On the occasion of the celebration of UAE Women’s Day on 28 August, many have expressed the importance of empowering women in society. This reflects a deep conviction of women’s vital role in the development of the society. It is deeply rooted in the history of the UAE, that is, from the first years of its establishment.
Empowerment of women in the UAE is not just a slogan to beautify the face of the State in the reports and statistics issued by international organizations. The start of the process of emirati women empowerment began before these reports. It has become increasingly important since the beginning of 1990. Before that, there were international legal and legislative frameworks for women’s rights in societies, but not on the international level.
This position of women is related to the concept of Soft Power. It is a concept that has strongly influenced international politics since the last decade of the 20th century. It was first used by the American political thinker Joseph Nye in 1990, and the term was strongly spread in the academic and research circles. Nye’s book on Soft Power in 2004 puts a precise scientific definition of Soft Power as the ability to achieve goals through attractivity rather than coercion, through adopting positive attitudes towards the State’s system of values. The various elements of cultural attractivity, including the empowerment of the role of women in societies, and their rights of gender equality, are some of the elements of advanced nations in the twenty-first century.
The late founding leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, pre-empted these concepts when he planned to build a model State. According to His Highness’ philosophy, it is a State that relies heavily on ethical and human values and principles, and bets on the role of women as partner with men in development.
The UAE has made great steps in building up and accumulating Soft Power sources before the end of the Cold War and polarity conflicts. The Human Development Index, which measures the levels of prosperity of people, originated in the UN in 1990 to promote human development, initially used to measure the average life expectancy for citizens in the world and the level of education, illiteracy and standard of living around the world, and ranked countries based on the progress made in these indicators. The index of the empowerment of women was integrated by the World Human Development Report for the first time in 1995 to measure the political empowerment of women in countries and societies.
The UAE development model has been launched since its inception based on strong self-convictions about the value of women and their importance as a partner in the process of advancement and building. The UAE is keen to benefit from the energies of all society, especially as it suffers from a scarcity of human resources.
Women have always been encouraged to be educated and work alongside with men, preserving their identity, values and moral and religious principles. UAE is a conservative society that represents reflection outside the box and has over the years become a model in the development of human resources and the use of wealth in the service of Man.
The result of this proactive thinking of the wise leadership, since the beginning of the establishment of the UAE, is that the UAE model is the greatest and excellent, regionally and internationally. The founding leaders have had the ability to foresee the future, foremost among them the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his partner of construction and establishment Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, President of the General Women’s Union, The Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation and The President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood Mother of the Nation “Um Al-Emarat”, who had a vision and initiated the establishment of women’s work in the UAE since February 1973. Her Highness founded the Association of Women’s Renaissance, to be the first women’s gathering in the United Arab Emirates. Two years later, her Highness developed this institutional work to reflect the constitutional federal framework. The General Women’s Union was established on August 28, 1975, which was considered since then a day to celebrate the achievements of the emirati women.
Women in the UAE are fortunate to have been supported by our wise leadership since the late founding leader, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. This support continued and gained new impetus under the empowerment of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
This explains the excellence of women’s empowerment in the UAE and explains why emirati women are at the forefront of the work in many sectors of the country. There is unlimited confidence on the part of the leadership, which is matched by the determination and perseverance of the emirati women to contribute in the journey of excellence and creativity that the 21st century UAE aspires to.
