Statement by Afra Al Hameli, Deputy Director of the Strategic Communications Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day, we honor the remarkable achievements of women across all fields essential to our development as a global community. In the UAE, women are celebrated as leaders of change and progress in society. Since the nation’s founding 50 years ago, the UAE has championed gender parity in all efforts to achieve political, economic, and social advancement.

Having strengthened reforms to offer additional legal protections for women, and building upon 50 years of national efforts to empower women, the UAE is setting a powerful precedent for women’s rights in the region. With the UAE ranked first in the Arab world in the UNDP’s 2020 Gender Equality Index and named the top country for women’s safety in the Women, Peace, and Security Index 2021, women in the UAE lead lives of dignity and opportunity.

As a matter of policy, the UAE is ensuring that women play a central role in driving the country’s progressive and forward-looking approach at home and abroad. Emirati women represent 49.5% of the employees of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. This includes female ambassadors in major diplomatic missions, including the UN Mission in New York, Egypt, Montenegro, France, and Poland. Moreover, with the steady rise of women in key decision-making roles, the Federal National Council and National Human Rights Institute now consist of 50% female representation.

Women have also excelled as prominent figures in the science and technology fields and played a central role in taking the UAE to space. Women made up 80% of the Emirates Mars Mission’s scientific team, which launched the first interplanetary mission led by an Arab country. The team behind the UAE Astronaut Program, which produced the UAE’s first astronaut, is made of 70% women. In addition, 50% of the employees at the UAE Space Agency are women. Notably, 61% of university graduates in scientific fields are women.

Indeed, women’s empowerment starts with a collective responsibility to recognize equal rights to education, as maximizing their potential can only accelerate the path to a nation’s advancement. As home to more than 200 nationalities, the UAE has resolved to promoting equal access to education and economic empowerment for women around the world.

As the UAE forges ahead with the next 50 years, gender equality remains a key pillar of the nation as a hub for talent and female-led innovation. When women are at the table, outcomes for economic growth, social development, and peace improve. It is in this spirit that the UAE will continue to work with its international partners to reinforce women’s leadership and ensure that future generations will thrive.