Nov 15, 2021 | News
15 Nov 2021 – Doha. In its annual celebration of Human Rights Day and International Day for Tolerance, the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Interior recognizes and awards Arab and Non-Arab community leaders in Qatar, for their significant contribution in human rights advocacy in the country.
Among those who received award and recognition was Engr. Henry Dimaano – the Founding Chairman of H.E.R.O. Qatar, which stands for Helping, Empowering, Recognizing, OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) in Qatar.
The celebration was held on November 15, 2021 at the Officers Club of the General Directorate of Civil Defence. The honoring ceremony was attended by Col. Saad Salem Al-Dosari, Assistant Director of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior, Abdullah Mahdi Al-Yami, representative of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Capt. Dr. Abdul Latif Hussein Al-Ali from the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior, a number of officers and community representatives.
Speaking at the ceremony, Col. Saad Salem Al-Dosari affirmed the keenness of the Ministry of Interior to participate in these celebrations, as an embodiment of its contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights through its security and service work, as well as within the framework of its social responsibilities. This necessitated that the communication with communities should have an existing organizational framework in the Ministry of the Interior, namely, the Community Reach out Office at the Public Relations Department and similar lines of action in the departments concerned, which resulted in many of the Ministry’s awareness-raising and cultural activities in the community.
The Assistant Director of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior pointed out that the main objectives of communicating with the communities are to educate the communities about their rights and obligations under national laws and the legislative tools of the Ministry of Interior emphasizing their clear role in construction and development. He stressed the respect for the cultural identity of the communities and their freedom to worship and practice their religious rites in the appropriate manner established by law, the respect of the members of the communities for the national value system and the Qatari cultural heritage, and the identification of the actual and fundamental needs and problems of the members of the communities in their relationship with the Ministry’s agencies and work to overcome and solve them.
The community partnership in maintaining security is achieved on the basis that combating crime and achieving security is the responsibility of everyone, citizens and residents, and achieving these goals will contribute in an effective way to enhancing the social and cultural integration of the population, he added.
For his part, Mr. Abdullah Mahdi Al-Yami thanked the Ministry of Interior represented by the Human Rights Department for organizing this ceremony, and denoted the concerted efforts of the human rights authorities in the country and their continuous cooperation to achieve common interests. He stressed the commitment of the State Qatar to the human rights conventions, noting that the State of Qatar is one of the countries that are well known in this field at the international level.
He added that all communities in Qatar are respected and valued as partners in society and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is entrusted with the commitment to international agreements and they are in continuous communication, coordination and meetings with the concerned authorities in the country to fulfill these obligations.
At the ceremony, Mr. Zain Mohsen Muhammad Al-Marqab, head of the Yemeni community in the State of Qatar, gave a speech on behalf of the Arab and foreign communities, in which he expressed his happiness to participate in this occasion and said: “We in the Arab region are the first people to be tolerant and to defend human rights, as a religious duty before it is a moral and humane act. Our religion, Islam and other religions guarantee each individual the right to life, the right to education, the right to health, the right to freedom, the right to dignity, and other rights.
He thanked the State of Qatar for the efforts made and the services provided to all those on the land of Qatar and the provision of all means of decent living such as educational, health and security services, as well as the laws that give people their rights and preserve their dignity.
Nov 5, 2021 | News
BMKQ and BWI collaborated for a two-day series of sessions on Social Media Advocacy Seminar and Workshop held on October 29, 2021 and November 5, 2021 at Holiday Inn Hotel in Doha.
Seven modules are discussed and workshopped, which include Fundamentals of Social Media; Fundamentals of Photography; Fundamentals of Journalism; Fundamentals of Broadcasting; Basic Broadcast Tools and Setup; Social Media and Internet Issues & Securities; and Social Media for Advocacy Action Planning.
Eighteen persons participated in the seminar-workshop, representing the expatriate communities from the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Africa.
After the training and to practice their learning, the participants are expected to launch their organizations’ social media advocacy programs and platforms and partner with government authorities in disseminating information to their respective communities in the country.
Ressie Fos, who is the managing editor of RNN and the operations consultant of Qabayan Radio 94.3 FM served as the main resource person. Fos is also the former president, and now the adviser of BMKQ. He is joined by Amin Rasul – a broadcaster and Program Coordinator at QFM95.3 Bangla Radio, and the General Secretary of Bangladesh Community Qatar (BCQ). Marco Polo Ferrer of BWI facilitated the said training sessions.
Meanwhile, in the consolidated post-training evaluation, the participants are satisfied and thankful to BWI & BMKQ for hosting and facilitating the 2-day seminar-workshop filled with highly timely and significant topics, especially nowadays that even organizations are expected to emerge in digital platforms.
BMKQ and BWI determine that a follow-up session shall be held before the end December 2021.
Mar 8, 2021 | News
Women leaders of expatriate communities from seven countries came together in Doha for an event marking International Women’s Day.
The participants represented mainly the construction, domestic work and hospitality sectors.
Hailing from African, South East Asian and South Asian countries, they shared experiences on the issue of women’s participation and leadership in building communities of expatriates.
The ‘Women (Only) Night Out’, was organised for the first time by the Women Committee of Bayanihan ng Manggagawa sa Konstruksyon ng Qatar, the association of Filipino migrant workers in the construction sector of Qatar (BMKQ); and global union federation Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI).
“Women members in our organisation continue to increase. This is a result of resolute action. Women will never be a part of the table unless we organise ourselves,” BMKQ’s Women Committee chairperson Mags Laja said.
“In most cases, as some would tell, women must create our own table. We are mainly on the side-line, not having the power to be a part of decision-making.”
Laja encouraged participants to “continue the conversations on Convention 190, and deepen understanding of this international instrument as a tool to eliminate harassment and violence in the workplace.”
“Let us continue co-operating with the government of Qatar in order to get this convention translated into concrete policies and programmes,” she said.
“We are envisioning a training programme that will result in more active participation of women in migrant community organisations, more women leaders getting elected into office and the institution of internal policies within our own organisations against gender discrimination and violence,” Laja added.
An African participant introduced herself as an “activist for women and I try to be a voice for the voiceless” while a participant from the Philippines stated “I am a solo parent to six children and I am strong as a parent and a leader of our community here in Qatar”.
Through a phone patch, BWI’s Global Campaigns director Jin Sook Lee conveyed her message of solidarity to the women leaders in attendance, sharing a few points on the work of BWI in Qatar and the initiative to galvanise the solidarity of women migrant workers in the construction and other sectors.
This article was also published on Gulf Times, written by Joey Aguilar
Feb 26, 2021 | News
BMKQ Women, a special program of Bayanihan ng Manggagawa sa Konstruksyon ng Qatar (BMKQ), held a blood-donation drive at the HMC Blood Donation Center recently. The activity was organised in cooperation with Bayanihan Qatar, Guardians League Qatar, Scouts Royale Brotherhood Qatar Alumni Association, Triskelion State of Qatar International and Alpha Phi Omega Qatar Alumni Association.
“The campaign ‘Give Blood, Save Lives’ was held in response to Hamad Medical Corporation’s call to give the gift of life through blood donation. It was participated by 70 volunteers from different community groups,” said Myla Laja, coordinator of BMKQ Women.
Bayanihan ng mga Manggagawa sa Konstruksyon ng Qatar (BMKQ) is a non-profit, welfare-oriented organisation of Filipino workers in the construction sector with more than 600 members. BMKQ Women is a special programme of BMKQ established in 2019 and driven by the desire of the female active members of the group to bring women empowerment at the fore of BMKQ’s overall vision.
Besides the blood-donation drive, BMKQ Women also took part in a tree-planting ceremony at Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG), a member of Qatar Foundation. The activity was held in celebration of Qatar Environment Day 2021.
“It was organised by Mohammed Hasonna of QBG and attended by some women community leaders. We planted a tree of prosopis cineraria and acacia tree as our contribution to the initiative,” said Laja.
Since its inception, BMKQ Women has engaged in various activities such as gatherings to mark International Women’s Day and International Migrants Day. The group has also organised a series of trainings and seminars mainly on Basic Gender Sensitivity, Gender-Based Violence and Basic Leadership Skills Training for Women.
This article was also published on Qatar Tribune, written by Ailyn Agonia
Jan 10, 2021 | News
Empowering women through education and raising awareness of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) global standards aimed at ending violence and harassment in the world of work and landmark Qatar labour reforms is at the heart of the mission and vision of the BMKQ Women.
BMKQ, which stands for Bayanihan ng mga Manggagawa sa Konstruksyon ng Qatar (BMKQ), is a non-profit, welfare-oriented organisation of Filipino workers in the construction sector with more than 600 members. BMKQ Women is a special programme of BMKQ established in 2019 and driven by the desire of the female active members of the group to bring women empowerment at the fore of BMKQ’s overall vision.
At the helm of this campaign are 60 female community leaders headed by Myla Laja, BMKQ Women Coordinator.
“Our priority is to build a strong campaign on raising awareness and support to ILO Convention 190- Harassment and Violence in the World of Work. We aspire to educate and develop more women leaders through trainings as well as strengthen support to the community and workers welfare through coordination with the Philippine government and Qatar’s Ministry of Labour in understanding the implementation of the new labour reforms,” Myla told Qatar Tribune in an interview.
Talking about the motivation to establish BMKQ Women, the staunch advocate of women’s rights said, “I was inspired to form BMKQ Women following my participation to the Global Women Meeting held in Skopje, Macedonia in 2019 to represent BMKQ. The event was attended by 40 women leaders from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Europe. The inspiring words of the Chair of BWI (Building and Wood Workers’ International) Women Committee on finding solutions instead of mere complaining and putting blame on the challenges and difficulties faced by women has struck me that I was motivated to go further and learn more about women’s rights.”
Myla added: “Our first membership orientation seminar was conducted in November 2019 with only 14 women from construction sector and different allied sectors. Continuous trainings and activities help us to further understand and improve our knowledge on the issue. As of now, we have 60 members from various industries including construction, manufacturing, hospitality and services sectors including medical workers, salon staff, hotel employees, cleaning staff and domestic workers.”
Since its inception, BMKQ Women has engaged its members in various activities including the group’s first International Women’s Day gathering in March and the celebration of International Migrants Day and BMKQ Women’s Graduation held recently.
Last year, BMKQ Women conducted a series of trainings and seminars mainly on Basic Gender Sensitivity, Gender-Based Violence and Basic Leadership Skills Training for Women.
“The highlights of our trainings on gender sensitivity focuses on the gender and different perception of individuals based on their physiological and biological functions as dictated and raised by the society. The seminar raises awareness and understanding of different genders and uplifts women’s roles and importance in our society. All the participants shared their insights and voiced out their remarkable experiences and learning. During our gender-based violence sessions, we tackled the root cause, effects and responses to have a decent and safe workplace free from violence and harassment. We also put emphasis on leadership skills by training our members on two major characteristic of good leadership: behaviour and skills,” said Myla.
BMKQ Women partners internationally with the global union federation BWI and locally collaborates with Community Leaders Forum of ADSLA and Bayanihan ng mga Domestic Workers.
Aside from Myla, the BMKQ Women office-bearers include: Engr. Meliza Ortiguerra (Vice President), Rhoselyn Dolloso (Secretary), Ana Hezel Aglipay (Treasurer), Suzette Oli (Auditor), Marissa Llaneta and Jenny S. Mendez (PROs), Rosario Dano and Lorena Salvador (Business Managers), Nora Concepcion, Roxan Carrascal and Adelyn Lucanas (Sergeant-at-arms), and Ludelyn Pelonio and Engr. Belinda dela Cruz (Membership Committee).
This article was published on Qatar Tribune, written by Ailyn Agonia
