The Congressís 5th plenary session which was chaired by Mrs Charifa Al Yahyaiya, Minister of Social Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, focused on the social dimension of sustainable development. The first panelist, Fawzia Abdul Beki Al Jammali from the Sultanate of Oman noted that the social development of sustainable development had not been sufficiently studied. Her paper which focused mainly on the situation of the rural woman suggested a number of propositions to improve the conditions of rural women in the Arab world. On his part, Mr. Ahmad Ibrahim from the Sudan, stressed the importance of micro-projects, as shown following the recent economic crisis. He also remarked that limiting oneself to statistical analysis was not enough , suggesting taking into account socio cultural studies to identify the causes of poverty and by taking advantage of international practices, in the respect of Arab tradition, he said. Participants stressed that the changes that have occurred in political and economic structures have not led to an evolution on the cultural and social planes, a major impediment in the fight against degrading and stereotypical images of women which limits woman to her simple biological, reproductive function.
