Official of the Syriac Women’s Union Ilham Matli explains the importance of the Middle East Women’s Conference

BEIRUT — With the aim of unifying efforts of women in the region, the Middle East Women’s Conference was held in Beirut, in Lebanon, on 31 July. In 2013, the conference was held in the Turkish city of Omid (Diyarbakır).

Official of the Syriac Women’s Union (SWU) Ilham Matli attended the conference. In a statement to Suroyo TV, she said that the conference included a hundred participating women. The agenda began with dialogue sessions on the various crises in the Middle East, a session on the experiences of the women’s struggle, and future work strategies to empower women and ensure their rights.

“The conference also included workshops on obstacles to the women’s struggle and achieving balance at the local and regional levels,” Matli added. “The basic principles for forming a women’s coalition, its goals and vision, was also discussed.”

Regarding the conference’s outcomes, Matli stated that, “The recommendations of the roadmap for women in the East were discussed.”

“The conference outcomes included the formation of media platforms for women in all the Middle East, making women’s voices heard, and the formation of committees in order to follow up on the work and recommendations of the conference and its future convening,” she concluded.