Supreme Council for Women (SCW) Secretary-General Hala Al-Ansari held an interactive session with leading members of the European Union and the EU Parliaments. Ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of organisations advocating gender equality also attended the session in Brussels, Belgium. The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) and Bahrain’s Embassy in Belgium co-organised the interactive session themed "Bahrain Women and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals".

Al-Ansari shed light on Bahrain’s strides in promoting women’s rights and supporting their social role, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. "The development of women’s status is an integral part of the modernisation trend which marked society in Bahrain since early 1900s", she said. She outlined latest developments in Bahrain, citing particularly the submission of the first National Voluntary Report on the implementation of the 2010 Sustainable Development Goals, before the UN High-level Political Forum in New York.

The SCW secretary-general hoped the United Nations would acknowledge the strenuous efforts being exerted by member countries to integrated women-related issues into the development goals, based on measurable indicators. She underlined Bahrain’s success in bridging the gender gap in education, in particular, topping the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries in economic participation. She highlighted the SCW-led efforts, in cooperation with other governmental entities and all partners, to foster a culture that supports gender balance in all fields.

"The council set up a national committee, chaired by Led by Her Royal Highness, HM the King’s wife, to initiate a viable model that integrates women’s needs into national development", she said. Based on the SCW recommendations, the Cabinet endorsed the national model to integrate women’s needs, thus establishing an official mechanism to promote equal opportunities and gender balance. SCW director-general for policies and development Shaikha Dina Al-Khalifa detailed Bahrain’s strenuous efforts to harmonise the sustainable development goals and the state’s official policies to ensure gender balance.