Ambassador Houda Nonoo Highlights Bahrain's Progressive Women's Rights Record, Accepts Leadership Award, in Speech to Annual Women's Center Leadership Conference

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a speech before the Women's Center's annual Leadership Conference on March 10, Bahrain's Ambassador to the United States Houda Nonoo highlighted the progressive example Bahrain has set for women's rights in the Middle East as she accepted the Center's Leadership Award.

"In Bahrain, women serve in all levels of society and enjoy unprecedented opportunities among our peers in the Middle East," Ambassador Nonoo said in her speech. "Bahrain established its first school for girls in 1928. Today, the literacy rate among all women in Bahrain is over 90 percent, and reaches 100 percent for women aged 18-25. Bahrain appointed its first female cabinet minister in 2004 and, in 2006, a Bahraini woman was selected to serve as the president of the UN General Assembly."

Ambassador Nonoo also highlighted her own personal story, and how growing up in Bahrain afforded her the opportunity to succeed on her merits.

"I am Bahraini. I am a woman. I am a mother. I am Jewish. I come from a progressive nation that allows the best leaders to lead no matter who they are," Ambassador Nonoo said in her speech. "Those in Bahrain's government – ministers, ambassadors, parliamentarians and others – know what I know; Bahrain sets a progressive example for the region, we are proud to call Bahrain home, and we are proud to serve all Bahrainis equally. "

Previous recipients of the Women's Center Leadership Award include former Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham, former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, NBC News Anchor Jane Pauley, and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

SOURCE Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain