This pioneer role of Her Highness Sheika Fatima in the fields of women development and human charitable work comes on the way His Highness Sheik Zayed adopts in the national progressive work that is based upon sincerity and loyalty to the nation and leadership and respect to do good as one of the most supreme and solemn values of Islam and Arabism.

“His Highness Sheik Zayed since his first days of rule has followed the way of social change in his country to compete with the new developments of this modern age especially in regard with women and their participation into the public life without breaking the great Arab Islamic traditions and convictions”. Her Highness affirmed in her talk to “Al Yaqadha”, a Kawaiti magazine, on 16 July 1989.

Growth of Change:

As soon as the feminine movement had grown up in the UAE with its establishment of the Union that assured that women are a basic element in the society and have their right to change and present their thought and genius in the programs of national development, the winds of change socially was launched by Her Highness Sheika Fatima upon the directions of His Highness Sheikh Zayed and his brothers the rulers of the Emirates.

She affirmed “His Highness Sheik Zayed with the rulers of the Emirates has stood hard to diminish all features of un development and foremost the feminine movement and participation into the public life without breaking the great Arab Islamic traditions and convictions”.

Education as a Tool of Defense:

Her Highness Sheikha Fatima has given a great deal of interest in the women’s education and literacy as she knows that “education is the gate to civilization, and the means to development and progress”.

 Therefore, she has endeavored hard to encourage women to join the UAE University when it was established in 1978 as she used to patron its commencements of gradation beginning from the first group in March 1982 including ( 194) women students to the sixteenth group of graduates including (1016) women students from the UAE University and ( 144) ones from the Higher Colleges of Technology.

In 1996-1997, the number of women graduates had been estimated then at more than ( 10.957) form the UAE University and ( 357) from the Higher Colleges of Technology, except the ten thousands  graduates from the other universities, colleges and institutes, public or private, in the country. “ The Emarati lady is now found at any site of growth and development in which she performs her duties in many fields”.

 Understanding the Terms of Globalism:

Within his address to the commencement of the first group of graduates from Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and Dubai including ( 379) women under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima, His Highness Sheik Zayed said that Zayed University is one of circles of a long chain of educational institutions in the UAE that began firstly with the establishment of the UAE University in 1976 in Al Alain City. “The establishment of the UAE state that has become a charming oasis of enjoyment and progress is a result of the strong hands and vigorous intentions. We actually insist on developing our country, dignifying our man and preserving our civil rights of life”.

His Highness affirmed that these women graduates would contribute largely in the national development programs in their attempts to build up healthy families and bring up right generations that should be abide with the Arab and Islamic values and principles.

The commencement was attended by some of their highnesses Sheikas, wives of ministers and diplomats, UN delegates of feminine leaderships, and delegates of Athena Organization of feminine Pioneer’s. Her Highness Sheika Fatima affirmed that the participation of the private sector and businessmen in the support of the small business of families was very significant and reflected the big success of the feminine movement in the UAE that in turn put in practice the directions of His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan who encourages women from the very beginning to develop and removes any kind of gender discrimination between man and women. furthermore, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima talked in the celebration about the festival of productive families held in Abu Dhabi under the title if “ Working Woman…. Bright Future” in March 2003. she was received by Sheika Shamsa Bint Hamdan, wife of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and some Sheikhs and wives of high statesmen, as well as Mrs. Noura Swaidi manager of the Women Union, and Nawal Malak wife of the Diplomatic Work Dean in the UAE, and the country’s guests of wives of diplomats, feminine movement leaders and business women. Her Highness greeted the exhibition of the productive families that soon became a festival held annually to reflect the big feminine work in the UAE. This festival is actually a step to encourage the Emarati women to invent and make what then like of works and products. The festival was distinct by its bigness and the participation of the business women for the first time in addition to the charitable song of the diplomats wives, which really reflects the true cooperation between the world’s women in such charitable works.

Her Highness in addition indicated to the simultaneity of the festival and the World Day of Woman of 2003 that assures the continuous encouragement to women to enter all fields of work and participate effectively into all programs of development that our country is witnessing nowadays.

The festival included (168) participants, (100) families, (23) business women, and (45) embassies from the Arab World and the international community as a whole.  

Her Highness The World Pioneer:

Due to her efforts to support the feminine issues, literacy, childhood, handicapped, elderly, orphans and other propositions witnessed in the world especially those dealing with the women development locally, regionally and globally, there had been six international organizations out of the United Nations and concerning with the affairs of women, children and social development as a whole which resulted in honoring Her Highness Sheikha Fatima in 1988. these organizations are:

1-     United Nations Fund of Childhood ( UNICEF)

2-     United Nations Fund of Housing.

3-     World Health Organization

4-     United Nations Organization of Woman Development.

5-     United Nations Program of Volunteers .

6-     United Nations Office of Development Activity coordination in the UAE.

Such organizations have affirmed  Her Highness Sheikha Fatima has become through out (25) years a prestigious character known worldly due to her big and distinct achievements in all different social, charitable and human fields of life.

 Medals and Shields:

1-      Un Shield of Fund of Population in 1986 honoring her efforts in the field of demographic development.

2-      Silver Fish Medal in 1989 in Egypt honoring her support to the movements of guides in the UAE and the Arab countries.

3-      Growth Medal in 1998 in Jordan honoring her human efforts.

4-      (55) wives of diplomats in the UAE honored Her Highness in April 1995 due to her big offers in the development of the Emarati lady, and support of the orphans and handicapped.

5-      Being selected as the Human Character of 1998 by Rashid Center of Childhood care and Therapy.

6-      Being honored by the world Family Organization.

7-      Her Highness received several certificates of gratitude due to her role in the feminine and social movement. She received the Arab league Shield. The General Women Union established a special hall for the Arab and international awards presented to Her Highness.

Gratitude Certificates from UN Women:

In a meeting that included (11) Ladies as wives of diplomats in the United Nations and feminist delegate, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima was received with all kinds of gratitude. Mrs. Anne Greenstock , Wife of the British diplomat in the United Nations stated that she had visited the UAE more than once as she discovered much growth and development especially comparing to her visit thirty years ago.

The visiting program prepared for them as visitors facilitated them to discover the big extents of development in the UAE in fields of construction and society especially in education.

Human and Family Intimacy:

 Mrs. Greenstock added that she was very pleased with the leadership of this Highness Sheik Zayed Bin Sultan and Her Highness Sheika Fatima Bint Mubarak whom she had known thirty years ago and found at the same level of activity even the periods of time had differed widely. “ Nowadays, we are witnessing a great deal of development in regard with the feminine movements at all measurements to receive sufficient education and respect as reflected by the big groups of women having graduated from the educational institutions.

Her Highness was and still is the main motive for women to receive their real levels of education and public participation or even private business. Mrs. Greenstock affirmed that such visits for these regions especially the UAE could do a big role in changing and modifying the typical image taken for such places and planted into the minds of those who lived outside them in the world in the east or the west. “ In my opinion as a western women I think that to know how this society that has still been conservative with all of its traditions and values especially those that are associated with its families is seen obviously as benefiting from the civilization development witnessed in the external world. However, we ourselves living in the west lack such intimacy of family relationships and social cooperation constituents”. She added moreover that she world discuss such issues related to the women status in the Muslim countries not only the Arab ones in the World Woman Forum to compare between the women statuses in the different countries of our world as a whole.

Understanding the Arab Islamic Civilization:

According to Mrs. Heon Rine, wife of the Irish diplomat in the United Nations who is originally from Korea stated in her first visit to the UAE that she is not strange to the Arab World as her father was the Korean ambassador in Morocco between 1970 to 1974. she considered such a visit as a way of unfolding the circumstances of the Gulf society.

 “I admired much the construction in the UAE as in especially Dubai and its Arab Tower that resembles a mythological tale, and greensands spread all over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This is actually an evidence for the great efforts exerted by the UAE state to make its cities as real oases of charming life.

 Shantal Bilinga, wife of the Cameron diplomat in the United Nations stated that Her Highness Sheikha Fatima is a model of respect and kindness as she is an only talking person, but a real working character that develops her surrounding environment with all of its elements and constituents such as women who have been greatly encouraged to receive the sufficient education since the establishment of the state.

The Shaken reputation of the Arab women in some places of the world is not the first of its kind and is not caused by the (11) September events “ I actually received my education in Europe. I often saw how the Arab and Muslim women suffered from some kind of discrimination as they were the veils that are no longer found I believe that the unfamiliarity with the reality of the other societies leads to such a result as I see that a big side of the international community misunderstands the Arab and Muslim civilization.

According to Manibert Knogel, wife of the Morisheus diplomat in the United Nations, stated that she had heard a lot about the UAE and believed that it would be a big commercial center more than any thing else. “ The UAE nowadays is a context of architectural progress, environmental charming ness and tradition conservation at the same time the warmth of reception that we had at our visit reflected the big attention paid to us and what we had to do in regard with the feminine development.

As for Her Highness Shiekha Fatima, she is actually a distinct character of intelligence and determination as obvious in her big interestedness in the support of the feminine issues in her country to enable women to develop and receive all kinds of knowledge.

According to Mrs. Marki Mahboubani, wife of the Singapore diplomat in the United Nations, said that what the Emarati women had achieved reflected the great support of Her Highness Sheika Fatima who helped all women to receive their education either the young or the elderly. “ We are in Singapore facing now the problem of illiterate women especially those the elderly who have missed the development of the country, and don’t find the enough support to change their current circumstances as found in the UAE that mainly resembles us in many fields and domains of life as in the modernity of establishment and magnitude of local citizens”. She added that the problem found in this region of the world is the typical image planted into the minds of the international community members. “ I read many trivial things about Singapore that are inaccurate issued in the western journalism as reflecting their ignorance about our social reality. Thus, we are really in need for more cooperation to disseminate the true information and exact images.

 Honor for Arab Women:  

Mrs. Sabiha Abul Hassan, wife of the Kuwaiti diplomat in the United Nations, stated that the goal of the invitation was to inform the non- Gulf societies about the Gulf society and to throw light upon the Gulf Women in general and the Emarati women in particular. She indicated to the unfamiliarity of the foreign women with the real conditions of life, that our women lived at, which in turn feuded the objectives of these meetings. “ I really consider this visit as a golden opportunity to interact with the Emarati women.

If this achievement preformed by the women in the UAE is not strange to the wives of the Arab diplomats, it’s still different and strange to their foreign counterparts who consider the Arab woman is only a housemaid not more”.

She assured that the results of this visit would not stop at this meeting but it would continue to take its formal procedures to be taken to New York for instance to explain the real image of the Arab women in general to these who weren’t able to come. “ The women has a big role in assisting her husband to facilitate his tasks especially when he is in charge with duplicated burdens more than others as in the case of our husbands”. She actually indicated to the existence of several associations established in New York that are concerned with the Arab and Islamic affairs such as the (Arab American Society), (Islamic Heritage Association) and (UN Diplomats Wives Society). She said that the activities done by the wives of the UN diplomats are not limited to this but extended to include the visits that we make to different places in the Arab world such as Kuwait, Oman , and Bahrain to inform the foreign visitors about our real environment through concrete our real environment through concrete observation not only abstract information.

She affirmed that Her Highness being honored as the worldly pioneer feminine character is not a strange matter. It came as a result of the big achievements Her Highness has been doing continuously. This honoring has actually dignified the Arab Woman in general and the Gulf women in particular. She is a bright model of women that we endeavor hard to see ourselves through.

According to Mrs. Nawal Wahba, wife of the UN diplomat of Syria, stated that it was a big impression she had through this visit as it was the first of its kind to the UAE. “I noticed the great development and the real cooperation between man and women in the UAE society. I found the Emarati women have big roles in incurring the national growth especially in the field of information technology. Our visit to the UAE explained us the real image of the Emarati feminine movement and the governmental support offered to them.

 Mrs. Hanina Sultan Maghirio, wife of the UN diplomat of Oman, stated that the visit had showed the rich experience of the Emarati women under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan and the interestedness of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak in developing the living and literacy standards.

 Dr. Hassa Abdullah Al Uteiba wife of Abdilaziz Al Shamsi the UN diplomat of the UAE, expressed her opinion that the view to the Arab and Muslim women in the western multimedia had changed largely after the (11) September events. “The invitation made by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima to the wives of the UN diplomats was a wise idea as it helped us know the real fact about the Arab women development of work and knowledge. The delegation of the UN diplomats wives admired much the personality of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima and her interestedness in all life details of life beginning with the handcrafts done at home to the participation into the political and economic affairs of the nation”.