Abu Dhabi: Most women place their families’ requirements above their own well-being and this is not a healthy prioritisation, according to the leaders of a women’s organisation.

“If they think first about themselves, they can serve their family and society better. Our organisation wants to inspire Indian women [to adopt this attitude] ,” said Aisha Lakdawala, the newly elected honorary president of the Indian Ladies Association (ILA).

Remya Nambiar, the new honorary general secretary of the ILA, said most women, in placing their family welfare first, ignore their own health. “They should realise that if they are not healthy, they cannot take care of their family.”

An example was provided to illustrate this skew in priorities. When a woman was invited for an event, Lakadawala narrated, she said she had to ask her four-year-old son whether he would accompany her to the event. “This is a good example of women having other priorities before finding time for their own interests,” she said.

Both Nambiar and Lakdawala said the association wants to inspire women to involve themselves in creative activities. “If they nurture their talents and take care of themselves, they will be more confident. We create opportunities for this purpose, and we will encourage more Indian women to join our organisation,” she Nambiar.

Established in 1976, the ILA is one of the five Indian community organisations in the capital which are registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs. The other four organisations are the Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC), Indian Islamic Centre (IIC), Kerala Social Centre (KSC) and Abu Dhabi Malayalee Samajam.

The ILA has around 300 members, who are from all over India. About 75 per cent of the members are married working women, Lakdawala said.

Commenting on the low number of homemakers in the organisation, she said they are busier than the working women. “Working women have a specific routine with time allocated for work and family, whereas homemakers are fully devoted to their families, rarely finding time for themselves,” Nambiar said.

Interestingly, homemakers in the present generation stay at home of their own choice, not due to compulsion, she said. Almost all Indian women in the present generation are educated professionals but choose not to work in order to devote more time for their children. “They can easily find jobs, if they wish, as many of them are doctors, engineers, teachers, etc.”

There are many talented women among the homemakers and ILA always gives them a platform. The ILA’s volleyball team, comprising of homemakers also, has won many tournaments. Nikhat Kazi, a homemaker, started setting up food stalls at prominent events in the capital after winning a cooking competition conducted by the ILA. There are many such entrepreneurs operating from home, and Nambiar said, “We support and encourage them.”

The ILA also spoke of the important role played by husbands who could encourage married women to “think first about themselves.”

“Therefore, we have decided to involve husbands also in our activities,” Lakadawala said.

She said the ILA will support the Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC) in its efforts to facilitate establishing an Indian community school to address the seat crunch in Indian curriculum schools.

ILA also conducts charity activities every month. “We distributed food packets to workers at a construction site as part of Holy celebrations. We will conduct entertainment activities at a female workers accommodation this month,” Lakadawala said.

ILA membership costs Dh250, including an administration charge.