Culture

Although there is a common and shared culture, I have come to learn more about the tribal way of life in UAE. It is important to identify with a certain tribe or group of people or not to identify/associate with members of a certain tribe. Tribal "purity" also happens to be an important aspect of Emirati culture. There is also an extremely high power distance and high institutional collectivism whereby people are required to abide by and follow directions of leaders and be loyal to them without question.
Authority is very important as shown in the case of Robert Redford. He had to cancel his appointment at ZU for an important last minute meeting with the authorities and was therefore able to give only a two minute talk at ZU.
Although the UAE has undergone rapid modernization, family ties still remain very strong. After speaking with one of the ladies we met at the Women's Union, I was struck by the fact that although their mission is empowerment of women. They do not encourage women who are sufferers of domestic abuse to stop suffering in silence. She indicated that actively advocating against VAW would be contrary to their culture as it would lead to breaking families yet the family unit is extremely important. I felt that empowerment to be successful it should encompass all areas of disempowerment. My thoughts are - due to the vastly changing trends, Emirati women will become more vocal at some point in the far future and be able to say no to domestic violence.

Williams C.