UAE among top countries in women’s empowerment

Abu Dhabi / WAM

On the occasion of the 45th National Day celebrations of the United Arab Emirates, the
Emirates News Agency (WAM) issued a series of reports
regarding the achievements of the state over the past year. In part eight, the nation’s successes in the field of women’s empowerment come under the spotlight.
2016 has seen many achievements in the field of women’s empowerment, none more so than when the government installed women in three new progressive positions as part of a major government shake-up.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, Ohood Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness, and 22-year-old Shamma Al Mazroui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and the youngest minister in the world, were appointed to the UAE Cabinet to lead the country into a healthy future and cement the ideals of tolerance and happiness in society.
Women have also entered into high-ranking positions in other sectors, when in October, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, elected Captain Aysha Al Hameli, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to ICAO, as the Council’s First Vice-President for the period 2016-2017.
In the international arena, the UAE continues its heavy involvement in the cause of advancing the rights of women, and in October the country welcomed the inauguration of the United Nation’s Liaison Office for the GCC for Arab States in Abu Dhabi.
In October this year, Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Women Advancement Establishment and wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, called for the establishment of a UAE Ministry for Women.
In May this year, Sahar Rasti, a former advertising and events management staffer, became the first woman to work in marine operations at Abu Dhabi Ports, the only woman out of 178 marine operations staff.
In November this year, during an event held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the UAE Businesswomen Council and the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak said that businesswomen’s councils in the UAE work under one umbrella to reflect cohesion, solidarity and positive and constructive competition.
HH Sheikha Fatima continued, “Over the course of the past 15 years, the number of businesswomen in the UAE jumped to 23,000, of which 12,000 are Emiratis, who run more than 45,000 companies, accounting for nine percent of the total number of companies operating in the country, with investments to the tune of AED50 billion.”
In the private sector, women also account for five percent of chairmanships and 17 percent of the members of company boards of directors, as well as 15 percent of the boards of Emirati chambers of commerce, Sheikha Fatima noted.
In what became one of this year’s most crucial announcements for global women’s economic empowerment, Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA) announced that it will be organising the first edition of Women Economic Empowerment Global Summit in the Autumn of 2017, during a NAMA–UN Women roundtable.
The UAE and UN continued their robust cooperation this year when the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) adopted the Sharjah Declaration for Rights and Empowerment of Women and Girls.
Earlier this year, at the closing session of the Investing in the Future Conference, UN Women adopted the Sharjah Declaration that aims to strengthen the resilience of women and girls in the Arab region.
In a keynote address during the ceremony, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, said, “The natural equality between women and men is obvious. Both are human beings in the end, and they need to support each other. Therefore, they must be equal in life opportunities and aspirations for a better future. We must concentrate our effort to promote gender integration to maintain human stability and cope with the inevitable changes and developments that come with time.”
Sheikha Lubna referred to a UN study that shows the UAE among top countries in women’s empowerment, with Emirati women representing 60% of the total national workforce.
The UAE this year also increased its support for women in less obvious fields when a new programme which aims to increase representation of female farmers in the Middle East was announced.
The programme, called ‘Tamkeen’, which means empowerment in Arabic, was developed by Dubai’s International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture to mentor women studying agriculture at university to deal with challenges faced by female farmers.
Also known as the Young Arab Women Scientists Leadership programme, the project, which is in a six-month design phase, will reach outside the UAE and involves countries including Oman, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.