New family ministry to enhance work-life balance, marriage prep
As the UAE inaugurates a new ministry to modernise family services, social work and child-development professionals hope that this new ministry will streamline and improve the regulatory system of social services in the UAE.
In prioritising priorities – family harmony, parenting, child development – the ministry should have more explicit guidance and materials for social workers and agencies.
Ministry of Family: Sanaa Suhail as the Minister of Family, sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on 8 December.
The new Ministry of Family is important,’ stressed Cindi Santos, a family therapist and counsellor at GEMS Wellington International School.
Santos said: I’m a family therapist and school counsellor who spends my days with families and knows the struggles and successes that go on. If the ministry has policies that are geared towards mental health, family counselling and community support, then families will feel supported and empowering.
‘I want this ministry to become an example of guidance and help for families in all cultures and economic conditions,’ she went on. "I would like to see work that offers family counselling and parenting workshops which are accessible to de-stigmatise requesting help for family problems.
The specialist listed a few risks for family disintegration that the new ministry aims to combat: "Some of the most significant threats are communication difficulties, work-life inequity, technology and untreated mental health issues. They’re the reasons for confusion, separation and conflict.
The ministry can encourage listening and communication through workshops and campaigns, she advised to overcome these obstacles. ‘Adopting family-friendly workplace policies at the companies level and working with schools to educate kids on emotional intelligence and coping skills are necessary steps,’ he says.
"This ministry is an extraordinary move", Santos said, "and given the right measures it could revolutionise the way that families function and thrive in the UAE".
Sheikh Mohammed has listed the core mandates of the new Ministry for Family — including the creation and implementation of policies to encourage stable and stable families, promote measures to increase the fertility rate of the population, and mitigate family breakup.
The ministry will train couples to get married, to have more effective parenting and work/life harmony. It will also deal with the protection of children’s rights, vulnerable communities and the regulation of social services institutions. The ministry will also be in charge of training staff in the social sector and licensors.
The sociologist Dr Amina Al Hamadi emphasised the need to address the foundational elements of family life – in this case, couples’ marriage preparation. ‘You’re going to need couples who are equipped with the skills and information to be strong families, especially in this modern-day environment,’ she said. "If the ministry can motivate them and help them by offering marriage preparation programmes, then it will make sure that families are grounded.
And Dr Al Hamadi pointed to the possibilities of organised marriage support programmes and grants. "These programs can offer couples a useful resource as they try to get through early marriage and childrearing. This not only helps to keep the relationship between the couple but keeps the family in the community together," she said.
Even psychologist Dr Omar Khaled said what a new ministry would mean in terms of regulating and licenced institutions providing social programmes and services. ‘A lot of organisations do offer important services to families, but we need some kind of regulatory system to get everyone to be on the same page.
‘I have done a lot of work in partnership with other social justice organisations. This new ministry will not only make the service better but also create a sense of community of organisations aiming to achieve similar projects," he said.
‘Regulation will lead to best practice identification and enable the shared culture of sharing,’ Dr Khaled also added. "We can all come together and implement a more structured family support system that works for children and parents," he said.
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