International women's summit in Abu Dhabi calls for end to war and protection of survivors


Ramola Talwar Badam
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Nobel Peace laureates and survivors of violence have made an urgent call to protect women and children on the final day of an international conference that brought together female leaders from around the world.

The need for dialogue and compromise in war-torn Gaza and Ukraine was the focus for speakers at the Forbes 30/50 summit that concluded in Abu Dhabi on Friday, International Women's Day.

The four-day conference, which started on Tuesday, drew leading women from more than 30 countries, spanning the business, creative and non-government sectors.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia and first elected woman head of state in Africa, said it was the responsibility of all nations to stop the killing of innocent people.

There is need for a leadership that can bring the parties together, talk about the reasons for conflict and try to identify solutions
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
former president of Liberia and a Nobel Peace Prize winner

“The continuation of war is for all people all over the world an unacceptable condition,” said the 85-year-old, who won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting for women's safety in the West African nation.

“We must all take a role to find a means to be able to stop this,” she said.

Call to action for peace

The former president hoped that world leaders would co-operate to find a solution to the conflicts so that “no nation would stand alone”.

“My call to action is for peace in all nations where the innocent suffer from war,” she said.

“In the conflicts going on in Palestine and Ukraine, the concern is what happens to innocent people, the death, destruction, hunger of poor people who are the victims.

“There is need for a leadership that can bring the parties together and talk about the reasons for conflict and try to identify solutions.”

Nebal Farsakh, head of communications for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, praised the resilience of Palestinian women in Gaza who give hope to their families despite unimaginable suffering. Victor Besa / The National
Nebal Farsakh, head of communications for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, praised the resilience of Palestinian women in Gaza who give hope to their families despite unimaginable suffering. Victor Besa / The National

Nebal Farsakh, head of communications of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told of the pain of speaking to colleagues in Gaza who had lost relatives during the Israeli bombardment.

“On International Women's Day, we should remember the unprecedented suffering of the Palestinian women in Gaza,” she said.

“Most mothers are going hungry. Ninety-five per cent of mothers skip meals to ensure their children have something to eat.

“The suffering is unprecedented because people are not only dying because of bombardment but because of hunger.”

About 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 72,000 injured in Gaza from Israeli bombings, after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage.

Ms Farsakh said Palestinian women continued to take care of their families despite shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

“We need to celebrate the resilience of the Palestinian women in Gaza. Despite unimaginable losses, they are the source of hope for family members and their communities,” she said.

Her message was to support a ceasefire to allow life-saving aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

“I think everyone can make a difference. We should try to educate others, call for a ceasefire that will allow us to get sustained humanitarian access to all areas of Gaza,” she added.

Speak up for survivors

Nadia Murad, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and UN goodwill ambassador, appealed to people to speak up for rape victims in conflict situations.

She was taken captive by ISIS terrorists in 2014 in Iraq, forced into slavery and repeatedly raped until she was able to escape.

“The most important is for survivors is to face their perpetrators in court,” she said.

Nadia Murad, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was abducted and enslaved by ISIS militants, is working to document mass killings, to seek justice for atrocities against the Yazidi community in Iraq. Victor Besa / The National
Nadia Murad, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was abducted and enslaved by ISIS militants, is working to document mass killings, to seek justice for atrocities against the Yazidi community in Iraq. Victor Besa / The National

“That is what ISIS and like-minded groups are afraid of. They are not afraid of being killed but they are scared of facing survivors in a courtroom.”

Ms Murad is working to document the mass killings and brutality carried out by ISIS militants, so they can be put on trial for atrocities against her community, the Yazidis, a minority group in northern Iraq.

“As we speak today on International Women’s Day, we still have 2,800 Yazidi women and girls missing in captivity,” she said.

“We cannot let ISIS get away with the crimes and genocide of women and men.

“To prevent this happening again is only possible through accountability and justice.”

Ukrainian actress and peace activist Ivanna Sakhno also called for peace while praising the spirit of the women in her home country two years after the Russian invasion.

“The women are the beacon of hope to me,” said the actress who fears for the safety of her father and other relatives who continue to live in Ukraine.

“I’m reminded of the resilience of the women, their undying spirit despite the psychological stress they have been enduring.”

Speakers at the four-day conference said there was cause for hope if the world came together to protect the survivors.

“My message is that we look at each other and stop saying things that hurt,” said holocaust survivor Aliza Erber, who hid for almost two years in an underground bunker to escape capture by the Nazis.

“Hate leads to destruction and that’s why I talk to different groups, different religions to say that underneath our skin we are all the same.

“I’m hopeful that in the hands of the young, there will be change, there will be peace.”

The biog

Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus

Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India

Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes

Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island

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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

The%20specs
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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Updated: March 08, 2024, 4:56 PM`