Category: Women / Girls

Luxor African Film Festival announces Winners of 11th edition : March 10th, 2022

Taking place between 4 and 10 March in Luxor, the festival screened over 45 films from 35 countries in its numerous competitive categories.

The jury of this competition included director Moussa Touré (Senegal), director Yousry Nasrallah (Egypt), director Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), critic Kamal Ben Wanas (Tunisia) and actor Jimmy Jean-Louis (Haiti).

The winners are:
Best Film: Communion (Tunisia)
Jury Award: The Gravedigger’s Wife (Somalia)
Special Mention: L’accord (The Agreement) (Cameroon)

The Long Documentaries Competition included 11 titles, with five renowned filmmakers on its jury — director Katie Needy (Senegal), critic Phoebe Curry (Uganda), director of photography Mahmoud Abdel-Samie (Egypt), director Mohamed Seyam (Egypt), and director Peter Sedovia (Ghana).

The winners are:
Best Film: Faya Dayi (Ethiopia)
Jury Award: Morning Star (Madagascar)
Special Mention: The Last Shelter (Mali, South Africa)

The Short Films Competition screened 15 films. The jury consisted of director Khaled El-Haggar (Egypt), director Fatomato Coulibaly (Mali), critic Ahmed Shawqy (Egypt), director Daoud Wilad Al-Sayed (Morocco), and actress Ghalia Ben Ali (Tunisia).

The winners are:
Best Film: Tender Threads (Morocco)
Jury Award: Baby Blue (Senegal)
Special Mention: Sixteen Rounds (Uganda)

The festival also presented films in the Diaspora Competition, screening nine films to a jury consisting of director Rachid Mashharawi (Palestine), producer Doura Bouchoucha (Tunisia), and actor Ahmed Magdi (Egypt).

The winners are:
Best Film: As Far As I Can Walk (Serbia)
Special Mention: A Brighter Tomorrow (Algeria)

The festival also granted film The Gravedigger’s Wife (Somalia) the FIPRESCI Best Film Award while Egyptian film Batool received Best Film Award in the Women Issues Competition.

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Celebrating African identity through filmmaking, the LAFF was launched in 2010 by the Independent Shabab Foundation (ISF) — a non-profit organisation registered at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Founded and chaired by scriptwriter Sayed Fouad, the festival’s board includes Mahmoud Hemida, the LAFF’s honourary president, and Azza El-Husseini, the LAFF’s co-founder and executive director.

In its 11th edition, LAFF chose Uganda as the country of honour and also honoured the late Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty and Tunisian director, Férid Boughedir. The iconic Egyptian star Hussein Fahmy was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Moreover, the festival honoured Egyptian singer and actress Hoda Sultan, actor Mahmoud Morsy and Moroccan director and producer Mohamed Ismail.

The LAFF paid tribute to Egyptian star Amr Saad and Burkinabe filmmaker Apolline Traoré.

The LAFF is organised by the ISF under the auspices of the Egyptian culture, tourism and foreign ministries with the National Bank of Egypt and other partners.

source/content : english.ahram.org.eg

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EGYPT / ALGERIA / MOROCCO / PALESTINE / SOMALIA / TUNISIA

Morocco’s Hannou Oumarouch: Courageous Amazigh Militant and MWN’s Woman of the Year

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Morocco World News launched a symbolic award, celebrating in a series of articles the outstanding achievements of Moroccan women who have left their imprint on society.

Alongside 10 other strong female leaders, Hannou Oumarouch was placed in special recognition at the top of the list. 

Born in 1961, Hannou Oumarouch is a 64-year-old Moroccan woman who lives in Tilmi, 70 kilometers from Tinghir.

Hannou is known for her courage in addressing and defending women’s concerns in the “Ait Hadido” tribe. She has also been active in the Regional Consultative Commission for Equality and Women’s Issues in the region.

Elected to the Municipal Council for the first time under the banner of the National Rally of Independents, she won an electoral seat for the party in the rural commune of Talmi, which is affiliated with Mesmerir in Tinghir province. 

She was asked to join a Regional Council mission visiting China, where she represented Morocco and drew the attention of the Chinese media owing to her typical spontaneity and Amazigh attire.

She became a member of the Provincial Council of Tinghir, at the end of September 2021, and subsequently Hannou was elected as president of the commission in charge of social development and the family.

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com (edited)

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MOROCCO

Winners of UAE Government Excellence Award Honoured at Expo 2020 Dubai


Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, today honoured the winners of the 6th edition of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Government Excellence Award at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The award ceremony was organised by the UAE government. The award, which included 17 institutional categories, aims at encouraging federal government institutions to better serve the UAE society at all levels and motivate the principles of excellence.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Government Excellence Award was launched in 2009 under the umbrella of Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Programme (SKGEP), which was the first integrated federal platform to gauge and celebrate excellence in performance and innovative initiatives in the UAE federal government.

The award seeks to promote the role of the federal government institutions serving the UAE society at all levels, as well as increasing awareness about the principles of excellence and its role in modern governments. The award also aims at developing the competencies required to boost excellence in the federal government.

List of winners:

-Leading Federal Entity (ministry with more than 500 employees): Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

-Leading Federal Entity (ministry with less than 500 employees): Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy.

-Leading Federal Entity (departments with more than 500 employees): Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship and Port Security.

-Leading Federal Entity (departments with less than 500 employees): Federal Authority for Government Human Resources; and Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.

-Best Entity for Performance Improvement: Central Bank of UAE; and Ministry of Community Development.

-Best Entity in Vision Realization: Ministry of Interior.

-Best Achievement of the National Agenda: Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.

-Best Entity in Enhancing Wellbeing: Ministry of Community Development.

-Best Entity for Institutional Flexibility: Ministry of Interior.

-Best Entity in Wellbeing at the Workplace: Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs.

-Best Achievement of the Leading Position and Competitiveness: General Civil Aviation Authority; and Ministry of Interior.

-Best Entity in Future Readiness: Ministry of Finance.

-Best Entity for Remote Work Applications: Ministry of Health and Prevention.

-Best Entity for Artificial Intelligence Adoption: Ministry of Interior.

-Best Entity in Data and Knowledge Management: Federal Authority for Government Human Resources.

-Best Entity in Partnership and Integration: Ministry of Interior.

-Best Entity in Government Communication: Ministry of Community Development.

-Best Entity in proactive services for customers: Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.

-Best Entity in the field of Innovation: Ministry of Health and Prevention.

-Best Entity in the field of Service Channels Classification: Ministry of Interior; and Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.

-Best Entity for Youth Empowerment: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

-Leading Federal Entity in Excellence Sustainability: Ministry of Interior.

Pride of the UAE medals: –

–Dr. Mansoor Mohammed Al Awar.

–Ali Abbas Al Belooshi, orthopedic conducting bone surgery through AI and robots.

–Fatima Al Mulla, UAE researcher and academic in future fields.

-The Prime Minister’s Medal for Distinguished Ambassador:

Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi, UAE ambassador to South Korea; and Lana Zaki Nussaiba

-The Prime Minister’s Medal for Distinguished Undersecretary:

Mozza Ibrahim Al Akraf, Ministry of Community Development.

-The Prime Minister’s Medal for Distinguished.

-Director-General: Dr Yousef Mohammed Al Serkal, Emirates Health Services and Lt. Suhail Saeed Al Khayali, Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.

List of winners of Mohammed bin Rashid Scarfs: –

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Commissioner-General of Expo 2020 Dubai.

–Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of State for International Cooperation.

–Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the UAE President.

–Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention.

–Khaldoun Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority.

-Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology.

Best projects:

–National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority.

–Emirates Group for Global Economic Partnerships.

–Youth Hub.

–Baraka Nuclear.

source/content : wam.ae

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

March 08th – International Women’s Day

Egypt:

24% of Egypt’s ministerial positions held by women in 2021: CAPMAS

https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/north-africa/24-of-egypts-ministerial-positions-held-by-women-in-2021-capmas-u0s1vxbs

Morocco:

Casablanca Celebrates Inspiring Moroccan Women Leaders

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/03/347515/casablanca-celebrates-inspiring-moroccan-women-leaders

Saudi Arabia:

International women’s day: From train drivers to ice cream parlors — Saudi women take new jobs

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2038106/business-economy

United Arab Emirates (U.A.E)

International Women’s Day: The incredible Emirati women to take inspiration from

International Women’s Day: The incredible Emirati women to take inspiration from

Dr. Farida Al Hosani becomes First Emirati Female to join World Health Organisation’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Advisory Group

Dr Farida Al Hosani.

AbuDhabi Public Health Centre, the region’s first dedicated centre protecting the physical, mental and social wellbeing of Abu Dhabi’s population by raising public and preventative healthcare awareness, is pleased to announce that H.E. Dr Farida Al Hosani, Infectious Disease Expert and Executive Director of Infectious Diseases and Official Spokesperson for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Health Sector, has joined the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP Framework) Advisory Group as a Member for the period 2022-2024.

Members of the Advisory Group are appointed by the Director-General of the World Health Organisation and serve, in their personal, expert capacity, for a period of three years. The key goal of the framework is to improve and strengthen the sharing of information about influenza viruses with human pandemic potential, and to increase the access to vaccines and other pandemic related supplies for developing countries.

The PIP Framework is focused on the sharing of information around influenza viruses and promoting the access to vaccines and other benefits. It was adopted in May 2011 by the 64th World Health Assembly which comprises 18 members drawn from three Member States in each WHO Region.

source/content: mediaoffice.abudhabi

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

New Cookbook ‘Cooking Her Heritage, Saudi Arabia’ Showcases Cultural Heritage

A new cookbook focusing on traditional meals titled “Cooking Her Heritage, Saudi Arabia” was launched on Mar 02nd, Wednesday at the Diriyah Art Biennale Foundation.

Five women prepared the book: Dr. Awatif Alkeneibit, Sahar Jamal, Begoña Mateos, Jacqueline Jackaman, and Cristina Sanchez.

It is divided into five sections, each incorporating specific recipes from the Kingdom’s regions. It highlights the most classic and iconic Saudi dishes, revealing the cooking secrets and culinary practices handed down over many years in the nation’s homes.

  • Five female co-authors seek to highlight regional dishes, more than 100 recipes drawn from Kingdom’s homes
  • Over 100 recipes drawn from Kingdom’s homes published in Arabic and English

source/content: arabnews.com

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Authors attend the launching of ‘Cooking Her Heritage, Saudi Arabia’ at the Diriyah Art Biennale Foundation. (Supplied)

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SAUDI ARABIA

Egypt’s Zeinab El Kawashti: The Female Wedding Officiator Defying Gender Roles

In December 2020, Zeinab el Kawashti married a couple, Sondos and Karim, in front of their family and friends. In a different time and place, this would have been a normal occurrence, yet it was the first time any of the guests had seen a woman as a marriage officiant.

This is not odd, given that female Ma’azin (Muslim marriage officiants) are extremely rare.

The first-ever female marriage officiant in Egypt was Amal Soliman; she was hired in 2018 by the Egyptian family court and has since then married more than 300 couples. Many were inspired by Soliman, among them El Kawashti.

El Kawashti is a female M’azoun, a mother of three, and an Azhar Law and Religious Studies graduate.

To become a Ma’zoun in Egypt, one must have at least a Bachelor’s degree. Ma’azin are restricted to their jobs as officiants, with no further commitments. There are around 45 requirements to become a Ma’zoun in Egypt, including age. As of 2014, a Ma’zoun can only be between the ages of thirty and forty. The requirements also include maintaining optimal physical wellbeing.

source/content : egyptianstreets.com

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Zeinab El Kawashti officiating at a katb ketab. Photo Credit: Sondos Moussa

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EGYPT

 Latifa Ibn Ziaten, Awarded ‘Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2022’ : March 01st, 2022

Latifa Ibn Ziaten . French-Moroccan Activist. President, Association for Youth and Peace (IMAD).

Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has empowered me to continue fighting: Latifa Ibn Ziaten.

Anti-extremist French-Moroccan activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten, President of the Association for Youth and Peace (IMAD), called on countries participating in Expo 2020 Dubai to support the efforts aimed at supporting peaceful coexistence and combatting extremism.

She also lauded the UAE’s efforts to encourage social peace and promote the principles of tolerance and human fraternity.

In an exclusive interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Latifa Ibn Ziaten, winner of the award in 2021, expressed her appreciation for the award.

“I am proud to be here in the UAE, the country that gave me the opportunity to win the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, which empowered and motivated me to continue my journey and fight to help marginalised youths,” she said.

“We need to help each other, most notably the youth who engage in terrorism. I will explore the reasons that led them to choose extremism, as people are not born terrorists, but factors, such as misery, ignorance, desperation and specific lifestyles, have led them to become prey for terrorism,” she added.

Ibn Ziaten said that she delivered several lectures in Abu Dhabi on terrorism and participated in seminars on how to save the youth from terrorism, in addition to delivering lectures in Morocco, the US, India and Mali. In France, she has worked with the Ministry of Education and conducts weekly lectures to raise the awareness of the youth.

After her son was killed in a terrorist attack in 2021, Latifa Ibn Ziaten has dedicated herself to promoting tolerance and countering terrorism.

source/content: wam.ae

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FRANCE / MOROCCO

Winners of 17th Algerian International Quran Contest Awarded

Top winners of the 17th edition of Algeria’s international Quran competition were awarded in a ceremony on Sunday, February 28th

Zeinab Bin Yousuf won claimed the title of the event. Yahya Bilal Yousuf from Bahrain and Syrian Abd al-Rahman Mohammad Hardan ranked third.

The ceremony was attended by a host of Algerian Quran activists and officials.

Representatives from 48 countries took part in this edition, which was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The contestants went to Algeria’s embassies and consulates in their country to take part in the competition via video links.

Members of the panel of judges were from Algeria, Egypt, and Guinea.

According to Algeria’s Awqaf ministry, Wa Rattil al-Quran Tartila (referring to verse 4 of Surah a-Muzmmil that orders reciting the Quran in Tarteel) was the motto of this year’s competition.

Unlike previous editions that were held in the holy month of Ramadan, this edition was organized in the lunar Hijri month of Rajab on the occasion of Lailat-Al-Miraj, the day when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ascended to all the seven stages of heaven.

Launched in 2004, Algeria’s international Quran contest is held annually on memorization of the Holy Quran with the participation of young people under the age of 25.

source/contents: iqna.ir

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ALGERIA / BAHRAIN / SYRIA

Jordan’s King Abdulla II and Queen Rania Receive ‘2022 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity’ in Abu Dhabi

 Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan on Saturday, February 26th, received the 2022 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

In the presence of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, the award, presented during a ceremony hosted by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity at the Founders Memorial in Abu Dhabi, was granted in appreciation of Their Majesties’ efforts to promote human fraternity, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence. The award was also presented to Haitian humanitarian organisation FOKAL.

Attending the ceremony virtually, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib and His Holiness Pope Francis congratulated Their Majesties, describing them as role models for fraternity and coexistence.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, also delivered a speech during the ceremony.

The award is organised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, an independent international committee instituted to promote human fraternity values in communities around the world and to fulfil the aspirations of the Document on Human Fraternity, signed by Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib and Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

source/content: wam.ae

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JORDAN