FUJAIRAH // Aisha Al Hamoudi is a little woman with big plans.
At just 88cm (2ft 8in) the 31-year-old sergeant with Al Bidya police has applied to Guinness World Records to be named the shortest policewoman in the world.
But it's not just glory she's after.
"I want the fame it brings to propel me to become an ambassador for Emiratis with special needs," Sgt Al Hamoudi said yesterday. "It is important for all Emiratis, including me, to give back to their local community."
A member of the Employing Special Needs Institute in Al Ain, where she graduated, her ambition is to use the recognition the record would bring to give back to the special needs community.
"The institute gave me the opportunity and choice of working for the police, Etisalat or army. As I am a people person, I chose the police as I feel it is the establishment closest to the people."
The oldest of seven children, Sgt Al Hamoudi said her size was unique in her family, "but it has never hindered my self-development". She said her short stature was due to a lack of a growth hormone, "perhaps as a result of my parents being related". But her height has never stopped her being a commanding presence - from when her parents put her in charge of her younger siblings to her work on the Fujairah police beat.
"Whatever Aisha says we follow," said her younger brother Mohammed, 22, who is also an officer at Al Bidya police station.
Police work runs in the family. Another of Aisha's brothers is a first assistant with the force, and all three are following in the footsteps of their father, a retired officer who also worked at Al Bidya station.
"My entire family has always been supportive of me and that has helped me become the person I am," Sgt Al Hamoudi said, adding that her colleagues are all "very respectful" and view her as an equal.
Having already applied online at the Guinness World Records website, she is planning another bid with the backing of the Employing Special Needs Institute.
