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Three women have beaten competition from 67 other Emirati applicants to win coveted Fulbright scholarships to study in the US. The Fulbright programme was founded in 1946 in Washington to provide a bridge between the US and the world. It now reaches out to 140 countries.
The students, who leave in August, are funded by the State Department and receive around US$120,000 (Dh440,000) for the two-year programme. This covers everything from from tuition fees to housing, according to the Abu Dhabi-based English language publication.
They also get a flight home each year. Since the programme was founded in 1946, 183,000 students have gone to the US through the scholarship and 110,000 US students have travelled to other nations.
The UAE sent its first scholars in 2006. Including the latest three, seven have gone through the rigorous year-long selection process.
Maryam al Meqbaali, Rana al Hammadi and Umaimah Rasheed, were among 70 Emiratis - 45 women and 25 men - to apply this year, the paper added.
"The number of women applicants from the UAE reflected their growing ambition to become successful professionals, Mary Corrado, the country director at AMIDEAST, the organisation that works with the US State Department on the programme and finds suitable students, was quoted as saying by the paper.
Of the four previous Emirati scholars, only one was a man, it noted.
Most of the students have come from the Higher Colleges of Technology, although the search included federal and private institutions.
Lana Kattan, who travelled the Emirates seeking candidates, said men had more opportunity after high school to go directly into work. "But women are more driven," she added. "They feel the need to prove themselves." Ms Rasheed, a psychologist, is a pioneer in her field - an area massively under-represented by Emiratis, she said.
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