WAM Abu Dhabi, Apr 29th, 2012 (WAM) -- A workshop on the empowerment of Emirati women for political participation in the UAE has called for the updating of the National Strategy for the Advancement of Women.

The workshop was organised today in Abu Dhabi by the General Women's Union (GWU) under the patronage of HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Woman's Union and of the Family Development Foundation.

The workshop is one in a series of charrettes aimed to involve institutions and individuals in shaping the national strategy for women's empowerment within the next five years and to update the National Strategy for the Advancement of Women launched earlier in 2002 by Sheikha Fatima.

The workshop stressed that the empowerment of women for political participation and leadership roles is an important method to enable them to contribute to the decision-making process and to give them the opportunity to express their views and needs.

So it is necessary to ensure that the national strategy for the advancement of women in the UAE, as well as all the programs implemented within this framework, works to remove the typical attitudes and behaviors that limit the roles of Emirati women to certain conventional areas; the workshop opined.

Dr. Nidal Al Tunaiji, the expert tasked with preparing an analytical study of the reality of policies, services and legislation provided for the empowerment of women in politics and leadership positions, attended the workshop.

In a statement made on this occasion, she said that the current national strategy for the advancement of women have contributed to the shaping of institutional work for the advancement of women. The effective implementation of women's participation in the political sphere was also achieved in 2006, when the women filled two portfolios in the federal cabinet, she noted.

WAM/AB