- Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi launched 65 university-research grants under the Jawaher Fund for Women’s Education in Morocco.
- The initiative, in partnership with Cadi Ayyad and Al Akhawayn Universities, supports postgraduate and faculty research focusing on women’s empowerment.
- Parallel rural projects in Al Haouz Province aim to empower 100 women through livestock programs and a new eco-friendly community center.
Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi launched a landmark initiative in the field of women's education and empowerment, announcing 65 university-research grants under the banner of the Jawaher Fund for the Advancement of Women's Education in partnership with Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane during her official visit to Morocco on November 4, 2025.
At the heart of the announcement, 45 of the grants will be awarded to postgraduate students at Cadi Ayyad University, while another 20 will be given to faculty and students at Al Akhawayn University. This includes masters and doctoral levels in disciplines such as science, technology, health, social sciences, business, and finance, with particular emphasis on embedding women's empowerment within research methodologies and outcomes.
Her Highness underlined during the visit that “every school, university, laboratory and innovative idea is a pillar of a more stable and advanced future”, while underlining her conviction that academic partnerships, particularly within the domain of Arab educational establishments, represent long-term investment in building the capacities of generations to embark on creation and innovation. She also highlighted that the UAE and Morocco share a common conviction: the belief in education as the core of building people who are capable of making valuable contributions toward national development and societal transformation.
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In addition to the academic component, the visit saw the launch of parallel rural development projects in Morocco's Al Haouz Province, one of the regions hardest hit by the September 2023 earthquake, aimed at empowering women in vulnerable communities through sustainable livelihoods. Under a tripartite cooperation agreement among UAE-based NAMA Women Advancement, The Big Heart Foundation, and Morocco's Mayshad Foundation, two key initiatives were launched in the village of Tansghart: a livestock and sheep-farming program to equip close to 100 women with entrepreneurial skills and help them earn an annual income ranging from US$1,360 to US$3,000 from the second year; and the construction of an earthquake-resilient, eco-friendly rural community center to serve more than 1,000 residents with educational, health, and economic services.
Throughout her engagements, Her Highness commended the Moroccan women for their remarkable achievements in research, knowledge, and innovation, describing them as an inspiring model for Arab women. She underlined that the empowerment of women is not a social option but a developmental necessity and affirmed that the working woman is not merely a contributor to the economy but a force for building and a guarantee of balance and stability within family and society.
By linking academic investment with community-based livelihood support, it reflects a wider UAE-Morocco collaboration to harness the transformative potential of women's education and participation, especially in the wake of natural disaster-affected regions, in order to turn research opportunities into tangible social and economic impact.
