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In the spirit of Bahrain Women’s Day, we are reminded that celebrating women is not about one symbolic day. It is about the deeper work of building equity, dignity, and partnership that endures long after the month has passed.
My co-authored book, Seen Yet Silent: From Doubt to Power, explores the inner and outer struggles of Arab women; women who are visible in titles and headlines, yet too often unheard in decision-making and authorship. It is a call to look beyond token recognition and to embrace the shared responsibility of creating systems where women and men rise together.
From silence to voice
One of the strongest themes in the book is the quiet battle with Imposter Syndrome. Even accomplished women question whether they truly belong at the table. This doubt does not emerge from weakness, but from cultures that raise girls to contribute silently rather than compete visibly. Humility is a virtue, but invisibility is not.
To address this, families, managers, and colleagues must do more than encourage women privately. They must create environments where women’s voices are actively sought, respected, and normalised.
The Role of Men: Fathers, Brothers, Sons, Husbands
Partnership cannot exist if it is a women-only effort. Fathers must raise daughters to see ambition as responsibility, not rebellion. Brothers and sons must celebrate their sisters’ and mothers’ work as pride, not pressure. Husbands must embrace equity at home by sharing not only household tasks but also the mental and emotional load of family life.
True masculinity is not about dominance or sole provision. It is about being a co-creator of balance and fairness.
Women as Parents and Leaders
Arab women often live what I call a “dual race”, managing professional leadership while carrying the second shift of home responsibilities. They are asked to be ambitious yet modest, strategic yet nurturing, resilient yet tireless.
But women’s leadership should never be seen as rebellion against culture. It is an extension of it. Women sustain homes and organisations alike. They are not dangerous to the fabric of society; they are the very light that sustains it.
The Call to Organisations
If equity is the goal, organisations must embed it into policy and culture. That means creating flexible work models, equitable parental leave, and pathways of sponsorship that give women the visibility and influence they deserve.
Equity does not mean lowering standards. It means removing unnecessary hurdles so that both men and women can compete fairly and succeed fully. It also means moving beyond quotas or symbolic representation toward a culture where women are not “firsts” in their roles, but equals in their authority.
Equity, Not Equality
The book insists on a crucial distinction: women do not seek equality in the narrow sense of identical treatment. They seek equity, which is fairness that recognises difference and designs systems accordingly. Equality assumes we all start from the same place; equity ensures that no one is left behind simply because the system was built for someone else.
This requires careful thought, brave policies, and leaders who understand that fairness is not uniformity. It is justice.
Bahrain’s Example
Bahrain has been a proud pioneer in supporting women. It has allowed women to rise with dignity rather than defiance, creating space for partnership instead of rivalry. Women in Bahrain today thrive in leadership, entrepreneurship, and education because of deliberate choices: visionary policies, institutional support, and cultural openness to progress.
This is not the finish line, but it is proof that systemic support works.
A Shared Future
The spirit of Bahrain Women’s Day reminds us that women’s advancement is not a women’s issue, but it is a societal one. Families, organisations, and governments all play a role. When men rise with women, not above or behind them but alongside them, everyone benefits.
Seen Yet Silent ends with a simple truth: Arab women today carry the weight of the past and the demands of the future, often at great personal cost. They deserve not only celebration but partnership.
Let us commit to building homes where daughters grow up seeing fairness, workplaces where women’s voices shape decisions, and communities where equity is not an aspiration but a lived reality.
Only then can we say, with pride and with honesty: Seen Yet Silent, no more.
Join us next month for another edition of Workplace Watch, where we’ll explore more trends shaping the future of work. Until then, keep growing, keep learning, and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
Amal Kooheji is a growth advocate
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