16 | - Número: 037 | 5 de Maio de 2012

ANEXO B

Speech by Mr. Mendes Bota, at the opening of the exhibition ―Standing Out‖ (Nadia Shihabi) and welcome to the guest speakers of the hearing ―Women in the Arab Spring‖ Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Strasbourg, 24th of April 2012

Mrs. De Boer Buquiccio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. Mota Amaral, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Excellencies, Dear colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to introduce to you the artist Nadia Shihabi, a dear friend of mine and a wellknown artist who presently shares her life between Dubai and Portugal.
Nadia Shihabi is a woman of the world, born in France, who spent different chapters of her life in Saudi Arabia, United States and Lebanon.
Ms Shihabi was born to a European mother, here present, Mme. Gisela, and a Palestinian Muslim father, Dr.Hisham Sharabi, a Palestinian intellectual who championed the rights of Arab women. He died in Beirut seven years ago, having been a Professor of History and Arab Culture, ardent support of Palestinian rights, and a great fighter of corruption.
He was the founder of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development, working on educational, cultural and health issues of Palestinians. He was also founder of the Palestine Center, a think tank on Palestinian Political issues.
The reason why I mention this, is because Nadia Shihabi has truly inherited her father‟s patrimony of values.
Nadia has a Masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a Bachelors from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service. She worked in Investment banking at the beginning of her career, but started to focus on art, attended the prestigious New York Studio School, having exhibited in New York and Dubai.
She is a figurative painter that has lived and travelled extensively in the Middle East, where she has devoted great attention to the condition of muslim women in the Arab world, which is the main inspiration for her work.
Nadia, I consider the fact that your exhibition is here in Strasbourg, this week, first of all as a generous gift from your part; and secondly, as an example of the partnership that there can be between politics and art, words and images.
During this week in Strasbourg, we have organised a number of events on Women and the Arab Spring.
This afternoon, women from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen who have been protagonists of the Arab Spring movements in their countries, will address the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination and the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, on the audition about “Arab Spring, Women Spring?”.
We are indeed particularly happy to have amongst us, and it is a pleasure for me to welcome them:

- Ms. Gamila Ismail, a political activist and journalist from Egypt, a direct protagonist of the 2011 events; - Ms. Sara Maziq, activist and representative of the organisation Women for Lybia, and founder of the Libyan Civil Society Organization; - Ms. Rima Flihan, a writer and Syrian political activist who is now living in Amman, Jordan. Let me remind you that, yesterday, the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy had a hearing on this subject, and that on Thursday morning, an urgent debate will take place in the Assembly; - Ms. Sarah Ahmed Jamal, co-founder of the Support Yemen, activist and researcher in Sanaa.

Later, the plenary Assembly will hold a debate on a report on „Gender equality: an essential condition for the success of the Arab Spring‟.