UAE | Education

It's in best interest of nations to educate women - Manal

Shaikha Manal Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Women's Establishment, yesterday stressed that it is in the best interests of countries to educate their women.

  • By Zoi Constantine, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:14 September 28, 2007
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Shaikha Manal Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Women's Establishment, yesterday stressed that it is in the best interests of countries to educate their women.

She was speaking during the first women's event to raise awareness about the Dubai Cares charity initiative on Thursday night. She encouraged women in Dubai to focus on providing children in under-developed countries, and girls in particular, with access to education.

Shaikha Manal urged all UAE and expatriate women to "rise up to the challenge" and to be the "mothers and sisters" to the girls to "extend a hand to get them into a classroom." Success of the campaign is not measured by the money we raise. "Success for us women are the obstacles we overcome like illiteracy and ignorance by helping young women and girls who do not have the opportunities to have an education," she said.

Donations

"Depriving [girls] access to education, we are essentially depriving half of society the means to contribute to national development, harming national economies and their growth. It is not only, therefore, the right of a woman to be educated but in the best interest of nations to educate her," she said.

Dubai Cares announced a total of Dh1.5 million in donations from three women. The wife of Eisa Bin Abdul Latif Bin Nasser Al Sarkal pledged Dh1 million. Dh500,000 and Dh30,000 were donated to the campaign by two women, both wishing to remain anonymous.

Meanwhile, an anonymous philanthropist donated Dh37 million to the campaign on Thursday, bringing the total donations to around Dh338 million.

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