They may wear make-up and fashionable clothes under their abayas and hang out at Western food joints but most middle-class UAE national girls still remain firmly rooted in Islamic values, a study suggests.

Although national girls are more assertive, independent-minded and likely to postpone marriage behind the blowing winds of Westernisation they retain core Islamic values.

"The girls are at the crossroads between culture and the winds of change," said Dr Maher Khalifa, chairman of the Social and Behavioural Sciences Department at Zayed University (ZU), who led the group that conducted the study.

The online survey, conducted among the university's all-female students, was discussed during a research forum at the university's campus at Dubai Media City.

The study suggests traits identified as "Western" which the respondents said they have learned to adopt did not necessarily clash with their creed.

Of the 736 students randomly picked among the 1,847 student population in the university's campuses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, only 103 completed the 83-item questionnaire.

The participants were on average 20 years old and mostly unmarried.

Of those who responded, 51 per cent said they wanted to finish their studies first before settling down.

"The select Western values adopted seem to go along with modernisation and the new realities of the country but do not conflict with Islamic values," said Dr Khalifa.

Two students, Hassa Mohammad and Jameela Abdulla, helped collate information from the online responses.

Other academics said, however, the study was not conclusive because of the tiny sample base.

National pride

The survey measured the students' perception of the degree of their modernity and the degree of perceived independence in choosing a profession, friends and a husband.

Two out of five women agreed they made their own decisions.

Dr Khalifa, however, pointed out certain Western values, like being more assertive and individualistic, did not conflict with Islam and were in line with the new face of the UAE.

Some 9 out of 10 students, mostly from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, said they strongly affirm a sense of national pride and prefer to wear a full body cover and headscarf in public.

The foreign influence was attributed to better access to education, mass media and the internet, changes in their family structure and the country's tolerance towards expatriates' habits and beliefs.

Dr Khalifa's team recommended other researchers continue research with a larger sample size and include men and the elderly so a clearer picture of the UAE's cultural change can be mapped soon.

Computer randomly selected respondents
103 students responded to a selected pool of 736 girls from two ZU campuses (Abu Dhabi and Dubai)
A computer randomly selected the samples out of 1,847 students
The survey was posted online and asked 83 questions
Most questions were close-ended, that is, respondents had to choose from a list of answers
A Windows-based computer program was used to analyse the students' response
Open-ended answers were reviewed by an ad hoc panel of experts who used qualitative analysis