ABU DHABI // Emirati women have played their part in the development of the nation and deserve to be honoured, say those who have made successes of their lives.
They say Emirati Women’s Day, which is being celebrated on Friday, showed that women can stand next to men on an equal footing, whatever career they choose.
Iman Ben Chaibah, the founder and editor-in-chief of Sail magazine, said the event would instil a sense of self-belief in Emirati girls.
She said it would “celebrate achievements of women who have come from the same environment and culture as you have”.
“When you have a day celebrating the achievements of women in the UAE, you have a day to benchmark against and give women motivation to do better,” she said.
Dr Houriya Kazim, the first female surgeon in the country to specialise in breast cancer treatment, believed Emirati women had made great advances in medicine.
“Women make up a much larger proportion of medical school admissions than in the past,” she said.
When she was at medical school in the 1990s, women made up about 20 per cent of the class, which has risen to about 50 per cent now, she said.
“We were encouraged to study, both by our families and our country, regardless of our gender,” said the doctor, who works as a consultant breast surgeon and medical director at Well Woman Clinic.
“Now you will find Emirati women doctors in most specialities,” she said.
While advances have been made, more allowances need to be made for working mothers.
“We collectively need to encourage this by offering options for part-time work, for day care in the workplace, flexible-time and job-sharing,” she said.
“It is in everyone’s interest to redouble our efforts to help women deal with the delicate balance between work and childcare.”
Noora Al Mulla, a graduate sales manager at Etihad Airways, believed Emirati women had made a lot of progress in a very short time and merited a day in their honour. “The UAE is very young, and when I was in Malaysia for a year, I realised there were many misconceptions about the women of the country,” she said.
“People wanted to know if we are oppressed, whether we have the freedom to wear what we want to wear.
“I explained to them that the UAE is open to a lot of cultures and we are respectful towards different religions.”
She said she hoped she could be a role model for younger women.
“We don’t have guiding figures and go through experiences on our own,” Ms Al Mulla said.
Amal Al Ghaferi, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, is the first female Emirati faculty member at Masdar Institute.
She believed it was important to celebrate Emirati women and highlight their role in the country’s history.
“Emirati women stand beside Emirati men in all the stages of the country’s establishment and development,” she said.
“We are really proud of Emirati women in all aspects,” she said.
She also applauded the women serving in the Armed Forces, whom she said were “role models for all national women”.
arizvi2@thenational.ae