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Meet the first licensed female veterinarian in the UAE

How Tanzanian-born Emirati woman Dr Hardika Asser is breaking the glass ceiling

Over three decades ago, Dr Hardika Asser, a Tanzanian-born Emirati, broke barriers as the first female veterinarian to be licensed in the UAE, skilfully balancing a thriving career with the demands of raising three daughters. Today, at 64, she is happily retired but believes her life has just begun. On a good day you would find her horse riding, practising yoga or designing abayas for her daughters or their friends. “I have reached a point where I am thanking God that my life is sprinkled with contentment. I try to make every day better than the one before it,” she says.

Although she has been retired for a decade, she remains committed to personal growth, continuous learning and providing inspiration to others.

At the age of 60, she embraced the thrill of horse riding. Today, at 64, she is in the best shape of her life, having lost over 20 kilograms through a dedicated practice of yoga and healthy living.

A journey of resilience

Growing up in a close knit family in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Dr Hardika’s childhood was also surrounded by pet dogs, cats, birds and her personal favourite, a rescue monkey called Gonchu.

In 1977, she moved to the UAE along with her parents. Her love for animals led her to pursue veterinary medicine from Kerala Veterinary College in Trichur, India. After returning to the UAE in 1985, she spent a couple of years hunting for a job. Since three years of experience was a prerequisite for obtaining a veterinary licence, she got a job at the Medical Veterinary Centre in Ras Al Khaimah. She managed the laboratory and small animal outpatient care while the head veterinarian treated camels and horses. “I acquired the licence in 1991 and it was something that was almost unheard of for a woman to receive in those days. But I was sure I didn’t want to work under anyone and would have to pave my own path.”

After getting licensed as the first female veterinarian from the ministry of agriculture, she realised she had no premises. Not one to be deterred, she began working as a mobile vet, carrying her supplies in a box and her veterinary services spanned across the Emirates.

In 1998, she acquired a clinic in Ajman, enabling her to perform surgeries, and thus, the Ajman Pet Resort was born. The resort consisted of a clinic, a grooming parlour, kennel and cattery service and provided a countryside atmosphere for pets, complete with the care of an in-house vet. Ten years later, she moved her practice to the Al Zubair area in Sharjah and called it the Al Zubair Animal Care, which lasted another 10 years. “One of the most fond memories was when a six-year-old boy had accompanied his parents to drop his dog off at the kennel for boarding. He told his mom that Leo, his dog, was so lucky to have a doctor like me, as I was fun and he wished to have me as his doctor! I consider it one of the best compliments I ever got,” she reminisces.

Her thirst for knowledge led her to continue her education, studying veterinary ophthalmology with a focus on treating cataracts in various animals. “From the time I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a vet. But my father wanted me to be an ophthalmologist as he felt restoring the vision of humans was a very dignified profession. I argued with him that animals have the same rights to have good vision too. That’s why I also did a course in animal ophthalmology” she says.

Raising strong women

In 1994, Dr Hardika married an Emirati and the couple was blessed with three daughters. Raising her daughters while running a medical practice was not easy. She always encouraged them to strive for continuous improvement without forcing them into a specific direction. “I made a point to step aside after providing guidance in order to enable them to make their own decisions. It was one of the most challenging aspects of raising them,” she asserts.

Today, her eldest daughter Jouhayna is a senior air traffic controller in the Area Control Center. The second daughter Al Yazyeh is a registered nurse and an assistant professor at a university. The youngest Mira has dedicated her career to combating financial crime at an international bank in Dubai.

Myriad hobbies

A lifelong learner, she has always been fascinated by languages and can fluently speak 12. “Swahili is my national language. I learned English and French at school. The stint in India taught me Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Tamil and more. I started working on Spanish and Mandarin during the lockdown. Mandarin was a particularly tough language to master,” she says. “I was inspired to learn all of these through exposure during my travels within regions featuring these languages. I was highly incentivised to persevere in becoming a linguist because I love knowing what’s being said wherever I go.”

She is currently learning American Sign Language (ASL), which she finds intellectually rewarding and a great workout for the brain. “ASL has enriched my cognitive processes and improved my ability to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds, including the deaf and hard of hearing community,” she states

Health and well-being have always been a priority for her, especially after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her first pregnancy. Through conscious efforts to remain active and eat healthily, she managed to maintain ideal body weight and blood sugar levels for years postpartum. Today, she practises yoga, meditation, and cardio exercises daily, unwinding herself at the beach near her home at the end of the day.

In June 2024, she gave a talk on ‘Yoga and Women Empowerment’ at the Sharjah Expo Centre for the Art of Living association during International Yoga Day. A strict vegetarian one day a week, she has also developed a love for idlis and dosas, influenced by her time in Kerala.

She is also an avid gardener with a green thumb, transforming her apartment into a lush indoor “jungle”. Her living room, bedroom, and balcony are adorned with money plants, snake plants, aloe vera, areca palms, bougainvillea and more. Her balcony offers a tranquil panoramic view of the sea, adding to the serene environment she has cultivated.

With a keen eye for fashion and colours, she designs most of the abayas for herself, her daughters and their friends.

“You can do it”

During her college days in Kerala, one of her classmates fell off a horse and instilled a deep fear in her of horse riding. “Once I retired, I decided the first thing I would do is crush that phobia,” says Dr Hardika.

She took up horse riding, and makes it a point to ride horses in whichever country she visits. “I was riding in Nairobi and that’s when it struck me that the scared young woman was now proficient in horse riding. I was literally on my high horse. So if I can conquer my fear, that too in my sixties, what is stopping any woman from doing anything she wants?”

Dr Hardika is grateful to the UAE for giving her the opportunity of evolving and progressing just the way the country progressed with time. On Emirati Women’s Day, she advises young women to remain focused and passionate about their goals, prioritising their health and persevering through challenges. “Believe in small achievable goals rather than burdening yourself with expectations,” she asserts. “Also, remember to prioritise your health and happiness. There is great importance in discipline and consistency. Having said that, while perfection may not always be attainable, sincerity in effort is what truly matters.”

wknd@khaleejtimes.com