A woman buried around 8,000 years ago with feathers, shell jewellery and daggers made from human bones offers an early glimpse of women’s status in the region.
Her remains suggest she lived to about 50, far beyond the average life expectancy for that period, and the objects placed with her indicate that she was held in high regard by her community.
She is one of several women whose stories are highlighted in Women of the Nation, a new one-hour thematic tour at Zayed National Museum, which will run from August 1 until the end of the month to mark Emirati Women’s Day.
Moving through five galleries – titled Our Beginning, To Our Ancestors, Through Our Connections, By Our Coasts and To Our Roots – the tour explores how women shaped society in the region from ancient times to the present day.
The stories feature prominent figures who influenced the country’s development, as well as women whose labour, knowledge and traditions helped sustain families and communities.
The tour begins by considering the women who shaped the early values of the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Particular attention is given to his mother, Sheikha Salama bint Butti, and the influence her courage and concern for others had on his upbringing. Khadeja Almheiri, museum experience specialist at Zayed National Museum, says Sheikha Salama opened her home to women from the community, offering them advice and caring for those who were unwell.
“Whenever members of the community were sick, she would be the one to make medicine and personally deliver it to them herself,” Almheiri says.
Even during periods of personal grief, she remained strong in front of her children. The tour presents that resilience as one of the values that continued to influence Sheikh Zayed throughout his life.
The focus then shifts to health care and education, including the work of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation, in expanding opportunities for women.
One of the objects featured is a Quran presented to Sheikha Fatima by the first female graduates of United Arab Emirates University. Almheiri says it reflects the appreciation of women who benefited from her support for education and participation in public life.
From there, the tour moves further into the past.
In To Our Ancestors, the ancient burial offers evidence of how women may have been valued within early communities. The care taken with the burial, along with the woman’s age and the objects placed beside her, allow visitors to consider her standing in society.
Through Our Connections explores trade, exchange and authority during the Iron Age and the pre-Islamic period.
Coins inspired by those of Alexander the Great demonstrate the region’s links with the wider world, while inscriptions highlighted on the tour suggest that positions of authority were not limited to men.
Almheiri points to a reference translated as “daughter of”, saying it indicates that women also held power and influence within their societies.
The tour also turns to the less visible work that sustained daily life.
By Our Coasts explores the work carried out by women while men spent long periods at sea. Oral histories recall the fear associated with those journeys.
These stories move the focus from life at sea to the work taking place onshore, where women shouldered the responsibility for the daily survival of their families and communities.
Women’s knowledge is also explored through sadu, traditional weaving associated with desert communities.
Almheiri explains that many of the women who practised the craft had no formal education. They learnt by sitting together, observing one another and drawing patterns from the tools, objects and surroundings of daily life.
The same process of shared knowledge is evident in traditional remedies and methods used to soothe children, with women using the herbs and plants available in their environment.
One display also highlights a woman falconer who learnt the practice from her mother, showing how women helped carry traditions associated with the desert across generations.
A photograph of girls graduating from Quran classes offers a more intimate example of women’s support for one another.
The girls were shown wearing gold jewellery, but the pieces were borrowed and shared among neighbours for the occasion.
Almheiri says the gesture reflects the close relationships women formed within their communities and the ways they supported younger generations through important moments.
She adds that the tour is not only about recognising women’s place in history, but also understanding how their values continue to shape the present.
“History is very important to learn in order to continue your life and build your future,” she says. “Understanding your history and understanding the women that helped shape this nation tells you a lot about their resilience and the communities that they built and how they helped build this nation.”
Almheiri says that influence extends across society.
“I see how those women have shaped us as people, and not only as women, but also the men and the families,” she says. “I do see myself in them, and I see myself also passing on those values, not necessarily just to the next generation, but in my day-to-day life.”
Zayed National Museum's Women of the Nation tour runs until September 26 on Thursdays (English) and Saturdays (Arabic)
