A Qatari sociologist has called for providing the option to married working mothers who are still breastfeeding to work from home and urged the GCC governments to extend the duration of paid maternity leave. Dr Kaltham Al Ghanim explaining ways to protect the Arab family from poverty told an expert group meeting the duration of maternity leave was insufficient. Childcare facilities such as nurseries must be provided at workplaces to alleviate concerns that working mothers endure during the time they spend away from young children who are still breastfed. “In this technological age, providing an option to working mothers who are breastfeeding to work from home is a highly feasible solution,” Kaltham said. The two-day expert group meeting was hosted by Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) and got under way at the Qatar National Convention Centre on Sunday. The DIFI is a member of Qatar Foundation and has a special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Executive Director of the DIFI, Noor Al Malki Al Jehani, talking of the challenges facing the family in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region said late marriages and high divorce rate were causing huge problems. In the absence of sufficient data, no one knows how many children in the region are entirely parentless or just have one parent. This is a serious problem and needs to be tackled. The ongoing financial crisis made worse by the uprisings in the region has shaken the Mena region, she said. Young men have no jobs so they can’t marry. The high rate of unemployment is due to the Arab Spring, said Al Jehani. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/239894-let-breastfeeding-mums-work-from-home-sociologist.html

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