24 February 2008
Abu Dhabi: Just to pass a small message to society, four young Emirati women have toured the country in a car to say "women can do so".
The Emirati Women's Traveller Group, comprising Shayma Al Reyami, Wa'ad Al Mansouri, Amani Nasser and Maitha Jasem, held a press conference last week to show documentary videos and pictures they filmed during the trip.
Shayma, leader of the team, told Gulf News: "As we travelled together for the first time, we became a real team, each one of us did duty in the spirit of the team."
The trip was organised by the travel magazine Asfar and supported by the Emirati Traveller Group.
The tour took four days and the women drove 1,150km. They started from Abu Dhabi, going on to Al Ain and passing by tourist spots and visiting Haft Mountain, the zoo and the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan's house.
The girls then drove to Hatta and Wadi Al Gahfi. "At this point we thought we were lost as none of us was familiar with the place and the map doesn't show the way properly," Shayma said.
"With a guide from Emirati Traveller Group on the phone we found our way and started off for Dibba and Fujairah."
"Sadly we noted that foreign tourists are more than Arabs". They drove to Ras Al Khaimah through Masafi mountains, reaching Umm Al Quwain in the night.
On the last day, the group toured Ajman and Sharjah where they visited the museums and historical places and then headed off for Dubai to visit the shopping festival. The trip finished where it started.
"We were surprised by people's reception. They welcomed us and supported the idea we are promoting," said Shayma. "People were following our trip over some radio stations that followed our trip live and called us some times."
Some people, however, criticised them for breaking traditions by travelling alone without a male relative.
Shayma thought it was not a part of traditions "as women used to cross the desert alone, walking for days from one place to another." She said: "Another message we carry is ... it's fun and safe to travel here."
By Eman Mohammed
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
