Tunis, 28 Oct. 2010 (WAM) - The notion of women empowerment in the UAE is no longer viewed as an abstract concept. It has, in fact, become a concrete reality as is suggested by effective participation by women in all walks of life, said H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, & Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.
Addressing opening session of the third Conference of the Arab Women Organisation (AWO) in Tunis today, Sheikha Fatima stressed that this achievement would not have been possible, had it not been for the astute vision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE President, whose belief in the centrality of human development remains absolute. The session was held in presence of Tunisia's First Lady & current President of the AWO Mrs. Leila Ben Ali, as well as the first ladies Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak of Egypt, H.H. Sheikha Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Mrs. Wafa Suleiman of Lebanon, Mrs. Amina Abbas of Palestine, and Mr. Widad Babiker of Sudan. Also present were Mr. Amr Musa, Secretary General of the Arab League, Wadouda Badran, AWO Director General, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, UAE Minister of State, Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemy, UAE Minister of State, Noura Al Suwaidi, Member of the AWO Executive Council & Director of the GWU. Sheikha Fatima indicated that while there has been a substantial transition in the role of Arab women in a variety of fields, they have never been off limits for women in the United Arab Emirates, who continue to contribute to national sustainable development. On this occasion, "To foster the contribution of women to public life, the UAE has passed numerous laws that ensure the constitutional rights of women, including their right to work, to social security, possession of property, management of businesses, education, social care and equal pay. The UAE has also become a signatory to international agreements and conventions relating to combating all forms of discrimination against women, safeguarding childrens rights, banning forced labour, regulating night work for women and minimum wages," she said. Sheikha Fatima added that currently, there are four women ministers in the UAE Cabinet, the highest number in the Arab region. There are also nine women members of the Federal National Council, or 22.5% of the total. There are over 65 female diplomats in the Foreign Ministry as well as three women ambassadors, posted to Spain, Sweden and Montenegro, and a consul-general, in China. Women are also working in the judiciary departments as well as in civil and military aviation and in various departments of the Ministry of Interior. "Females also make up a sizable portion of the government sector workforce. They occupy 66% of public posts, 30% of them being top decision-making positions, while 15% of them hold posts of a technical and vocational nature like medicine, education, pharmacy and nursing. Women are also part of the nations army and police forces. They have also increased their role in the business sector after the establishment of the UAE Women Businesswomen Council. This has over 12,000 members, engaged in over 11,000 investment projects with total investment of around 12.5 billion dirhams or around 3.4 billion US dollars. Over 37.5% of the workforce in banking and financial services is made up of Emirati women."Full text of the speech will follow ... MORE...Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.
