SOCIETY -
By Nasra al Adawiya -
Of late, terms such as civil society have become an integral part of my vocabulary. Part of this is due to the mission of my institution, which is empowering civil society organisations. This has allowed me to try to understand what civil society is, and perhaps aspire for my country to embrace the road to civil society.
Earlier, many people in the country thought such a term had political connotation, and perhaps it was not an appropriate term to be used. According to the common international definition, civil society consists of institutions such as labour unions, community groups, non-profit charities and even media. I see there is a broader meaning to civil society, which is the role of people to freely exercise their rights and advocate for causes aimed at supporting the development of the country, side by side with the government. At times even raising issues and putting them forward to the state/country for consideration as issues of concern.
For us in Oman, the role of civil society is getting formulated; the water is getting stirred as we witness the formation of new associations. Associations that consist of individuals working towards advocating for their interests and volunteering for valued causes. Observing the steps of emerging new associations, we notice they are growing bit by bit. Yet, it is astonishing that we now have in Oman around 53 Omani Women Associations, 70 labour unions and 25 charitable and professional associations. These associations are still at the beginning of the road, learning and quite often concentrated on internal survival skills in order for them to go forward with their cause. It is delightful to see that organisations and initiatives are now focusing on building capacity of associations, steering them towards a future positive impact on community