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 |
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.
Sheikha Fatima was born in Al Hayer in Al Ain, being the only daughter to her parents. Her family are bedouin and religious, like a traditional Emirati family. Her father died when she was young so her mother remarried and had two more sons, Suheil and Owad.
Sheikha Fatima is one of the women rights supporters in the country. She is the supreme chairperson of the family development foundation. She significantly contributed to the foundation of the first women’s organization in 1976, the Abu Dhabi society for the awakening of women. She was also instrumental in a nationwide campaign towards girls' education. In addition, Sheikha Fatima heads the United Arab Emirate's women federation, which she founded in 1975. She is also president of motherhood and childhood supreme council. At the end of the 1990s, she publicly announced that women should be member of the federal national council of the Emirates.
She also supports efforts concerning adult literacy and provision of free public education to girls. Annually an exclusive award named the Sheikha Fatima Award for Excellence has been presenting in her honour since 2005. It is awarded for the outstanding academic performance and commitment to the environment and world citizenship of the female recipients. 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. She has constantly supported women and has initiated an award called Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Award for Woman Athletes has been given to female athletes . Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak has created a Ladies sports academy called Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Academy in Abu Dhabi.
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. Furthermore, the UNIFEM stated "she is the champion of women's right." 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. 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. Shaikha Fatima Institute of Nursing and Health Sciences Lahore Pakistan is named after Her Highness.
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