Under the patronage of the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, the eighth edition of the UAE Women Writers Forum has been launched today. The forum will take place from September 19 to 21 and is organised by the Cultural and Media Office of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs.

Government representatives and others interested in the literature and culture of the region attended the forum’s first day at the Sharjah Ladies Club.

Salha Ghabish, Director of the Cultural and Media Office, said in her speech: “Today, we have huge obstacles, and in reality, we are exerting a great deal of effort to attract new authors and win back the confidence of our veteran talents.

We are now making great strides towards revitalising the Emirates Women Writers Association. For this reason, in our literary endeavours, we discourage inviting the same names.

The fact that more and more authors are using digital and social media platforms to publicise their work and build fan bases is something we can’t ignore. Despite this, we seek out and encourage those with a genuine interest in creativity, and we are always excited to include new perspectives in our annul forum.

Aisha Othman, in her opening comments highlighted the importance of fostering intergenerational creativity and literary exchange. Through seminars, talks, poetry evenings, workshops, and other literary and cultural activities, the forum supports the creative work of educated Emirati women, enhances the literary scene, and nurtures rising talent. 

The first novel author’s journey and literary production are discussed in this session. The forum offers poetry evenings and literary readings to highlight Emirati poets. It also fosters youthful literary potential. 

The goal of the forum is to develop literature and culture via future discussions on stories, novels, theatre, literary criticism, and cultural journalism.

At the beginning of the programme, Professor Najiba Al-Rifai led a symposium on women authors and their debut novel.

Then Asma Al-Zarouni talked about her debut novel, and Fathia Al-Nimr talked about how her late-in-life start to writing makes her work special.

Aisha Abdul Rahman highlighted the ongoing growth of Emirati literature by discussing the publication of her debut children’s stories. She remarked that contemporary authors put more thought and effort into their works. Saleha Obaid Hasan also discussed her debut release.

The female authors then participated in an open conversation with the attendees.