According to Margaret Atwood, award-winning author of The Handmaid’s Tale: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” I was reminded of her quote when reading about a hypothetical dilemma that has been circulating on social media recently.
A couple of women were discussing the following question: “Would you rather meet a bear in the woods, or a man?” The strikingly clear answer was… a bear. This went viral and social media has since abounded with #TeamBear stories. Women have been sharing countless experiences of assault and harassment perpetrated by strange men. These accounts are so numerous that this seems to have become part of the fabric of women’s lives. These women were sharing a pervasive sense of living in danger wherever their physical spaces in the world.
In fact, the woods context was almost unnecessary; the bear might leave you alone, and cases of bears attacking people are rare. It goes without saying of course that not all men are responsible for attacks or harassment. Sadly, it was also indicative of the scale of the problem that many men did not believe these women, were personally affronted and did not listen to why there was such an outpouring for Team Bear.
As Atwood’s quote suggests, for women it is about safety. As the bear hypothetical and subsequent debate suggests, this need for safety must be heard and believed. For men, not being laughed at is about ego and power and, as the bear debate shows, it is about resolutely not ceding space to women’s experiences and voices, nor conceding that they have legitimate views on the subject.
The bottom line is that men and women have very different perspectives in the way they perceive space.
Meanwhile, in the UK, another conflict about men and women’s experience of space has moved closer to resolution. The exclusive Garrick Club in central London has finally decided to allow women to become members. The Garrick was established almost 200 years ago as a place where, its founders said, “actors and men of refinement and education might meet on equal terms”. Today its members include some of the world’s most famous (male) actors and (male) politicians as well as other (male) politically and culturally powerful men.
In the 18th century onwards, many of these so-called gentlemen’s clubs were opened, usually by the upper classes. If you’ve watched or read Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, the famous wager is made inside another gentlemen’s institution – the Reform Club – although this was one of the first to admit women, in 1981.
Whether it’s men or women, it’s still an exclusive club, and only a handful will have access to those lounges and sofas where power sits. And how to solve that is its own challenge
The argument for women’s admission, especially to the Garrick, is not only that their exclusion is sexist but that it also bans women from spaces of power. In a male-dominated culture where power is asserted in such clubs’ corridors and lounges, this is a significant supporting point as to why those barriers must be removed.
At the same time, women are constantly pushing for women-only spaces. This is for many reasons, including modesty, privacy, dignity as well as for safety and – just as importantly – to have spaces where their voices are not drowned out. Quite the contrary, these are spaces in which women can be heard on their own terms, their experiences can be shared and discussed openly, and they are not gaslit.
The challenge that is being mounted against men-only spaces is not necessarily that men should not have them, but that they currently reserve power for men and women can't get to it. There's a power differential – women want to create spaces where they have some power; men are often using men-only spaces to keep hold of that power.
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But there’s also an everyday, sociable aspect to how we think about space. As anyone who has been on a hen do, girls’ night out or equivalent will tell you, there’s something both liberating and empowering about being with other women. Sometimes, you just need to be with other women. So, here’s the rub: I believe that for all these reasons, men also should have men-only spaces.
This leaves us with a different kind of dilemma: how do we ensure that the political, cultural and social power that resides in those men-only spaces is decoupled from the physical space, so it can be brought into a more equitable shared social domain, one in which women can also participate? And how do we recreate in that same shared social domain the experience women have in women-only spaces of their voices having the room to be heard?
Those are the challenges we need to confront. But of course, when it comes to the gentlemen’s clubs, even if they are opened to women, if we really care about how power can be accessed more equitably across society, there’s still the glaring question about the fact that whether it’s men or women, it’s still an exclusive club, and only a handful will have access to those lounges and sofas where power sits. And how to solve that is its own challenge.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
AGUERO'S PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD
Apps: 186
Goals: 127
Assists: 31
Wins: 117
Losses: 33
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
SPECS
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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