Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi

Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi
Sheikha
Born Al Hayer, Al Ain
Spouse Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Issue Sheikh Mohammed
Sheikh Hamdan
Sheikh Hazza
Sheikh Tahnoun
Sheikh Mansour
Sheikh Abdullah
Sheikha Shamma
Sheikha Alyazia
House House of Al Nahyan (by marriage)
Father Mubarak Al Ketbi
Religion Islam
Al Nahyan family

HH Sheikha Hassa

HH Sheikha Shamsa

HH Sheikha Fatima

mother/father:

  • Suliman bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Uncles:

HH Sheikha Amna

Sheikh Usamah bin Zayed al Nahyan

Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi (فاطمة بنت مبارك الكتبي) is the third wife of the founder and the first president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the late emir (ruler) of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. She is firstly called mother of sheikhs and then mother of the UAE or nation.[1][2][3]

Early life

Sheikha Fatima was born in Al Hayer in Al Ain, being the only daughter to her parents.[4] Her family are bedouin and religious.[1]

Activities

Sheikha Fatima is one of the women rights supporters in the country.[4] She is the supreme chairperson of the family development foundation.[2][5] She significantly contributed to the foundation of the first women’s organization in 1976, the Abu Dhabi society for the awakening of women.[4] She was also instrumental in a nationwide campaign towards girls' education.[4] In addition, Sheikha Fatima heads the United Arab Emirate's women federation, which she founded in 1975.[2][6] She is also president of motherhood and childhood supreme council.[1] At the end of the 1990s, she publicly announced that women should be member of the federal national council of the Emirates.[6]

She also supports efforts concerning adult literacy and provision of free public education to girls.[2] Annually an exclusive award named the Sheikha Fatima Award for Excellence has been presenting in her honour since 2005.[7] It is awarded for the outstanding academic performance and commitment to the environment and world citizenship of the female recipients.[7] It entitles winners to a full-tuition scholarship and extends across schools in the Middle East and was expanded to India as well in 2010.[7] In her honor another award called Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Award for Woman Athletes has been given to female athletes.[8]

Awards

In 1997, five different organizations of the United Nations, namely the UNICEF, WHO, UNIFEM, UNFP and UNFPA, awarded Sheikha Fatima for her significant efforts for women's rights.[3] Furthermore, the UNIFEM stated "she is the champion of women's right."[3] She was also awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order by the then Tunisian president Zine el Abidine ben Ali in 2009 for her contributions to raise the status of Arab women.[5] Much more significantly she was given by the UNESCO the Marie Curie Medal for her efforts in education, literacy and women's rights, being the third international and the first Arab recipient of the award.[3] Shaikha Fatima Institute of Nursing and Health Sciences Lahore Pakistan is named after Her Highness.

Marriage and children

Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi was married to Zayed when he was the ruler of the Eastern region in the 1960s.[1][9] She was the fifth wife of him.[10] They moved to Abu Dhabi city when Sheikh Zayed became the ruler in August 1966.[1]

She was his most influential and favorite spouse.[11][12] She is the mother of Sheikh Mohammed (born 1961), the current Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Hamdan (born 1963), Sheikh Hazza, Sheikh Tahnoun, Sheikh Mansour, Sheikh Abdullah, Sheikha Shamma and Sheikha Alyazia.[11] Her sons are known as sons of Fatima or Bani Fatima.[11][13][14] They are the most powerful bloc in the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the Al Nahyans.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Biography". Arab Youth Awards. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Civil Defence honours Mother of the Nation" (PDF). 999 (484): 10. April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Isabell A. Claus; Diana Abad; Kasim Randeree (1 April 2009). Leadership and the Emirati woman: Breaking the glass ceiling in the Arabian Gulf. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 15. ISBN 978-3-643-10251-5. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Swaroop, Sangeetha (June–July 2002). "National Heroine and International Champion of Women Rights". Al Shindagah (76). Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Tunisian President confers Grand Cordon of Order of November 7 on Sheikha Fatima" (PDF). Almojtama (22): 7. July 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  6. 1 2 Bruce Maddy-Weitzman (1 August 2002). Middle East Contemporary Survey: 1999. The Moshe Dayan Center. p. 629. ISBN 978-965-224-049-1. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Outstanding female students honoured at the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Excellence". Zawya. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "The judging panel of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Award for Woman Athletes holds an introductory meeting". FBMWSA. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Anthony, John Duke (30 August 1999). "Succession in Abu Dhabi" (PDF). NCUSAR. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan". The Telegraph. 4 November 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "UAE Succession Update: The Post-Zayed Scenario". Wikileaks. 28 September 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "With MBZ's promotion, Sheikha Fatima sons take centre stage". Gulf States Newsletter. 724. 12 November 2003. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Khalaf, Abdulhadi (2006). "Rules of Succession and Political Participation in the GCC States". In Abdulhadi Khalaf and Giacomo Luciani. Constitutional Reform and Political Participation in the Gulf. Dubai: Gulf Research Center. pp. 33–50. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Family feeling behind the football". The Economist. Abu Dhabi. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Abu Dhabi's family business". Financial Times. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
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