After five miscarriages and a divorce, Amal Shehab Ali's chances of having a baby seemed slim until she met a four-month-old girl in a home for abandoned children. Four years later, that girl, named Sheikha, has a family and is gearing up for school this autumn.
Dozens of newborn babies are abandoned each year in the UAE, left near mosques, in the street, outside homes and sometimes even in rubbish skips. The country has laws in place that ensure that orphanages provide for abandoned children's basic needs, including granting them citizenship and free education. Basic needs, however, are not all that a child needs.
Earlier this month, a federal law was passed to replace a patchwork of procedures in different emirates to care for abandoned children, but it still needs to be easier for abandoned children to become part of a family.
Under many interpretations of Sharia law, abandoned children cannot assume a family's name and, by UAE law, only Emiratis can qualify to foster a child. These rules, however, must be examined for their legal implications, from the extension of health insurance to family inheritance.
It is important to recognise that one of the reasons that children are abandoned is out of fear of legal retribution in cases of illegal relationships and sex outside of marriage. Legal impediments must not also be a reason that these children do not find a family.
A family's name, or lack thereof, has social implications. Children can be cared for in fostering relationships similar to adoption, but many children will remain stigmatised by the label "laqeet", a derogatory term that has connotations of lesser worth. If a family chooses to raise a baby, the laws should be tailored to help to minimise this burden.
Adoption has often been the subject of debate among Muslim scholars in light of the changing social dynamics of modern life. Some Islamic countries now allow the practice, including Iraq. The UAE, which prides itself on following more accommodating Islamic interpretations of Sharia, must re-evaluate legal obstacles to full familial and social integration for abandoned babies.
The UAE is ahead of other countries in caring for orphans. Nothing, however, matches the importance of a child's family.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E680hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E800Nm%20at%202%2C750-6%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERear-mounted%20eight-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E13.6L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Orderbook%20open%3B%20deliveries%20start%20end%20of%20year%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh970%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A