I think it is wrong to say that politics in our age is restricled to men only. Politics is related to our daily life and it is imposed on us willingly  or unwillingly, and I think that women and children are the mostly affected category of people by the political affairs and military wars. Therefore, to activate such a political activity, H.H. Sheikha Fatima motivated the Emarati women in February of this year to contribute in the parliamentary life and the decision making process. This call was actually welcomed by all the nationals of the UAE.

H.H. Sheikh Zayed also emphasized the significance of the women’s roles in all fields even those that are regarded traditionally for men. In 1990 he declared the to establishment of a military school for women in the UAE that is known now as Khawlah Bint al Azwar Military School, to aggregate and construct the feminine military national cadres to be well qualified to participate in the military forces. H.H. Sheikha Fatima supervised the educational programs and curricula of the school and also assumed the study by following it up and caring about its different aspects of presentation and implementation.

Ascending to Globalism:

One of the various aims of the Women Union is to make strong relations with the women associations and organizations in the Arab and foreign countries. Therefore it was necessary to strengthen these relations through the Union’s contribution in an active and vital way in many feminine demonstrations local, regionally and globally so that the Women Union can take its role in forming the agenda and recommendations of the various conferences and seminars held anywhere.

The General Women Union of the UAE has participated in the international conferences held all over the world such as that held in Mexico in 1975, which coincides with the establishment of Women Union in the UAE, the Arab Seminar in Sharjah, Muslim women conference in Rabat in 1977, also the seventh meeting of Arab women committee in Morocco in 1978, the childhood conference in Tunisia in1979, the international women conference in Kobinhagen in 1980, and other vital seminars and conferences, and foremost, the international women conference which was held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya to correct the achievements of the international women decade (1975-1985) and to alter ten years of establishment of the UAE Women Union to a new term of work and achievement.

H.H. Sheikha Fatima therefore emphasized in her address at the conference that: “the growth and progress of women in our society are going ahead achieving a balanced social level of development depending on the instructions of the Islamic religion and the origins of the Arab Islamic civilization which honored the woman and called for her growth, and benefiting from the whole developing programs that are occurring now in countries outside. This is our position to support such development in our country spiritually and financially especially after the big discoveries of oil and investing revenues for the public interest, and what we get of real support from our society is something appreciated and honored as H.H. Sheikh Zayed is proud of it.

Peace for All :

H.H. Sheikha Fatima indicated in her address to the importance of peace in all parts of the universe, and the role of women in it, “the women who granted the human society throughout history the family peace and stability are actually capable of supporting the peacekeeping efforts in the world.

Achieving peace undoubtedly depends on applying the principles of justice, sympathy, and equality, and as well respecting the people’s personalities and preventing hostility. Taking such principles into consideration nationally and globally, the humanity as a whole can be directed towards true peace for all without any kind of discrimination or segregation, and any form of hostility and aggression. Peace is for peace, and for the sake of humanity.

H.H. Sheikha  Fatima emphasized in the summit conferece that concerned with developing the economic affairs of the rural women, which was held in January 1992, that state of the UAE had attempted hard since the establishment of its union in 1971 to submit various development projects for the progress of man in general, and the women in particular in educational, health, cultural fields and others, “One of the most important programs having been executed so far is the labor nationalization program which aims to nationalize and stabilize the Bedouin and rural groups of people to make them contribute well in building the country’s society and to popularize the national identity through qualifying their skills and intensifying their technical experiences to change them ultimately into a vigorous productive power integrating with the economic structure of the state.

 The active participation in the international feminine demonstrations was accomplished through the fourth international women conference, which was held in the capital of China on the 4th of September 1995. The conference witnessed many controversial issues and different of points of view especially during the preparation meeting held in New York from 15th of March to 7th of April 1995 where the participants disagreed on the document which would be discussed in Peking, especially it was formed in a form that had ignored the main affairs of the women of the third world and the developing countries who formed 80% of the world women.

Therefore H.H. Sheikha Fatima, the leader of the UAE feminine movement, seized the opportunity to emphasize clearly and frankly that the document of Peking was a new part of the world constitution which came to re-arrange the ideas of the new world system, which mainly aims at constructing the world movement, the affairs of children, women, the issues of environment and rights of humanity in regard with population and development. According to the western interests, that what we should pay attention to well as Arab Muslim women, “Our attitudes will be directed through adherence to absolute truth, which is the traditional meaning of the family as a husband, a wife and children, and it is the basis of the human society".

 In the sublime and most important function of women, they are in fact able to carry out the most significant role in the development schemes and functions

The Women Union has expressed its  activity locally through organizing and hosting many conferences and seminars that spread all over the Emirates, especially in Abu Dhabi as it is the main center of the General Women Union and has the honor of organizing such conferences.

This reflects the desire of H.H. Sheikha Fatima to activate the experience of the organized feminine work and urge it to deal with other experiences at home and abroad. Therefore, the Women Union hosted a seminar about population; affairs of family and woman in the Arabian Gulf from 3rd  to 5th of May 1986. H.H. Sheikha Fatima here emphasized in her address to the participants that the UAE Women Union is modestly interested in the latest years in studying the demographic changes that are related to all population categories; children, youth and elderly. Also she mentioned the necessity of assuring the role of governments in facing these demographic affairs especially the services directed to women in the educational, training, health care, and social fields and as well job opportunities.

H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak attended the eleventh Arab conference of the Arab guides held in Abu Dhabi from 5th  to 8th  of December 1988. This conference dealt with the future of guides’ movement in the Arab world, and emphasized the most important causes that are related to the family healthiness. Thus the conference achieved its aims to be a major step in supporting the Arab guides’ movement. According to the role of H.H. Sheikha Fatima in following up the affairs of guides all over the world, the Queen of Denmark honored her as being an international symbol of women support.

Furthermore, we conclude through the seminar of emancipating illiteracy, which was organized in Abu Dhabi between 19-22nd   of March 1990 under the supervision of the General Women Union in its struggle against ignorance and illiteracy. H.H. Sheikha Fatima was chosen by all attendants as a chairperson of the seminar, because of her attitudes and efforts in the field of developing the women of UAE.

She is right to be proud of the achievements that have been accomplished by the women of the UAE as students, mothers and workers, in a short period of time, which has enabled us to face any challenges around us and realizing another achievements.

The World Day of the Elderly:

In a generous initiative H.H Sheikha Fatima declared on the 1st of October in 1997 the charitable award in the occasion of the World Day of Elderly. Their old age and inability should be respected by their pious children who have to devote themselves and their money and interests to their parents who have exceeded an age of 60 years old and one of them or both are suffering from disability as living in the same house.

Also this international day is to rehabilitate the pious children who assume visiting one of their parents who stay at a medical center or at hospital because of certain health conditions. This award is considered to embody the noble humanitarian initiatives of H.H. Sheikha Fatima, and aims at stabilizing the social solidarity and sympathy of people to know well how to communicate with each other and foremost to reinforce the family relations.

Consolidating the values of the Arab Muslim family, H.H. Sheikha Fatima declared to Zahrat Al-Khaleej Magazine on the 6th of December 1997 about the award of the ideal family which aims at consolidating the values of the strong family taking all possible of reasons of knowledge and practice at service of the country and keeping on applying the values.

These distinct families will be chosen from the country to be honored spiritually and materially during the festivals of the Women Union at the Arab Day of Family, and these families are chosen through certain conditions which are represented by the consolidation of the values of the Arab Muslim Gulf family as having succeeded in educating its children, and settled on the homeland to contribute in the programs of the national development at present and in the future. As well as H.H. Sheikha Fatima has participated in many sublime roles in many fields of supporting the handicapped centers to qualify them in order to join the society effectively and confidently and be involved into any other humanitarian field. H.H. Sheikha Fatima created in December 1982 the plan of the festival of “Welfare Plate” aiming at having new horizons for any voluntary work and stimulating the Muslim society to contribute vividly in the charitable deeds. The revenues of this festival are devoted to help orphans in the Arab and Islamic world and reliefing people of disasters in the world.

H.H. Sheikha Fatima has a pioneer role in supporting the activities of the UN organizations which are specialized in the humanitarian fields of childhood protection, family preservation and voluntary work. Besides, she reinforced the handicapped centers in the Arab world, as well as in Asia and Africa, and develop the capabilities of the associations of childhood and motherhood and the associations of guides. This is all for encouraging the voluntary deeds and strengthening the Arab family organization and supporting the Islamic centers. Many populations with all of their age and class categories suffer from unhealthiness, diseases and disasters either in the Arab countries or in the foreign ones especially in Asia  and Africa where many innocent victims are dying of drought and starvation. The people of our Arab occupied lands in Palestine and the south of Lebanon, as well as in Iraq nowadays are living in a  catastrophic experience of life.

Unlimited support for the handicapped centers is presented to give them the opportunity to be productive classes and be able to help their innocent brothers in these lands. The following is some of what support has been presented to many different places in the Arab and Islamic countries:

·       Re-settle the life of the people in Yemen as afflicted by an earthquake in 1982.

·       Granting an amount of $ 200.000 for the Turkish feminine associations through her visit to Turkey in 1985.

·       Granting an amount of SR 3.000.000 to the handicapped centers and women associations in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in March 1987.

·       Calling for letting the handicapped join their society and granting an amount of Dh. 200.000 for the handicapped centers in Abu Dhabi in February 1988.

·       Donating with Dh. 4.000.000 to the charitable associations in Jordan in June 1989.

·       Donating with $ 1.000.000 to the Egyptian Red Crescent Association to support the reconstruction of the Egyptian schools which had been affected by the earthquake that happened in October 1992.

·       Declaring her directions to establish the model library for children in the Abu Dhabi Women Development Society as a part of her care to children in the country in December 1982.

·       Receiving a call to join the establishing committee of International Association of “Al bawf bawl” in London which aims at supporting the movement of the British guides in 1986.

·       Honoring the leaderships of the feminine work in the UAE who have spent ten years in this work in March 1986.

H.H. Sheikha Fatima declared in 1988 a program of illiteracy emancipation and encouraged the wideness of people awareness and knowledge all over the country. Among what she has performed in her country is the following:

 ·       Honoring the head of Emarati Association of Guides which started its work in 1975.

·       Pre-occupying with the interest of the voluntary works constantly as she veiled in 1991 the Voluntary Award in the social,  military and health fields.

·       Assisting the women affairs and emphasizing through the Women Union the education of women to be able to do their roles in the society.

·       Believing hard in the importance of women education as it is the only way to be an active member in the society and to be a well cultured wife.

·       Keep on the prosperity of children and sponsoring the illiteracy centers all over the country.

·       Helping the Palestinian people through following up their different affairs of life and ensuring the means of support for them.

·       Giving special interest in the affairs of the elderly people as she visits them regularly from to time.

·       Following up the women affairs and solving them quickly through the offices of citizens.

·       Being appointed as the honorary head of the women committee at the UAE Red Crescent Society in June 1977.

·       Support and sponsoring all those who are in need for help all over the Arab world. 

·       Helping and supporting the Iraqi people as facing difficult human circumstances cause by the latest warlike events and international blockades through ordering the UAE Red Crescent to supply any basic requirements necessities for the Iraqi families as H.H. called for uniting efforts and assembling capabilities to help them overtake these bad circumstances of life. Also she expressed her appreciation to the role of volunteers and charitable people to lift the sufferings of the Iraqi people through the unlimited support of the Red Crescent campaigns for the sake of the affected people in Iraq where RC Society could submit big relief of distinguished services assuring the interaction of the government and people with the humanitarian affairs of the Iraqi people.

 According to Sanaa Darwish Al-Ketbi, secretary of the Red Crescent Society, she emphasized the interest of H.H. Sheikha Fatima in the humanitarian assistance of Iraq as wishing the Iraqi people enjoy their security and stability. The amounts of aids to Iraq was estimated from the beginning of this year at Dh. 18.926.227. 

The assistance program included three stages: The first stage began before the outbreak of the war which included sending four delegations to different Iraqi cities to know the essential needs of the people there and provide strategic supply of relief materials to the Iraqi Red Crescent associations and UNICEF offices through coordinating efforts with the international committee of Red Cross and the international union of Red Cross and Red Crescent associations. These materials included medicine, food stuff and other sheltering materials.

The second stage started after the outbreak of the war. It included relief convoys by sea and land to the Iraqi people including thousands of tons of various materials, as well as the contribution of the international union programs of the Red Crescent and Red Cross associations for the sake of the Iraqi people. The third stage included sending various relief materials by air besides preparing six Iraqi hospitals as equipped with basic instruments and necessary medical materials.

Glorious Achievements:

The march of H.H. Sheikha Fatima is rich of splendid achievements nationally represented mainly by her role in the women development and sponsorship of charitable projects at support of the handicapped and the elderly people. The orphans and widows haven't also been away from the interest of H.H. She desires to motivate her country's women to participate in the police and military forces and in the nursing profession, and preserve their rights of heath, education and participation with keeping in mind the religious values and the tradional principles: "Our state has taken from the world the best of its progress, development and technology, and kept on the other hand itself with its freedom, independence and originality values and traditions. We have supported all convenient humanitarian and charitable organizations in the Arab World and the world as a whole".