As I lumber my way through my sixth month of pregnancy, struggling to get up from the couch or stay awake and even, at some points, walk for more than 20 minutes, I keep thinking about this scene from a thriller series I saw recently.
A policewoman who’s approaching her due date is still on field duty. She’s escorting a perp through town when both cop and criminal are shot. She then gives birth with her leg in a cast, makes jokes about it a few hours later and turns up back at the precinct not long after that.
I’m fully aware this is a fictional TV show, but I can’t help thinking, as I waddle to the fridge for my millionth snack of the day, that I should be more like this woman. Tough, “one of the guys”, able to dive to the ground under open fire.
That’s compounded when I see a clip of a real-life woman (shared on TikTok but I watch it on Instagram Reels — because I’m old) kickboxing at 40 weeks to induce labour.
“I can’t even pretend to kickbox now,” I say to the fitness instructor who’s helping me do a few squats and lift the odd 4kg weight twice a week.
“Don’t believe everything you see,” she says, assuring me that the woman in question probably keeled over in breathlessness the moment the camera stopped filming (I’m sceptical, she looked fine to me).
The thing is, it inspires me to push myself harder, which is basically the opposite of what someone growing a human being should be doing.
Now, I’m not advocating for a return to depictions of pregnant women as fragile flowers who are unable to keep up or open doors for themselves. I’m also aware there may well be people out there who could be capable of this — I haven’t met any, but, sure, there are millions of child-bearers out there — but more honest portrayals of pregnancy and the havoc it wreaks on one’s body wouldn’t go amiss.
If the movies are to be believed, we’d all look like a glowing, small-bumped Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the Victoria’s Secret model who played Splendid Angharad in Mad Max: Fury Road, who, in or at least approaching her third trimester, is leaping between battered army vehicles on a chase through the desert, winking at the driver as she dodges being smashed by rocks — only to be killed when the door she’s hanging on to falls off in the next scene.
OK, it’s nice that there’s been a shift in perception — for the most part, anyway — that pregnancy is not an infliction and that we’re not invalided for nine months (although can someone tell that to my mother the next time I try to carry an only slightly heavy shopping bag?). But I’m not sure the best solution is to go to the other extreme, making out like we have some kind of superhero stamina and strength.
Maybe there is no feministic point underlying it all, and I’m reading too much into it, but if not, then why is your character pregnant at all, I wonder?
According to a study from Duke University, when someone is pregnant they’re already living nearly at the limit of human endurance, pushing the boundaries of our capabilities in ways usually only elite athletes do. And that’s just by simply existing, never mind dodging bullets and surviving high-speed dune rides.
What’s the matter with depicting this stage of life in all its glory and non-glory alike, anyhow? I’m not suggesting we roll out any birthing videos here, but a little more realism in mainstream films and on TV would go a long way in changing stereotypes for future generations.
Or, at the very least, it’ll make me feel better about not being able to put on my own socks.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
About Karol Nawrocki
- Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
- A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
- Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
- Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Most%20ODI%20hundreds
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More on animal trafficking
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
%3Cp%3EMATA%0D%3Cbr%3EArtist%3A%20M.I.A%0D%3Cbr%3ELabel%3A%20Island%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
PRISCILLA
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Sofia%20Coppola%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Cailee%20Spaeny%2C%20Jacob%20Elordi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Arrab, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mahaleel, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
3.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handicap (TB) Dh200,000 2,000m; Winner: Dolmen, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Amang Alawda, Sandro Paiva, Bakhit Al Ketbi.
4.15pm: The Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m; Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
4.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: Al Jazi, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Takestep%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%202018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohamed%20Khashaba%2C%20Mohamed%20Abdallah%2C%20Mohamed%20Adel%20Wafiq%20and%20Ayman%20Taha%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cairo%2C%20Egypt%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20health%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEmployees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2011%20full%20time%20and%2022%20part%20time%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20pre-Series%20A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SupplyVan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2029%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MRO%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
