Love Of The Nation

As we celebrate the UAE’s 46th National Day, we chart the country’s success and growing opportunities for the women who are side-stepping convention and breaking new ground

- Ann Marie McQueen

When the Louvre Abu Dhabi was first announced a decade ago, Najla Busit promptly switched her major from law to art history and archeology.

Then, three years ago, the 27-year-old Emirati joined the museum as collections manager, overseeing the most precious acquisitions from around the world as well as priceless loans from French galleries. “It was the dream, initially, when the project was announced,” she says. “I was a year into my bachelors.” As the UAE prepares to celebrate its 46th National Day on December 2, Busit’s leap to a dream career in the art world in her home country is the kind of opportunity that is becoming more common for women in the UAE. And as the long-awaited museum opened to the public on November 11, she couldn’t help but think of how proud the founder of the nation, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, would be.

“We’re here because of him, because of all the doors that he opened for us, to be able to achieve this magnificent project,” she says. “And I think he would be very, very proud and we’re proud to be his children, and continuing his path.”