Women tough in scientific research despite difficulties

The five winners of the L’Oreal- UNESCO For Women in Science Award 2015, Levant and Egypt Fellowships, stressed that challenges women face in the field of scientific research are harder compared to men, for some still see women as just ‘housewives’, while some higher education and research institutions give preference to men. The five Laureates who were honored on October 23 at the American University of Beirut, agreed that scientific research in the Arab world is impeded by certain hurdles, chiefly, the scarcity of resources, financial aid and a supportive incubator, and over and above, the unstable security and political situation in the region. For his part, Secretary General of the Government-run National Council for Scientific Research, Professor Mouin Hamzeh who headed the jury, noted a disparity in the ratio of women researchers between Arab states. He maintained that the biggest challenge facing PHD graduates lies in finding jobs besides college teaching, mainly in the productive development sectors. The five prize winners are Dr. Hiba Hajj (Lebanon), Dr. Ramya Bikaayn (Jordan), Dr. Intisar Majbali (Iraq), Dr. Abir Kotati (Gaza-Palestine) and Dr. Nashwa Bandari (Egypt). (As Safir, October 23, 2015)