The 2012 Olympics have seen many headlines about the role of women at this year's Games. As the Games close today, we remember that female participation in the Olympics is not a new phenomenon for most countries: women first took part in the Olympics in the year 1900 - the second instalment of the modern Olympic Games.
After that, women's role gradually began to increase. More than a century later, 2012 has seen many firsts for women. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei have all sent female athletes to the Olympics, a first for each of those countries. As a result, the 2012 Games have had, for the first time in Olympic history, female athletes from all participating countries.
And with the inclusion of women's boxing this year, the Olympics now have an event for women in every category of sport. Almost 45 per cent of the athletes competing in London are women; some countries, such as the US and Lebanon, have more women than men on their national teams.
Many Arab countries have women competing in previously male-dominated sports such as weightlifting; there was no women's event in this sport before Sydney in 2000.
All these achievements are welcome, but the low number of female Olympic athletes from GCC countries displays a lack of opportunity or interest in women's sport in the region, save for a few exceptions.
Last year, The National reported a lack of appropriate sports facilities and qualified physical education teachers at government schools in the UAE, which reduces girls' opportunities to pursue sports. The lack of female athletes and teachers means girls have few role models. These compounding factors may reduce both ability and interest in sports for female students in the UAE.
However, the country has begun to address the low number of women athletes. The Women's Sports Committee was recently set up under the umbrella of the Dubai Sports Council to promote and encourage women in athletic activities, whether professionally or privately. And this year Abu Dhabi emirate hosted an International Abu Dhabi Conference for Women's Sports, as well as the GCC Women's Games.
These developments show a new-found commitment to addressing the low number of female athletes, and to narrowing the gender gap in sport.
On a global level, the International Olympic Committee is working to achieve greater gender equality at the Olympic Games. This is in accordance with international standards for gender equality as expressed in the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.
The IOC has several gender-sensitive activities on its agenda. The committee recently ruled that any new sport to be introduced into the Olympics must include a women's event.
The IOC has also created a Women and Sport programme that helps national Olympic committees in developing countries to engage women in sports by hosting events and supporting research on ways to increase the number of female athletes.
The committee also hosts a conference every four years on women in sports. The fifth such meeting was held in Los Angeles this year, to assess progress and promote the participation of women at the Olympic Games.
The conference published the "Los Angeles Declaration", a list of recommendations aimed at achieving gender equality in IOC activities.
The list included a recommendation that the number of women in leadership positions within the IOC be increased by expanding female representation on executive committees and boards.
Another proposal called on the IOC to comply with international standards of gender equality across all its activities.
This will result in establishing a baseline for female representation in sports, further encouraging women from countries with low female participation to pursue their athletic goals.
Even though many countries have several female representatives on their Olympic teams, the IOC's continued commitment to gender equality will encourage countries with fewer female entrants to increase the number of women participants. We will see bigger, better pools of athletes to represent each country that makes the effort.
Huda Sajwani is an Emirati researcher on gender and public policy in the UAE
On Twitter: @HudaSajwani
Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
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
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Price: On request
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