Huge losses in Arab economies as a result of gender-based violence

The Executive Secretary of ESCWA, Rula Dashti, said full participation of women in the economy, on equal par with men, could increase by USD 1.5 trillion the Arab GDP by 2025. Dashti explained that violence against women incurs huge direct and indirect losses estimated at USD 245 billion on the Arab economy every year. Dashti was speaking at a meeting held in Amman last week to set priorities for work on gender equality and women empowerment in light of the outcomes of the review of progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action after 25 years of its inception. For her part, the Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League, Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, stressed the need to intensify efforts for the economic empowerment of women. It is unacceptable for the economic participation of women in the Arab world to record the lowest rate among world countries, she maintained. Similarly, the Arab Women Organization Executive Secretary, Fadia Kiwan, called for more coordination and solidarity to fulfill the rights of the Arab woman. (An Nahar, December 2, 2019)