Prof. Dr. Nour Al-Din Abu Al-Rob, the President of Al-Istiqlal University, received HE Dr. Amal Hamad, the Minister of Women's Affairs accompanied by Mr. Bassam Al-Wahidi, the Director of the Minister's Office, and Ms. Nihaya Nidal, the Director of Media in the Ministry. Also, the meeting included Dr. Nayef Jarad, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Brig. Gen. Zaher Al Sabah, the Vice President for Military Affairs, Dr. Ali Ayayda, the Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Dr. Shaaban Ayat, the Director of the University President's Office, Dr. Hazar Ismail, the Director of the Gender Unit, and Dr. Iyad Masoud, the Assistant to the President of the University for Media, Public and International Relation.
Prof. Dr. Abu Al-Rob welcomed the Minister, expressing his pleasure with this visit and he gave a brief overview of the University and its cadres, besides the current and future development plan within the vision of the University presidency and its board of trustees.
Furthermore, he affirmed that the policy of Al-Istiqlal University is to inculcate the principles of loyalty, belonging, and discipline, adding that the University seeks to achieve equality and non-discrimination between male and female students by implementing programs to empower female students and enable them to join the Palestinian Security Establishment with distinct and professional capabilities and stand shoulder to shoulder with their fellow officers.
For her part, Dr. Hamad congratulated the President of the University, expressing her pride and happiness at the visit of Al-Istiqlal, which is headed by a patriotic man and distinguished academic and administrator, and the cadres of the University with their honorable national history, praising the University that combines the security and academic dimensions to express the aspiration of the Palestinians and their message.
Moreover, she mentioned that Al-Istiqlal University is moving in the right direction, focusing on empowering the role of women and promoting methodological and extracurricular training, which supports the direction of positive and cultural change for female students to become qualified in the various fields, explaining that the academic staff has interaction and permanent meeting with students, and they are able to achieve the equality between male and female students.
In his speech, Dr. Jarad indicated that Al-Istiqlal University was one of the first universities which formed a gender committee and implemented a continuous program at all levels that includes the topics of Women, Peace, and Security Program, and the study of merging Gender in the curricula, in addition to postgraduate studies in the field of women and security.
For his part, Brig. Gen. Zaher Sabah said, "The University works in the spirit of one team, and there is no discrimination between male and female students, and everyone here is a disciplined soldier," adding, "In fact, female students are more skilled in some training exercises than male students with performance and professionalism.
At the end of the meeting, the Minister, Dr. Amal Hamad awarded a memorial shield to the President of the University.