UAE’s Sheikha Fatima ‘Fund for Refugee Women’ continues protecting vulnerable populations

Mother of the Nation, HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, has launched a website to promote fund for refugee women across the globe. It launched on Thursday and is available in both English and Arabic languages, according to the state news agency.

Launched in 2000 in collaboration with the Emirates Red Crescent and the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the UAE’s Fund for Refugee Women seeks to provide essential protection and assistance to susceptible communities.

In a speech, the wife of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, raised serious concerns over an increasing number of refugees and displaced persons lacking minimal living standards amid intensifying natural disasters and conflicts.

Check out Sheikha Fatima’s notable humanitarian efforts

“Their suffering always urges us to strive to ease their pain, and provide healthcare, food, water and energy,” Her Highness highlighted in the speech posted on the website. She noted that offering help to others is a duty everyone is capable of.

The Sheikha Fatima Fund for Refugee Women has been assisting in the resettlement of Afghan refugees by introducing sustainable family projects to generate income for those struggling to address severe poverty, reported The National.

It has also been providing support for women in Jordan, helping address the basic needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and establishing agricultural and livestock production projects for refugee women from South Sudan in Uganda.

In addition, there are several other projects including assisting displaced women in Syria after last year’s earthquake and helping reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates in communities facing health crisis in Kenya, Mali and Mauritania.

UAE’s deepening focus on ensuring equal rights globally

Since its establishment in 1971, the UAE’s has been keen to join international conventions that address women’s issues and protect their rights. The Gulf state is celebrating the annual International Women’s Day on Friday to advocate for their rights globally and regionally.

The Emirati leadership gives high importance to women’s issues and empowerment in economic, political and social spheres, considering them significant partners in tackling challenges and achieving holistic development.

Immensely notable is last year’s COP28 Summit. The Gender Equality Day at the climate conference marked the announcement of a fresh partnership aimed at achieving an organised, fair and logical transition in the energy sector while considering gender equality.

In terms of other instances, last April, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution drafted by Japan and the UAE, as co-penholders for the Afghanistan file, criticising the Taliban’s decisions to ban Afghan women from working for the UN in the country.

Last June, the UAE announced an extra $15 million contribution to UN Women from 2023 to 2025. In addition, last October, the UN Human Rights Council, marking participation of both the UAE and the UK, adopted a draft resolution on achieving equality.