Thoraya Obaid - Working for Women

Crisis meeting at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York: Executive Director Thoraya Obaid has asked eight close aides to join her in her office. It’s an international team made up of representatives from seven countries, most of whom are women. Born in Saudi Arabia, Thoraya Obaid is chairwoman of the Population Fund, the budget of which relies on donations from over 100 countries. Each country donates the sum of its choice. This is why a large part of Thoraya Obaid’s work and that of her team is to motivate countries to keep making donations even in difficult economic times and, where possible, to increase their contributions.

Almost motherly

Thoraya Obaid has been head of the UNFPA for about two years now. To look at her, you wouldn’t think she was a fighter. She is warm, open and almost motherly. But President Bush of the United States and his administration can verify that she’s tough. When Bush suddenly cancelled the USA’s pledged donations to the fund, Obaid reacted promptly; and she didn’t mince her words: ‘These US$ 34 million,’ she wrote, ‘could prevent two million unwanted pregnancies and 77,00 cases of infant mortality. Mr. President, women and children will die as a result of your decision.’ Nevertheless, Bush let himself be swayed by pressure from conservatives.

Thoraya Obaid is of the opinion that the framework needed to ensure that women, their families and their children can lead a dignified life has already been sufficiently discussed and defined at various conferences. Says Obaid: ‘An ideal image of how women’s lives should be has been presented at the women’s conferences in Peking, Nairobi, Mexico and Copenhagen. So we don’t need any more framework terms and conditions. What we need now is implementation.’

Strengthening women’s status in the home

Opposing ignorance and overcoming all kinds of resistance would appear to be Thoraya Obaid’s life mission. When she succeeded the Pakistani woman Nafis Sadik as Executive Director of the UNFPA on 1 January 2001, she became the first Saudi Arabian woman to head a UN organisation. Since then, the 57-year-old has made it her top priority to strengthen the status of women in the home. Over 47 per cent of the 950 employees in her organisation are women. This percentage is one of the highest of all United Nations organisations. ‘Yes, it is part of my policy. But the praise for this achievement is due to my predecessor, Dr. Nafis Sadik. It was she that ensured that so many women work here not only at entry level but also in the higher positions,” explains Obaid.

Obaid is convinced that the fact so many women are employed in the organisation affects the working atmosphere at the UNFPA. She also thinks that women are particularly capable of creating a team spirit that is based more on convincing people than on hierarchies  a structure that allows everyone to pull in the same direction.

Visionary parents

This is the opinion of a woman from Saudi Arabia: a country where woman are at a disadvantage almost across the board; where segregation of the sexes is more strictly preserved than in most other countries on earth. Where does she get the self-confidence to express such opinions? Where does she get the strength to climb so far up the career ladder? Her spontaneous answer is short and to the point: ‘from my parents.’ And most particularly from her father and his humane, liberal-minded interpretation of the Koran. ‘I had a very visionary father and a visionary mother. However, even if my mother had wanted to do something for me on her own, she couldn’t have done so without the support of my father. My father was a very devout, practicing Muslim and he was of the opinion that both education and knowledge are part of religious faith.’

Sigrid Dethloff, Renate Bernhard

© 2003, Deutsche Welle