Gender equality, despite many efforts, is nowhere near as all-encompassing as it ought to be. We live in a time in which human rights are unevenly distributed. In some societies with particularly extreme disparities, girls are not allowed to go to school or even leave the home. Despite sobering global realities, however, there are also noteworthy and consistent efforts under way to support the cause of women.
To this end, a two-day Global Women's Forum is being held in Dubai this week. In the lead up to it, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, President of the Gender Balance Council and the Dubai Women Establishment, praised the contributions of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation, in promoting women's empowerment in the UAE.
At the highest levels of governance, the UAE has been walking the walk in championing women's empowerment for years. In 2018, a formal directive was passed allocating 50 per cent of seats on the Federal National Council to women. Of the country's ministers, 29 per cent are women.
Considering that the FNC's main job is to assess draft laws and pass, amend or reject them, it is important for women to have a seat at that table and use their judgment and influence to chart a path forward for the nation. This balanced composition is relatively rare in the world – in only six countries, including the Emirates, are at least half of members women.
Women have been on boards of companies in the UAE for decades. Their proactive role in business and governance goes beyond mere tokenism. It’s undeniable that the participation of women in fields earlier dominated by men is gradually changing. Just one example is Nora Al Matrooshi, the first female Emirati astronaut. She was one of the speakers at this year’s Global Women's Forum.
With 4,000 participants and more than 250 speakers from 65 countries, the Forum heard on the first day from Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed, chairwoman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, who spoke of the power and role of Arab women throughout history.
Emine Erdogan, Turkey's first lady, gave one of the keynote speeches, highlighting the importance of female leadership in advocating for women’s rights. Other high-profile guests over two days included Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, a Pakistani politician and daughter of the country's President Asif Ali Zardari, and Iceland's former first lady, Eliza Reid.
All the speakers at the event, most of them women, know the challenges that are yet to be overcome to achieve a gender-equal world, be it in politics, governance, the arts or technology and business. Their experiences are a sliver of a broader reality.
The wide-ranging backgrounds of women in the global workforce underline what they bring to the table – including diversity of viewpoints, perspective and vastly different experiences – not just from men but from one another. These are advantages that in any field make for better, more informed decision-making.
In any country in the world, women's participation and inclusion in all areas of the workforce is necessary for any modern society to stay on the path of progress.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
The years Ramadan fell in May
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
