Slew of events to celebrate Omani Women’s Day

Muscat: As the Sultanate gears up to celebrate its women on the annual Omani Women’s Day on October 17, the country’s social scene is already pouring with tributes and events which will be held as part of the 2016 event.
The Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) is one of the first ones to announce the Omani Women’s Day concert on October 6, which dedicated to the women of Oman, and will feature music by the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra’s (ROSO) Ladies Chamber Ensemble and the Palestinian Folklore Group, with a special guest appearance by Mohammed Assaf.
Social media is also abuzz with and trending with the Omani Women’s Day hashtags- #omaniwomensday, #omaniwomenday and #omani_women_day
Ever since His Majesty the Sultan ascended the throne in 1970, he has empowered women with rights and opportunities equal to men and this has fuelled female contributions to the country in a phenomenal way.
To make sure women are kept actively involved in the functioning of the nation, His Majesty further set October 17 as the Omani Women’s Day, an occasion which is annually observed with large events, glittering award ceremonies, dining and shopping discounts and offers exclusive to women, and much more.
Incredible growth
Today women in Oman have witnessed incredible growth in almost all sectors of the society – they are part of the biggest decision making bodies in the country like the Majlis al Shura and Majlis al Dawla and have created a niche for themselves most industries including aviation.
Women like Her Highness SayyidaBasma Al Said, founder of the Whispers of Serenity Clinic for Mental Health, which is the first mental health clinic in Oman, is a multi-award winning psychotherapist and hypnotherapist and is looked up to asa source of inspiration for the all women in Oman.
Maha Al Baluchi, Oman’s first female officer pilot started with flying Boeing 737s to co-piloting the state-of-the-art Airbus A330. Although she was the only female student between all male students in her class, she has definitely inspired many more to follow her extraordinary path.
Fatma al Nabhani is Oman’s most renowned international tennis playerho has won four singles and four doubles titles on the ITF tour, whose current singles ranking is at 393.
Not only that, Omani women who were previously confined behind closed doors are today stepping out to create small home businesses in a range of trades such as home bakeries, makeup, events, essential oils, handicrafts among others.
Such women are also often mentored by larger organizations as per His Majesty’s directives – with top banks, and oil and gas companies paying more attention to help groom such businesses which have stemmed out of courage and determination.
Watch out the Times of Oman for news, events, features and profiles on the Omani Women’s Day!