Can you be a working woman and a good mother at the same time? In a country built on a foundation of family and the importance of women in society, this is an issue of growing importance.
Figures show just how vital women are to the economy. New research by the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi shows that women nationally now fill about one in three public-sector jobs that involve decision making.
Even more remarkable is the number of women who are completing their eduction with a bachelor’s degree, an increase of 144 per cent since 2010.
So helping women balance the demands of family and work is one of the great challenges for the Government. Last year saw the launch of the first childcare centre at Zayed University’s Abu Dhabi campus.
The Early Childhood Learning Centre opened by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, is a place where female students and academics can leave their children knowing they will be cared for with the best resources.
As a learning environment with a carefully planned curriculum that focuses on child development through encouragement, the centre also allows future educators to carry out their research.
Above all, it is a place where mothers can remain close to their children and, in the case of newer mothers, even nurse them. Those using the centre agree that knowing their child is at hand makes them more productive and happier.
Asma Al Jefri, now finishing the final year of her degree in international studies, admits that she even considered abandoning her studies to care for her new baby.
“When I knew that I was pregnant, I was seriously thinking about stopping studying,” Mrs Al Jefri says.
“There was no way that I would be able to be away from my child for seven hours. Having this nursery was a relief. I am now here every break and I am able to nurse him instead of weaning him at a young age.”
While some students or working mothers at the university are able to call on female family members to help with child care, others are not so lucky.
In Mrs Al Jefri’s case, this was not possible. Her mother had recently died and there was no one else to look after her son.
“If it wasn’t for the nursery, I would have stayed at home,” she says.
Her little boy, Abdullah, is still an infant but Mrs Al Jefri says he is already developing faster, thanks to the resources at the nursery.
“My son began crawling in the nursery and took his first steps,” she says. “He is now also able, even in his young age, to differentiate between a woman wearing an abaya and a westerner. He always thinks the woman in abaya is a family member.”
Staff at the centre include Emiratis and Arab expatriates to teach Arabic, and teachers from Canada and the UK for the English language.
Fatima Al Bastaki is the director of centre and has more than 29 years’ experience in education. She is proud of the centre’s work and the teachers she has on board.
“These four years of a child’s life have a tremendous effect on their lives,” Mrs Al Bastaki says.
“Their skills develop rapidly and they are really absorbent. We notice the change from the very first week, never mind the first month.”
The centre divides children into classes depending on their age. At the first level is the infants, from 6 months to a year.
The early toddlers range from 1 to 2 years, followed by a class from 2 to 3 years and prekindergarten, which takes the children up to 4 years old.
Mrs Al Bastaki says the centre’s mission is to “provide high-quality early experiences for children, teachers and researchers and mothers.
“To see the best practice in a real setting and experiment the best potential that can be given from all parties is what makes a change for the better.”
Having a curriculum allows the teachers to properly evaluate the children, assessing the skills crucial for a child’s development.
Mrs Al Bastaki says the centre’s success can be attributed to a partnership between the families, the university and the wider community.
She is particularly pleased by the number of other government entities who have visited the centre with a view to setting up similar workplace nurseries.
Figures show that it is seven years since the Cabinet ordered all federal and local government departments with more than 50 female Emirati staff, or where female staff had more than 20 children, to offer on-site nursery provision.
The Ministry of Social Affairs estimates that the ruling applies to eight out of 10 government bodies, yet only one in 10 has complied.
“If properly enforced, a great change would be seen in the demographics and lives of many women, both locals and other nationalities,” Mrs Al Bastaki says.
Back in the centre, little Maitha, who is nearly 2, is enjoying a meal with her friends when her mother arrives to join her before they go home.
“Thank God I had my child when in the summertime, in the holidays,” says Mariam Larri, a student at the university.
“I went back to university after two months but I was going back and forth from the university to the house to nurse her as my mother was taking care of baby Maitha.
“I have always put my child first, but that in a way jeopardised my studies. And that is why a place like this is crucial. If this nursery had been here then, things would be so much easier.”
Mrs Al Jefri shares the concern of many working mothers about making sure their children are left in a safe environment when they leave them.
“Look around you, all the corners are padded,” she says. “There is a sleeping area, a place for eating and even cribs and walkers for all different kinds for different ages.
“Even when they go out to play with in the playground there is always security and an eye that follows them. Safety is very important and I do trust this place.”
Both women say they looked at several nurseries before deciding on the one at Zayed University.
“There are two things that I feel that makes this nursery different,” says Mrs Larri. “They have local teachers and there is so much care taken of the children’s feelings and social development.”
Observing Maitha, she says: “I have noticed how she says ‘ No, haram’, when she sees another baby hitting another. Or when she says things like ‘bismillah’ and ‘alhamdulillah’ and understands them.
“To me and to every mother it is important that our babies are surrounded with women who would plant in them what we would at home.
“The teachers here also read prayers and dhikr on my child, and that by itself is a safe feeling. I trust the local teachers here and I personally know that the director has her hands on everything.”
Both mothers also say it was important to them that the nursery teaches in Arabic and English. “Children at this young age have developed a way to communicate in English when talking to a westerner and to switch to Arabic as they talk to a local teacher, says Mrs Larri.
“I am very proud of our teachers and I always push them to be innovative and to know that there are no borders.”
Mrs Larri’s next challenge is what happens when she graduates next year and needs to take a job.
“I always think, what I am going to do? And if there is going to be a suitable place for my child?”
Putting her daughter in room, where, as she describes it “people only watch” is not an option, she says.
At the moment, she is thinking of leaving Maitha with her younger sister, who is very close to her daughter – and in her first year at Zayed University.
“I need a place where she will develop and be among women who know where they are going,” Mrs Larri says.
balhashemi@thenational.ae