A museum for the ladies in Dubai
Dubai – The history, clothes, documents and female art of the United Arab Emirates were granted, one year ago, a single place to be stored, preserved and shown to visitors. The Women’s Museum, in Dubai, is a site created to tell their trajectory, in a country in which the government and society are majorly dominated by men and women don’t always have a prominent position.
According to Hawra Askari, the museum coordinator, the plan of the site founder, psychiatry professor Rafia Obaid Ghubash, was to dedicate a site to show more important operation of women in the Emirates, not focussing solely on household and beauty tasks. “The founder aimed to show intellectualness, work and the part played by women in society,” he said.
On entering the museum, you come to a collection of personal photographs, donated by families who lived in the Gold Souk region, where the museum is located. Currently, the region is predominantly commercial, but in the past it housed many families, which also had a little of their story recorded at the site.
The history of the house that hosts the museum also calls attention. “In the house, three single sisters lived, so it was known as 'Beit Al Banat' (The House of Girls), as, in Arab culture, your age does not matter… If you are single, you are still called a girl,” explained Askari.
On the first floor, it is possible to learn about the history of important women in the country, like Salama Bint Butti, the mother of the founder of the Emirates, Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Also included is the trajectory of Ghubash, a PhD in epidemiological psychology from London University, the first professor of the subject in the country and later awarded by the government for her support to art and culture.
The history of the house that hosts the museum also calls attention. “In the house, three single sisters lived, so it was known as 'Beit Al Banat' (The House of Girls), as, in Arab culture, your age does not matter… If you are single, you are still called a girl,” explained Askari.
On the first floor, it is possible to learn about the history of important women in the country, like Salama Bint Butti, the mother of the founder of the Emirates, Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Also included is the trajectory of Ghubash, a PhD in epidemiological psychology from London University, the first professor of the subject in the country and later awarded by the government for her support to art and culture.
Burqas: masks for married women
The room shows land purchase and sale documents by women, as well as clothes, golden adornments and traditional female accessories. One of the collections shown is most prominent and brings together several "burqas", a kind of mask worn by married women. Askari says that the younger the woman, the thinner the burqa worn, showing the face more. For older women, the accessory is thicker, showing little more than the eyes of the person wearing it.
This item should not be confused with the burca worn by women in Central Asia, especially in Afghanistan, and in Pakistan, which mixes a veil with a hood and covers most of the body, with just a screen allowing vision.
On the second floor, there is a space reserved for art by female artists in the Emirates, many of whom are students. There is also a room dedicated to the founder of the country, with a picture containing comments by Zayed about women.
The third floor of the museum has a space in honour of Ousha Bint Khalifa, the most famous poet in the Emirates, now aged 93. The exhibition shows Ousha’s books and personal objects. On the walls, her poems are spread everywhere, accompanied by her voice declaiming her poetry, heard throughout the exhibition room.
The entire collection of the Women’s Museum was donated by the society in the region. Among the donations are dozens of books that helped establish the site’s study room, where there are workshops and conferences.
Service
Women’s Museum
Sikka 28, in the old Gold Souk, Deira, close to the fish market
Dubai – United Arab Emirates
From Saturday to Thursday, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Admittance: 20 dirham (US$ 5.50)
This item should not be confused with the burca worn by women in Central Asia, especially in Afghanistan, and in Pakistan, which mixes a veil with a hood and covers most of the body, with just a screen allowing vision.
On the second floor, there is a space reserved for art by female artists in the Emirates, many of whom are students. There is also a room dedicated to the founder of the country, with a picture containing comments by Zayed about women.
The third floor of the museum has a space in honour of Ousha Bint Khalifa, the most famous poet in the Emirates, now aged 93. The exhibition shows Ousha’s books and personal objects. On the walls, her poems are spread everywhere, accompanied by her voice declaiming her poetry, heard throughout the exhibition room.
The entire collection of the Women’s Museum was donated by the society in the region. Among the donations are dozens of books that helped establish the site’s study room, where there are workshops and conferences.
Service
Women’s Museum
Sikka 28, in the old Gold Souk, Deira, close to the fish market
Dubai – United Arab Emirates
From Saturday to Thursday, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Admittance: 20 dirham (US$ 5.50)
0 comments: