“Don’t rely on anyone for validation – let your action and independence demonstrate that you too can do a man’s job,” states Balqees Sulaiman Abdullah Al Hassani, as she exhorts women to aspire to be bigger, better and brighter in all that they do
Twelve years ago, when Balqees Sulaiman Abdullah Al Hassani was starting her career in education, she had no idea where the path she chose would lead her to. When she accepted the position of lab technician at Al Sahwa Schools, she instinctively felt that it would only be a stepping stone to aspire to something more challenging in the field of education. With strong motivation and support from colleagues, friends and family she challenged herself and worked harder to improve her position at the school, first as a science teacher, then as Pastoral Coordinator, and then General Education Diploma (GED) Coordinator to Assistant Principal and to the Head of wellbeing.
A year ago she joined Knowledge Oman as a volunteer, and within a short span of time was promoted as the Vice President. She has achieved the Council of International School (CIS) Accreditation and is an established events coordination for several NGOs.
Following are excerpts of an interview with Balqees:
Inspiration
My inspiration has always been my mother – my father passed away when I was 3 years old. My mother raised me and my other four siblings on her own. She provided us with all life necessities, security and stability and built confidence in us; she guided us and gave educational support and all the love we needed.
Attributes of a Successful Woman
Believing that a woman can do any job or task is essential; we should be open minded and accept any challenge. One should be confident in the way one presents oneself and positive in the way one sees things and people. Work-life balance is essential to manage both the spectrums and so is focus. If we take on too many things, we will end up doing nothing. We need to focus on impactful and quality things.
Women’s Empowerment
Providing equal opportunities is not only one of the basic human rights, it is also a necessary component for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable country. Empowering women today is important as it will help ignite and also fuel a sustainable economy. Women have all it takes to help a country prosper; what they need is to be empowered and not just placed on an equal platform with men. Today women are holding top positions in private and public sectors; they are the secret ingredient behind many organisations’ success and economic growth.
Drive to Excel
I believe that quality education is the basic right of every citizen in Oman, be it for a woman or a man. Education is the cornerstone of our kids today and generations to come. Getting the right support from family members also plays an important role in empowering and motivating women to excel in their careers, economic growth and development.
Career Opportunities
Women have always been able to undertake tasks and opportunities that were considered male domain, but only needed a chance to demonstrate themselves. For example, driving taxis or working in oil rigs. Previously, women only opted for jobs in the fields of medicine, education, etc. This proves that there’s huge leap and development in women’s skills, expertise and potential.
Teaching Values of Empowerment
We can inculcate values from early on by giving equal ownership and assignments to both the genders and avoiding giving one gender a responsibility or action that the other doesn’t have. Wrong should be wrong for both genders.
* Knowledge Oman is a knowledge-sharing platform that has been specifically formed to create, share and promote knowledge across the country for free.