Sometimes it’s hard to be (an Emirati) woman

All journalists face challenges when it comes to their job – but there are some that are peculiar to female Emiratis committing to the profession.

Firstly, it is not socially acceptable for a woman in our culture to have such a career. Convincing my family was hard – some of them are still sceptical – but convincing others that this is my dream job, and that I have a duty I am obligated to fulfil, is even harder.

Some people think women in our culture shouldn’t talk to men. Others think they shouldn’t talk to anyone outside their families.

But being a journalist, my stories come from the people I talk to. No talking means no stories – and for a journalist, that’s a big problem.

A second difficulty is that in our society a woman is viewed as a mother and housewife. Even though the UAE is constantly developing, some traditions just don’t change.

As a journalist, I need to talks to lots of people regarding any topic that I intend writing about.

Recently, I was assigned a story on traffic control, and needed to talk to as many specialists and experts as possible. I had a list of people to talk to, but because I’m Emirati – or a “child” – I was ignored and rejected by many of them.

I tried contacting 12 people and only four replied back! Some ignored my calls, others hung up on me, and others joked about me being a “child”.

Of the four people who did talk to me, only two of them gave me useful information for my article. Four voices weren’t enough for my editor, so the story had to be cut short.

The things we journalists go through!

Even with today’s technology, many people still don’t understand the value of journalism and what it means to want to make a difference through writing.

Ever since I was in elementary school I loved to write and now I am doing something I believe in and am passionate about.

But apparently, doing what you love is completely unacceptable in our society.

I have been called many names by my family and sometimes by my friends, but I’m standing by my cause.

Trying to make people accept what I do and how I do it is a tiring enough job by itself – and it is a job I have no wish to do.