Womens Rights in the UAE essay

Womens Rights in the UAE

Historically, in the United Arab Emirates, women’s rights were largely limited in their rights and freedom by a number of laws. The situation started to change in the 1960s after the discovery of oil in the UAE. Since then the role of women began to expand gradually. Currently, there is an apparent difference in the role of female in the society. Nowadays, Emirati women are well represented at all levels of society and their rights are largely expanded and continue to expand. Nevertheless, women’s role in emirates is much lower comparing to Western women. Thus, the status of women in the UAE remains contriversial, as there are many issues related to gender inequality.

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To begin with, the history of the expansion of women’s rights in UAE dates back to 1971 after the oil was discovered. As the economy and industrial sector in the UAE started to grow, the country became involved in tight cooperation with Western countries. The close connection with other countries resulted in the gradual expansion of women’s rights. Hence, improvement occurred in terms of civil liberties and political rights. As a result, in the early 1990s, there were five organizations promoting women’s rights regarding health and educational issues. One of the biggest achievements for women in the UAE was the right to gain a higher education. Today, more than 70% of female attend universities. Having the right to get a higher education brought vast advantages to them and resulted in rapid increase of women’s participation in the labor force. Currently, the employment rate among women is much higher comparing to the late 1990s. The UAE has the highest percentage of women working in the GCC. However, the diversification of the jobs is still highly limited. More than 80% of working female are engaged in household jobs. Nevertheless, among emiratis, the UAE holds the biggest rate of women’s involvement in the business sector. The Abu-Dhabi Exchange Sector consists of 43% female investors and Business Women Association of the UAE reaches 140.000 members (End All Injustice against Women in the United Arab Emirates, 2015). Gradually, women are expected to allow to participate in the political realm of the country. Today, the forefront of business women became Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan al Qasimi who became the first to hold a ministerial post in the country. In 2004, she was appointed Minister of Economy and Planning, and now she holds the position of Minister of Foreign Trade.

In addition, the government took significant steps in direction of improvement of women’s status in the country. Women are encouraged to enter more broad professional fields including engineering and computer technology science. More and more women are appointed to higher positions. Most significantly, women were largely empowered in 2004 when they were allowed to access justice through the courts, which allow them to combat discrimination in the society. In addition, female received the right to serve as judges and prosecutors. Furthermore, women experienced more rights in political, social, and cultural life when the government has recognized that they need its support in these spheres.

Nevertheless, despite obvious advancements in women’s rights and freedom, there is a considerable resistance to such changes. Women in the UAE still cannot enjoy the full range of civil rights as the Western women do. There