Emirati women to scale peak of empowerment during FNC Elections 2019

ABU DHABI- Emirati women will scale the peak of their empowerment journey during the FNC Elections 2019 to be held next October, by achieving 50 percent representation in parliament.

This is in line with the implementation of Resolution No. 01 of 2019 issued by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on raising the representation of women in the FNC to 50 percent.

The Women's Empowerment programme launched by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa in 2005 represented a significant milestone in the history of Emirati women, and in 2006, Emirati women participated in the first FNC elections as voters and candidates. During the first election, Dr. Amal Qubaisi, the current FNC Speaker, won a seat in the FNC elections and eight other women were appointed in the parliament, with women representation in the FNC being 22 percent.

The 2006 voter list comprised around 1,000 women from 6,595 voters and 65 women were FNC member candidates from a total of 465 candidates, with a rate of 14.25 percent. During the second election in 2011, women accounted for 46 percent of the total number of voters, while 85 women ran for elections. After the announcement of the election results, women maintained a 22 percent rate of representation in parliament. During the 2015 election, women voters accounted for 48 percent of the total of 224,281 voters. The decree of the formation of the FNC in its 16th legislative chapter in November 2015 comprised nine women, and one of them won a seat in the elections, while the rest were appointed as members. One of them then went on to be appointed as the Minister of State for the Federal National Council Affairs.

The appointment of Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi as the FNC Speaker in the 16th legislative chapter represented a historic step by the UAE, as she was the first woman in the Arab region and the Middle East to chair a parliamentary organisation. In the 2019 election, women comprised 170,967 voters, accounting for 50.62 percent of the total number of voters at 337,738. The numbers of voters included 101,549 voters in Abu Dhabi, including 52,470 women, with a percentage of 51.67, and 60,772 voters in Dubai, including 30,879 women, with a percentage of 50.81.

In Sharjah, the voter list included 32,856 women from a total of 64,293 voters at 51.10 percent, while in Ajman, the total number of voters amounted to 10,165, including 4,641 women at 45.66 percent. In Umm Al Qaiwain, the total number of voters amounted to 6,653, including 3,405 women at 51.18 percent. In Ras Al Khaimah, the total number of voters amounted to 55,289 including 27,218 women at 49.23 percent, and in Fujairah, women voters amounted to 19,498 from a total of 39,017 voters at 49.97 percent.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2019.