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UAE's class of '71: the first female Emirati school principal

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It was a 2004 phone call that would change Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi 's life.

She was in Tunisia on a government work trip when Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, rang.

"The government calls for you to be a minister of the Cabinet. What do you say?"

Not only would she be taking command of the crucial Ministry of Economy, she would become the first female Cabinet minister, shattering the glass ceiling and inspiring countless others to follow in her path.

"I said, 'I'll ask my mother'," she recalls. "Others would say, well, this is this is strange. Why would you ask your mom? But I wanted to know whether this is something that she believed is OK."

There was only ever one answer and Sheikha Lubna took command, brushing aside opposition from some quarters that suggested women could not lead a ministry.

"There were these opinions that are not reflective of the UAE saying, 'how can you have a woman as a minister. It should be always men'. But then you had those who were saying, 'this is great, this is a great break, moving forward in the Gulf'."

Several years on, Sheikha Lubna spoke to The National about her youth, university days and time at the helm. It is a story of determination, dedication and vision built on the foundations of a supportive family.

And yet she never imagined that she would one day become a government minister. Sheikha Lubna devoured books on mathematics and physics as child.

"The love of my life was solving differential equations when I was a teenager," she says. "Reading physics to me meant life. I was a geek."

She studied maths and physics in secondary school and then moved to America as a student in the 1970s, graduating from California State University in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in computer science.

"I was determined that I was going to study technology, which was quite odd for people here in 1975," she says.

Sheikha Lubna was top of her class in high school and for four years in university.

"Whenever I was second, I would come home and throw tantrums or my books," she says, laughing.

Sheikha Lubna returned to the UAE to work at the General Information Authority, helping to automate the work of federal government, and then at Dubai Ports Authority. By the turn of the century, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, had appointed her as chief executive of Tejari - an online businesses-to-business exchange platform. Then Sheikh Abdullah called.

Sheikha Lubna still remembers walking into the first Cabinet meeting and feeling nervous. "You just turn around you, see the smiles and everybody's happy and excited about the decision."

After the meeting, the hard work began in earnest and she recalls several sleepless nights at the start of her tenure.

"I went without sleep for a couple of weeks mainly because this was a merged position - Ministry of Planning with the Ministry of Economy. So you're talking about 300 employees. It was quite scary.

"And then one night, I thought, 'Well, I was appointed by the government - by His Highness [The President] Sheikh Khalifa, and they are there to back me up. So why am I scared?' And all of a sudden, I had the sense of relief and I didn't really feel that anxiety that I had before."

Her success at the economy portfolio was such that by 2008 she was made Minister of Foreign Trade. In 2013, she became Minister of International Co-operation and Development, followed by Minister for Tolerance in 2016.

Thanks to her dedication and hard work, more women are now at the centre of government. There are nine women in the current Cabinet and she has been an inspiration to many other young Emiratis. She is even sometimes stopped in the street by parents who tell her she is their daughter's role model.

"Or [they say] my kids have your photos everywhere or my girl has your photo right next to her bed. That was quite rewarding to me.

Young men and women thought that I was a cool minister and the reason for that is that I was a techie. So in their mind, this is quite refreshing.

"Most people look at government officials as someone who's quite traditional with a lot of prestige. But for me it wasn't the case."

Sheikha Lubna says her success is simply down to the support from her family and the leadership. She grew knowing she could become anything she wanted and that has made all the difference.

"I came from a class where all my classmates from high school are surgeons and doctors and engineers," she says.

"Our families were quite supportive. I think that's really the secret to my success. My late father was actually more supportive of us, the girls.

"I also came from an era of parents who were not educated. Maybe they knew a bit of mathematics, they read the Quran and read a bit of Arabic, but not much. They don't have degrees, we were the first. So in many ways we were the dream, they wanted us to get an education. And that generation is a very special generation.

"People always assume that that generation is very traditional. They are but they are progressive. They're not people who are ignorant, they're not people who, because they didn't travel the world that much means [they] don't understand. They do understand and they have love and they have passion for the country."

Sheikha Lubna was previously recognised by magazine Forbes as the most powerful Arab woman and the 70th most powerful woman in the world in its 2010 "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list". She has won many other awards.

But reflecting on her experience, Sheikha Lubna says what she is most proud of is that she is an "agent of change" and as the UAE celebrates its Golden Jubilee and looks forward to next 50 years, she sees a limitless opportunity to even more success.

"In the past 50 years, we have seen more advancements in the society than other societies in North America had achieved in 200 years," she says.

"We used to say the sky is the limit, but there is no sky any more. We are going to space so we don't see the sky any more."

Her message to the future ministers and the young girls who wants to be ministers when they grow up? "Don't be like me, be better than me," she says.

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How the UAE's first female minister Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi became a trailblazer

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It was a 2004 phone call that would change Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi 's life. She was in Tunisia on a government work trip when Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, rang. "The government calls for you to be a minister of the Cabinet.

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Name : Sahar Al Rasti
inspiration : It was her love of the sea that inspired her to become the first Emirati female captain

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one of the challenges that she faced is equal of gender she said that to be equality between men and women is not easy.

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one of the challenges that she faced is equal of gender she said that to be equality between men and women is not easy.

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shahad jamal Q.3

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3- What kind of challenges she had? - mariam ahmed

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3- What kind of challenges she had? - mariam ahmed

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Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi mentioned that she did not struggle much. The support was always there for her, she was able to study outside and be the first in her classes. Sheikha Lubna also stated that fighting for "women empowerment" wasn't a thing in her case, because her elders always pushed her forward and wanted her to be educated, even if they were traditional.

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Q4 she complete her edication in kwait university after that she came back and teach in the high school for girls in sharjah and she was principal of fatima alzahraa school and many schools

more

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Q1 : Yes, Captain Sahar Al-Rusti inspired me to move forward towards my dream and take care of what I love because we can chart our own path to the future by ourselves.

Q2 : Education is of great importance, as it is the pen with which we draw our dreams and ambitions and helps us advance towards our dreams without fear

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The biggest challenge that Captain Saher had to face was gender equality and she also stated that woman in this domain are considered less than men .

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question two

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi is United Arab Emirates' Minister for Economy. In November 2004, she became the first woman in the country's history to assume a cabinet position, appointed to manage the UAE's newly merged economy and planning portfolio.

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She is the UAE minister of advanced technology.
she led the UAE's maiden interplanetary mission to mars in 2020.

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Her name is Nora Al Midfa, she's 71 years old.

She said "there were no schools until Kuwait started sponsoring our schools. They brought everything we needed" after that she became the first Emirati school principal.

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Does she inspire you? how? - mariam ahmed

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Does she inspire you? how? - mariam ahmed

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Frankly, i'm not really inspired. Why you may ask? It's because she comes from a royal family. The support would always be there for her. She has more chance of accomplishing a high position within the government. Nevertheless, I was pretty inspired when she spoke about how she devoured math and physics books I love books, so that part spoke to me.

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She studied computer science at the American University of Sharjah, earning bachelor's and master's degrees. She was always interested in aerospace engineering but grew up at a time when United Arab Emirates did not have a space program.
She also stressed the importance of building and strengthening partnerships with the private sector in the field of space exploration.

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Name :Honorable minister sara Al amiri

Age:34-35 years old

Inspiring:He was inspiring the minister sara Al amiri they are the government and leaders of the UAE.

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do's she inspire me ?

yes i think that she inspired many girls and i am one of them i like what she did yes she may comes from a royal family and she had the sport that she need but i think that she worked really hard so she can be what she is know

and why ?

it's because i really like how she worked hard and become the first woman in the country's history to assume a cabinet position .

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What is the importance of education for your future career? - mariam ahmed

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What is the importance of education for your future career? - mariam ahmed

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Education is very important to me. In the future, i'd like to amount several professions and careers. There's just too many options out there! In university i'd like to study; biology, history, languages, anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, world religions, evolutionary biology, literature, poetry, military intelligence. I'd like to contribute to society in anyway that i possibly could. I would be ecstatic to work for the Signals Intelligence Agency in the UAE. I want to live the most out of the one life we are granted.

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She graduated from high school in 1975 and was the ninth at the state level in the scientific department, after which she traveled to the United States of America to enroll in higher education and thus obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Chico University.
As she said in one of the interviews about the skills or attributes she think women bring to the workplace, she said these are one of the most important skills for her, Positive energy and optimism, good communication and a culture of diversity and creativity.

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what's the importance of education for your futur career?

The importance of education for every person is to live independently and to gain freedom. In any way, education will protect a person both financially and also help them to live their life on their feet. It allows to set standards of life and will provide knowledge to understand the results of wrong decisions and help to find alternative ways.