‘In a battle that took place in Beit Lahia near Ajnadin, Khalid [ibn Walid] watched a knight, in black attire, with a big green shawl wrapped around his waist and covering his chest. That knight broke through the Roman ranks like an arrow. Khalid and the others followed him and joined battle ... wondering about the identity of the unknown knight,” wrote the Arab historian, Al Waqidi, in his book The Conquest of Al Sham.
That black-clad knight disguised as a man was the Muslim Arab woman warrior Khawlah bint Al Azwar. Born in the seventh century in the area that today comprises Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, Khawlah’s beauty, bravery and poetry have lasted the test of time and have become the stuff of legends. Daughter of one of the chiefs of the Banni Assad tribe, she fought in many battles, and one of her more famed conquests is when she went to save her brother, Zirrar ibn Al Azwar, a famous commander in his own right, after he was captured by Byzantine forces.
Her story is still relevant, with Iraq’s all-women military unit and the Gulf’s first military college for women, based in Abu Dhabi, named after her.
An example to all powerful women in the region, she must have really bothered ISIL, because the group destroyed her grave earlier this year in Sermin village, Syria.
While many "Jihad Janes" and other women have joined the cancerous group ISIL, there have been many women fighting back. One of the newest forces that will be terrorising the terrorists is a new generation of Khawlahs known as Banat Al Haq ("girls of righteousness").
These women will be fighting in Iraq’s Anbar region, which now is largely under the control of ISIL and was previously an Al Qaeda base. It is such a dangerous area that the US has just deployed 50 troops to Anbar province to help the Iraqi forces in an advisory capacity. The women, including widows, have reportedly joined the fight as a reaction to the destruction around them and the deaths of their loved ones at the hands of the jihadists.
More and more women are fighting back against ISIL, including Kurdish Peshmergas who have been fighting for months and have died alongside the men, but whose deaths have gone unrecorded.
Their presence is most strongly felt in the Syrian town of Kobani, perched along the Turkish border. The town, surrounded on the east, south and west by ISIL, is being defended by Kurdish forces, including these brave women.
International media have reported that a Canadian-Israeli woman has joined the Kurdish force in Syria – one of the first foreigners known to have joined the defending side. There are now reportedly more than 10,000 women fighting against ISIL.
This is happening at a time when people have become used to reading about foreigners joining the dark side of ISIL. The jihadist group has been recruiting its own women, mainly to marry its fighters and function as a brutal morality police to bully other women in the areas they invade and occupy.
The role of women in this war, and in past wars, should not be underestimated or taken for granted. They not only join the fighting, they are nurses and healers on the battle ground.
The latest hero to remind us of this legacy of bravery is Maj Mariam Al Mansouri, 35, the UAE’s first female fighter pilot, who led the UAE Air Force into action against ISIL targets in Syria.
As the battles rage on against the terrorists and their ideologies, I am sure we will be hearing about more wartime heroines. Their names should be recorded in history and their sacrifices recognised and honoured, for too often it’s the unworthy Jihad Janes who get all the attention.
rghazal@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @Arabianmau
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What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
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.
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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