joueihane, Acting Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women and Member of the Arab Women Organization’s Executive Council, extended her greetings to the workshop participants. She noted that the workshop’s topic complements the efforts of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, which is working to develop a list of terminology related to women in Jordan as part of the Jordanian government’s commitments under international conventions and agreements.

Dr. Shafika Saeed Abdo, Chairperson of the National Women’s Committee of the Republic of Yemen and Member of the Arab Women Organization’s Executive Council, began her remarks by expressing concern over the difficult humanitarian situation in Yemen, particularly in Taiz Governorate. She referred to ongoing displacement, killings, and forced displacement, drawing comparisons with the situation in Idlib, Syria, including the destruction of educational and medical institutions. She stressed the need to protect women in conflict-affected areas and provide stable shelter for displaced women and men.

Dr. Abdo thanked the Arab Women Organization for hosting the meeting and preparing the Reference Guide, stressing its importance in standardizing concepts and terminology related to women’s issues, as confusion surrounding such concepts has often resulted in negative reactions toward women.

She called for the Guide to be shared with Arab countries so that it could serve as a unified reference and be readily incorporated into future studies and reports. She also commended the Organization for consistently taking into account the specificities of the Arab region and seeking to establish shared concepts that minimize controversy and misunderstanding.

In response to Dr. Abdo’s intervention, Prof. Dr. Fadia Kiwan affirmed that the protection of women during armed conflicts is among the Arab Women Organization’s top priorities, stressing the Organization’s efforts to amplify the voices of Arab women in the highest international forums.

Dr. Nesreen El-Baghdady, Vice President of Egypt’s National Council for Women, praised the Arab Women Organization’s efforts to establish a scientific approach to addressing women’s issues. She commended the Arab Reference Guide to Concepts on Women’s Issues as a knowledge map that opens the door to further specialized research and studies.

Dr. El-Baghdady emphasized that defining concepts is a fundamental element of the scientific methodology underlying any research or study. She explained that formulating a research problem requires precise identification of the concepts used, and that clarity and precision in these concepts help readers understand the meanings and ideas that researchers seek to convey while reducing the possibility of divergent interpretations.

In this context, she praised the Egyptian National Council for Women’s approach of relying on scientific methodology in developing policies, activities, and priorities, noting that Egypt’s National Strategy for the Empowerment of Women was likewise developed on scientific foundations.

Dr. El-Baghdady concluded by underscoring the significance of the effort invested by the Arab Women Organization in preparing the Guide, describing it as an important and substantive contribution to standardizing concepts and terminology related to women’s issues. She noted that it supports a scientific approach to research and policymaking and contributes to consolidating concepts and stabilizing their meanings, thereby promoting greater clarity in their use in research and studies on women’s issues.

In her presentation of the Arab Reference Guide to Concepts on Women’s Issues, Dr. Maysoun Al-Atoum, the Guide’s author, explained that its purpose is to provide a reference that differs from a conventional dictionary or glossary, serving instead as an effective tool for understanding and analysis.

Addressing the reasons behind the preparation of the Guide, Dr. Al-Atoum noted the widespread misunderstanding surrounding concepts related to women’s issues. Some of this misunderstanding is unintentional, she explained, while some is deliberate and stems from parties seeking to monopolize the discourse. This, she noted, has sometimes diverted activists’ efforts into definitional debates rather than toward achieving tangible gains for women.

As for what distinguishes the Guide, Dr. Al-Atoum explained that it does not present concepts in isolation, but organizes them into interconnected conceptual families and links each concept to its analytical and practical dimensions. It also brings together descriptive, normative, and contested concepts while maintaining a balance between international frameworks and local Arab contexts.

Regarding its target audiences, she identified researchers, civil society organizations, government institutions and practitioners, trainers and capacity-building professionals, and policymakers.

As for the structure of the Guide, Dr. Al-Atoum explained that it begins with foundational concepts such as rights, equality, justice, and citizenship, before moving to concepts related to social roles; participation and empowerment; work and development; and protection and response, in addition to contested concepts such as gender and feminism.

Dr. Al-Atoum concluded by emphasizing that the Guide’s true value lies in organizing concepts within a framework that helps users understand the relationships among them, rather than simply compiling a collection of definitions. She expressed hope that it would serve as a valuable companion to researchers, activists, and policymakers in their efforts to advance women’s issues.

The discussions during the workshop culminated in several important recommendations, including the need to resume work on the Guide by moving toward the translation of concepts into measurable indicators, as well as developing training programs for young researchers of all genders that connect the Guide to practical, field-based women’s issues.