UAE Postal Stamps: Women’s Museum 2015
The Women’s Museum, based in Dubai, is a contemporary cultural centre that explores the contribution of Emirati women in arts, academia, business, culture, politics and society in general.
The Museum aims to acquaint visitors with the various aspects of day to day life of UAE women. For the younger generation, it will serve appreciate the achievements of earlier female generation.
The museum also plays an important role in promoting the image of the United Arab Emirates to tourists and visitors who can get insights into the UAE women of yesterday and today.
Education
Before the 1950s, education focused on the Holy Quran, Islamic principles and Arabic language. Men and women were taught in their own homes, with boys and girls studying together from 1953. The Kuwaiti government funded formal education in each emirate. In 1955, Egypt granted scholarships to Emiratis to study in Cairo and sent educational missions to the region.
The founding of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 made education available to all, including illiterate seniors. The opportunities for women to pursue higher education increased with the establishment of local universities. In 1976, the UAE University was the first university opened in the country.
Mrs. Fatma Majed Al-Sari has proposed the idea of issuing postage stamps about the stages of the development of education in the UAE to Emirates Post Group, and the proposal was combined with this issue.
Economy
Under the severe desert environment and without diversification in resources, the UAE woman contributed to economic activity in various ways. They were skillful in making handicrafts to earn their own living and support their families until 1960.
In the 60s, the UAE economy developed rapidly and so did women’s commercial skills. Some launched construction companies and ventured into real estate, others owned taxi companies. In almost every family, a woman held a trade license. Throughout the UAE, women managed their businesses from homes on telephone
The 90s brought an economic boom and social change throughout the UAE. Women formed business councils to develop their skills. Now the range of businesses run by women in the UAE includes manufacturing, engineering, fashion, retail, banking, finance and media has increased.
Hence the Women Museum UAE is the first women’s museum in the Arab world, and in celebration of that, the Emirates Post Group has issued a set of commemorative stamps on the Women’s Museum, as postage stamps are a channel of cross-cultural communication, reaching different countries and people across the globe.
Price per stamp sheet: AED 60
Number of stamps per sheet: 20
