A woman's woman
Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, the UAE's first lady and a champion of the UAE's women's movement, talks to Reem Leila while on a visit to Cairo
Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, UAE's first lady and head of the Public Women's Union (PWU), created the Association for Improving the Status of Emirati Women in 1973. Since then, she has pioneered the movement to improve the status of women in the UAE. To honour her achievements, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak has granted the Egyptian Medal of Perfection to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak.
In your opinion, how can common Arab efforts to improve the status of Arab women be advanced?
Our visit to Egypt aims at expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the various women's organisations in the Arab world. The first Arab Women's Summit, held at the invitation of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, represented a practical start to developing and strengthening these efforts.
The Arab Women's Organisation was established as a result of the summit. The Emirates was the first country to ratify the organisation's charter due to our belief in the importance of the role it can play in serving the causes of women, the family and society as a whole.
It is hoped that the organisation will strengthen cooperation between Arab countries and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience so that women's issues are given priority in comprehensive and sustainable development policies.
How do you think the Arab Women's Organisation can be best equipped to carry out its activities?
I believe that the first step to be taken is for the Arab countries who are members of the Arab Women's Summit and who have not yet decided to ratify the organisation's charter to do so.
The second step would be to encourage women with special expertise in various fields from all the Arab countries to join the organisation. I was inspired by the wonderful examples provided by leading Arab women who attended the "Women and the Media" forum in Abu Dhabi last February. These women give us good cause to feel optimistic about the future of the organisation and the aims it can achieve to benefit Arab women.
The third step would involve identifying practical ways to achieve certain aims and transform ideas and goals into reality. The final step would be for Arab governments and relevant organisations to take the initiative in cooperating with the organisation so that its recommendations can be implemented.
I was happy to hear from Mrs Mubarak that Egypt, as usual, has established the organisation's headquarters at the National Council for Women, where preparations have begun for next week's meetings in Amman to lay the foundations for the organisation's activities.
Do you think the Arab Women's Organisation will play an effective role in improving the status of Arab women?
This depends primarily on everyone's cooperation and efforts to effectively launch the organisation, in addition to the four steps I just mentioned...
The Arab Women's Summit came to life only three years ago and the organisation was established only three weeks ago. I truly believe that the Arab Women's Summit's achievements so far have been great. The issues discussed at the forums hosted by a number of Arab capitals have all addressed the core of women's problems. This will definitely have a positive impact on the Arab feminist movement. Participants suggested realistic solutions for a number of problems that obstruct women's positive contributions to developing and advancing their societies. These solutions are consistent with our environment, traditions, values, heritage and Arab and Muslim identities. So, we must be patient.
How does the status of women in the Emirates compare with that of women in other Arab countries?
Women in the Emirates are doing very well thanks to the comprehensive care and support they receive from our president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan.
Articles 15 and 16 of the country's constitution grant women all of their rights. The president has encouraged women to work in all fields and has considered women's participation in the development process a cornerstone that cannot be forsaken. Figures and statistics are the best proof of the status of women in the Emirates, but our ambitions are even larger and we are constantly looking forward to more achievements to ensure that the status of Emirati women is equal to that of other women in the Arab and Western worlds.
But before I discuss the figures, I would like to make two important points. One is that every society has its own norms and traditions that distinguish it from others. This makes it difficult to draw comparisons between women in various locations in spite of the factors shared in various Arab countries. The second point is that although it is no secret that our country is less than three decades old, we have managed to make a number of achievements that have surprised and impressed everyone who has visited the Emirates.
In terms of statistics, I would like to start with official government figures on women's education. The rate of educated girls has reached 88.7 per cent and the number of girls in primary, preparatory and secondary schools in 1994/95 was 90,657. This rose to 92,700 the following year, to 94,829 in the 1996/97 school year and is now at 99,363.
At the university level, statistics show that women graduates have reached 57 per cent, which reflects the extent to which the state, headed by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, cares about and supports women. Since its inception 22 years ago, 17,280 women and 11,633 men have graduated from [the UAE] university.
As for women in the labour force, in 2000 there were 75,683 women employed in various jobs. Twenty-seven per cent were in leadership positions. This figure doubled in five years; in 1995, it did not exceed 18,144 women and it is expected to rise to 70,000 in 2005.
Most of these women work in the government, particularly in the field of education. The women working in education make up 53.1 per cent of the total work force. In health, they comprise 42.2 per cent, in higher education 35.4 per cent, in social affairs 33.3 per cent, in the council of ministers 22.4 per cent, in the Foreign Ministry 28.7 per cent, in electricity 17.9 per cent, in finance and industry 18.8 per cent, in the oil sector 18.8 per cent, in the higher council of the union 15.3 per cent, in the information and culture ministries 14.8 per cent.
Are women in the Emirates actively participating in politics?
The Public Women's Union, which was established in August 1975, serves women's causes, supports their ambitions, helps them effectively solve their problems and encourages their efforts. To be more precise, all draft laws concerning women and children and related to the safety, security and stability of society and its members have to be submitted to the union for an opinion.
For example, the union has been involved in all phases of the formulation of the draft personal status law, including organising seminars, forums and conferences involving experts and specialists in the fields of legislation, family affairs, religion and sociology. In addition, the union has polled its members, who number more than 100,000, to determine what they need from the law. This happens with all draft laws. Thanks to the directives of Sheikh Zayed, women's opinions are well-respected by government institutions.
There is nothing to prevent women from entering the political arena. They have all the support they need from the president and the governors of the various emirates. The constitution guarantees their rights. As I said before, we are a country that has existed for less than 30 years and our priority has been to educate women and eradicate illiteracy, which once exceeded 75 per cent of the population and has now been almost eradicated.
Soon we shall see women in the positions of ministers in parliament, where they can continue to play a role in serving society.
What remains to be done, in legislative terms, to enable women in the Emirates to play an effective role in building and developing society?
Nothing at all. On 12 December 2002, we launched a strategy to develop women's capacities in the UAE that aims at increasing women's participation in eight vital fields: education, the economy, the media, social work, health, legislation, the environment, politics and the executive branch [of government].
This will empower women to have a bigger role in sustainable development and in participatory decision making.
C a p t i o n :
According to statistics, 88 per cent of Emirati women are now educated
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 22 - 28 May 2003 (Issue No. 639)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/639/li1.htm