Dubai: The UAE has the lowest level of violent crime in the world as well as being ranked first globally for treating women with respect, a new global report has revealed.
The global Social Progress Index ranked the UAE as number one for the lowest level of violent crime, the lowest homicide rate, the lowest undernourishment rate, and the highest rate of enrolment in secondary education.
The index is designed as an objective and transparent measure that is more holistic than relying only on economic indicators to judge a country’s overall well-being. It includes 54 measures that track the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, to establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and to create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the evidence regarding respect for women reflected fundamental truths about Emirati culture and traditions.
“In many sectors they have been able to contribute more than men because UAE society gives women a supportive environment to achieve their full potential. Their contributions have outweighed those of men in many sectors, and this reflects the supportive environment that the UAE has always provided for women.”
Paradox
“The findings of the report regarding women’s respect came as no surprise but what surprised us is that the UAE came above many countries that used to criticise women’s rights in our country, and this is a paradox that calls for deep meditation.”
He added: “We respect women and their sacrifices as we also respect their work and their role of bringing up generations of the nation. We respect her as a mother, sister, wife and daughter and appreciate her as a teacher, engineer and physician, and employee, and as a partner of her male counterparts in nation building. She is the spirit of the place and a source of all appreciation and respect.”
“Women in the UAE are highly appreciated and treated with respect and dignity because our religion Islam calls for that, inspired by the founding leader of our nation the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan,” he said, adding “Our nation’s prosperity is guided and governed by authentic Arab values.”
The report was produced by a team of prominent international economists led by Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School, as part of an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council.
For the index as a whole, the UAE ranked number one in the Middle East and 37th worldwide.
