Social and Political Discrimination of Women in the UAE - Case Study Example

Women and Work in the Gulf, specifically the UAE Introduction For a long time the Emirati women have been discriminated socially, politically as well as economically. Living in a society that a woman has no say and is often seen as a child, it has been hard for women to actively be involved in the day to day running of the community activities. Nonetheless, the women in UAE have been able to achieve significant measures of legal protection particularly in the last two decade. In the period 2008-2009, Emirati women labor force that helped growing the economy of the country. According to Nazir and Tomppert (2005, p. 315) the UAE constitution has clear laws that treats all people equally. But the fact that there is no clear law against discrimination of women, the society has taken advantage and much discrimination as seen. Apart from that, the law states that Awqaf clearly that the role of women in society is to be wives and mothers in the context of religion, ethics and morality. As a means of uplifting the position of woman in the community, the UAE government and other lobby groups have setup organizations and skits. These bodies have focused their operations in the following areas in regard to women, marriage (Social life), rights (women and childrens rights) as well as labor (workforce). The following are some of the active bodies; Marriage Fund in UAE (Zawaj) The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children Dubai Womens Establishment The illustration below discuses how these bodies have been able to get the woman involved and also how they have been able to improve the position of women in UAE through their programs. Women and Marriage The Islamic law does not recognize marriage as a status but rather a contract that requires the consent of the woman. The Islamic law allows women to have inheritance from their husbands as well as their parents. Before and after a woman goes into marriage, there are cultural practices that women need to go through such as female circumcision, the continuation of bride price also known as mahr. It is important to note that Islamic Sheria advocates for polygamy and other forms of extramarital activities. Most of these laws can be seen to be favoring men more than women. The women from Islamic states including UAE are not allowed to marry men from other religion. According to Quinn (2006, p. 26) under the Islamic law, men are allowed to marry women from other religions/non-Muslim but when it comes to women, they are restricted on marrying Muslim men. The women in UAE for example are not only encouraged not to marry men from other religion by also encouraged marrying men from UAE alone. One of the strategic objectives of the Marriage Fund in UAE is to advocate for marriage between men and women of UAE (Marriage Fund) The Marriage The Marriage Fund has four strategic objectives. The body has been able to achieve these objectives through its operations. They include; Encourage young me from UAE to get married to women from UAE Create awareness as well as promote the rules that build stable and coherent families. Enhance and support the principles of community partnership in the private sector in order to support its programs and plans through finances Financing of weddings and marriage The cost of wedding can be very high considering the fact that formal wedding is mandatory in UAE. Individuals have to acquire certificate from the Sheria courts and also participate in wedding. This has discouraged some of the young men. Through the Marriage, the UAE government has been able to fund weddings through different programs. This includes marriage grant and mass wedding. The Marriage grant also known as Moaamalti is financial support given to men from UAE who are about to go into marriage. The fund helps the new family to be stable and consequently making a firm Emirati family. This only applies to men who are getting married to Emirati women. This fund can be said to be favoring men as women are not viable to get the grant in as much as they are both going into marriage. The Mass weddings are organized by the Marriage Fund where a number of young men get married to the same number of women. This means that for men who are willing to get married to more than one woman do not qualify for this provision. Men who have benefited from this program before do not qualify for this provision too. Applications are done by men alone and they require picture of the man. The woman does not actively participate in this program. Mass weddings are solutions to financial constraints that come with preparations and doing of a wedding. Social awareness and participation Creating awareness is an important aspect promoting womens position in the society. But this has to start from the family. The Marriage Fund has set up programs that help marriage partners as well as the whole community appreciate and uphold the position of women. The organisation also holds family guidance that offers counseling sessions to partners in the marriage. Through awareness sessions, also known as Edaad, the organization has been able to hold country wide lectures on topics that affect marriage among couples in UAE. Issues handled in Edaad include; planning for successful marriage, family financial planning, family communication, marital rights and duties among others. This forum has helped men appreciate the role of women in the family as well as the community as a whole. The forums dialogue has played a key as well in creating dialogue concerning marriage related issues. Issues that affect women like management of family disputes, choosing of family partners as well as financial planning are tackled in these country wide forums. The forums are held in public areas and are open to all people for free (Marriage Fund) Women rights As mentioned earlier, the rights of women have been neglected for a long time. Women have been abused and their rights violated with little from the government concerning this. According to Hasso (2011, p. 63) instead of protecting, the laws have turned out to be the platform for discriminating women. The policies and laws have violated the convention on Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. This has led to this actions being highlights of foreign states, activists as well as lawyers. Dubai Foundation for women and Children This is a non-profit organization that shelters women and children who have been involved in domestic violence, child abuse and also human trafficking. Established in 2007, the organization offers immediate protection and support to the victims. The operations are based on International human rights standards. Their strategies are as follows; To provide shelters services, social and psychological care for both women and children who are victims of violence Strengthening of family ties and empowerment Work in partnership with local and international bodies to establish a more effective system Work in partnership with local and international bodies that are involved in human rights activities Carry our research on social issues that will help enhance policy development against violence to women and children Create awareness to the community on issues related to rights of women and children. Abuse and violence against women is experience largely in the marriage among women in the UAE. This has led to lobby groups to rise in the fight against this violence. According to Jeffreys (2008, p. 23) womens associations are playing key roles in fighting against abuse and violence to women. An organization like the Dubai Foundation has been active in fighting against the violation or rights of women. The organization has been offering immediate protection for women who have been abused and also helped rescue women who have been affected by human trafficking. The organization has been playing a key role also in creating awareness in the community. This has been successful with partnership with other organization as well as corporate. This has been achieved through campaigns, symposiums, lectures as well as educational activities in universities and schools. Every year, the organization handles different topics to be discussed in these forums. (Dubai Foundation for Women and Children) Domestic violence in UAE has been the central discussion for this organization. According to the organization, domestic violence is seen mainly among family members and mainly intimate partners. It involves physical abuses as well as use of force as a means of maintaining power and control over one person. Other forms of this abuse can be in abusive language and insult. According to Keddie (2007, p. 158) the cases of divorce have increased over the past years in UAE due to domestic violence. Women in workforce The Arab world in general is going through a transformation in terms of human capita and this includes the women. Despite the fact that women in UAE only got the working opportunities to participate in the past 15-20 years, they are drastically beginning to take substantial percentage of the workforce. Through projects like Emiratization, more and more women who are qualified have been able to get jobs. Emiratization is a program that advocates for employment of nationals Benesh (2008, p. 71) The Dubai Women Establishment is an organization that is aimed at in encouraging and facilitating the participation and involvement of women in the workforce and society in general. The organization has the following strategies; The deciding woman - To find ways to get women who have decided not to work, to embark on working The developing woman - To facilitate women who are working and willing to work with better opportunities The balancing woman - To support women who are working but a risk of leaving work The leading woman - To support employed women seeking leadership positions at their workplace. The organization has been able to get women involved in its programs which have primarily been based on improving the position of women in the workforce. Forums like the Arab Women’s Leadership forum have been very instrumental in encouraging women into leadership in the society as a general. The Emirates leader gathering is another platform that has been used to help women participate actively by improving their skills and training. With the help of professionals, women are equipped with specific hands on skills that will help them be at par with male counterparts. (Dubai Women Establishment) Summary Women in UAE are mainly affected in three major areas; their rights in marriage, their rights in the society and in the workforce. The men have a better say than women when it comes to marriage. Where are men are allowed to marry more than one wife as well as non-Muslims, women have no such rights. The society does not recognize the rights of women. Women have two roles to play, be a mother and a wife. This limits the woman to the house. The law has been clear on equality of all people but it has not indicated anything against women discrimination. For that reason, women have been found to be exposed to all sorts of abuse. Participation of women in the workforce is improving by the time. To ensure that more qualified women participate in the workforce, mobilization should start from young girls in schools who have to be encouraged to achieve more in term of qualification to get better jobs. Reference list: Dubai Foundation for Women and Children Community Awareness 1 January 2009. 3 April 2015 . Dubai Women Establishment Projects and Initiatives 31 December 2010. 3 April 2015 . Marriage Fund Forums dialogue 18 July 2014. 3 April 2015 . Strategic Objectives .29 December 2014. 3 April 2015 . Top of Form Quinn, D. (2006). Dubai explorer Dubai, Explorer Bottom of Form Nazir, S., & Tomppert, L. (2005) Womens rights in the Middle East and North Africa citizenship and justice New York, Freedom House. Top of Form Hasso, F. S. (2011). Consuming desires: family crisis and the state in the Middle East. Stanford, Calif, Stanford University Press Bottom of Form Top of Form Jeffreys, A. (2008). The report Sharjah 2008 London, Oxford Business Group Bottom of Form Keddie, N. R. (2007). Women in the Middle East past and present Princeton, Princeton University Press Benesh, G. C. (2010). United Arab Emirates a survival guide to customs and etiquette. 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