In February this year, for the first time in the UAE's history, nine
Emirati women were sworn in as members of the UAE Federal National
Council.This figure represents 22.5 per cent of the seats in parliament
and accorded the UAE the distinct honour of being one of the few countries
in the world with the highest percentage of female
parliamentarians.
In a region where, in accordance with the local
norms and traditions, most of the parliaments are usually dominated by
males, our country changed the political landscape, specifically, the
dynamics of female participation in the political arena of the Gulf
countries. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranks the Arab
world as the second lowest region in terms of gender empowerment, and the
Inter-Parliamentary Union ranks it as the lowest in terms of the
percentage of women in parliament.
Hence, the recent appointment
and election of women to the UAE parliament is an indication of the
enlightened direction that our leadership is following in empowering women
in our region. However, it is not a new phenomenon in the UAE. Our
founding father, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was a pioneer of
women's rights. He had often said that women were equal partners with
their male compatriots in all walks of life and should have full rights to
participate in the political process and decision-making.
Her
Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, wife of our late president Shaikh
Zayed, and Chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union, is carrying on
the legacy of her husband by supporting women's rights, which has
crystallised in the position UAE women hold today in parliament. You may
be asking yourselves why should this matter to you? Why should women want
to be involved in public life, or in parliament?
The answer is very
simple. We, the UAE women, comprise half of our society and it is
illogical for us not to play an active role in parliament. It is in this
arena that legislation and policies are debated and passed; legislation
and policies that impact the daily lives of both men and women in our
society. As such it is the right and duty of UAE national women to be
actively and effectively involved in this decision making
process.
Although within a short time we have made a great leap
forward, I believe that our journey has just begun. His Highness Shaikh
Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and the Vice-President of
the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, recently mentioned that what you see today in
terms of achievements in our country represents only 7 per cent of the
vision that our leadership has for our country. So despite the fact that
we in the UAE have one of the world's highest percentages of women in
parliament, the Arab world as a whole still ranks the second lowest region
in terms of the UNDP gender empowerment
measure.
Experience
In this regard, I'd like to share my
experience while I was attending a conference in Europe. Soon after my
appointment, I attended a conference in Europe, where I had the
opportunity to interact with some members of the Kuwaiti parliament. I
distinctly remember the clear look of disapproval on the face of one of
the Kuwaiti MPs, after he met me. Here I was an Arab and Muslim woman
appointed to the parliament and he obviously didn't believe that women
should have any role in parliament, let alone politics in
general.
This Kuwaiti MP's ideology is a reflection of the dynamics
prevalent today in the Kuwaiti parliament in terms of the majority of the
Kuwaiti MPs' opposition or disapproval of the participation of women in
parliament. I just smiled at his reaction because I believe that when you
lead by example you don't need to argue, you just work hard to enlighten
such people that women, after all, are also human beings and we are
capable of achieving the impossible if we are given proper education,
opportunity and support.
I also understand that I represented
something to this Kuwaiti MP, something he didn't understand. I
represented, along with my sisters in parliament, a generation of Arab and
Muslim women who are determined to contribute to building our societies. A
generation of Arab and Muslim women who believe it is our right and our
responsibility to serve our country as wives, as mothers, as teachers,
businesswomen, entrepreneurs, ministers and as members of
parliament.
It took centuries for women in the West to gain the
right to vote, let alone the right to political office, while we are
blessed in the UAE because we have existed as nation for only 35 years.
Yet here we are today, with one of the highest percentages in the world of
female participation in parliament.
This is primarily due to our
government's support, specifically the support extended to us by President
His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Shaikh Mohammad Bin
Rashid, who I consider to be pioneers in their unwavering belief in the
empowerment of women in the UAE.
Responsibilities
In other
countries, women have had to fight for their political rights, while women
in the UAE have been granted these rights, so let us never take our rights
for granted. We shall remember every right entails responsibilities and we
will work hard to live up to the expectations of our leaders and our
society. I say without any doubt that in the first 35 years of our
existence as a nation, women in the UAE have made it to the hallowed
precints of the parliament.
I believe in the next 10 years we will
continue to build and develop the role and the rights of women in our
society even further. And yes, we will continue to make
history.