Social Development Ministry launches project to develop Omani women associations

Muscat: The Ministry of Social Development announced a project to develop Omani women's associations. This project aims to enhance the role of these associations and improve their performance in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040. It also seeks to expand the scope of services and target groups, and to create programs and initiatives that meet the needs of Omani families and contribute to strengthening their cohesion.The project comes within the framework of the Ministry of Social Development's efforts to develop the roles of Omani women's associations and improve their institutional performance. This will be achieved through the establishment of Family and Community Development Centers, which will serve as a comprehensive institutional framework for the programs and services offered by the targeted associations. This framework will support the associations' ability to respond to community needs and expand their scope of work to include social and economic empowerment, social protection, psychological support, intergenerational dialogue, and childhood and youth development. The project aims, during its first phase (2026-2027), to develop three Omani women's associations in the wilayats of Nizwa, Nakhl, and Sur, with plans to expand it to the remaining wilayats later.The project includes ten programs distributed across six main tracks: women's affairs, economic empowerment, social protection, intergenerational dialogue, psychological support, and childhood and youth development. This reflects the project's diverse scope and its responsiveness to social, familial, and developmental needs.The programs target women and girls, families, children of all ages, the elderly, youth, school and university students, caregivers, educators, and community members within the Omani women's associations, through programs and initiatives that address social, familial, and developmental needs.The Ministry of Social Development continues its efforts to develop the social work system and enhance the role of civil society institutions by supporting and developing Omani women’s associations and enabling them to perform their developmental and community roles, and expanding the scope of their services and programs in a way that responds to the needs of women, families and society, and keeps pace with the objectives of the “Oman 2040” vision in the field of sustainable social development.