The UAE Women's Federation include today six women associations:

Abu Dhabi Women's Development Society:

It was established on 8th of February 1973 headed by Her Highness Sheika Fatima Bint Mubarak. It is the first women society in the UAE. Beside the headquarter in Abu Dhabi, there are ten branches in Al-Buttein, Al-Alain, Zayed City, Ghyathi, Dalma Island, Al-Marfaa, Al-Sila’, Al-Wathba, Al-Shahama, and Al-Hayer. The Society issues a monthly magazine since 1991 called “the Emirates Pearl” as edited by Amna Umeir Al-Yousif, manager of the Society.

Dubai Women's Development Society:

It was established on 18th of September 1974 headed by Amina Al-Tayer. The Society is a public interest institution supported by its effective leadership as the ideal means of developing the feminine community with all of its different categories and classes. The Society has two branches in Al-Khawanij, and Hatta.

Sharjah Women’s Development Society:

It was established in 1973 headed by H.H. Noura Al-Quassimi. The Society works within eight committees covering all feminine activities in the UAE and pursues hard securing a bright future for women through formulating a good societal image about the woman as an effective member in the society.

Umm Al Mou'meneen Society in Ajman:

It was established in 1974 headed by H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Zayed. The Society since establishment has been targeting the achievement of women’s ambitions and serving her demands in many domains of life. Therefore it has adopted regular courses for teaching computer, languages and handcrafts, as well as its being interested in the summer activities of the girls to acquire something important during their holiday.

Umm Al Qaiwain Women's Development Society:

It was established in 1973 headed by H.H. Sheikha Mariam Al-Mu’alla. The Society has made up its mind to develop the women’s affairs, elevate their social statuses, and increase their awareness of all fields of knowledge. The society is the first if its kind to issue a feminine magazine called “the New Era”.

Ras Al Khaimah Women's Development Society:

It was established in 1976, and popularized in 1979, headed by H.H. Sheikha Mahra Al-Quassimi. The Society is concerned efficiently in securing different activities such as the emancipation if illiteracy, and the development of women intellectually, culturally, and socially.

Women Development and Work:

Throughout the history of the region, UAE women have been a vital part of their society. When the men had to go away for a long time to work in the pearling and fishing industries for example, the women would be responsible for the agricultural livelihood of the family, as well as for raising children. This was never an easy task in such a harsh landscape as the desert and a great deal of respect was afforded to the women for their ability to work the land and also because the Quran requires it.

Over the last 25 years, the role of women in the UAE has expanded in line with the country's development. All the rulers of the emirates, the Supreme Council members, have made this commitment towards women clear from the beginning of the Federation: as His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan said, "Nothing could delight me more than to see the woman taking up her distinctive position in society… Nothing should hinder her progress… Like men, women deserve the right to occupy high positions according to their capabilities and qualifications."

The United Arab Emirates is firmly committed to the enhancement of the status of women and the country's Constitution guarantees equal rights for both men and women. The basic rights of women are enshrined in the Saharjah (Moslem law), and the UAE Women's Federation, headed by H.H. Sheikha Fatima bent Mubarak, wife of the country's President, H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was founded in 1975 and to encourage the country's women to play a full role in society. Among its major activities is the promotion of women's education, with a particular emphasis on adult literacy program. Female literacy rates now match those of males, while there are now more women at University than men. Women are also providing a growing proportion of the national workforce occupying posts ranging from senior civil servants to engineers and bankers, as well as traditional jobs in teaching and healthcare. Legal rights achieved as a result of lobbying by the Federation include generous maternity leave.

Women in the UAE have had the complete support and commitment of Sheikh Zayed and the UAE Government in their quest to play a full role in the development of the country. The belief that women are entitled to take their place in society is grounded in the UAE Constitution which states that the principles of social justice should apply to all. Under the Constitution women enjoy the same legal status, claim to titles, access to education and the right to practice professions as men. The guarantees enshrined in the Constitution have been incorporated into implementing legislation. However, a legislative framework by itself, although valuable, would not have been sufficient to achieve emancipation. The President’s wife Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, therefore, has worked tirelessly since the establishment of the Federation to implement Sheikh Zayed’s vision of a modern society based on Arab and Islamic traditions, recognizing that it was only by organizing women that real progress could be made.

The UAE Women’s Federation is an autonomous body with its own budget. It has a number of committees to run its activities, such as religious affairs, mother and child care, social affairs, cultural affairs, sports, heritage and the arts. Depending on the geographical size of the emirate, the individual societies may have more than one branch and there are now a total of 31 branches of the six societies, many operating in remote areas of the country. Activities undertaken by the individual branches include, illiteracy eradication, nursery classes, housekeeping, dressmaking and handicraft classes, art classes, child care advice, health education, vocational training projects, job placement programs, religious education, welfare assistance, family advice, including mediation services, as well as a busy calendar of social, cultural and sporting activities. As part of efforts to revive the country's heritage, an environmental and handicrafts program was instituted in 1978 at the Women’s Federation in association with the United Nations Development Program and ministries of health, labor and social affairs.

In April 1998, Sheikh Zayed inaugurated the new premises of the Women's Federation in Abu Dhabi. The three story building, designed in a traditional Islamic style, occupies an area of 8,000 square meters and was built at a total cost of Dh 22 million. Social  planning. The priority of the Women’s Federation in the early days was to help women  emerge out of seclusion, use their leisure time to become literate, and acquire knowledge about the modern world in order to enable them to raise their family's standard of living. But today's goals are linked to comprehensive social planning in the country with a view to increasing social cohesiveness.

The Federation is involved in the first demographic survey of women and in the implementation of the resolutions issued by the 1995 women's summit in Beijing. The Federation is also engaged in health, education and social campaigns to raise the standard of living of UAE families. Sheikha Fatima has stressed the need to make further efforts to upgrade the standard of humanitarian and social services. She also called for priority to be given to the aged and disabled as part of the Women’s Federation strategy for 1999. The Federation is currently cooperating with the Marriage Fund’s efforts to provide  support for the family unit.

Fatima Bint Mubarak Campaign for the Care of Mosques:

Faith and Civility:

The well white hands of Her Highness Sheika Fatima Bint Mubarak have reached all beings on the land of the UAE. Therefore, the General Women Union, in cooperation moth the Ministry of Justice and under the patronage of H.H Sheik Fatima organized a special week for the development of mosques under the title of “ The Development of mosques is Faith and Civility” during the period from (13/5/2003) to (7/6/2003).

 The campaign aims at developing the mosques and activating their mission with the society. The means of the campaign varied from Jum’a addresses, sessions and lectures posters and publications distributed all over the country, Funds and direct control and follow up.

The campaign mainly has several purposes that are related to caring about the cleanness and healthiness of the mosques, activating their role in bringing up our children, instructing mothers about their big roles in caring for the mosques and directing their children to them, and enhancing the religions values and principles into the minds of people in general through sessions and lectures so that they can realize the importance of Islam in organizing the society and deleting any bad points within its boundaries.

Arab Woman Organization:

At the Arab relationship, H.H Sheika Fatima is extremely interested in strengthening such relationships and investigating all aspects and ways of cooperation’s with the Arab Women. Upon this, she participated in the first Arab Women Summit conference in Cairo in 2000 and 2001, and in the Second conference in Amman in 2002. in addition, Abu Dhabi will host the Third conference in 2004 under the patronage of Her Highness Sheika Fatima. From this summit conference, the idea of establishment of an Arab women organization was emerged and recognized by many Arab countries. The procedures of its declaration are now being prepared as one of the Arab common work institutions that include the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Bahrain, Oman, Tunisia. The first executive meeting was held in Amman on the margin of the Second Arab Women summit. The meeting decided to from a committee to examine its organizational hierarchy and study its main objective as summarized by achieving the real cooperating between the Arab women as a way to achieve the whole Arab cooperation.

 Within this exchange of experiences, the women can achieve their real growth and priority in the political and economic issues including the social, cultural legislative and media aspects. They are able to develop their abilities as capable individuals that contribute effectively in the societal institutions of all fields in the decision making processes, and in the growth of their health and educational services.

 Abu Dhabi Forum:

(Woman and Media):

 As for executing the directions of the Arab Women conferences, a series of forums were held to concern with the issues of women in many fields such as women and politics in Tunisia, women and economy in Kuwait, and women and law in Bahrain. The Emarati ladies participated in all of these forums in which they presented their experiences and benefited from those of their counterparts in the Arab countries to achieve the required objectives of these forums.

 In February 2000, the women entered the field of media to contribute with their creativities and capabilities in all associated fields including politics, economics, and technology .

 Intellectuality of Media:

An invitation was directed to all means of media to prepare their moral regulations in dealing with women’s issues according to the following:

1-             Haring accuracy and objectivity in covering the issues of women.

2-             Reserving women’s dignity in all different informational works away from temptation and dissertation of facts to use women as a tool of profitability.

3-             Not concentrating upon the negative stereotypes of women, and being interested in stead to manifest their modern achievements and significant roles in the society.

4-             Expressing their issues within their rural and urban contexts objectively and equally.

5-             Showing their problems caused by the modern variables and societal changes.

6-             Enabling them to express freely their opinions within the media means to a variety of opinions.

 The Peking document currently is merely a new step in the international constitution in which many considerations are being rearranged in the light of the new world system that the great powers use through the United Nations to form the international movement towards the issues of women and children, their rights and development, but unfortunately according to these powers view of life which provokes us as Muslim and Arab Women to be careful.

“Our view should depend upon the fact that the family traditionally as a group of husband, wife and children is the basic store of the healthy human society, and that motherhood is the most supreme and noblest tasks of women in which they perform a kind of development for man”, Her Highness stated.

 Moreover, in her address in the UN conference of Childhood in 2002, Sheika Fatima called for securing all requirements of dignity and security of life to all those who are in need all over the world. In Palestine,  Iraq, Somalia and Busna and preparing ourselves in the international community to perform our burden towards the war victims and civilians rights of living and survival away from any kind of afflictions of mental or physical contexts.

Seminars and Conferences:

In addition the Women’s Federation has both participated in and organized numerous local and regional seminars on matters of particular importance to women and the family. The Federation is also a prominent member of the Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Coordination Committee, also chaired by Sheikha Fatima. In line with the Federation’s desire to spearhead the advancement of women, Techno sphere ‘99, a three-day conference to study the impact of science and technology on Arab women, was held at the Women’s Federation building in April 1999. Forty experts from 20 Arab countries participated. Recommendations were made and a draft strategy formulated to expand technological and vocational education for women in the Arab world. This strategy is to be submitted to the UNESCO conference on science and technology in Romania late in 1999.

The UAE also hosted the Arab Women's Week, honoring the Arab family and the Refugee Women Week addressing the problems of refugee women. The latter was organized in collaboration with the UAE Red Crescent Society, of which Sheikha Fatima is honorary chairwoman, and the UNHCR.

The Women Union has paid big attention to the participation in the Arab and foreign conferences and occasions that are interested in the women’s role to assure that the Arab World represents one entity of common objectives and reality. Among such conferences and occasions are:

1-        Conference of Muslim Woman abilities of development in Morocco in 1977.

2-        Conference of Woman civilization studies in Cairo in 1977.

3-        Conference of childhood in Tunisia in 1979.

4-        Fourth Women conference in Sudan in 1979.

5-        Conference of Woman’s role in development in Baghdad in 1979.

6-        Second regional women conference of the Arabian Peninsula in Kuwait in 1981, in Bahrain in 1989.

7-        Conference of the General Arab women Union in Baghdad in 1976, and in 1986.

8-        Regional conference of healthy childhood in Amman in 1988.

9-        Conference of economic and social challenges and women’s role in development in Cairo in 1990.

10-    Conference of women’s reproductive health in Bahrain in 1977.

11-    Fourth Arab conferences for the programs of housing and development in Beirut in 1998.

12-    Regional meeting of social development in the Arab World in Jordan in 1998.

13-    Second Arab meeting for the follow- up of  Beirut conference in 1988.

14-    Regional workshop about the women’s rights in Islam in Jordan in 1999.

15-    Conference of Arab woman’s interaction with science and technology in Abu Dhabi in 1999.

16-    Session of Families and Elderly’ role and relationship in Abu Dhabi in 1999.

17-    Forum of Women and media in 2002.

18-    Gulf session for the elderly between the modern requirements and the societal responsibilities in Kuwait in 1999.

19-    First Arab woman conference in Cairo in 2001.

20-    Second Arab Woman conference in Amman in 2002.

 In addition, the Woman Union has participated effectively in all sessions and forums that were margined from the Arab Woman Conference. The Emarati woman presented her experience in many issues and aspects, and benefited from her Arab counterparts. Among these forums were the following:

1. Forum of Woman and Law in Bahrain in 2001: It is emphasized several aspects that are related with the women’s rights and duties including their freedom and complete equality.
2. Forum of Woman and Economy in Kuwait in 2001: it received with gratitude the experience of the Emarati women in the economic sectors in the UAE.
3. Forum of Woman and Politics in Tunisia in 2001: It discussed the Arab women’s role in the political aspects throughout a period of ( 25) years when the women’s issues were adopted and respected as they are qualified to be consulted and involved in the political issues of countries including the societal security and stability.
4. Forum of Woman and Media in Abu Dhabi in 2002 under the patronage of Her Highness Sheika Fatima as a real from of the Women Union’s role in strengthening the relationship between the women of the Arab world.

 Women in Education:

Educational opportunities, the real stimulus for emancipation and development, are now open to women at all levels in the UAE. The number of female students registered at UAE schools has increased 14-fold: statistics show that approximately 270,000 female students were registered in the academic year 1996–97 compared with 19,000 in 1972–73 of the 14,104 students attending local universities in the 1996–97 academic yea r, 11,125 were female and 2,979 we re male. The 1975 census lists 3,005 females with a first university degree or equivalent. By the 1995 census that figure had risen to a staggering 61,496.

During the same period 18,564 women graduated from illiteracy eradication centers. Female students are also achieving impressive results in their studies, outstripping their male counter parts at every level. Sheikha Fatima has said that women have no choice but to excel in education to compensate for the years that they had endured without the light of knowledge.

Women in Employment:

This avid embrace of educational opportunities has given UAE women a chance to participate in the development of their society alongside men. Today UAE women are making their presence felt in society as civil servants, university professors, teachers, lawyers, engineers, doctors, under secretaries, business women, administrators, media and as members of the police force and the army. Despite the major advances, however, more needs to be done. For example, there remains a need to increase the apparent  unwillingness of some well-educated women to take up employment. In 1985 females constituted 9.6 per cent of the labor force, by 1995 this figure had risen only to 11.7 per cent. In part, studies have shown that this is due to custom and tradition while economic prosperity also means that employment is a matter of choice, rather than of necessity. There are also indications that the educational qualifications obtained by many of the UA E ’s women are not always those most in demand in the job market.

A significant number of UAE women also cease working after marriage and bearing children, partly because of an insufficiency of childcare centers and partly because of the well-founded belief that maternal care is likely to be more beneficial for their children. Another problem that has been identified is the need for women to take up employment in a wider range of professions. Although barriers have begun to crumble in recent years, there is still a strong emphasis on the health and education sector. Civil Service Commission figures show that in 1996 44.3 per cent of federal government employees were women. In the same period over 65 per cent of teachers were female.

Women in Politics:

Sheikha Fatima has stressed that society as a whole will benefit enormously if the UAE enters the twenty-first century empowered by the participation of women in all walks of life, particularly the political arena. This, she considers, is a natural development, women having excelled in all other fields. Sheikha Fatima believes that women should not consider entry into political life as an honor but rather a duty. ‘Women joining the FNC should serve all of society and not only women's rights’.

Sheikha Fatima added that UAE women enjoyed all their legal rights and freedom and have occupied some of the highest posts in the country thanks to the support of Sheikh Zayed. ‘Despite this progress, UAE women maintain their traditional role as mothers, adhere to the teachings of Islam and are determined to reflect the true picture of their country’.

Humanitarian Award:

Sheikha Fatima received the Humanitarian Personality of the Year award for 1998 at a glittering function in Dubai. The award was presented by Sheikha Hind Bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, wife of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, in the presence of a number of women leaders from the Arab world, including Queen Rania, wife of King Abdullah of Jordan Princess Sarah Al Saud from Saudi Arabia and Sheikha Latifa, wife of Kuwait's Crown Prince. Wives of Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates we re also present. The ceremony was organized by the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Center (RPTC) under the patronage of Sheikha Hind to confer the award, instituted by the RPTC, on the UAE's First Lady.

Sheikha Fatima had already received the United Nations Shield in 1986 from the UN Population Fund and in December 1997, in recognition of her achievements, she had the unique honor of being presented with simultaneous accolades and awards of recognition by five organizations of the UN system. The ceremony publicly acknowledged Sheikha Fatima’s leadership of the women’s movement for over a quarter of a century and by so doing represented an expression of recognition and commendation from the UN system for the UAE Government and its people.