Women should not have to prove how much they can endure

During my years working in humanitarian and development initiatives, I observed that fortitude is not typically displayed through dramatic actions. Rather, it emerges from the ordinary choices women make daily: rebuilding their lives after upheaval, juggling family responsibilities while pursuing their own goals, or starting anew when life takes unforeseen turns.

Witnessing these experiences sharpened my admiration for women's resilience. However, it also prompted me to query a narrative that we may have come to embrace excessively: why do we persist in gauging a woman's strength by how much she can bear, conquer, or sustain? While we commend women for surmounting challenges and persisting under pressure, there is a peril in idealizing unending resilience.

Repeatedly celebrating women for achieving success despite challenging circumstances may inadvertently endorse those circumstances as inescapable. True resilience should be acknowledged, yet it should never function as a substitute for advancement. The focus should shift from questioning how much more women can endure, to identifying what must change so that they are no longer compelled to endure the same barriers.

A shining illustration of this concept is the United Arab Emirates. The nation stands as a compelling example of what can be achieved when women's aspirations align with a national strategy, purposeful policies, and persistent backing. Emirati women comprise 70% of university graduates, comprising 56% of STEM graduates from government-run institutions.

By 2025, women occupied 142 seats on the boards of UAE-listed public joint-stock enterprises, up from 47 in 2021. These statistics embody remarkable progress. Nevertheless, behind each figure lies a story that transcends mere credentials, positions, or numerical data. A woman might embody the roles of a leader, entrepreneur, researcher, or professional, while simultaneously fulfilling the duties of a mother, daughter, caregiver, mentor, and someone others rely on.

Her aspirations remain unaltered, irrespective of the changes in her responsibilities. The crux lies in recognizing that her journey is seldom linear, and her career trajectory may shift, pause, redirect, or evolve. However, we must refrain from conflating fluctuations in pace with a diminished capacity or an absence of ambition.

As we commemorate Emirati Women's Day 2026, themed "We Emerge Stronger and Better," it becomes imperative to delve into more profound inquiries, not posed to women, but directed at the structures that shape them. Can a new mother still envision a viable pathway to leadership? Is a woman returning to the workforce acknowledged for the value she contributes, rather than being defined by the duration of her absence?

Can an entrepreneur secure the financing, networks, and markets essential to transform an idea into a sustainable venture? Can a woman traverse various phases of her life without each transition necessitating her to reaffirm her dedication? These queries are not solely the purview of women; they are inquiries for policymakers, institutions, and communities.

At NAMA Women Advancement, our approach to empowerment is grounded in a straightforward yet crucial premise: women do not require institutions to unlock their potential; they necessitate environments that recognize, invest in, and facilitate the translation of their capabilities into tangible opportunities and enduring impact. Our duty extends beyond comprehending what women aspire to accomplish; it involves identifying the obstacles standing between their abilities and their progress, and collaborating with our partners to effect change.

As we observe Emirati Women's Day under the theme "We Emerge Stronger and Better," it is crucial to understand that a society's strength should be gauged by its capacity to adapt: by entities that eliminate superfluous barriers, workplaces that appreciate varied paths to contribution and leadership, and communities that provide space for women's ambitions to unfold as their lives progress.

The achievements of Emirati women have already demonstrated the magnitude of their contributions. The benchmark for our forthcoming chapter of progress should not be how many barriers women continue to surmount, but rather how many of those barriers we are willing to dismantle. Perhaps, embodying "strength" and "betterment" in today's context entails not expecting women to demonstrate ever-increasing resilience, but rather constructing institutions, workplaces, and communities capable of evolving alongside them.

For the next chapter of women's progress should not be predicated on how much they can endure. Instead, it should revolve around the opportunities they can seize, the ambitions they can actualize, and the impact they can generate at every juncture of their lives. Once women no longer need to prove their strength through what they can withstand, we shall have cultivated the space for that strength to be evaluated by what they can achieve.