UAE WOMEN STUDENTS GET INSIGHT ON ABC'S OF

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 004003 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KWMN KPPD KPAO TC SUBJECT: UAE WOMEN STUDENTS GET INSIGHT ON ABC'S OF AMERICAN POLICY ISSUES ¶1. SUMMARY: ON THE EVE OF THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, AMERICAN EMBASSY WOMEN VISITED ZAYED UNIVERSITY, AN ALL-WOMEN'S COLLEGE, TO SHARE PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON WHAT MOTIVATES THEM TO VOTE THE WAY THEY DO. THE DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN EMIRATI STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF SHOWED THAT WE DO NOT SHARE THE SAME POLITICAL PRIORITIES, BUT THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO RESPECT OTHERS' VIEWS AND NOT ALLOW POLITICAL PREFERENCES TO AFFECT THAT LEVEL OF RESPECT AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. END SUMMARY. ¶2. THE PANEL OF AMERICAN WOMEN CONSISTED OF ONE WOMAN IN HER TWENTIES, ONE IN HER THIRTIES, AND ONE IN HER FORTIES. THEY REPRESENTED A SPECTRUM OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND POLITICAL INTERESTS. EACH AMERICAN EXPLAINED BRIEFLY ABOUT HER PERSONAL BACKGROUND, EDUCATION, PROFESSIONAL AND FAMILY LIFE, AND THE WAY SHE THINKS ABOUT CRITICAL ISSUES. THE DISCUSSIONS COVERED GAY MARRIAGE, ABORTION, ENVIRONMENT, AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. THE STUDENTS WERE VERY INTERESTED IN THE VASTLY DIVERSE AMERICAN WOMENS' PERSPECTIVES. ¶3. DURING ONE EXCHANGE, THE AMERICANS ASKED THE STUDENTS ABOUT THE ISSUES THEY MOST CARE ABOUT IN THE AMERICAN CONTEXT AND WHAT THEY WOULD PERSONALLY LOOK AT TO DECIDE WHICH POLITICAL CANDIDATES AND POLITICAL PARTIES THEY WOULD SUPPORT. THE STUDENTS CARED MOST ABOUT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. THEY CITED AS THEIR TOP FOUR ISSUES: 1) PERCEIVED DANGERS OF UNILATERAL U.S. MILITARY OPERATIONS; 2) PERCEIVED DOUBLE STANDARDS CONCERNING NON-PROLIFERATION POLICY; 3) PERCEIVED RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MUSLIMS IN THE UNITED STATES; AND 4) THE NEED FOR AMERICA TO FIX ITS DOMESTIC PROBLEMS BEFORE TACKLING INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. THE STUDENTS APPRECIATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO THINK CRITICALLY AND TO SHARE THEIR VIEWPOINTS OPENLY. ¶4. THE FEEDBACK ON THE INTERACTION WAS OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE. THE STUDENTS' POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR TOLD US THAT HIS STUDENTS SHOWED AN UNUSUAL LEVEL OF INTEREST AND APPRECIATED HEARING THE VERY PERSONAL, VICE OFFICIAL, VIEWS OF AMERICAN WOMEN. "I WAS EXCITED TO HEAR THAT AS WOMEN, WE ALL WORRY ABOUT THE SAME THINGS, NO MATTER WHAT COUNTRY WE'RE FROM," ONE STUDENT TOLD THE EMBASSY WOMEN AFTER THE DISCUSSION. SISON