A day to mark Emirati women’s triumph

ajman — The UAE is celebrating the third Emirati Women’s Day, in recognition of the contribution of the nation’s women and their role in the country’s development and advancement.

Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, has chosen August 28 as the Emirati Women’s Day, to celebrate the birth of the General Women’s Union on this date in 1975.

Sheikha Fatima has actively promoted the role of Emirati women and raised their status in society. She recognised the importance of enhancing their role through institutional work. The Abu Dhabi Women’s Association, the first women’s organisation in the country, was founded in 1973, followed by the General Women’s Union.

“The first Emirati Women’s Day celebration was in 2015, in light of the path set by the late founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who established the foundations of wise leadership and this country, where women are fortunate to bear the fruits of its renaissance,” Sheikha Fatima said.

The state’s strategic vision includes policies and programmes for women, as part of the national agenda to focus on women’s education. Today, the number of women in schools exceed men, and 65 per cent of university graduates in the UAE are women.

To empower women in all sectors, there are special military bodies for women in the UAE named after talented Arab women, such as Khawla bint Al Azwar Military School — the Gulf region’s first military school for women, training them since 1992.

In the biggest policy enabling Emirati women, the state gave eight out of the 29 ministerial portfolios to women. In an unprecedented achievement, Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi was elected Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), the first woman to head a parliamentary institution at the regional level.

During the FNC’s 16th legislative term, a total of 330 candidates from all the emirates competed in the 2015 legislative elections. Of these, 74 were women, making up 38.94 per cent of the candidates. A total of nine women were elected.

Women comprise 49.3 per cent of the UAE population, prompting His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched the UAE Gender Balance Council at a government summit in Dubai in 2015. The “UAE National Strategy for the Empowerment and Entrepreneurship of Women in the UAE 2015-2021” was also launched as a guiding framework for all government, federal and local institutions and civil society organisations, to help Emirati women be more capable and proactive.

This year, as the UAE celebrates the third Emirati Women’s Day, local women now occupy 66 per cent of government jobs, including 30 per cent of senior decision-making positions and 15 per cent of specialised academic posts, often surpassing international rates of female representation in such roles.

Women’s contribution to economic activity and the labour market has steadily increased since the establishment of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council, with around 23,000 businesswomen working in the local and global market and running projects worth over Dh50 billion.

Emirati women have proven their merit as a major driving force in the community and are now forging ahead confidently armed with science, knowledge, experience and determination to increase their role in the UAE’s sustainable development.