WUNRN
The United
Arab Emirates (UAE) is a Middle Eastern Federation of seven
states termed emirates-Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras
al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm
al-Quwain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates
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United
Arab Emirates - UAE - "While international reports have observed the
progress of the country’s youth and have commended Emirati families for
encouraging young women to pursue higher education, the women who choose to
endure these rigours face the additional challenge of trying to balance their
career with the responsibilities of marriage and family. As we reported
earlier, 54 per cent of Emirati women older than 30 remain unmarried."
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - AS WOMEN
ADVANCE, SO SHOULD ATTITUDES
April 2009
The National
‘As
you educate a woman, you educate the family. If you educate the girls, you
educate the future.” Queen Rania of Jordan took a popular quote in support of a
woman’s right to an education and adapted it to her vision for the Middle East
during an interview with the American television host Oprah Winfrey. What she
relayed to the world has become an emerging success story in parts of the
region and is more evident in the UAE with each graduation season.
In the UAE, Emiratis aged 15 to 24 make up the largest demographic group,
constituting more than 25 per cent of the population. According to the National
Admissions and Placement Office, more than 80 per cent of national students who
graduate from secondary school in the UAE go on to higher education. Of the
nearly 13,000 Emiratis accepted to federal universities in 2007 roughly 60 per
cent were women.
With access to scholarships and opportunities to discover the culture and
heritage of their own country and to travel abroad, women have flourished.
Courses and campuses geared exclusively to women have helped more of them to
successfully complete their education and join the workforce.But such progress
comes at a price.
While international reports have observed the progress of the country’s youth
and have commended Emirati families for encouraging young women to pursue
higher education, the women who choose to endure these rigours face the
additional challenge of trying to balance their career with the
responsibilities of marriage and family. As we reported yesterday, 54 per cent
of Emirati women older than 30 remain unmarried.
Many may choose to do so for professional and academic reasons. For certain
qualifications, women may need to remain in school into their 30s but a woman
who is highly educated should not be any less marriageable. That many women
delay starting a family as they build their credentials and search for
fulfilling careers should not be looked down upon. To the contrary, a
commitment to developing their talents and putting them to use in a country
that has heavily invested in their education should be applauded. Society may
need to readjust its expectations to the reality that many women plan to enter
marriage at an older age than those in previous generations.
Social affairs programmes are already in place that help unmarried women enter
the workforce, and such programmes should be strengthened. The transition into
the workplace is never easy and it often requires the support of family,
co-workers and the government. The authorities should be lauded for initiatives
that encourage a woman’s professional development and help maintain a balance
between family and work, which include creches in some Government workplaces
and more generous maternity leave. But the Government cannot legislate changes
in society’s expectations for when a woman should marry. When Sheikh Zayed
founded the UAE University in Al Ain in 1976, he imagined a future where higher
education would be open to men and women, with both playing a vital part in the
building of the nation. This vision is being realised by women who are
balancing their commitments to their country, family and profession.
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