Kuwait – To mark International Women’s Day (08 March 2021), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Migration agency in Kuwait – in partnership with the telecommunication company, Ooredoo – has launched a series of psychosocial support workshops through the month of March for women residing in the government of Kuwait’s shelter for female foreign workers.

IOM has been working in Kuwait to provide the needed support to female breadwinners, who have left their country of origin to provide financial support for their families back home and who have faced some challenges along the way.

International Women’s Day was dedicated by the United Nations (UN) to celebrate the effective participation and role that women play in our societies. This year’s theme is Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.

“The workshops are primarily aimed to offer women the very much needed safe space to discuss and share their psychosocial challenges, concerns and experiences in a structured and non-stigmatizing manner.” Mazen AboulHosn, IOM Kuwait Chief of Mission said. “We are pleased to celebrate International Women’s Day by organizing such an important activity, recognizing the importance of psychosocial well-being.” This is possible thanks to the continuous collaboration of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM), and our partnership with the Nojoom program of Ooredoo, we had the opportunity to mark International Women’s Day – through organizing such an important activity.

Mr. Abdulaziz Yaqoub Al-Babtain, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Kuwait, said: “Woman's Day started as a means by which to unite the community around a set of common goals and shared values that are meant to fight for gender equality in every aspect of life, and shade light on women’s ability to lead and provide role models for other women worldwide. Today, we, at Ooredoo, take pride in all women of Kuwait who partake and positively impact our society.”

Xandra Spijker, a certified life coach and psychosocial support expert, said: “Through these workshops, we create a sense of togetherness and support in times of stressful events. With this psychosocial support program, the women in the shelter acquire information on how to be more resilient and with higher self-esteem; all needed to enable women to be survivors rather than victims.”

Sheikha Bibi Nasser Al-Sabah, IOM Goodwill Ambassador for Kuwait and the Gulf Countries “ I am really pleased with my partnership with the International Organization for Migration as we share a common vision and goal, which it to advocate for, and protect the rights of migrant workers and to highlight their important role in our society.”

In addition to the series of psychosocial workshops and in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, IOM also provided 200 Personal Hygiene & Protective kits to around 100 women residing in the shelter as a preventive measure against the virus.

In November 2020, IOM and Ooredoo signed a joint agreement under the MyOoredoo application which allows customers and members of the ‘Nojoom’ program to donate their points to IOM to support community cohesion activities and support migrant workers.

IOM takes this opportunity to thank Ooredoo and its Nojoom members that have donated their points to IOM and have recognized the importance of giving back to society and leaving no one behind.

Recently, IOM has hosted two days event (24-25 February 2021) on its first Regional Review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) in the Arab region. As vaccine roll-outs are bringing back hope that the end of the pandemic might be in sight, The United Nations Network on Migration calls on States to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to vaccines for all and the inclusion of migrants, regardless of their status, in their national COVID-19 vaccination programmes and other public health interventions.

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For more information please contact: Dana Al-Othman at IOM Kuwait, Email: dalothman@iom.int