UAE | General
Passing time at Dubai International Women's Club
Members often receive invitations to new places opening up that they would not have been able to see as single women, correspondence secretary says.
- By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:01 August 14, 2008
- Members of the DIWC gather twice a week for bridge and mahjong, and some socialising.
- Image Credit: Alice Johnson/Gulf News
Dubai: For 41 years, the Dubai International Women's Club (DIWC) has been providing a "home away from home" to women living in the emirate.
It was first established in 1967 as the Petroleum Wives Club as a group of wives whose husbands worked in the new oil industry. With so many inquiries from women working in other industries, the club changed its name six years ago to the DIWC. It now has 250 active members from 42 different nationalities.
Susie R., event advisor at the DIWC, said: "When the club was the PWC, it was only related with oil company employees. Then we had so many enquiries from ladies who thought they couldn't join unless they were related to the industry, that we changed the name, to show that everyone can be a member and everyone is welcome."
Diana Stuart, current membership representative on the DIWC committee, has recently been reading about the PWC beginnings.
"Many of the ladies in the Petroleum Wives Club were American, and the club was more formal than it is now. I remember reading in the PWC brochure that a couple of new ladies arrived at the club and were wearing sling-back sandals. They were surprised to see other ladies wearing nylon stockings, hats and formal shoes, and one lady was even wearing white gloves. It was definitely more formal than it is now," she said.
DIWC organises bridge and mahjong games three days a week in the mornings and afternoons respectively, and arranges monthly excursions for members wishing to see the wealth of the UAE.
The non-profit organisation also organises many charitable events for charities with female-related themes, such as for breast cancer awareness and women's shelters.
Susie R. said: "The most we have raised in one go was between Dh3,000 and Dh4,000, and we often receive donations from our sponsors. On September 20 we will be holding a charity bazaar, in aid of Dubai Cares and Unesco. We also raised money when the 2004 tsunami hit and for recent earthquakes around the world," she said.
Monthly excursions are sometimes arranged by invitation. These invitations, Susie R. continues, can be eye-opening.
"We were taken on a yacht to see the Palm Jumeirah when it was still an island, and we've recently visited the new hotel The Westin. All the ladies are invited to new places opening up in Dubai," she said.
The club has also undertaken trips to the Al Ain flower exhibition, and museums and mosques, for example, in Abu Dhabi.
However, it's not just the excursions that attract members, but the camaraderie found at the Jumeirah-based premises.
Gulf News caught up with DIWC members one afternoon over a fast-paced game of mahjong.
Lynette Perks, Newsletter and Correspondence Secretary, said: "One of the best things about the club is the integration with other nationalities. Because of all the activities at the club, you do integrate more. It's also the event organisation, there are things that you can go to because you've been invited as a group. If you were just on your own, you wouldn't be invited. Also, it's one of the few clubs that has its own premises. To have a clubhouse is great."
Stuart seconded this: "I joined 14 years ago, and I've made most of my friends at the club. When I first came to Dubai from Saudi Arabia, my husband went to the British Embassy and asked if there were any organised mahjong games. At the time, I didn't know that the club did anything else, so I came along and joined in."
Women of all ages, nationalities and marital status are welcome at the Club, which serves as a base for any female living in the Emirates.
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