Friday 21/November/2025 – 09:19 AM
Maha Hilali, Advisor to the Ministry of Social Solidarity for Disability and Rehabilitation Affairs, participated in the fifth regional conference of the Arab Forum for Women with Disabilities, which was held in Cairo, and organized by the League of Arab States and in partnership with regional and international organizations working in the field of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The conference comes within the framework of following up on the implementation of the Second Arab Decade for Persons with Disabilities 2023-2032 and reviewing the Beijing +30 Action Platform, with a special focus on enhancing political participation, economic empowerment, and safe digital transformation for women and girls with disabilities in the Arab region.
Solidarity: We are committed to promoting the rights of women and girls with disabilities and integrating them into national development paths
The Advisor to the Ministry of Social Solidarity for Disability and Rehabilitation Affairs affirmed the commitment of the Arab Republic of Egypt to promoting the rights of women and girls with disabilities and integrating them into national development paths, including digital access, social protection, inclusive education, economic empowerment programs, and legislation supporting rights.
She said: We affirm that technology must be a tool of empowerment and protection, and we are committed to involving women with disabilities in designing technical solutions and ensuring equitable and safe access to digital services.
Maha Hilali also chaired the third plenary session entitled: Utilizing Technology and Innovation to Enhance Accessibility and Inclusion for Women and Girls with Disabilities. The session brought together an elite group of Arab and international speakers and experts, and discussed ways to employ innovation to enhance empowerment and safe participation, with a focus on bridging the digital divide, combating gender-based violence online, and expanding the use of assistive technology in the areas of education, work, and independence.
Among the prominent participants and experts who presented their experiences and successful practices were: Dr. Hoda Al-Bakr, who reviewed the role of civil society organizations, Polly Wardrop, who presented low-cost international models, Philip Maher, who discussed assistive technology applications in Egypt, Mita Tibaung, who presented successful Asian experiences in limited resources, and Hoda Dahroj, who provided interventions on national policies to promote safe digital access.
The conference came up with a number of recommendations, including involving women and girls with disabilities in the stages of designing and evaluating technical solutions and digital transformation policies, enhancing digital infrastructure and making it available in accordance with universal access standards, implementing training programs to build the capabilities of women with disabilities and those working in the educational and service sectors, and developing policies and procedures to protect women with disabilities from gender-based violence in cyberspace.
