AMMAN // When Abu Ismaeel recalled how his older sister, Alia Ahmed, was stabbed 28 times by another brother in a so-called "honour killing" after she had allegedly run away from her husband, he said that at first he thought she deserved it.
Ahmed had left her and her husband's house at 1.30am one morning in mid-August, taking their 16-month-old boy with her. Ahmed's husband, Masoud, reported her missing to police and called her brothers to tell them she had run away.
When police found Ahmed, 37, a mother of eight, and handed her over to four of her brothers, they took her to her father-in-law's house in the crowded Palestinian refugee camp of Baqa'a.
"Cousins and relatives were shouting 'You are not men, you are not men'," Abu Ismaeel said, in the presence of his brothers' lawyer, referring to the jeers of those who had expected them to kill her to restore the family's "honour". "Her husband then took the child from her and divorced her."
Abu Ismaeel said one of his brothers asked Ahmed to come into the house to talk with him alone. Moments later he ran out crying "I killed her, I killed her".
"He was out of control," Abu Ismaeel said. "My other brother who really liked her entered the house and hugged her, and he got soaked in blood, so the police thought he took part in the stabbing."
Police later discovered that Ahmed's husband had been beating her with a belt, and had in fact kicked her out of the house, only to later report her missing.
The two brothers are currently in prison while police continue to investigate the case.
Bowing to pressure from rights activists, the government is trying to make it harder for men to get away with killing sisters and daughters in the name of "honour". Perpetrators have benefited from reductions in sentences if they had committed their crimes in a fit of fury. Sentences for honour killings have been as little three months to one year.
In May, the government presented a new draft law to parliament, asking that the minimum sentence be five years in prison. The proposal has not been discussed by the country's tribal-based, conservative parliament yet, and it remains unclear if parliament ever will approve the bill. Parliament has blocked similar efforts over fears that they would promote adultery.
A special tribunal was set up in August to handle honour crimes.
"Having a specialised tribunal helps the application of the law, especially if the tribunal overseeing cases is aware of the law, both international and local, pertaining to such crimes," Yassin Abdullat, the attorney general, said. "But it is not enough. We need specialists in the whole process, starting with the investigation."
At the moment, he said, most officials investigating honour crimes are not trained to do so. "People from parts of the Badia, for example, may think a woman who stays out late deserves to be killed."
There have been 18 reported honour killings in Jordan this year so far; there were 18 in total in 2008.
Despite the recent efforts to curb honour killings, Human Rights Watch (HRW) pointed out that tribunals are not an adequate solution. Articles in the penal code need to be amended because they sanction the practice, HRW said.
Societal attitudes need to be changed as well, experts in the field argue.
The King Hussein Foundation's information and research centre is working on a two-year project funded by the European Commission that seeks to change public perception of honour crimes by removing the "honour" label from the crime.
Part of the project includes an interactive website called mathlouma.com. Mathlouma is the Arabic word for female victims of social injustice. "We want to replace it in the Jordanian psyche with a crime of 'socio-economics' and eliminate the false moral label," Nesreen Murad, the centre's director, said. "These crimes are a reflection of societal and economic ills that need to be specified and addressed - and an indication of the state of women in the Middle East in a patriarchal culture.
"Women are victims of social injustice, and men are also victims because they are required to be real men and protect the honour of their family." Ms Murad's assertions are backed by a study the centre conducted that showed a link between poverty and honour crimes. The study, based on 102 police cases in the past eight years, found that 73 per cent of the victims were economically disadvantaged females and 66 per cent of the perpetrators were poor males.
The study also found that 81 per cent of victims were under the age of 30 and 92 per cent had at most a high school education. Yusuf Mansur, an economist, presented the study at a conference on honour crimes this month.
At the lawyer's office, Abu Ismaeel appeared remorseful over his sister's death.
"Her husband was a bad man; he was on drugs. My sister married him when she was 15. So if there's anything bad about my sister's behaviour, it is because he brought her up that way," Abu Ismaeel said.
But he added: "Had she left the house willingly, she would have deserved what happened to her."
@Email:smaayeh@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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.
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20specs
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
THE%20SPECS
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
