A UAE newspaper has said that the country marks, and celebrates, the second Emirati Women’s Day today, and it is indeed a proud occasion for the country.

"Instituted in 2015 to mark the establishment of the General Women’s Union, GWU, in 1975, Emirati Women’s Day applauds their achievements since the union was founded," said Gulf News in an editorial on Sunday.

"One of the stellar features of UAE’s progress and development has been its clear-sightedness about the inclusion of women as nation-builders. The leaders of the country have been unequivocal in their emphasis on shaping their policies with women’s contributions at the core and the UAE Constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women.

"The results of this visionary thinking are visible in every aspect of life in the UAE today. From the Federal National Council, whose speaker Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi is the region’s first female leader of a national assembly, to the public sector, the judiciary, space technology, aviation, diplomatic corps, renewable and nuclear energy, oil industry, transport and ICT, technology for military weapons industry, as well as the private sector and entrepreneurship, Emirati women are active influencers and organic constituents of their country’s progress.

"According to the 2014 WEF Global Gender Gap Index, the UAE ranked first out of a total of 142 countries on the report’s literacy rate indicator and on its enrolment in secondary education index. This underscores the UAE’s emphasis on offering equal opportunities to its citizens. In education, which forms the matrix of national development, 95 percent of female high-school graduates pursue further education at tertiary-level institutions, compared with 80 percent of males. Forty six percent of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are women. At the Masdar Institute of Science, the UAE’s premium arena of research and future solutions, 60 percent of Emirati graduate students are female. These are only a few examples in the rich haul of statistics that highlight this burgeoning reality.

"This remarkable progress demonstrates how Emirati women, from the inception of the country’s union, have been working to deepen the impact of UAE’s global imprint. It is a testimony to their understanding of women’s role in the sustainable development of a country.

"Today, with the UAE having garnered the world’s respect and deep admiration for its innumerable milestones and role-model characteristics, Emirati women can rightfully exult in the knowledge that their dynamism and hard work have been crucial in helping the country achieve this enviable status," concluded the Dubai-based daily.

Source : WAM