At Kharafi National the springtime global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women was marked on the 8th March 2008 with a gesture of appreciation acknowledging the increasingly important contribution women are making to the success of our company. Yasmeen Sayed of Employee Relations reports.

The original idea of having an international women’s day was put forward at the turn of the 20th century when rapid industrialization was leading to protests over the working conditions under which women then laboured. International Women’s Day was first celebrated in the USA in 1909.

In 1975, which had been designated as International Women’s Year, the United Nations began sponsoring International Women’s Day, giving the occasion a strong political and human rights theme designed to encourage social awareness of the struggles of women throughout the world. The day is now an official holiday in 27 countries.

To honour the occasion, Employee Relations distributed a red rose and a box of chocolates to each female employee in KN. In Kuwait, these were delivered personally in Building #2 by Antoine El-Khoury, Corporate Director HR&IT, and Yasmeen Sayed. In the UAE, the ladies were presented with their gifts at a group get-together.

The gesture was very much appreciated. Norine D’Souza, executive assistant to Corporate Director–Business Development Roberto Benigna, said ‘We appreciate the recognition given to us at Kharafi National not only on this day but throughout the year. It was a wonderful honour.’

Indeed the ladies were delighted to have their enormous contribution to the success of KN acknowledged in this way by senior management. ‘It was a great surprise for us when we received warm wishes from our company on Women’s Day. Thank you for your thoughtfulness,’ Sonia Scaria, a programmer in the IT Department, said.

As Semeera Tharammal, a junior accountant in FAD stated: ‘It was great celebrating International Women’s Day at KN. It was my first time to celebrate a day like this and I hope this will continue every year.’