Emirati women are critical for nation building, study says

The role of women in society must evolve beyond traditional care for the home if the UAE is to continue growing as a nation, a study says.

SHARJAH // The evolving role of Emirati women outside the home is vital to nation building, according to a study released at a conference today.

More than 100 scholars are attending the three-day conference on Gender and Women's Studies in the Arab Region, which opened today at the

American University of Sharjah a day ahead of International Women's Day.

The research on the contribution of Emirati women to national identity will be part of a book to be released in the next few months by Dr

Vania Carvalho Pinto, a professor at the University of Brasilia, Brazil.

"I've always been drawn to the subject of Emirati women and always felt there is a story to be told in the challenges they faced and how

their lifestyles radically changed as the UAE developed," Dr Pinto said.

She interviewed more than 100 elderly and young UAE women citizens spanning four generations, and examined official speeches for her study

that began in 2007.

The challenges facing women, political activism, the impact of social upheaval on the family unit in the Arab world, and feminist history were

among the research projects that were presented today on countries including the UAE, Egypt and Jordan.