Emirati Women’s Day Date in the current year: August 28, 2024

Since the legal system of the United Arab Emirates is based on Sharia law, women’s rights in the country conform to Islamic norms. However, the situation with women’s rights in the UAE is generally better than in other Muslim countries. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, the UAE is the leader in gender equality in the Gulf region.

According to the Constitution of the UAE, women have the same rights as men including access to education, employment, healthcare and family welfare facilities. The UAE has signed and ratified a number of international treaties on protecting women’s rights and eliminating discrimination and violence against women. Through several public and private sector initiatives, Emirati women are playing an increasingly significant role in politics, economy and STEM.

That being said, there is still much to be done regarding women’s rights in the UAE. For example, the lack of action against domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment has been addressed as a matter of concern. There have been cases when a victim of assault was imprisoned after reporting it for having sex outside of marriage. It is common for the police and courts to doubt the credibility of victims reporting domestic violence and sexual assault.

So, like most countries in the world, the UAE has had its ups and downs as far as women’s rights are concerned. Emirati Women’s Day was created to recognize the ups and raise awareness of the aspects that need improvement.

Emiati Women’s Day has been celebrated every year since 2015. It was established by Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi, the third wife of the UAE’s founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. She is referred to as the Mother of the Nation, the Mother of the UAE, and the Mother of Sheikhs.

Sheikha Fatima has been a prominent supporter of women’s rights since the founding of the United Arab Emirates. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Society for the Awakening of Women and the General Women’s Union of the UAE, greatly contributed to a nationwide campaign to support girls’ access to education, and heads the Motherhood and Childhood Supreme Council.

Emirati Women’s Day is celebrated on August 28 to commemorate the founding anniversary of the General Women’s Union of the UAE. The main goal of the holiday is to celebrate accomplishments in women’s empowerment that have already been achieved and encourage women to further fight for their rights because this fight is never really over.

Every Emirati Women’s Day has a theme; for example, the 2021 theme was “Women: Ambitions and Inspiration for Next 50 Years” (that year, Sheikha Fatima launched the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325) and the 2022 theme was “Inspiring Reality... Sustainable Future”.