In a speech addressed earlier today at the HeforShe summit, Her Majesty had called for an increase in support for the Arab woman and helping them when they faces challenges, hailing their “spirit of steel” despite their difficult circumstances.

#HeForShe tapped into something women everywhere understood: the right to believe in ourselves…to be all we can be…free from indignity and discrimination

— Rania Al Abdullah (@QueenRania) September 26, 2018

The HeforShe summit was organized conjoining with the 73rd annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. The HeforShe Impact summit is an initiative created by the United Nations Women which recognizes men and boys as partners for women’s rights, and highlights the ways in which all people benefit from gender equality

When it comes to the issue of women’s empowerment, distances shrink and differences fade #HeForShe

— Rania Al Abdullah (@QueenRania) September 26, 2018

 During her speech, Her Majesty explained that women are not only disproportionately affected by crises, but that during times of turmoil “women slip off national agendas, increasing the gap between hardship and hope.”

Through civil war and armed conflict, unemployment and forced displacement, Arab women are digging deep to hold their families together in the most testing conditions #HeForShe

— Rania Al Abdullah (@QueenRania) September 26, 2018

She commended the initiative for the “awakening women and men to the promise of new horizons,” asserting that gender inequality remains not just a regional problem but a global one.

It’s precisely during crises that women slip off national agendas, increasing the gap between hardship and hope. And, yet, they bridge that gap with a spirit of steel and a will to match #HeForShe

— Rania Al Abdullah (@QueenRania) September 26, 2018

“As someone who travels between East and West, hearing women’s stories, I can tell you: when it comes to the issue of women’s empowerment, distances shrink and differences fade,” Her Majesty said.

Empowerment is contagious; I see it lighting up the faces of our youngest girls. It’s what I call ‘the reverse domino effect’: lift up one woman, and she’ll lift up others #HeForShe

— Rania Al Abdullah (@QueenRania) September 26, 2018

I want to urge you: reach over borders and boundaries. Pull up women weighed down by hurdles you’ll never know. Light up the Arab chapter of #HeForShe

— Rania Al Abdullah (@QueenRania) September 26, 2018

She noted that women across the globe are on the same page when it comes to the universal frustrations they face, including balancing motherhood with a career, seeing male colleagues paid more for the same job, and needing to “work twice as hard to get half the recognition.”

“On top of these universal challenges, women in my region face another heartbreaking set of hurdles,” she stated. “Through civil war and armed conflict, unemployment and forced displacement, Arab women are digging deep to hold their families together in the most testing conditions.”

While paying tribute to Arab women’s determination, Her Majesty shared the positive example of Jordanian digital platform, SitatByoot, which helps women working from home find jobs and market their skills.

“Empowerment is contagious – I see it lighting up the faces of our youngest girls,” Queen Rania said. “It’s what I call ‘the reverse domino effect’: lift up one woman, and she’ll lift up others, who lift up more.”

Notwithstanding recent strides in women’s health and education, “there’s a reason our region came last in the World Economic Forum’s recent Gender Gap Report,” Her Majesty added.

The Queen concluded her remarks by urging her audience to reach over borders and boundaries and “pull up women weighed down by hurdles.”