Abu Dhabi Education Council Trimester Three Ali Ibn Abi Taleb School English Language Arts Grade:

9 / . :Name

The woman breaking the UAE gender barrier

Emirati women challenge job stereotypes in the UAE.
By Mohammed N Al Khan, Staff Reporter Published: 00:00 March 6, 2010 Image Credit: Oliver clarke/Gulf News

Mariam Darwish is a service mechanic. She works at Al Futtaim Motors' Lexus service centre. She works on about 40 cars each day. "I love this job," says the Emirati mother. "Its different, I like working with my hands." When Mariam began looking for a job she could only find work as a secretary. "It was boring ...I could not improve myself at it," she says. Being a mechanic looked exciting," says Mariam. We didn't know how to fix cars, but we were willing to learn. Al Futtaim sent us on a training course to learn how to service cars. "We began working in the service centre. The work was very hard and it was hot, too. I enjoyed learning something new every day," Mariam says. "My customers trust me to fix their cars. At first, Emirati men found it hard to understand why I wanted to work here. They thought you need muscle to do this job, but you just need a mind. These men now ask for me to service their cars!
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Abu Dhabi Education Council Trimester Three Ali Ibn Abi Taleb School English Language Arts Grade: 9 / . :Name

Mariams brothers did not want her to become a mechanic. They said that it's not Emirati culture for a woman to work WRITE ANS WERS TOTH EQUES TIONS BEL OWINYOUR NOTEBOOK : SUPPORT in a garage. I don't agree. We have to find interesting jobs, not just sit in an office." Mariam says: "I'm working with people from all over the 1. What job did Mariam try before training as a mechanic? 2. How many months was the training world and learning so course? much. Women all over the world 3. Whatunderstand is the name of the company she works for?gender is not an obstacle," should that our ThinkandS earch she says.
4. Why did Mariams brothers disagree with her doing the mechanics course? 5. Why does Mariam love this job? 6. Does Mariamagree that you need muscle to be a mechanic? TheAuthor andYou 7. What does the word obstacle mean? Onyour Own 8. Should women work in careers such as a mechanic? Right there

N o w , Y o u b e th e T e a ch e r!
Inyour g roup, create: 2 x right therequestions. 2 x thinkandsearchquestions. 1 x theauthor andyouquestion OR1 xonyour ownquestion. Discuss the information youd expect to see in each answer. Pass your questions to another group. They will have 20 minutes to answer the questions. Their answers will be returned to your group for feedback. As a group, assess the answers and offer feedback - make sure you tell them some GOOD THINGS about their answers and offer one piece of advice about HOW TO IMPROVE. F ROM R EADINGto WR ITING Write a discussion text that presents the positive and negative aspects of 2innon-traditional careers. Em irati wom enworking You will need to do some more reading on this topic. Recommended readings: