Emiratis have always been proud of the role that expatriates play in our young and still developing society. Even before the federation was founded in 1971, expatriates from both East and West who called this region home were, and continue to be, welcomed by a grateful community eager to learn and share knowledge.
This respect, tolerance and appreciation has helped to catapult the UAE into the ranks of advanced countries in less than four decades. That said, it is time that the nation starts to believe in itself and the capabilities of its own citizens as well.
One field where the UAE has made major strides is education. The country boasts scores of universities offering degrees from finance to architecture to engineering, with thousands of Emiratis and expatriates graduating every year.
Last year The National reported that Traffic, a gallery in Dubai, showcased 20 works by students of the American University of Sharjah’s College of Architecture, Art and Design. Among the designs on display was Xeritown, a land development plan by the Emirati architect Ahmed Ebrahim al Ali, a co-founder of the architecture firm X-Architects. The idea was to create a community with sustainability at its heart, which would use building orientation and shade to reduce water consumption and to maintain a cool environment during the summer months.
Mr al Ali’s work did not go unnoticed and in 2008 the Zurich-based Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction awarded the concept its Acknowledgement prize. Xeritown also won the 2009 Middle East Architect Award Mixed-use project of the year. In the same ceremony, his fellow Emirati Khalid al Najjar, the founder of dxb.lab Architecture, was recognised as Architect of the Year.
Over the past few years Mr al Najjar has positioned himself as the face of modern architecture in the Emirates, speaking at prestigious forums from the Art Basel Conversation 2006, the International Design Forum in Dubai in 2007, and the Abu Dhabi Interior Design Show in 2008. Three years ago Wallpaper magazine featured dxb.lab in its directory of the 101 most exciting new architects in the world. It was the only firm from the Arab world to be included.
Then there is Wasel Safwan, an Emirati architect and artist based in Al Ain. Mr Safwan’s keen eye has allowed him to transcend and combine his two disciplines. Recently, he created works of art for Formula One in Abu Dhabi last autumn and the recent Womad music festival. Mr Safwan was also one of the people chosen to represent his country in the UAE pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
Last week, I read with mixed emotions, both pride and disappointment, that the Dh77 million pavilion was designed by Lord Norman Foster, a British award-winning architect. Lord Foster was also chosen to design the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, arguably the museum that most powerfully symbolises the UAE, which is planned for Saadiyat Island.
Also on Saadiyat there will be Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim, Jean Nouvel’s Louvre, Zaha Hadid’s performing arts centre and Tadao Ando’s maritime museum. The common thread in all of these landmark projects is that their architects are not Emiratis.
The Egyptians have coined a phrase that applies: the Khawaja complex. Dr Numan Gharaibeh a psychiatrist at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut, defines it as “a social phenomenon characterised by indiscriminate over-valuation of everything and everybody western, European or white regardless of real or true value”. The phenomenon also applies to ideas, not just individuals.
The truth is that the UAE, like other Arab states, sometimes seems to suffer from Khawaja complex, which can be seen in various fields and practices across the country. Architecture is only one, less controversial, example.
The achievements of these respected foreigners aside, there are questions that must be answered. Do we as Emiratis wholeheartedly believe in local talent? Do we believe in indigenous creativity? Do we believe that Emiratis know their country better than foreigners, some of whom have never stepped foot on the UAE soil but are still asked to represent the country abroad?
Unless we allow nationals, both men and women, opportunities to showcase their abilities, we only pay lip service to indigenous talent and show that we do indeed suffer from Khawaja complex. While we continue to respect and appreciate foreign contributions, it is time that Emirati talent is also recognised.
*This article first appeared in The National on Sunday, 9th May 2010
Showing posts with label rise of women in UAE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rise of women in UAE. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Expectations haven’t advanced with UAE women
The National celebrated its second birthday recently, and although it has only been around for 24 months, its impact has been heavily felt across the UAE and the region.
This occasion also allowed me to recall the very first article I wrote, The pen, the book and a boss in an abaya, which tackled the rise of women in the UAE and the Gulf. Two years on, that phenomenon is becoming stronger and is widespread across the country.
The numbers are quite interesting. In UAE national universities, more than 60 per cent of the student body is female. The ratio of national female participation in the workforce is also rising. But these rather impressive achievements have created their own social impacts that deserve consideration.
There are certainly some repercussions to the increase in the levels of education of Emirati women. Already, one can easily assess through a quick survey that the size of families is smaller when levels of education increases.
It was not uncommon, for instance, for Emirati families that were formed in the 1960s and 70s to have six or seven children. But these numbers have decreased to three or four today – provided that Emirati women choose to marry and have kids in the first place.
At the outset, it is important to dispute the widely held notion that an unmarried woman, who may be as young as her mid-twenties, is a spinster. This is sexist and denotes that women are somehow less worthy than men and are duty-bound to procreate. It is also interesting that the word “bachelorette” isn’t commonly used for women, who choose not to marry or decide to marry later in life.
However, as the ratio of educated and successful women continues to grow, the number of available bachelors for them to marry will continue to dwindle proportionately.
We have already come to a point in society where many women must settle for men who are less educated than them. This is partly a reflection of the pressures that are put on women in society and the failure of many men to sustain as much ambition as their female peers.
The government is also inadvertently encouraging men to take up public service jobs, where higher education isn’t a prerequisite and wages are immediately paid, which attracts high school dropouts and exacerbates the situation.
Although the UAE is a modern and progressive nation, there are still certain expectations of national women that are widely held by society. Families not only hope but expect their daughters – however educated and independent – to get married. It is seen as the natural step forward in a young woman’s life.
I have even heard of women telling their daughters to lower their expectations since there simply aren’t enough “good men” to go around, not to mention the possibility of nationals who feel insecure about marrying more successful and better educated women.
We must first accept that adult women may choose out of their own conviction to marry younger or older men. UAE society should also accept the possibility that a substantial number of Emirati women will not end up being married – for whatever reason. That said, could anything be done to tackle this matter?
The country must intensify efforts to encourage men to first enrol in universities and then see them through to their degrees.
Secondly, consideration should be given to allowing women who marry non-Emiratis to pass on their citizenships with all that it entails to their children from non-Emiratis. The practice of using technicalities, such as giving their children passports but not citizenships or family books, should be reviewed. The Government should also consider allowing Emirati women married to non-nationals to apply for government grants and health cards for their families.
As a result of these skewed ratios, along with the seemingly unlimited number of expats coming to the country, the demographic make-up of the UAE’s society will be significantly altered within two decades’ time.
This happens to be a matter of national security, as the UAE has crossed a point of no return with regards to its millions of expatriates making a life and servicing this giant economic wheel that we all call home. And while expat numbers continue to increase, the ratio of Emirati nationals will decrease proportionately as a result of the gender-educational imbalance.
It is a peculiar situation to be in where educated women end up with the short end of the stick. Academic ambition ought to be rewarded and not punished. But being labelled spinsters, denied the same rights as their less-educated male counterparts, and expected to marry within a shrinking pool of educated men seems to be their lot.
It is an unfair situation that should concern Emirati men and women alike, and without urgent government attention, the social impact could one day become irreversible.
*This article first appeared in The National on Sunday 2nd May 2010
This occasion also allowed me to recall the very first article I wrote, The pen, the book and a boss in an abaya, which tackled the rise of women in the UAE and the Gulf. Two years on, that phenomenon is becoming stronger and is widespread across the country.
The numbers are quite interesting. In UAE national universities, more than 60 per cent of the student body is female. The ratio of national female participation in the workforce is also rising. But these rather impressive achievements have created their own social impacts that deserve consideration.
There are certainly some repercussions to the increase in the levels of education of Emirati women. Already, one can easily assess through a quick survey that the size of families is smaller when levels of education increases.
It was not uncommon, for instance, for Emirati families that were formed in the 1960s and 70s to have six or seven children. But these numbers have decreased to three or four today – provided that Emirati women choose to marry and have kids in the first place.
At the outset, it is important to dispute the widely held notion that an unmarried woman, who may be as young as her mid-twenties, is a spinster. This is sexist and denotes that women are somehow less worthy than men and are duty-bound to procreate. It is also interesting that the word “bachelorette” isn’t commonly used for women, who choose not to marry or decide to marry later in life.
However, as the ratio of educated and successful women continues to grow, the number of available bachelors for them to marry will continue to dwindle proportionately.
We have already come to a point in society where many women must settle for men who are less educated than them. This is partly a reflection of the pressures that are put on women in society and the failure of many men to sustain as much ambition as their female peers.
The government is also inadvertently encouraging men to take up public service jobs, where higher education isn’t a prerequisite and wages are immediately paid, which attracts high school dropouts and exacerbates the situation.
Although the UAE is a modern and progressive nation, there are still certain expectations of national women that are widely held by society. Families not only hope but expect their daughters – however educated and independent – to get married. It is seen as the natural step forward in a young woman’s life.
I have even heard of women telling their daughters to lower their expectations since there simply aren’t enough “good men” to go around, not to mention the possibility of nationals who feel insecure about marrying more successful and better educated women.
We must first accept that adult women may choose out of their own conviction to marry younger or older men. UAE society should also accept the possibility that a substantial number of Emirati women will not end up being married – for whatever reason. That said, could anything be done to tackle this matter?
The country must intensify efforts to encourage men to first enrol in universities and then see them through to their degrees.
Secondly, consideration should be given to allowing women who marry non-Emiratis to pass on their citizenships with all that it entails to their children from non-Emiratis. The practice of using technicalities, such as giving their children passports but not citizenships or family books, should be reviewed. The Government should also consider allowing Emirati women married to non-nationals to apply for government grants and health cards for their families.
As a result of these skewed ratios, along with the seemingly unlimited number of expats coming to the country, the demographic make-up of the UAE’s society will be significantly altered within two decades’ time.
This happens to be a matter of national security, as the UAE has crossed a point of no return with regards to its millions of expatriates making a life and servicing this giant economic wheel that we all call home. And while expat numbers continue to increase, the ratio of Emirati nationals will decrease proportionately as a result of the gender-educational imbalance.
It is a peculiar situation to be in where educated women end up with the short end of the stick. Academic ambition ought to be rewarded and not punished. But being labelled spinsters, denied the same rights as their less-educated male counterparts, and expected to marry within a shrinking pool of educated men seems to be their lot.
It is an unfair situation that should concern Emirati men and women alike, and without urgent government attention, the social impact could one day become irreversible.
*This article first appeared in The National on Sunday 2nd May 2010
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