UAE Cultural Heritage
The Women’s Museum in Dubai is dedicated to everything related
to Emirati women. Visitors will find a full wall accompanied by rare
videos, photos and documents given over to the political roles of
Emirati women of the past and the present. We bring our readers
an exclusive interview with Professor Rafia Obaid Ghubash, the
Founder of The Women’s Museum.
Congratulations on receiving the
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Lifetime
Achievement Award at the Emirates
Airline Festival of Literature on
March 7, 2014.
I’m very grateful for being appreciated
at such an important event. However,
when I work every day, I don’t think
about who will appreciate me, this is
not my intention at all. Every award I
receive gives me positive energy and
I’m grateful for the people who observe
and differentiate between ordinary and
great work
.
Is the Museum only for women?
The museum is for men, women,
children… the whole community. The
museum is however about women
and if people go and read about the
different artifacts and displays they’ll
learn more about the local community
through the story of women, about the
politics of the United Arab Emirates, the
history of education, and the history of
the economy. Taking the example of
education, the exhibits discuss Kuwait’s
contributions in the development
of local education and how Kuwaiti
teachers came to the UAE in 1953.
How would you describe Emirati
women and what are their unique
personality traits?
From my experience as a psychiatrist,
what I’ve noticed is that Emirati women
are very shy, assertive and they know
what they want and how to reach their
Interview with Professor Rafia Obaid Ghubash
goal in a peaceful way. They are very
determined.
What would you say is the most
important artifact on display at the
Museum?
It’s difficult to identify one piece. I like
that I’ve managed to make a complete
story about the society - from politics to
economics, education, art, medicine…
Nothing is missing. The museum
displays books published by Emirati
women, allowing visitors to see the
intellectual activity of local women. One
of my favourite parts of the museum
is the room dedicated to the work of
Ousha bint Khalifa. I thought for many
days and sat in the room for many
hours thinking about the design and
Women’s
Museum in Dubai
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