A film by Kavitha Sumesh, Dawood Al Riyami, Aiman Al Uwaisi, Daniel Jebakumar, Artur Klimek and Christina Thiede, 2020
Voice Over
– Under the leadership of HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said (May his soul rest in peace), women’s have had an unlimited access to participation in economic social and cultural development. The approach of involving women for…. let me say the partnership between men and women is a necessity in any comprehensive development march. Such an approach should always have been valid for any stage of building a country, and we can see this crystal clear in Oman’s vision 2040 where the emphasis is laid on providing a suitable environment for women to strongly participate in various aspect of economic, social and even political life.
Mr. Samuel Mundua (Sr. Lecturer, Media Department, Bayan College):
– It is true, the government is encouraging and supporting women in whatever they do. But this also needs to start from the family unit because as the girl child needs the same opportunity has been given like boy child. So if really moving on that line, it will create a strong women empowerment.
Ms. Hana Al Sulaimi (Lecturer, Media Department, Bayan College):
– since the beginning of Renaissance, the HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said (May his soul rest in peace), women has given full access to contribute in the social and economic life in Oman. So he gave a date of 17th October, as a day dedicated all Omani Women’s to celebrate their achievement in different fields
Ms. Halima Al Balushi (Sr. Specialist in Hematology, Royal Hospital, Oman):
– we don’t say that this is a women or this is a man. We always treat them equally. And want people to treat women’s also equally.
Voice over
– We would to mention that the speech of HM Haitham bin Tarik, earlier this year in February 2021. Where he reaffirms that the women will continue to enjoy their full rights as guaranteed by Law, of course and women, he said, will work alongside men in all possible fields and serve the country and society.
Ms. Hana Al Sulaimi (Lecturer, Media Department, Bayan College):
– HM Haitham bin Tarik on the first Omani Women’s day celebrated under his leadership, all about 51 women’s were dedicated with the Medal of commendation for their achievements in the different fields here in Oman.
Mr. Samuel Mundua (Sr. Lecturer, Media Department, Bayan College):
– Women empowerment in Oman is growing day by day because of the number of women in responsible positions and their good performance.
Voice over
– The remarkable achievements of Omani women over the past 50 years of Oman have been clearly presented and conveyed by Omani media. I mean, we as new generation and also the next generations, we would not have a chance to know about the remarkable achievements of Omani women in various fields, without the media. By media, I mean all kinds of media i.e. readable like magazines, newspapers and of course, the audio visual media i.e. TV and Radio.
Ms. Zahra Al Kindi, Public Authority for radio and TV, Oman:
– I am here to say it loudly and proudly, Omani Media has played a high role in exposing the Omani women into the society and in the world that we are great leaders as Oman has prepared us and empowered us and given us high positions in the society and government like ministers, ambassadors and undersecretary and also as members in the Shura Council. Let me say this, we are definetely a high competitor to our neighbours in the GCC countries as we became the first country to expose women to high ranks and high positions to lead the country to a better future and success.
Voice Over
– Omani media has decently and fairly transmitted the image of Omani women to the world.
Ms. Hana Al Sulaimi (Lecturer, Media Department, Bayan College):
– I think, the Omani media has done a great job by given attention to the women. Omani women’s have done a lot and the media is representing whatever they have done in medical and other service or any leadership role, women are put in. Therefore, the media is giving them all the attention. We don’t forget people working in media or any Radio and TVs and they have done a tremendous job and I think, giving attention is good as they are doing so much and this will continue to the future also.
Voice Over
– The success story, that has been presented through media touches upon every part of life, there are so many amazing experiences in health care, education, social life, scientific research and economy.
Ms. Halima Al Balushi (Sr. Specialist in Hematology, Royal Hospital, Oman):
– we have a lot of women in our country, they are influencers, TV anchors, writing articles, they are in the science or arts and they say their opinion freely in the media
Voice Over
– From another perspective, the media are the mirrors that reflect our life and about unique societies. The mirrors that others can see us through. Media is really a very effective tool that builds bridges with other cultures.
Ms. Christina Thiede- (Student, Freie University, Berlin):
– I analysed Oman’s oldest privately owned newspaper “Times of Oman” from August to October 2020 regarding the women’s representation. Very noticeable, before the upcoming Omani Women’s day, on October,17th, the number of articles on women’s achievements, and what the government does for them, raised.
Mr. Artur Klimek (Student, University of Warsaw, Berlin):
– I read the newspaper “Oman Observer” for the last three months. Based on this, I made some conclusions. My first impression was that, the women are portrayed in a good way and a lot of space has been dedicated to women’s issues. There were so many issues discussed in the newspaper and certainly they are not a housewives. An image created by the newspapers is that they are entrepreneurs, politicians, police women, soldiers and scientists, really they are very successful people and it is something very positive.
Voice Over
– Story and facts of great impact certainly serve as a fuel of motivation and give us – young women – a massive boost to continue the hard work
Mr. Artur Klimek (Student, University of Warsaw, Berlin):
-There was something that I didn’t know from European newspapers: that there is a great respect for the women. There were some articles, on Omani’s Women’s day and they were built on compliments. Thus, the aim of the articles was not to inform but also to show the gratitude towards women and that they are very important part of the society. There were many articles written by women, I think that’s very important as it shows us that the image of women is true and reflect the reality. Lastly, I must say women are presented really in a good way and the image created by newspapers is very positive.
Ms. Christina Thiede- (Student, Freie University, Berlin):
– What seems to be left out, however, are issues of women, like sexual harassment or the gender difference. But things can always change.
Voice over
– We have bigger aspirations. Certainly, we will have more programs dedicated for women’s issues in our media very soon.