Fatima’s role in empowering women hailed

dubai — Education is the window from which women oversee civilisations; it is our way to keep up with the march of development and progress, and the continued advancement of our society.

These are the words spoken by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation, and which have inspired Hessa Al Ghurair, chief HR officer and head of CSR at Commercial Bank International (CBI).

“It is hard to believe that there were no schools for girls in the UAE before the establishment of the Union,” she said at an interactive session in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. “Sheikha Fatima understood that all women have to swim against the system. At the same time, she knew that women were vital to the development of the UAE. So she spiritedly pursued a life of creating a pipeline of opportunities in education and work for Emirati women.”

Al Ghurair also noted that Sheikha Fatima holds many roles in her mission to empower women in the UAE, including being the chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

“Sheikha Fatima recognised early on that stability and peace were not possible without providing equal opportunities to both men and women, so she championed universal education for women in the 1970s,” Al Ghurair said.

Towards that end, she also launched the Women Literacy and Education Strategy in 1975. Based on this resolution, the UAE curbed its illiteracy rate from 27 per cent in 1985 to less than one per cent in 2013. “Education is a catalyst for growth and transformation, and Sheikha Fatima’s investment in education — which began over 40 years ago — has catapulted Emirati women into influence, power and success,” Al Ghurair said.

She further noted that Sheikha Fatima’s initiatives and associations — which were based on the fundamental belief that women and men are equal partners in society — have helped pave the way for the UAE to rank first in gender equality in the region.

“Today Emiratis are the highest percentage of educated women in the Arab world,” Al Ghurair noted. “Over 77 per cent of Emirati women enrol in higher education after secondary school and make up 70 per cent of all university graduates in the UAE — this is one of the highest in the world. Better yet, these educated women are driving the progress and prosperity of the UAE,” she stated.

Sheikha Fatima understood that all women have to swim against the system. At the same time, she knew that women were vital to the development of the UAE.” Hessa Al Ghurair, chief HR officer and head of CSR at Commercial Bank International