Empowering women in the Emirates/ from an intellectual theory to an integrated national approach

Sharjah, on August 25/ WAM/ The UAE has witnessed over the past decades a radical shift in the concept of empowering women to become an integrated national approach led by comprehensive policies and strategies, most notably the national policy of women’s empowerment 2023-2031, which made the participation of equal women a pillar of sustainable development.

On Emirati Women’s Day, the “Nama” Foundation emerges to upgrade women in Sharjah, as a national platform that works to open the prospects for economic and social participation in front of women, through training programs and supportive policies that contribute to enhancing their role in the labor market and entrepreneurship.

A “legacy” council for contemporary crafts also devotes its efforts to preserving the traditional crafts and developing them with modern methods, in a manner that ensures their sustainability and turning them into a creative and economic source that links new generations with its cultural roots and opens the doors of global markets in front of them.

Since its establishment in 2015 under an Emiri decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and chaired by his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, “Namaa” has developed a comprehensive approach to empowerment that transcends temporary support to building a sustainable environment that guarantees women influence and participation in economic, social, cultural and political fields, as it combined policies, legislation and programs The field, has launched qualitative initiatives such as “upgrading” to enhance equality and equal opportunities in work environments, and the “Financial Culture” program to develop women’s skills in managing their resources and other programs.

The Foundation also presented the platform “Namaa dialogues”, to open interactive discussions on life issues that support studied decisions, and contributed to the approval of the “Care Vacation” of the Sharjah Government for Mothers working to care for their children with disabilities or chronic diseases, after an expanded study of laws and policies to meet the needs of this category.

A heritage council for contemporary crafts is an Emirati model in preserving and developing traditional crafts within contemporary contexts that integrate identity with innovation, as the council stems from the conviction that the craft is one of the most important tools of empowerment, a mirror of identity and a bridge to communicate with the world, and through specialized professional training programs in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa and Asia the council gives craftsmen the ability to convert their hand skills into products that carry an Emirati signature competing in Global markets.

Thanks to its partnerships with prestigious international platforms such as the London Design Exhibition and the Milan Design Week, the Council laid sustainable markets for craft products and contributed to the choice of Sharjah, a creative city for UNESCO in the field of craftsmanship, and with this approach a legacy combines the cultural, economic and social dimension, maintaining the essence of the craft as a cultural heritage and an employee as a tool to enhance the presence of women in a march Development.

The efforts and initiatives of “Namaa” and “Erkha” confirm that giving Emirati women their opportunity to prove themselves and their merit is a firm fact supported by numbers and achievements on the ground, so moving to the approach of systematic institutional empowerment made women in the UAE an equal partner in making the future, supported by wise government policies and leading institutions that continue to work diligent work, from the family to international organizations, and the result is a generation of Emirati women The ability to form reality and the manufacture of change locally and globally within the framework of a sustainable development approach in which all groups of society shares.

Thus, “Namaa” and “legacy” puts a foundation for a conversion of conceptures in the empowerment of being a development demand to being a strategic option for the future industry, so empowerment exceeds the limits of providing opportunities to build sustainable systems, which re -formulate the relationship between women and society between identity and economy and between heritage and contemporary.

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