Saqr Ghobash calls on the Minister of Family to ensure fairness to men

Saer Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), praised an intervention by FNC member Mona Hammad calling for family empowerment programmes to include the empowerment of men, rather than being limited solely to women as is currently the case. He described her remarks as a valid and constructive observation, and, while inviting the Minister of Family to respond, he remarked jokingly: “You must do justice to us, Your Excellency.”

His comments followed a statement by FNC member Mona Khalifa Hammad, who stressed the need to empower men and warned against confining discussions on the family and related initiatives to the empowerment of women alone.

She noted that discourse on challenges facing the family rarely addresses men, with the focus instead placed on women and their roles within the family—whether as working or non-working women, wives, mothers, divorcees, or widows—without addressing the head of the household, whether employed or unemployed. This, she said, comes despite the fact that empowering the family fundamentally begins with empowering men, whom she described as the pillar of the family and the person responsible for its members.

“We speak about the productive family and the productive woman, but where is the empowerment of men?” she asked. “What initiatives are we launching to support them? Men need opportunities to adjust and improve their circumstances so we can help them strengthen the foundations of their families.” She also pointed out that discussions on domestic violence tend to address all forms affecting women, despite the existence of cases in which men are victims of domestic violence.

In her response, Minister of Family Sana bint Mohammed Suhail underscored the importance of considering all members of the family—fathers, mothers, children, and even the extended family. She noted that while certain priorities are addressed first, this is followed by broader efforts to expand programmes and services to ensure they ultimately serve all members of the family.