path companion: Yes he was the good son with his mother, and he saw the woman as half the society and as a partner and companion.
The UAE has achieved great unprecedented achievements thanks to the support of Sheikh Khalifa.
Al-Anbat- Nemat Al-Khaora
On the occasion of the National Day of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we in Al-Anbat newspaper decided to celebrate with our Emirati brothers by highlighting the importance of a large and important figure that has a clear impact on the success and development of the UAE.
Today, the UAE is one of the most important commercial centres in the Middle East. It is a modern country with excellence, and it came as a result of a great effort exerted by Sheikhs and princes of UAE since its inception to this day, not to mention its great role in advocating the issues of the Arab nation, especially the Palestinian case.
No one can deny the leadership and people of UAE supporting the Kingdom of Jordan in the most difficult circumstances and providing help and support.
The most prominent of these figures was and remains " mother of UAE" as the Emirati wish to call her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al-Ketbi, wife to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, which was accompanied by him in the beginning of 1960 when he was the representative of the ruler in the Eastern province (Al-Ain).
The mother of Emirates was the path companion of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, and was closely connected to him, for she was the hand of help and she devoted her effort and time for her husband and raising their kids and taking care of them.
She was one of the most important pillar of success in the founding of the UAE on 2 December 1971. His Highness saw in her many qualities of a strong supportive wife, as he said about her " Sheikha Fatima succeeded in understanding my thoughts and goals, and transformed them into successful experiments in all fields".
Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al-Ketbi gave birth to six sons and two daughters and they are: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, HH Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, HH Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, HH Sheikha Shama bint Zayed, HH Sheikha Al Yazia bint Zayed.
The mother of UAE has taken care of many social issues of women, children and family, as she also contributed in launching several initiatives aimed at serving the local community and Arab, Islamic and global communities.
In her opinion, the National Day always reminds her of the idea of the Union, which was in its early stages when it was a hope caressing the dreams of HH Sheikh Zayed, and occupied his mind since he was the governor of the eastern region, until the idea became a daily prayer, asking Allah to help him achieve it.
She affirms that the mere realization of this dream for HH Sheikh Zayed meant many things, including participation in the tender which means achieving prosperity for the people of UAE in compensation for the days of underdevelopment and deprivation, the ability to overcome all the challenges of reality, the force to enter today's world dominated by the powerful, and the establishment of a state of weight and respect.
At the time, Her Highness said that the beginning was modest but the ambition was great, and His Highness had to exert exceptional energy in persuasion and to bring the Unity concept closer, its purpose and benefits to his brothers and to dispel any doubts about his unifying idea, which is far from personal ambitions except Allah's satisfaction and comfort of conscience.
The mother of UAE said on one of the occasions that Sheikh Zayed was the good son of a good mother, and he saw the woman as half the society and a partner and a companion side by side with the man, pointing out that without this belief, women's achievements in the UAE would not have been achieved. She notes that the motivation of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan in advocating women has no limits and that everyone learned from him that the dream is achieved only to the extent of the effort to achieve it.
She stresses that the achievements that the UAE did in empowering women in a short period of time were ranked 33 out of 187 countries in the UN Human Development Report 2011. She also sees that the image of the woman's future in the UAE has become less talk and more work, it has become more aware and understanding of all the surrounding circumstances and what is required of duties.
She sees that the Emirati women have lost their scientific, social, and family illiteracy, which is the first enemy of women and society, at the same time she sees her hand in the hands of her sister, who missed the opportunity of education and experience to climb together the ladder of progress and civilization firmly rooted in the fundamentals and without arrogance or seeing that one is better than the other, being the first way to give back to the motherland. She pointed out that women were able to invest all the opportunities they had to learn both at the level of public education and higher education, which contributed to obtaining an advanced place in the work centres and decision making. Women have become active in all fields and have proven their worth and ability to invest in education and training and have succeeded in changing many social concepts to prove to the world their ability, success, and excellence.
The mother of UAE aspires to achieve more gains and achievements for UAE women. She has no limits and always strives to strengthen her role in various job sites, activate her role and maximize her responsibilities in political, economic, social, media, cultural and other sites to become a true active partner in programs and plans for sustainable development and not just a partner.
She also believes that women's political participation is not an end in itself, but is another way of serving their country, and in order to succeed and excel in this field, they must be armed with knowledge, awareness and the ability to take responsibility. Sheikha Fatima, who heads the General Women's Union, the Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation and the head of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, said that His Highness Sheikh Zayed, from the first day of the union, stopped to hit all walls of backwardness and to stop the excesses in keeping the worn traditions which are far from the characteristics of our Islamic law and faith.
She pointed out that HH Sheikh Zayed insisted on bringing social change in the country and his brothers, the rulers of Emirates agreed, it was not possible to bring out the social change in his opinion without the advancement of women and their exit into public life without prejudice to the authentic Arab traditions. She pointed out that women in the UAE have achieved great things in the Arab region thanks to the support of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the UAE and the wise leadership, and that the UAE women play an active role in various areas of national action through their positive contribution to the economic, social, and cultural transformations in the country.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, said in a statement that HH Sheikha Fatima "Mother of Emirates" is a historic wome's leadership that UAE is proud of, where she stood beside the founder of the state during his journey to build the homeland.
HH Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, said that the efforts exerted by HH Sheikha Fatima in the context of excellence and creativity have led to women's work in the country. Her initiative in the field of women's education had the greatest impact in enabling her to rise to the fulfillment of her national duties and her integration with men, thus contributing to the comprehensive renaissance of the UAE.
The mother of Emirates loved the simplicity of nomadic life and values and derived from it her personality and culture. She was born in Al-Hair in Al-Ain city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and lived her childhood in a conservative Bedouin family. Her character is characterized by modesty, tolerance, and acceptance of other, based on a firm belief that Islam is the religion of moderation and tolerance, with its steadfast determination and strong and unlimited love for charitable and voluntary work inside and outside the UAE.
Congratulations to the people of the UAE for having Her Highness Fatima the dean of the Emirates House.
Translated by: Yasmeen AbuBaker
