Fatima's role in supporting women praised

A Malaysian minister yesterday visited the UAE Women's Federation and praised the role played by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Wife of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Chairperson of the UAE Women's Federation, in supporting women in the UAE.

Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister for Women and Family Development, is visiting the UAE as part of a 10-day Arab countries tour organised by the Arab Family Organisation.

She toured the Women's Federation headquarters and visited the Jawahra Gallery which encompasses a variety of awards attained by Sheikha Fatima; the Information Centre; and the General Women's Union Activities Centre which exhibited samples of traditional handiwork.

The Minister admired the intricate work involved in the making of traditional dresses.

"The East have a distorted perception of Arab women. They think that being covered makes Arab women backward. On the contrary, during our visit, we saw that the women in the UAE are very intelligent, beautiful, and are a major part of the work force while they hold strongly to their traditions. More media coverage is needed to change this idea of Arab women," she told Gulf News.

During her visit, the minister aims to shed light on Malaysian women and the Malaysian society in general.

She also hopes to establish a strong relationship between the UAE and Malaysia. She said that the main purpose of this visit was to strengthen relationships between the two countries and to extend an invitation to Matar Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, to visit Malaysia to discuss cooperation.

At the end of her tour, the minister presented Sheikha Fatima with a token of appreciation for the UAE's hospitality and expressed her gratitude for her evident efforts for Arab women and families.

"I am very impressed with what Sheikha Fatima has done for UAE women and I hope that she visits us in Malaysia," she said.