New plan to boost status of women

The National Strategy for the Development of Women should shortly be adopted by the UAE Cabinet.

This would prove the government has the political will to improve the status of UAE women, said one of the architects of this national strategy and a guest speaker at the high profile women's conference held here on Wednesday.

Dr Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, the Jordan-based Regional Program-me Director of Unifem (UN Development Fund for Women), told Gulf News in an interview after the women's conference: "The most important issue about this strategy is, I believe, the UAE Cabinet will now adopt and translate it into action.

"This will happen because there's political will in the country to change the lives of women with the tremendous support provided by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, wife of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union."

Dr Haifa, who was one of the speakers at the conference held to launch the strategy, happens to be part of the body which drew up this important document.

"The National Strategy for the Development of Women" was in fact compiled by the United Nations Development Progra-mme (UNDP) and the Unifem jointly, in collaboration with the Union. In short, it seeks to change the lives of women in the UAE in "eight priority areas" ranging from women in politics to women and the environment.

Dr Haifa pointed out that the strategy, which was nearly two years in the making, was really put together with inputs from the ministries.

Thus, the strategy happens to be a national effort and belongs to the country, the Union having been just the "facilitator", Dr Haifa said.

"So I see no reason why the government should not adopt this strategy as a national plan," she added.

Unifem has drawn up similar strategies for the betterment of women in other Arab countries such as Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and now the UAE. It is also working on one for the Qatar government.

"The UAE is the first Gulf country to draw up such a strategy and Qatar will be the next when they launch their project next year," she said.

Discrimination in the implementation of legislation and lack of participation in the political arena were the two most common areas in which women in Arab countries suffered today, she added.
"In the UAE, too, we find women enjoying good benefits in health and education, but in the sphere of politics their role seems minimal. There is a need to enhance their role in political participation," Dr Haifa asserted.

Moreover, she felt that women here should also ask for their rights in getting equal educational benefits as men.

Even as the National Strategy for the Development of Women in the UAE was launched at the Union, the next phase of the strategy will be towards translating this paper into action, she said. "Next month we will start implementing the projects and programmes suggested in the strategy. For example, under the 'Women and Political Partici-pation' plan, we shall launch an 'Arab Women Parliamentary Project' which will involve training young women to participate in politics by getting them to interact with seasoned parliamentarians.

"We have a programme called 'One teach one' where young women can benefit from the experience of older and more seasoned parliamentarians," she explained, citing an example of translating this strategy into action.

The main obstacle facing Arab women today, she concluded, was that they were still bound by negative traditional practices, such as not being permitted access to higher education and to work.