Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the wife of the His Majesty The King, President of the Supreme Council for Women, expressed her sincere pride and appreciation for the continuous efforts and successive achievements of Bahraini women in the service of their country and worthy partners in building the present for the development of the country and its future generations, charting the bright future, as promised in all circumstances and over the years.

In a special statement to Her Royal Highness, made on the occasion of Bahraini women’s celebrations on 1st December each year, Her Royal Highness emphasized the importance of the national occasion, which the leader of the national march, His Majesty the King, 11 years ago, has approved to recognize and adopted it as an official national initiative as part of the national celebrations and as a national memorial to the recognition and honor of the sincere and proud giving of Bahraini women.

The theme for Bahraini Women’s Day celebration for 2019 was “Bahraini Women in Higher Education and Future Sciences”, where the celebration was held at the Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Hall at the University of Bahrain. Her Royal Highness explained “I sincerely thank and deeply appreciate every Bahraini woman who has set the profile of her country, her community, and her family in her sights, and words of thanks will not fulfill her right in light of her strenuous efforts for the sake of the advancement of her homeland,” she said, and added, “On this glorious day, we celebrate the Bahraini woman, the mother, the educator, the national construction partner, and the holder of achievements in various fields of work and production, and we stand with pride in front of her outstanding giving and continuous effort in the service of her country and its people.”

Her Royal Highness explained that the achievements and successes of Bahraini women have become an honorable cultural model and a firm title for giving and achievement, and she represents her country well alongside the Bahraini man, to whom the country registers its honorable stances in support of the march of Bahraini women and the protection and promotion of their gains.

Her Highness praised the interaction of state institutions, in all sectors, to mark this national occasion, revitalize its programs in the field of higher education and future sciences, and to put its activities on its agenda, and provide appropriate support for its recommendations and outputs.

Her Highness expressed her appreciation for the distinguished contributions of Bahraini women in the academic field, both in terms of the high percentages witnessed by the sector by holding senior leadership positions and obtaining advanced academic degrees in the field of university teaching, and her earnest interest in academic research, and her involvement in the membership of international bodies and centers. Her Highness explained that this also led to an increased demand for Bahraini women in the fields of future sciences, which would contribute to supporting Bahrain’s economy’s trend towards digital transformation.

During the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Riyad Yousif Hamza, President of the University of Bahrain, delivered a welcoming speech during which he affirmed that the university is honored to host this year’s Bahraini Women’s Day celebration under the patronage of Her Royal Highness the wife of the country’s beloved King, for this year’s Bahraini Women’s Day ceremony, noting that the choice of the theme “Higher Education and Future Sciences” works as a slogan that supports the University’s development plan (2016-2021), which has set its sights on future science, it is working hard with its national and international partners to make the Kingdom of Bahrain a leader in the sciences of the future that have become the focus of global attention, the field of competition, and the title of progress.

Prof. Dr. Hamza explained that the percentage of female academics at the University of Bahrain amounted to 41.5% of the total academics, while the percentage of female students exceeded about 65% of the total students, indicating that higher education is full of large and qualitative presence of Bahraini women, present and future. Pointing out, in this regard, that the university is considered the first mine of competencies that is responsible for upgrading and qualifying human resources, and it is the ideal place from which Bahraini women, whether they are scientists, innovators or pioneers, to represent Bahrain in every forum towards globalization.

After that, Dr. Sheikha Mariam bint Hassan Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Supreme Council for Women, on behalf of Her Royal Highness the President of the Council, honored the pioneers in the field of academic work, such as the first to obtain leadership positions and the first holders of academic degrees. During the ceremony, a short documentary film entitled “Bahraini Women and Education: Early Sunrise and National Pioneering” was screened, and a visual summary of the most important outcomes of Bahraini Women’s Day for this year was presented.

Since adopting the theme of Bahraini Women’s Day in the first quarter of this year, the Supreme Council for Women has implemented a program full of initiatives, events, and activities in which many relevant institutions have contributed, highlighting the role and contributions of Bahraini women in the fields of “Higher Education and Future Sciences”, including the launch of the first “Women’s Hackathon”, with the aim of discovering the talents of Bahraini women, raising their professional capabilities in the technical, smart and cloud fields, and encouraging women to turn out and innovate in the field of software development, and developing their technical skills to find smart solutions to serve national priorities.

The Supreme Council for Women dedicated Bahraini Women’s Day this year to celebrating women in the field of “Higher Education and Future Sciences” with the aim of documenting women’s careers in this field and demonstrating the reality of their participation and competitiveness by shedding light on the opportunities available to sustain their participation in the higher education sector, highlighting the importance of technical and professional education for women, and investing in academic studies and research to develop their areas of participation and raise their contributions.

 

List of honors:

 

First: Women leaders in the academic field

1- Prof. Dr. Mona Rashid Al-Zayani

2- Dr. Jawaher Shaheen Al-Madhki

3- Prof. Dr. Jihan Isa Al-Omran

4- Dr. Batool Ali Al-Mohandis

5- Dr. Sheikha Mariam bint Hassan Al Khalifa

6- Dr. Fatima Mohamed Al-Balooshi

7- Dr. Haifa Ali Al-Maskati

8- Dr. Hameeda Jassim Bou Hussein

9- Dr. Haya Ali Al-Nuaimi

10- Dr. Sheikha Ishaa’ bint Mohamad Al Khalifa

11- Prof. Dr. Mona Saleh Al-Ansari

12- Dr. Sajida Saeed Tabbara

13- Prof. Dr. Huda Hassan Al-Khaja

 

Second: Those who hold a professor’s degree

14- Prof. Dr. Afnan Mahmood Fraija

15- Prof. Dr. Asma Ali Aba Hussein

16- Prof. Dr. Jehan Isa Al-Omran

17- Prof. Dr. Ruqayya Taha Jaber Al-Alwani

18- Prof. Dr. Randa Rebhi Hamadeh

19- Prof. Dr. Fadheela Taher Al-Mahroos

20- Prof. Dr. Mona Rashid Al-Zayani

21- Prof. Dr. Mona Saleh Al-Ansari

22- Prof. Dr. Huda Hassan Al-Khaja

 

Third: Those who hold the degree of Associate Professor

23- Dr. Ibtihaj Ahmed Al-Aali

24- Dr. Amani Abdul Rahman Al-Shirawi

25- Dr. Amira Saeed Al-Haddad

26- Dr. Eman Mohamed Amin Fareed

27- Dr. Batool Qassim Asiri

28- Dr. Khadija Abdullah Zainal

29- The late Dr. Fatima Hussain Al-Ahmad

30- Dr. Raeda Sayed Kadhim Al-Alawi

31- Dr. Reema Lotfi Nabhan Abdel Razzaq

32- Dr. Salwa Mutlaq Al-Thawadi

33- Dr. Charlotte Awad Kamel

34- Dr. Shaikha Ahmed Al-Junaid

35- Dr. Sabah Saleh Al-Junaid

36- Dr. Esmat Saleh Kamashki

37- Dr. Ghufran Ahmed Jassim

38- Dr. Faten Saad Abdul Hameed

39- Dr. Fatima Ahmed Ali Al-Jassim

40- Dr. Fatima Khalifa Mattar

41- Dr. Fawzia Saeed Al-Saleh

42- Dr. Lama Essam Sakhnini

43- Dr. Lamia Faisal Jaafar

44- Dr. Laila Mohamed Dowaigher

45- Dr. Sheikha Maryam bint Hassan Al Khalifa

46- Dr. Maheeba Abdullah Mohamed Abdullah

47- Dr. Najat Mahdi Ahmed Ali