How UAE is helping female students embrace sporting excellence

Each year stories of female athletes in the UAE breaking the glass ceiling to make a mark on the global stage tug at our heartstrings.

- Rituraj Borkakoty [e-mail]

In 2023, Asma Al-Hosani made the whole country proud when she became the first Emirati woman to win a gold medal in martial arts at the Asian Games by clinching the top spot in the 62 kg category of the jiu-jitsu event.

Then last year, Safiya Al Sayegh wrote a new chapter in the country’s sporting history by becoming the first female cyclist to qualify for the Olympics.

Safiya was not alone in Paris, though. Dubai-born Indian shuttler Tanisha Crasto overcame a gruelling qualifying challenge to reach the Paris Olympics.

Dubai swimmers Karin Belbeisi and Christina Rach also represented Jordan and Eritrea respectively at the Paris Summer Games.

And recently, Rouda Essa Alserkal, a teenage chess prodigy, made history as the UAE’s first female grandmaster.

There are myriad other inspiring stories of excellence from UAE’s female athletes in recent years which haven't been scripted overnight.

Meticulous planning and visionary steps to empower women have inspired young girls in the country to step into the sporting arena.

Michael Lowery, Director of Sport, GEMS Metropole School — Motor City, says their school has seen an incredible 260 per cent jump in female students’ participation in sporting activities.