Since the inception of the United Arab Emirates over 50 years ago, Emirati women have played a key role in the success of the country.
This is exactly why in 2015, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak introduced Emirati Women’s Day for the very first time. It was to celebrate not only the incredible progress in the region for women and gender equality but to empower and support the women of the Emirates.
The choice of the date, August 28, was a significant one as it coincided with the day the UAE’s General Women’s Union (GWU) was established in 1975. Now eight years on, the nation celebrates the eighth annual Emirati Women’s Day, championing the incredible females of the UAE.
To mark the special occasion, HH Sheikha Dr. Dalal Al Maktoum sat down with GRAZIA, appearing on video for the very first time.
With a passion for helping and inspiring others, Sheikha Dr. Dalal has built up an online community, which she describes as “so supportive”, with a mutual love of style, fashion, lifestyle and more.
“Everyone is so nice. And everyone is just so sweet and genuinely, they are so supportive,” she tells GRAZIA. “People who don’t know you would come and say the nicest, most genuine things to you and it fills my heart honestly, with such warmth.”
In addition to her passion for content creation, Sheikha Dr. Dalal is also an Emirati medical doctor, who hopes to move forward with her career in the psychiatry field.
“My field of interest is psychiatry, so I’m hoping to pursue a career and that and hopefully be able to make mental health care more accessible for those who need it,” she says. “I feel like if I am able to help just one person [that] would be more than enough for me.”
Watch the full interview below.
