On the first day of her state visit to Jordan yesterday, President Mary McAleese vigorously defended her decision to address an economic forum in Saudi Arabia, where women are denied basic rights.
Speaking to Irish journalists, she referred to the "feisty, determined" Saudi businesswomen who were "living in very difficult circumstances for women but also were living through changing circumstances for women", who "rose as one" to give her a standing ovation after her speech.
"So many of them came up afterwards and said how important it was to them that I was there, that Cherie Blair was there, that other women from around the world were there - because, as you know, there were quite a number of women speakers at that forum, some of them very formidable champions of women's rights - and how important it was for [ Saudi women] at this time, when a chink of hope for women is opening up."
These women were working on a document to set out all the political, legal and social impediments they saw as preventing the advancement of women, the President continued, and they intended to present that to their government soon. They had got good backing, they believed, from the government in "bringing women into the public service", and there was "a lot of opening up of opportunities" for them.
"So here are women who are charting a course for a new future, a really very extraordinary new future for the country and their culture. Frankly, it was a privilege to be in their company, it was a particular privilege to hear from them how very important it was for them at this time for us to be there to give them encouragement and support. I never thought the day would come when I would sit down with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and I would talk frankly to him, as openly as I am doing to you, about the advancement of women and how absolutely important it is for the economic and cultural flowering of any country - and to have him listen quietly and with great interest - it was quite simply a privilege."
For yesterday's packed schedule, the President was accompanied by her husband, Dr Martin McAleese; by the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell; the Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, Michael Ahern; and the Ambassador to Jordan, Richard O'Brien.
The day began with a colourful welcoming ceremony hosted by the king and queen. President McAleese was then invited to water the "Tree of Life" at the Martyrs' Monument. She had lunch with the prime minister and visited the King Hussein Cancer Centre. Later, she had an hour-long meeting with religious leaders, including Sheikh Ahmed Hilayl, Jordan's minister for Islamic affairs; Sheikh Hamdi Murad, a leading Islamic scholar at the University of Jordan; Dr Joseph E. Lumbard, an American Muslim and special adviser to King Abdullah on inter-faith affairs; and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Amman, Dr Salim Sayyeg.
