UAE celebrates second annual Emirati Women’s Day
Souad Al Hosani, an Emirati businesswoman, launched her first business at the age of 21.
After interning at the British Embassy in the UAE, Al Hosani, President of Nexus Business Services, saw the need for a UAE-based company to help new countries establish themselves. In 2009, Al Housani asked her father to lend her money to start this business venture. She was only 21.
Al Housani has always had a knack for leadership.
“I was President of the Student Council (in university) and I always liked to be my own leader. I have had support from employees, family, and the community,” Al Housani told The Media Line.
Seven years later, her compnay has 20 employees and 60 clients, almost all of whom are from the United States. And she is still under 30.
“I think it is amazing because (in addition to) an international women’s day, we have our own day (in the UAE),” Souad Al Housani said. “It’s an occasion that celebrates the achievements of Emirati women and I am proud of our leadership.”
The UAE is celebrating Emirati Women’s Day for the second year in a row. The General Women’s Union (GWU) sponsors the celebration.
The GWU, which is headed by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bing Mubarak, aims to highlight and promote women’s empowerment across various fields. They offer financial and even spiritual support to Emirati women.
“We work with programs and workshops to empower women in different areas and we come up with programs that will enhance women’s empowerment in society,” Anoud Yousef Abdulmuhsen, news editor at the General Women’s Union told The Media Line.
The UAE was only formed in 1971 and four years later the government decided to increase female participation. The celebration occurs on August 28th, the day that women began officially taking part in society in 1975, according to Abdulmehsen.
“It is a very significant day in the UAE national calendar because it recognizes and celebrates the role and importance of women in the community and their empowerment as a testament to nation-building,” Sabahat Khan, a senior analyst at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis told The Media Line in an email.
Abdulmuhsen said that last year the GWU celebrated women in the military and police forces in an effort to promote women’s empowerment across the various sectors.
This year, Emirati National Women’s day is celebrating “Women in Innovation,” as a way to promote new kinds of industry and investment in the oil-rich country.
“We don’t want our economy and financial status to be based on oil,” Abdulmehsen said. “We want it to be wider so that’s why the UAE encourages Emirati women into innovation because investment doesn’t only stand in oil.”
In 1975, Emirati women comprised only two percent of the workforce. Now, they account for roughly half of the population and almost one-third of the national workforce. That is similar to other Arab countries, according to the International Labor Organization.
As most Emiratis share in the country’s oil wealth, many have servants to help with childcare, freeing up women to work outside the home. These working women are mostly employed in public administration, defense, social security and teaching.
When it comes to the government, eight of the 30 cabinet minister are women and, overall, two thirds of all government employees and university graduates are women, according to Sheikh Mohammed’s twitter account.
This is compared to the United States, where women make up roughly 20% of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“Economically and culturally, they (the UAE) are looking at the family and women as assets for nation-building and for the development of a progressive, tolerant, vibrant, and economic public life,” Khan said.
Raising women’s employment rates in the UAE could also increase the overall GDP by 12%, according to Khan.
In 2004, the UAE appointed Dr. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi as its first female cabinet minister and in 2016 the government chose Shamma al-Mazrui, a 22 year-old woman, as Minister of Youth, making her the youngest government minister in the world.
Katie Beiter is a student journalist with The Media Line