UAE women to join parliament

UAE women to join parliament

ABU DHABI (AFP): The United Arab Emirates, a conservative
Moslem nation, yesterday dropped long-standing social barriers
and said women could play a role in politics as members of its
appointed parliament.

"From our experience in the Federal National Council (FNC), we
now feel that we really need the women to play their role in the
parliamentary life. I think women are behind all political
decisions in the world," parliament speaker al-Haj ibn Abdullah
al-Muhairbi told the official daily al-Ittihad when asked whether
it was time for women to join parliament.

Muhairbi's comments come a week after the UAE president's wife
Sheikha Fatima, who heads the Emirates Women's Union, called for
local women to be allowed to join the FNC, the appointed
parliament in the oil-rich Gulf country.

It was the first time that UAE officials have openly called
for women to be admitted into political life, which has remained
restricted to men.