Arab Woman Makes Brigadier

It's interesting that the Gulf states of the Arab world, with the exception of Saudi Araba, now seem to be liberalizing (in the better sense of the word) faster than the rest. Consider this story:

ABU DHABI — A UAE woman doctor, who serves in the Armed Forces, has been promoted as brigadier, making her the first woman in the entire Arab-Gulf region to reach that military rank. At a ceremony to honour Brig. Asmaa Sultan Al Ghairi, held here under the auspices of the General command of the UAE Armed forces, Noora Al Suwaidi, the Director of the UAE Women Federation, paid tribute to her.

The achievement is great as she is the first woman to be promoted to that rank not only in the UAE but in the entire Arab-Gulf region, she added.

We don't see stories like that from, say, Libya or Egypt.