The women of the Gulf are an essential part of their communities' future, and they all need to be educated and ready to play a full part in society and business. There should be no place for male chauvinism masquerading under false social or religious opinions. As Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education, said last week when he spoke of the importance of educating Emirati women: "No society can afford to bank half of its human capital in a dormant account."
Greg Mortenson, the inspirational educationalist who has built thousands of schools in the remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, frequently quotes a proverb "Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community". He is well aware that young men with education will often travel to seek a better future for themselves, whereas women often stay in the communities and have a huge social impact on everyone around them.
