Sheikha Fatima salutes mothers of martyrs on 1st Emirati Women's Day

ABU DHABI 26th August 2015 (WAM) - H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU) Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood has expressed her pleasure at dedicating the 1st Emirati Women's Day observed on 28th August to honour mothers of the martyrs and the women working in the armed forces.

In a speech made to mark the day Sheikh Fatima praised the support given to the UAE women by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates.

Below is the full text of Sheikha Fatima's speech: Under the prudent leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and in line with his directives the 28th of August each year will be marked as the Emirati Women's Day. This decision reaffirms the right of the UAE women to be honoured thanked and appreciated by society for the sacrifices they have been making. It also illustrates the wise leadership's strong conviction in the important role that women play in the peace and development efforts and in countering all forms of gender discrimination and violence.

Highlighting the important role women play in the society the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan once said: "Nothing pleases me more than seeing Emirati women assuming their role in society and achieving their rightful position. Nothing should hinder the march of women's progress. Like men women have the right to assume the highest positions according to their abilities and qualifications."

Since the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 the country has been steadily making progress in achieving gender equality with the impact of political social and economic developments being carefully taken into consideration. The UAE continuously reviews the status of the Emirati women and seeks to benchmark the development being made against international agreements and directives including those of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 the evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the post-2015 Development Agenda and those on sustainable development and of the 20 Years After Conference on Population and Development.

Most of the world's countries set aside a day annually to celebrate women's achievement and to assert their roles in sustainable development and their right to take up high positions as agreed by religious teachings national legislation and international conventions. Celebrations of such a special day are joined by governments civil society organisations and individuals. The celebrations reflect a sincere collective desire to guarantee all basic human rights to women to achieve gender equality and to eliminate all forms of social cultural and political discrimination against women.

We in the UAE are blessed with a wise and honest leadership who have devoted themselves to their people and have made the welfare of citizens a priority.

We are also blessed with people who cherish their leadership and who are eager to serve and defend their country. The UAE has become a modern state and a role model for efficient legislation policies and practices on human rights particularly the rights of women.

The UAE women enjoy the support of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates.

The UAE government is keen on promoting human rights guaranteed by the constitution and by local legislation and by the international treaties ratified by the UAE. It works tirelessly to provide welfare for citizens.

We are well aware of the sacrifices women make for their country. They have offered their own sons as martyrs who will be immortal in the nation's memory and history. We salute our martyrs for their dedication and we salute their mothers for their composure.

On this day the 28th of August 2015 we dedicate our celebration of the first Emirati Women's Day to the mothers of the martyrs who did not hesitate to offer their sons as heroes and martyrs for the sake of their motherland. We also dedicate it to the women in military service who left the life of comfort and luxury to protect their country and to see its flag flying high.

We are pleased to see our leadership and our people coming together as one as President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has declared that the 30th of November every year will be observed as 'Martyrs' Day' in memory of and in tribute to the sacrifices offered by the nation's martyrs and its loyal people who offered their lives to keep the UAE flag flying aloft while they were performing their national duties inside and outside the country in civilian military and humanitarian fields.

I urge my fellow Emirati women to maintain the achievements made and to work harder towards more achievements progress and empowerment. I also urge Emirati women to actively participate in the upcoming Federal National Council elections in order to play an effective role in the next legislative chapter.

May Allah the Almighty grant you further success and bestow strength on you to safeguard our country.

WAM/bashir/Moran/Majok/Peter WAM 1710 2015/08/26 END