Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has urged UAE residents to remember the service and sacrifice of women in the country. On International Women's Day, he asked people to think about the contributions that women have made over these years. “Female leadership and empowerment is at the core of any national success,” Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said in a tweet on Sunday. Women have been hailed as equal partners and contributors to the UAE's success story by the country's rulers. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed is a champion of women rights and his forward-thinking goals have helped establish the UAE as an example for women’s empowerment. Today, women have an equal representation in the country’s Federal National Council (FNC) after a directive from the ruler. The ruling has put the UAE among the top countries worldwide when it comes to representation of women in parliament. The UAE aims to become one of the world’s top 25 countries for gender equality by 2021.