The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan said: “The role of women is no less than that of men, and today’s students are the mothers of the future”.
The UAE has remained steadfast in Sheikh Zayed’s intention to support and empower women in various fields. Education was a key factor in that plan, opening the doors of work and creating diverse environments for women to engage in.
Sheikh Zayed’s wife, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, continues his good work to this day. Umm Al Emarat, or Mother of the Nation, is president of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation.
She is an example to all of us with her humility, openness, calmness and ability to carry out the greatest works. By establishing the General Women’s Union — and Emirati Women’s Day — in 2015, she has been able to achieve a qualitative leap for women’s work, and development efforts and future plans are still aimed at other achievements.
Sheikh Zayed also said: “Women are not only half of society in terms of numbers, but they are also in terms of their participation in the responsibility of preparing the younger generations and raising them in a sound manner”.
This is what we see now in our Emirati society. There are many Emirati women who have worked hard for themselves and have become the pride of the state. I take personal inspiration from the Minister of State for Youth Shamma bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrui, who was appointed the Minister of State for Youth Affairs in 2016, when she was just 22 years old.
As an ambitious young Emirati woman who is also 22 years old, I am completing my last year at Zayed University in communication and media sciences. Since my childhood, my ambition has always been to work as a journalist in one of the state channels or in the broader media field.
At the beginning of 2022, I started my own business designing digital announcements and invitations for graduations, births, weddings and other events. I was chosen to participate in the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation’s Young Media Leader’s program, and spent the summer working at Livehealthy.
I’ve realized from all this that I had the ability to balance my studies, business and volunteer work, and that I could be confident that I can achieve what I set my mind to.
I am proud to be an Emirati woman, to belong to a country that respects women and celebrates Emirati Women’s Day. I will continue to follow the path laid by Sheikh Zayed, and become a source of pride for my family and my beloved country.
