rights organizations claimed that it was an example of the UAE’s racial discrimination against black migrant workers. Employment Women's employment in the labour market has risen significantly and in the public sector women make up 66% of employees, with 30% of them in high level positions of responsibility. The UAE cabinet is made up of 27.5% women, all of whom play key roles in supporting innovation in the country with results indicating that the UAE is a new hub for women in technology. Women represent 50 percent of scientists in STEM programmes at UAE universities and female nationals in the nuclear sector have tripled between 2014 and 2015. Political affairs In 2004 the first woman was appointed as minister, Lubna Al Qasimi. In 2006, in the first parliamentary elections, the first woman was elected to the National Federal Council and in 2016, Noura Al Kaabi was named Minister of state for the NFC. Reem Al Hashimi and Shamma Al Mazrui are two other female ministers. In addition to this the UAE is one of only two countries in the Gulf that permits women to hold the position of a judge or prosecutor, with Bahrain being the first country in the region to elect a female judge in 2006. Abortion Under article 340 of the Penal Code abortion is illegal in the UAE except where a woman's life is at risk or the unborn child has a genetic condition that will prove to be fatal. A woman who is found to have undergone an abortion can face a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine up to Dh10,000. Women that enter hospital seeking treatment for a miscarriage can be accused of attempted abortion if they are unmarried. Education Education has been a prime area of growth in the whole Gulf region. Primary school completion rates have grown by 15% for girls and the UAE, as well as Qatar, have the highest female-to-male ratio of university enrolments worldwide. 77% of Emirati women enrol in higher education after secondary school and make up 70% of all university graduates in the UAE. Traditionally women were encouraged to pursue female disciplines such as education and health care but this has changed recently with surges in areas such as technology and engineering. The UAE currently has four women fighter pilots and thirty trained females in the nation's special security forces. In September