Minister highlights government's efforts to empower Emirati women

Minister of Social Affairs, Mariam Mohammed Khalfan Al Roumi, has said that having Emirati women in leadership positions and their active participation in decision making was nothing new in the UAE, adding that it was a continuation of the march being led by Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, who continues to lead since 1975 a number of national institutions which aim at solving women's issues, including the empowerment of the Emirati women.Al Roumi was contributing to an informal debate of the General Assembly on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women."Since the foundation of the UAE, the leadership has realized, under the guidance and directives of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the Union and the inspirer of the comprehensive National Development Strategy that women are essential and equal partners to men in the process of development.Therefore empowering women and preparing them in the best ways possible are considered the most important requirements for the success of the development strategy and the fulfillment of its over all objectives," she said.She pointed out that with support from public and private institutions, this strategy succeeded in empowering women in all areas, achieving big unprecedented accomplishments for them in a short period of time, not exceeding thirty five years. "The most recent of these accomplishments is the representation of women in the legislative and executive authorities in the government where two women now occupy two seats in the cabinet, the ministry of economy and the ministry of social affairs. And for the first time, women have the opportunity to vote and run for offices in the 40- seat Federal National Counsel which has both a legislative and supervisory role, where they gained nine seats last February," she said. Continue to the full story from Source.