UAE women reap benefits of dramatic change

The agencies included the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Programme for Volunteers (UNPV), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). “We firmly believe that women, wherever they may be, will always be multi-dimensional. A woman can thus be, simultaneously, a loving housewife and a valiant guardian, she is a haven for her children, a full partner to her husband and a worthy sentinel for her race,” Sheikha Fatima told the representatives of the UN agencies in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

Sheikha Fatima, wife of UAE President, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, has pledged to continue her relentless efforts to raise awareness of human development issues in the Gulf state, which has one of the highest per capita incomes. Without doubt it is her status as the President’s wife that has helped her improve the status of women, which Sheikha Fatima has said time and again. “none of this could have been possible without the support and encouragement of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan,” a statement issued by her office said.

“We recognise that social progress in any society is continent upon the provision of opportunity for women to assume their natural role in society, she added.

As the wife of the UAE’s first president – it was Sheikh Zayed who persuaded the seven sheikhdoms that comprise the UAE to join the federation in 1971 – Sheikha Fatima has championed for a quarter century the cause of education for girls and women.