lifestyle and culture

One of the most famed, accessible and affordable art shows is returning this weekend – say hello to World Art Dubai 2020.
This year the event’s theme ‘Free Your Mind’ is encouraging people to unite through their creativity and escape in art – something very poignant given the current circumstances.

From Thursday, October 8 to Saturday, October 10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the event will host more than 120 artists and galleries from 25 countries who will showcase a collection of 2,000 pieces of art. The collection of pieces range from $100 to $20,000.
The artists behind these pieces include Emirati artists, fashion designers, photographers and more.

Trixie LohMirmand, the Executive Vice President, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC, shared her excitement about this year’s World Art Dubai.
“Art has served as an escape for people all over the world this year,” she said, acknowledging the difficult year. “We will cultivate this energy and enthusiasm through World Art Dubai’s theme of ‘Free Your Mind’ which will connect international artists and stimulate creativity and exploration.
“We are excited to welcome our first overseas participants back to Dubai and look forward to stimulating creative exchanges within the wider community.”
To ensure the safety of all visitors, and in line with government guidelines, a number of measures will be implemented during the show including limiting the number of entries and providing floor stickers to facilitate social distancing, regular disinfection and clearly marked and defined entry and exit areas.
Masks must be worn at all times and temperature checks will be in place.
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Images: Supplied More

Above: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the UAE,  with Her Excellency Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy at the Gender Balance Index in 2017. 
Last week, by decree of His Highness President Sheikh Khalifa, an equal pay law between men and women was passed in the UAE for those working in the private sector.
The law states that “female employees shall receive wages equal to that of males if they perform the same work or another of equal value”.

It’s a move, which the UAE CEO of Standard Chartered, Rola Abu Manneh, believes will create “significant headway” for the conversation around gender equity across the wider region.
She tells Emirates Woman, she’s hoping this will further be able to crack the glass ceiling in the region for women.

“It opens up a world of opportunity for female success,” Manneh tells EW. “I believe that this law will open numerous doors for women looking to crack the glass ceiling and, as a result, we are set to witness a surge in female leadership across the UAE’s private sector.
“Women are a key pillar of social and economic development across the Emirates and it is encouraging to see that the UAE government has attested to this fact.”
While she notes there’s “still a long way to go” in order to create equal access for opportunities for women, the law is a promising move towards that.
EW discussed further her reaction to the passing of the law, how she intends to see this through at Standard Chartered and the responsibility she has as a female leader in finance.

What was your reaction when you heard this legislation had been passed?
When the legislation was initially introduced in 2018, I was overcome with pride. I had just taken on my role as CEO of Standard Chartered UAE and had felt tremendously proud of the UAE government’s efforts to progress gender equity in the workplace. I was equally as hopeful that this milestone act would positively impact the UAE’s corporate landscape for decades to come.
Now that the act has come to fruition, my pride in being both a UAE national and a female leader has only been further reinforced. I commend the UAE government’s pioneering vision and ongoing efforts to ensure gender equity in the workplace and bolstering equal opportunity for both men and women in this regard. A truly historic moment!
How will you ensure this is implemented in Standard Chartered?
At the Bank, we take gender equality very seriously and we believe that inclusion is an organisational strength. The Bank has already placed a tremendous focus on ensuring men and women are seen as equals across the board, be it through the onboarding process, compensation, opportunity or representation.
For decades, Standard Chartered has taken a strategic direction to prioritising gender diversity and equality and this is present throughout its global operations. In line with this, we have committed to ensuring that women occupy 30 per cent of our top-four levels of management by the end of 2020. What’s more, two of our four regions, and a number of our large markets including China, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, and the UAE are led by female CEOs. I am proud to be one of them.
Like the UAE, at the Bank, we too are continuously prioritising the integration of new policies and commitments to drive our vision forward.
What is your commitment to female employees at Standard Chartered to ensure they continue to prosper in their careers?
At the Bank, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our operations and remain a focal point of ensuring employee wellbeing. I believe that diversity is getting the mix right, while inclusion is making the mix work.
We are always looking to improve our workplace by introducing wellness, work-life balance, and career opportunities, aimed to be the country’s employer of choice.
Standard Chartered has been a key contributor to the gender equality movement and has introduced a number of measures that ensure women are able to progress in their career paths while also fulfilling other duties. This is reflective in our policies and procedures, from the time we advertise a job to the selection criteria, the interview and the onboarding process. We have taken the initiative of increasing maternity leave days from 90 calendar days to 140 calendar days, with new fathers getting 10 days that can be used anytime in the first year, further reinforcing our commitment to gender equity. Derived from our brand promise ‘Here for good’, we believe that inclusion is an organisational strength, which in turn will have a positive impact on key aspects of the bank’s operational and managerial performance. D&I is paramount to unlocking innovation in the organisation. That’s how I see it.
As a female leader in finance do you feel a responsibility to lead the way when it comes to equality?
Of course. Women, including myself, who were able to progress in their careers and achieve senior leadership positions, in what are considered as male-dominated fields, play an integral role in leveraging their years of experience and expertise to advocate for the gender equality cause. As such, I feel very strongly that I have an innate and moral responsibility to stand in solidarity against unconscious bias and inequal opportunity in the workplace.
Throughout my career, I have championed women empowerment and female entrepreneurship through various initiatives. I will continue to exercise my position in service of women so that they are not hindered by corporate hurdles or stereotypes and are able to achieve their full potential.
One thing that I would like to highlight here is the fact that women will also need to find their seat at the table and make their voices heard! They need to earn that seat. It is down to them to make that happen.
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Feature Image: Dubai Media Office More

The UK’s Prince Charles has arrived in Kuwait following the death of the country’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah last week.
On behalf of himself and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales shared his condolences to the nation of Kuwait.

Prince Charles also met the new Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah.
The British prince’s arrival in Kuwait comes after the Queen issued a statement following the death of Sheikh Sabah.

Prince Charles is in Kuwait tonight after the death of the Amir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah.The Prince is representing the UK and offered his condolences. He also met the new Amir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah 🇰🇼 pic.twitter.com/jLPAWTJ8et
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) October 4, 2020

“Your distinguished brother devoted his life to the service of the State of Kuwait and especially its relationship with its allies and friends,” the statement, which was posted to the Royal Family Twitter page, said.
“He will be long remembered by all who work for regional stability, understanding between nations and between faiths, and for the humanitarian cause.”
The Queen also said she “deeply valued his friendship towards the United Kingdom”.

The Queen’s message of condolence to The Amir of Kuwait, following the death of The Amir. pic.twitter.com/uSn38zjvHA
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 30, 2020

“I offer Your Highness my sincere condolences. I offer also my sympathy to the people of Kuwait,” she added.
“May the long history of close companionship between our two families continue.”
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Images: Chris Ship Twitter More

For the last four years, Khalid Al Ameri and his wife Salama Mohamed have cultivated an incredible online community for themselves through genuine storytelling and connection with their audience.
For Khalid, he credits all of his success to Salama, who is the person who believed in him when he didn’t.

Sharing a heartfelt public message on Instagram to his wife, the Emirati influencer reflected on how far he has come in the last four years.
Back in 2016, Khalid didn’t have a job but was desperate to work in the media. Writing an array of scripts and pitching ideas to anyone he could, nothing appeared to be happening.

“I was scared and worried about the future but never shared it with Salama as I didn’t want her, or the kids, to get worried or carry that burden,” he admitted.

View this post on Instagram

Ok story time, in 2016 I had no job and and as a family we had about a year of savings to pay for all the necessities(kids school, rent, food and cars). I wanted to be in media so I wrote script after script, show after show, and pitched the ideas anywhere I could get a meeting but nothing worked out. I was scared and worried about the future but never shared it with Salama as I didn’t want her, or the kids, to get worried or carry that burden. One day as were were driving I finally gave in and told Salama how I was feeling, we talked about my worries, my fears and how things weren’t working out, and that I was starting to lose hope. As we were in the mall picking up some things we passed by an electronic store, then we walked in and Salama bought me my first camera. She said that she knew that all I wanted in this world was to be a creator and tell stories, so she gave me the camera and told me to get to work and do it on my own, but more importantly she said that she would support me no matter what and always believed in me. Four years later I am creating videos as a career, working on projects I never dreamed of, all because this incredible woman believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself, so here she is buying me a new camera to improve our work, it’s kind of like our thing, where she is the only one who buys me cameras and invests in our future. Moral of the story you don’t have to fight your battles alone, you don’t have to struggle alone, the people who love you are your greatest source of strength, always keep them close and anything is possible inshAllah. I love you Salama, you are the reason for everything good in my life الحمدلله
A post shared by Khalid Al Ameri (@khalidalameri) on Oct 2, 2020 at 1:26am PDT

Slowly starting to lose hope, he shared his concerns with his wife. The couple happened to be going to the mall at the time, which is where Salama surprised her husband with a camera, encouraging him to share his stories himself.
“Four years later I am creating videos as a career, working on projects I never dreamed of, all because this incredible woman believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself, so here she is buying me a new camera to improve our work, it’s kind of like our thing, where she is the only one who buys me cameras and invests in our future,” he said.
“Moral of the story you don’t have to fight your battles alone, you don’t have to struggle alone, the people who love you are your greatest source of strength, always keep them close and anything is possible inshAllah.
“I love you Salama, you are the reason for everything good in my life.”

Khalid’s personal and empowering videos have captured an audience not only here in the UAE, but beyond.
From telling stories about his family, to the coronavirus pandemic, to his wife’s skin condition vitiligo, it’s Khalid’s personal touch which has really engaged his audience.
Earlier this year, Salama told Emirates Woman her husband’s video about her vitiligo – which was made two years ago – still brings tears to her eyes.
However, the video is a reminder for Salama on how far she has come on her journey to self-love. Today, Salama embraces her condition with “every inch” of her being, and she’s actually more than happy to answer people’s questions if they ask about it.
“[It means] I can explain and educate, so I can support other women and men going through what I went through, to let them know they are not alone, and that we are beautiful in our own unique way,” she told EW.
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Images: Khalid Al Ameri Instagram More