UN Women and Islamic Relief Worldwide launch partnership
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UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), Naser Haghamed, officially launched a Memorandum of Understanding in the United Arab Emirates on 19 October to strengthen joint work on gender equality and the empowerment of women in the Muslim world. The bilateral meeting activated a partnership of strong collaboration and mutual-interest with a particular focus on the areas of humanitarian assistance to women in conflict-ridden and refugee communities, combatting violence against women and girls and starting a broad dialogue on the Islamic discourse on women’s rights and gender equality.
IRW is an independent humanitarian and development organization based in the United Kingdom with a presence in over 40 countries around the globe, with a focus on fighting poverty.
Mr. Haghamed noted that IRW has been expanding its work on gender justice, rights and development in the Muslim World over the past few years- issues that are becoming harder and more critical to tackle with the growing challenges of the Arab States region.
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka said the partnership will bring strong benefits to each side. While UN Women’s technical and normative experience will be valuable to IRW, the extensive grass-root network and innovative policy and research work on different thematic areas would also be a key asset for UN Women’s work on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Read the full story on UN Women's regional website for Arab States and North Africa