UAE: A model for women's rights in the Middle East?

Numbers suggest the United Arab Emirates is at the forefront when it comes to opportunities for women, gender equality and equal pay. But the reality for most women is different, and there is still a long way to go.

Successful women have been making headlines in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Just this week, 28-year-old Noura al-Matroushi was named the first female astronaut for the country's ambitious space program. But Al-Matroushi is not the only woman in this industry by a long shot. According to the Emirates Ministry of State for Advanced Sciences, women make up 80% of the science team behind the current Mars mission.

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual Global Gender Gap Report lists the UAE as a "leader in promoting gender equality in the Middle East" and ranks it among the "five most improved countries in the overall index," with gender gaps narrowed by at least 4.4 percentage points. As of this year, the UAE is ranked 72 of 153 countries. In 2020, it ranked 120.

Forbes Middle East, the business magazine's 2020 list of power businesswomen, says Emiratis "are the most prevalent nationality, with 23 entries."

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), HRW published an open letter highlighting a long list of human rights concerns pertaining to women.

One of the issues addressed by HRW is the fact that only Emirati men can pass on citizenship to offspring, leaving the children of Emirati mothers and international fathers stateless, as no maintaining public opinion in birth certificates are issued to favor of conservative norms and them. Stateless individuals lack policies that largely contributed access to basic rights and serto keeping Khaleeji [those from Still, one cannot help but either expatriates who work for vices throughout their lives. the Gulf region] women submiswonder how these numbers — foreign companies or foreign A second pressing issue is sive and hidden from sight," as well as international acknowlworkers in the local construction, that of marriage and divorce. Dabya al-Rafaei, a researcher on edgment, and national plans service or domestic labor sec"What steps are the authorities contemporary public discourse to advance the role of women tors. taking to ensure women have and the application of critical and equal pay — are to be In 2017, the UAE passed a rights on an equal basis with feminist theory in the Gulf, told squared with accusationsDW.oflawguaranteeinglimitedlabormentoentermarriage,within severe human rights abuses. rights for foreign-born domesmarriage, in divorce, and in deciIt was only after the emerNot to mention allegations letic workers. Despite further legal sions relating to children, ingence of mobile internet and veled against Dubai's ruler, Mochanges in late 2020, the situcluding removing male guarsocial media that the so-called hammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum ation for those foreign workdianship policies?" asked HRW. "digital revolution" began to — whose daughters Latifa and ers — who are still bound to Currently, a man is able to end a destabilize this pattern. "With Shamsa have either disappeared the kafala (visa sponsorship) marriage unilaterally with a few more women challenging discrior are being held under strict system — has not significantly spoken words — while a woman minatory policies, highlighting house arrest despite an interimproved. It still falls short of needs the written permission of their inferior status in society, national outcry. international standards, Human a male guardian to enter or leave or simply sharing snippets from

UAE only Rights Watch (HRW) said — and a marriage. their daily lives, it was no longer gressive the organization's criticism isn't possible to monopolize the dis

According to the World Bank, limited to foreign workers. course around the place of the population of the UAE grew In March, ahead of the 80th women in the Gulf," al-Rafaei exto 9.9 million people in 2020. pre-session of the Committee on plained. Women's visibility has in However, only about 10% — half the Elimination of Discrimination turn challenged the status quo. of which are women — are acagainst Women, along with its However, when it comes to equal tually Emirati citizens subject to review of the United Arab Emilocal laws. The vast majority are rates' (UAE) compliance with the partially pro

Digital revolution of the critical mass

And yet, the image of Emirati women has changed. Until the 2000s, the state held a monopoly on public discourse. "Religious figures operated as powerful orators capable of shaping and

pay, there is still a wide gap between the state's decree and reality, the researcher says.

In a recent paper titled "Fashla: The Politics of ImageMaking in the Gulf," published on the blog of the London School of Economics, al-Rafaei and co-author Mira Al Hussein — an Emirati PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, who is researching sociological themes in Gulf higher education — conclude that "Gulf states are undertaking modernization efforts that allow women more visibility to showcase state-supported empowerment."

That conclusion is supported by Mouza Al Shehhi, director of UN Women Liaison Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council. "I think that the leadership of the UAE understands the importance of women role models and has seized numerous opportunities to showcase the success of Emirati women across all sectors," she told DW.

For her, the announcement of the first Emirati woman to train as an astronaut was inspiring for the country and the region. "But for anyone who follows the UAE's progress on women's rights, it was not surprising."

Noura al-Matroushi (r), the UAE's first female astronaut and will be allowed to wear a headscarf during training and operational scenarios, as long as it complies with rules and regulations, NASA told DW.

Though the UAE has made progress on women's rights, not everyone is afforded the same opportunities