Dubai, melhor local para a mulher na Ásia Ocidental?

Pelas informações de amigos, esse local seria o Libano, mas uma reportagem  de  Louise Redvers, da BBC, assinala os Emiratos. Na duvida, transcrevo uma passagem. Porém, se incluir a África do Norte não tenho duvida: é a Tunísia.

                           Tenente da policia do Dubai, Maithe Obaid Almehairi (foto da mesma reportagem)

The newest generation of women in the United Arab Emirates looks a lot like Farha Alshamsi: educated and career-minded.

The 31-year-old has two degrees, holds a senior position in a government agency and runs her own communications and advisory company on the side.

“We have women working in all sectors and the government does a lot to support women… families are encouraging both males and females to go out there and start their own career,” she said. “There are many women in government ministries and at executive levels in the public sector.”

At first glance, it appears that women in the UAE enjoy some of the best working conditions among the more patriarchal countries in the Middle East. But others say there is more to the story.

While UAE citizens like Alshamsi enjoy privileges including free education, housing and preferential access to public sector jobs, they account for barely 10% of the population.

The rest of the UAE’s workforce is made up of expatriates from all corners of the globe — including many women — who are attracted by the Emirates’ thriving economy, year-round sunshine and tax-free environment.

Within that expat workforce, the potential for career advancement is less certain. For one, it is dependent upon the type of visa women hold and their level of employment, which dictate access to pay, legal protection and benefits.

While there is now more acceptance of women — expats and nationals — in high-ranking positions, damaging stereotypes about their abilities and commitment still exist.Flexible schedules and other adjustments for working mothers remain scarce.

 

Citizen benefits

 

For Emirati women such as Alshamsi, career possibilities are generally very bright. Unlike their counterparts in more conservative Gulf neighbour states, Emirati women are employed in a range of sectors from the military and police, to engineering, media, fashion and management, although they still make up a tiny percentage of an expat-dominated workforce.

There are five female cabinet ministers in the UAE government and women are at the forefront of several key government agencies, including the team that helped the city secure the 2020 Expo and the Dubai Media Office, which is responsible for communications in the Emirate.

In February this year, the UAE vice president and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the formation of the UAE Gender Balance Council, which according to local press reports, will promote new strategies for female empowerment.

The council will be chaired by his daughter Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is already the president of the Dubai Women’s Establishment, created in 2006 to “identify and quantify the status of women in the workforce of Dubai.