MANIKPUR, INDIA // When Sampat Devi Pal and her "pink gang" pulls into Ramnagar village, she steps out and the men scatter.
The leader of the Gulabi Gang, an all-woman vigilante group, is well known here for beating men who mistreat women.
She is no Phoolan Devi, Uttar Pradeshs's infamous Bandit Queen who was raped and then took to crime and killing before being elected to the national parliament, serving until she was assassinated in New Delhi in 2001.
But she is a sign of how things have changed in the badlands of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and the centre of the country's Hindi "cow belt".
Ms Devi is here simply asking for votes. She is standing for the state assembly for the Congress Party that rules the nation. Ignoring the men, she goes instead straight to the village women sitting under a banyan tree and begins her speech.
"The other parties are corrupt. They have done nothing for you in all this time."
"Vote for me."
There is silence.
She immediately stops haranguing the crowd, and begins stroking the head of a little girl. Ms Devi fixes her piercing steel-blue eyes on an elderly woman.
"Do you want her to grow up and be a slave to our husbands like us?" she asks fiercely.
She has their attention. The women in the village stop pulling water from the well and gather around.
She breaks into a familiar folk song, with her own version of the lyrics. It's a song of an English-educated boy and his uneducated wife. The more she tries to please him, the more she fails. She mistakes his English words for Hindi. He asks for water, she hears "tomater" (tomato). She mistakes the sound of "good" for the Hindi word, gur, which means jaggery (cane sugar). She over-sweetens the tea. Frustrated, as the song ends, the boy whips the girl for being a failure as a wife.
"What I cannot say to a person's face I turn into a song," says Ms Devi.
This is only one of a wide repertoire of sassy songs with a lesson. She sings to break down traditional barriers and address the performance of the state's chief minister, Kumari Mayawati. She sings it to the tune of a popular Bollywood song and throws in a few expletives.
When she walks through Rajapur village, one of 516 villages that make up constituency in Manikpur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, her supporters trail behind yelling: "Sampat, commander of the Gulabi Gang, Congress candidate, Zindabad! [long live]"
The Gulabi Gang dress in pink saris. They look tough. They carry long bamboo poles with which they threaten to, and sometimes use, on men who abuse their wives.
"I've saved a lot of girls by beating up a lot of men," Ms Devi says proudly.
She was forced into marriage when she was 12. She gave birth at 15, to the first of five children. She thinks she is now 47 or 48. There are no reliable records of her birth in India.
Ms Devi caught India's attention when she beat up a policeman in public in 2008 for the illegal detention of a villager.
She caught the world's attention after the 2010 release of The Pink Saris, a documentary, which chronicled her work in the poor and undeveloped region of Bundelkhand in eastern Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorest parts of one of India's poorest states.
Now, Ms Devi is hoping to turn her popularity into a seat in Uttar Pradesh's legislative assembly. She and 22 other candidates are vying for 280,000 votes in the Manikpur constituency. Some of her main opponents are from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), headed by Ms Mayawati, the state's chief minister, and the Samajwadi Party (SP).
She has strong grassroots support, the villagers say. The results will be known next month.
The transition from gang leader and feminist campaigner to politician has not been easy for Ms Devi.
She struggles not to swear.
Being a tough woman in a country where women take a backseat is also not easy.
Ms Devi also tries to control her natural urge to settle problems with a stick.
On a recent night, she encountered a drunk while campaigning. She tried to explain to him the dangers of alcohol abuse.
"He told me that you're only lecturing me now because you're a politician," Ms Devi said. "I wanted to slap that man into sobriety," she said, gesturing angerly.
Ms Devi also has harsh words for her opponents. "They hand out alcohol to buy votes," she said.
With little development and few jobs, many local men become angry and restless. The source of the hopelessness is evident in the landscape.
Little grows here beyond crops of wheat and mustard when it rains, and scrub that resists the lack of moisture.
The Bundelis, the locals in one of the most under-developed parts of India, rely on the monsoon. One bad year is enough for disaster. Last year, it rained for the first time in seven years.
Yet, one of India's largest rivers, the Yamuna, runs through Bundelkhand and nothing has been done to use that water to irrigate farmlands.
These badlands are also famous for their bandits, or dacoits. Most are petty criminals. Some, such as the Bandit Queen, were abused and then tried to help the lowest in society.
In Manikpur, rich with history of local bandits, the villagers dismiss any comparisons between Phoolan Devi and Ms Devi.
"She does not kill men, she just beats them," says Geeta Saunkar of Ms Devi. Despite the fact that the villagers live in constant fear of the dacoits, many of the young people speak of them with a reverence bordering on worship.
It was the mother of a dacoit who inspired Ms Devi to run for politics in 2007. Ms Devi lost.
This time, she hopes it will be different.
"Not all women can be great like me. But at least they know they have that option in life," Ms Devi says.
sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
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.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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.
Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
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