Emirati women using UAE’s generations-old skills to turn their passion into a business


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

Three Emirati women who have mastered generations-old skills are creating high-end crafts for international brands like Cartier and Bulgari.

Fatima Al Naqbi, Sheikha Al Dhuhoori and Fatima Mahmoud — known as "Umm Ahmed" — are producing designer goods from a small craft centre established in Sharjah to preserve skills that have been passed down from generation to generation.

The trio, from the east coast of Sharjah, weave straw baskets and mats out of palm leaves and decorate collars, hems and cuffs of clothing with intricate thread patterns, which are then sold overseas.

Their success wouldn't have been possible without Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council — an affiliate of Nama Women Advancement Establishment — which helped them turn their passion into a profitable business, Umm Ahmed told a Sharjah forum.

In 2014, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, met Umm Ahmed when she was visiting the community of Dibba Al Hosn in Sharjah.

They discussed Umm Ahmed’s handmade bag and the craft used in creating the piece.

Following the meeting, the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council was set up in the community to not only help Emirati craftswomen pass on their skills to a new generation of artisans but to also preserve UAE’s cultural heritage.

The women sharpen their skills and train younger women at Irthi’s Bidwa Social Development Programme Centre in Dibba Al Hosn.

International designers

In order to produce high-quality crafts that can be sold to a global market, Irthi in 2019 connected the Emirati craftswomen at the centre with international designers. These included Pakistan's Studio Lel, UK-based artists Adi Toch, Kazuhito Takadoi and Patricia Swannell, and Palestinian designer Dima Srouji.

In less than two years, the women at the centre began receiving orders from well-known international brands, including Cartier and Bulgari.

Part of the proceeds from their sales goes to the craftswomen while the other part is invested into Irthi's programmes that are organised to empower the region’s women through crafts.

“I taught other women, including ladies from Italy, when we went there with Irthi,” said Umm Ahmad at a session called 'A Success Story: How Communication got Me Here', organised by Nama Women Advancement Establishment as part of the annual International Government Communication Forum in Sharjah.

“My mother taught me the craft that was nearly forgotten when I was nearly nine years old.”

Other women joined her to learn how to weave four, five and six straws made of palm leaves to produce items that could be used in homes, such as mats and baskets.

Word of their work got out and an elderly woman from the neighbourhood arrived one day to offer a new skill to improve their work.

“We learned Talli embroidery on dresses, the traditional Emirati kandura and brides' costumes,” Umm Ahmad said.

Fellow craftswoman Fatima Al Naqbi picked up the traditional skills from her friends when she was seven.

“My mother used to make the items at home but she didn’t teach me. My friend who was a little older than I, used to teach me what she learned from her mother,” said Ms Al Naqbi.

“Once my mother noticed that I tampered with her products and it was then she knew I had learned and began to better train me.”

Sheikha Al Dhuhoori began sewing traditional burqas as a hobby at first, “but now it had become my trade and business,” she said.

RESULT

Wolves 1 (Traore 67')

Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')

Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
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MATCH INFO

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Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away

It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.

The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.

But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.

At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.

The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.

Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.

And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.

At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.

And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.

* Agence France Presse

Scoreline:

Everton 4

Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', ​​​​​​​Digne 56', Walcott 64'

Manchester United 0

Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)

Race card:

6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.

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8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.

9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.

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Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
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Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

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Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain

West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership

UAE Premiership
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UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

UAE Division Two
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  • Grade 9 = above an A*
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  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
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Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000

Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8

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Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm

Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm

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Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Power: 190bhp

Torque: 300Nm

Price: Dh169,900

On sale: now 

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