Modern Emirati Literature written by Woman Writers

The development of prose in the United Arab Emirates occurred much later than in other Gulf
Countries. The local press started to develop only at the end of the 1960s. ‘Abd Allah Saqr
Ahmad was the author of a short story Qulub la tarham (Merciless Hearts) published at the end
of the 1960s and the first collection of short stories in the history of Emirate literature entitled
al-Khashaba (A Piece of Wood). The first literary attempts of the young generation of Emirate
writers were published within the pages of the following periodicals: an-Nasr, az-Zamalik, ash-
Shabab, al-Ahli. On the market appeared the journal al-Ittihad, the weekly Akhbar Dubayy and
the monthly al-Majma’. The first stage of modern Emirate literature is constituted by a group of
writers who started to publish their works in the years 1972–1975. Among them: ‘Ali ‘Ubayd
‘Ali, Muhammad ‘Ali al-Mirri, ‘Abd al-Aziz Khalil as well as ‘Abd al-Hamid Ahmad and
Muhammad al-Murr.
In the Emirates women publish their works alongside men. The most renowned names
include: Shaikha Mubarak an-Nakhi, Salma Matar Yusuf, Layla Ahmad, Maryam Jam‘a Faraj
or Amina ‘Abd Allah Bu Shihab. New generation is represented by: Basima Muhammad Yunis,
Su‘ad al-‘Arimi, Asma’ az-Zar‘uni, Ibtisam al-Mu‘alla and Rawda al-Balushi. Their short
stories concern social matters i.e. the marriage of underage girls, the lack of respect for the
opinions and aspirations of the young. What is more, in those stories we notice attempts at
new topics connected with the introduction of a new life style which in turn is related to the
economic and financial changes caused by the discovery of crude oil.

The development of prose in the United Arab Emirates occurred much later than in other Gulf
Countries. The local press started to develop only at the end of the 1960s. ‘Abd Allah Saqr
Ahmad was the author of a short story Qulub la tarham (Merciless Hearts) published at the end
of the 1960s and the first collection of short stories in the history of Emirate literature entitled
al-Khashaba (A Piece of Wood). The first literary attempts of the young generation of Emirate
writers were published within the pages of the following periodicals: an-Nasr, az-Zamalik, ash-
Shabab, al-Ahli. On the market appeared the journal al-Ittihad, the weekly Akhbar Dubayy and
the monthly al-Majma’. The first stage of modern Emirate literature is constituted by a group of
writers who started to publish their works in the years 1972–1975. Among them: ‘Ali ‘Ubayd
‘Ali, Muhammad ‘Ali al-Mirri, ‘Abd al-Aziz Khalil as well as ‘Abd al-Hamid Ahmad and
Muhammad al-Murr.
In the Emirates women publish their works alongside men. The most renowned names
include: Shaikha Mubarak an-Nakhi, Salma Matar Yusuf, Layla Ahmad, Maryam Jam‘a Faraj
or Amina ‘Abd Allah Bu Shihab. New generation is represented by: Basima Muhammad Yunis,
Su‘ad al-‘Arimi, Asma’ az-Zar‘uni, Ibtisam al-Mu‘alla and Rawda al-Balushi. Their short
stories concern social matters i.e. the marriage of underage girls, the lack of respect for the
opinions and aspirations of the young. What is more, in those stories we notice attempts at
new topics connected with the introduction of a new life style which in turn is related to the
economic and financial changes caused by the discovery of crude oil.