When Mohamed called first Emirati female mechanic
The new President has an uncanny ability to call up Emiratis and residents alike whose good work impresses him
he new UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is a people’s leader. His majlis is open to one and all; he pays surprise visits to Emiratis and expatriates alike; and personally, calls up residents whose good work impresses him. In 2021, Huda Al Matroushi, an Emirati lady, who beat gender stereotypes to open a garage in Sharjah, got a phone call. The caller was none other than Sheikh Mohamed.
The then Crown Prince told her that he needed to get his car fixed, which made her smile.
In a video that went viral on social media platforms, an emotional Al Matroushi welled up when Sheikh Mohamed congratulated her on opening her own car repair workshop, Imex Car Service, and for accomplishing a rare feat.
He told her: “I was so happy to hear about you that I asked my team to find out more about you. You are a great human being and that shows in the great efforts you put in your work.
“We all follow role models. We are proud to have someone like you among us. We encourage you and will support you … because you are a role model for others.”
The leader even apologised to Al Matroushi for the “late call”, to which she replied that she would “wait for a lifetime for your call; you are the pride of our nation”.
The Emirati lady accepted the acknowledgement from the leader, who insisted that she continues to fiercely walk this path of turning her ambitions into reality.
Al Matroushi told Sheikh Mohamed: “You taught us that we never lose; we either win or learn.”
The leader then asks her how long she has been chasing her passion. “I have had this hobby for over 16 years, but I started this work in 2020,” she replies.
In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times last year, Al Matroushi expressed her pride at having received the phone call.
“It took me by surprise. It hadn’t occurred to me that someone like that would call. All this has been reassuring. He told me that I’m a powerful woman who can reach anywhere if she puts her mind to it. I said, ‘Absolutely, I will’.”
Al Matroushi owns and runs her own garage, which is a brick-and-mortar realisation of the car mechanic’s childhood dream and fascination with toy cars. Bolsters and pliers in hand, she is defying age-old stereotypes of archaic gender roles, repairing more than just automobiles, through her garage.
Al Matroushi is among the several people who have received a call from Sheikh Mohamed in recent years.
For instance, in August 2020, he had called up Ghobaisha Al Ketbi, a resident of Al Shuwaib area in Al Ain, to personally thank her for generously supporting the police officers at a checkpoint near her home with meals.
In December 2020, Sheikh Mohamed called up the families of the frontline workers who had passed away while battling Covid-19, and told them that the nation would never forget their sacrifices.
In March 2021, Sheikh Mohamed rang up a policeman, who assisted a motorist as his vehicle broke down in the middle of a busy highway, for his heroic deed.
We all follow role models. We are proud to have someone like you among us. We encourage you and will support you … because you are a role model for others”