Jawaher Al Qasimi to Highlight UAE's Vision for Women at IIFMENA Conference

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA), will deliver a keynote speech at a special session exclusively for women, titled ‘Future of Women in the Emirates’. The session will be part of the second edition of the ‘Investing in the Future’ (IIFMENA) conference, scheduled to be held on 19 and 20 October at the Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre in Sharjah.

The discussion is being organised by NAMA and UAE General Women's Union, and is scheduled to take place at 11:30am on 19 October. The session attendees will include the likes of HE Ohoud Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and HE Mody Al Shamsi, Director and General Manager of the Family Development Centre, among other experts and women's leaders from the UAE and beyond.

Highlighting the advancements and achievements of Emirati women over the past four decades, the event will focus on the future that being envisioned for the women in UAE. The discussion will entail devising a few strategies in order continue this march towards greater progress and empowerment, furthering and building on the milestones that women in this nation have achieved till date.

Touch upon several themes of emancipation and development, the focus of this special session will most notably be reviewing and assessing the national dimension of women's empowerment in context of relevant international conventions, gender balance, mechanisms and national plans for the promotion of women's status and their role in UAE’s public sector, enhancing women's political participation and representation at national councils.

Speakers at the session will highlight that the emancipatory drive of Emirati women was always a significant aspect of UAE’s national plans. Lead and supported by the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, since the beginning of the UAE Union, and continued by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Their Highnesses the Rulers of Emirates, creating fertile avenues and opportunities for women’s active participation in society has always been and is one of UAE’s core areas of focus.

The speakers at the session will pay homage to ‘Mother of the Nation’ Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, for her vision and unsurpassed contributions that led to women achieving and excelling no less than men in the Emirati society.

In the past 40 years, Emirati women have made a unique leap in their development and empowerment in all affairs of life, as many of them have assumed high-profile positions in all political, economic, social and cultural domains. These major milestones have led to UAE being ranked at the top globally in the international index of treating women with respect, according to the annual report of the World Economic Forum in 2014. 

NAMA has recently tied up with the Organising Committee of the IIFMENA conference, with a view to support and promote the goals of the conference. Under this strategic partnership, NAMA will set up a special stand dedicated to familiarising the event’s participants with its goals and major initiatives, as well as the successes the organisation’s efforts has met with recently in empowering women in the UAE and beyond. The stand will lay an emphasis on NAMA's achievements in enabling creative women to compete globally on economic, social and professional fronts.

The NAMA Women Advancement Establishment was launched under an Emiri Decree issued by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and with the blessing of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU) ‘Mother of the Nation’. Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, NAMA aims to develop opportunities for women in the economic, professional and social sectors, and emphasise women's instrumental and indispensable role as important human capital in the development process.