Muscat – The Muscat Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) held its first ever Omani Women’s Day Awards ceremony on Sunday at the College of Banking and Finance in Muscat.

The event was attended by chief guest Divya Narang, wife of the Indian Ambassador H E Amit Narang; and guest of honour Madiha Nasser al Sibani, Audit Director of the State Audit Institution.

The event, organised by the sub-committee for the empowerment of women members, honoured 14 Omani women drawn from various industries.

One of the awardees Wasan al Malki expressed her appreciation for the ceremony.

“It is great to feel valued and appreciated. Each and every woman here achieved amazing things. It is great to be here and hear them sharing their success stories,” she said.

A mother of two, Wasan – an entrepreneur and the managing partner of Thy Yard Oman – said, “The Omani Women’s Day means a huge deal to me…it gives [me] that feeling that we can achieve anything.”

Giving a little background of the selection process, sub-committee chairperson Shilpa Pawani said, “We had requested our members to nominate one Omani woman who is a part of their organisation, whom they believe need to be recognised with an award.”

“We were overwhelmed by the amount of responses we received. It goes to prove that Omani women are successful and are doing well across all industries,” Sajeev Surendran, chairperson of ICAI Muscat, added.

The event also included a ‘leadership talk’ discussion facilitated by Dr Leigh De Brun, a leadership coach and executive consultant with over 14 years of experience in the field. “Women empowerment to me is about helping women break free from their dragons,” she said.

Dragons, according to De Brun, are “unconscious fear patterns and defensive mechanism that women may develop in response to any challenging situation.”

By helping people recognise those patterns, she believes that people can unlock their unlimited potential.

ICAI Muscat was established in 2008 with the sponsorship of the College of Banking and Finance under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) having the goal of developing the accounting profession in the country.

The Muscat chapter hosts development events that are available to professionals of all nationalities in Oman.

(Contributed by Hibba al Kindi)