ABU DHABI // Women still face discrimination in some professional fields despite their significant and rapid progress in government and other areas, Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said yesterday. There remain some people in all walks who need to be persuaded of the importance of women's contribution to the country's development, he said at the national launch of the United Nations Development Fund for Women's (Unifem) 2008/2009 report at the headquarters of the General Women's Union.
"We have witnessed the rise of female leaders quickly, and we have been able to prove that a conservative society, an Muslim-Arab society can be modern, dynamic and able to evolve. There are no contradictions here," said Dr Gargash, who last month backed a proposal for the Federal National Council to allot a certain percentage of its seats to women. He noted that more women from conservative Emirati families were joining men in the workplace. But he added: "We still have a lot to conquer in this area. The biggest story is the need to gain the acceptance and support of all members of society, so that they, too, can play a role in enabling women to strive for more."
Dr Moez Doraid, the deputy executive director for organisational and business development at Unifem, said the UAE was a model for other Arab countries in the advancement of women. He said countries that used quotas to help get women into positions of authority achieved speedier progress than ones that did not, and that having more women in the FNC would help ensure their views were represented. Dr Doraid said it was important to have a monitoring system to see if government promises were translating into real progress. "The reason for this discrepancy between commitments and action is a lack of international commitment, but also a lack of accountability to these policymakers," he said.
Dr Gargash, meanwhile, said parents needed to help their girls dream big. "The Emirati woman must have big aspirations, because if we accept our humble achievements, we will have nothing in the future but these humble achievements. "Our society must aim high when it comes to women's issues, and our women must not be satisfied with the status quo, even if what we have achieved so far is a source of happiness and pride."
The UN report, Who Answers to Women: Gender and Accountability noted "there is a great discrepancy between the commitments of nations and their enforcement of gender-specific issues on the ground". tramahi@thenational.ae
