Emirati women remain custodians of the UAE’s cultural identity

Abu Dhabi: Emirati women have played an important role in preserving the UAE’s cultural identity while helping shape the country’s modern cultural and creative landscape, according to Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival.

Speaking to Gulf News on the occasion of Emirati Women’s Day, Alkhamis-Kanoo reflected on the role of Emirati women in preserving heritage, the influence of the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, and the growing role of young Emirati women in culture and the arts.

She said Emirati women were custodians of culture long before cultural institutions were established in the UAE.

“In seafaring and Bedouin communities, they carried much more than the household: they managed trade and land while the men were away, and they kept what you cannot store materially: language, memory, poetry and hospitality, which are a culture in themselves,” she said.

Today, Emirati women have expanded their roles across many sectors, with Alkhamis-Kanoo crediting the UAE’s leadership and Sheikha Fatima for helping create opportunities for women.

She said Sheikha Fatima not only supported women’s empowerment but also led by example and showed Emirati women how they could be ambitious and confident while remaining connected to their roots.

Reflecting on the establishment of ADMAF in 1996, Alkhamis-Kanoo said her inspiration came from the vision on which the UAE and Abu Dhabi were built.

“Even though culture was not ‘in fashion’ in 1996, a lover of music and the arts like me felt empowered by Abu Dhabi,” she said.

She added that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s vision placed culture at the heart of the UAE’s identity.

“I had faith in God, in the vision of Sheikh Zayed and in the power of music to connect hearts. And that is how I started ADMAF,” she said.

Alkhamis-Kanoo said she considers her work part of a larger story, with her role being to connect artists and opportunities.

“My role, really, has been to be a bridge. A bridge is important. But it is not the story. The story belongs to those who cross the bridge and share what they carry,” she said.

Speaking about this year’s Emirati Women’s Day theme, “We Emerge Stronger and Better,” she said the message reflects the resilience and continued progress of Emirati women.

“Pioneering requires resilience,” she said, adding that being among the first to establish a cultural institution could sometimes feel lonely, but the UAE’s support gave her confidence to continue.

She also highlighted three qualities she sees in the next generation of Emirati women: sincerity, courage and fluency.

She said young Emirati women are genuine, willing to take risks and are able to move between their heritage and modern digital spaces.

“They are rooted in their heritage, yet connected to the world,” she said.

Alkhamis-Kanoo said culture and the arts can also help the UAE strengthen its voice internationally.

“Culture is where the story of a nation lives. And to tell your own story is a form of sovereignty,” she said.

She described Emirati women as important voices representing the UAE abroad, noting their growing presence in international cultural and artistic spaces.

“In a fragmented world, culture remains the only language in which we can disagree and still stay curious about one another,” she said.

As the UAE’s creative economy continues to grow, Alkhamis-Kanoo said opportunities for women extend beyond being artists.

She pointed to roles including producers, curators, administrators, lawyers, technicians, funders and policymakers.

“Women in the UAE are already running programmes, festivals, institutions and budgets,” she said.

“My hope is that women keep on bringing their talent to all those facets of the creative economy, because whoever builds the structure decides what happens inside it.”

She added: “The greatest opportunity is to build. And to those who fund our future, I repeat what I always say: invest in culture as you invest in infrastructure. All bridges matter.”