One evening last week, a 20-year-old Emirati named Azza Abdulaziz al Owais stood before a photograph she'd taken and explained, for maybe the 50th time that night, the meaning behind it. The picture, titled Out, featured a strikingly beautiful woman, in traditional attire, staring boldly at the camera. In the background, a group of women talked behind their hands, glaring at the subject in a disapproving way. "The girl wants to succeed, she has a goal," al Owais said, gesturing at the shot. "But her friends are jealous. They want to destroy what she has built."
When asked what the girl in the image is supposed to represent, al Owais didn't miss a beat: "The girl is me."
This glimpse into rivalry is part of Private[ly], an exhibition currently being hosted by the Gallery of Light at Ductac in Dubai. The show highlights the photographs of 18 first-year communications students at Dubai Women's College, none of whom have exhibited their work in public before. The idea was to encourage these students, who range in age from late teens to early 20s, to open up about things they usually consider to be nobody's business but their own. The result is a remarkably honest, occasionally spellbinding look at the preoccupations of these young Emirati women.
The success of Private[ly] is due, in large part, to its co-curator Shammi Samano, who also taught the class from which it emerged. Samano, who has been on the faculty of Dubai Women's College for three years, spent a lot of time and mental energy trying to coax candour from the group of women she calls "my girls," most of whom generally aren't in the habit of laying bare their souls in public. "I told them, if you're not doing something that pushes boundaries, what's the point?" she said. "If it's safety you want, go into banking."
While it wasn't always easy going, Samano persevered - the class represented her last at the college (she's moving on to make films) and she sensed that there was a rich vein of material lurking beneath the surface of the girls' finely tuned public personas. "One of the things that really interests me about young women in the UAE is the divide between their public and private lives," she said. "These girls move so effortlessly, professionally even, between these two worlds. The tension is brilliant. As an artist, I find it inspirational."
Images at the exhibition touch on various themes, familiar no doubt to young women around the world. There are lamentations for lost innocence, blasts of exuberance, feelings of insignificance and the fear of violence. There is envy, vanity, rebellion and isolation. There is also anger, expressed most graphically in a shot from Hanan Ahmad al Bulooshi, which shows a woman, lost in shadow, holding a bloodied knife to her chin.
Samano was quick to point out that she doesn't believe in being gratuitously provocative, and neither is she keen to step over the line into offensiveness. Even so, she allowed that a few of the images in Private[ly] teetered on the verge of the controversial.
One such piece, Reversal of Strength, an audacious expression of female empowerment, drew a good deal of attention from the audience.
The piece, created by Marwa Mohamed, is a slick, atmospheric image depicting a woman wearing traditional dress reclining in a red velvet armchair, smoking a large cigar and extending a palm to a man squatting by her side. "This comes from my personality," Mohamed said of the picture. "In my country, it's usually expected that the man guides the woman. I don't need a man to guide me. I can make decisions on my own."
Far from being scandalised by the shot, however, the majority of the people attending Private[ly] seemed to enjoy it - one or two even wanted to buy it. "I was a bit surprised," Mohamed said. "I didn't know if people would get my ideas." Samano, meanwhile, was torn between pride and relief. "You know what changes things?" she said. "Success. Achieve success and all of a sudden you're not the enemy any more. Someone has to step forward and say, 'We can do this.'"
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
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Napoleon
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All%20We%20Imagine%20as%20Light
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The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Pupils in Abu Dhabi are learning the importance of being active, eating well and leading a healthy lifestyle now and throughout adulthood, thanks to a newly launched programme 'Healthy Lifestyle'.
As part of the Healthy Lifestyle programme, specially trained coaches from City Football Schools, along with Healthpoint physicians have visited schools throughout Abu Dhabi to give fun and interactive lessons on working out regularly, making the right food choices, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated, just like their favourite footballers.
Organised by Manchester City FC and Healthpoint, Manchester City FC’s regional healthcare partner and part of Mubadala’s healthcare network, the ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ programme will visit 15 schools, meeting around 1,000 youngsters over the next five months.
Designed to give pupils all the information they need to improve their diet and fitness habits at home, at school and as they grow up, coaches from City Football Schools will work alongside teachers to lead the youngsters through a series of fun, creative and educational classes as well as activities, including playing football and other games.
Dr Mai Ahmed Al Jaber, head of public health at Healthpoint, said: “The programme has different aspects - diet, exercise, sleep and mental well-being. By having a focus on each of those and delivering information in a way that children can absorb easily it can help to address childhood obesity."
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
The%20Woman%20King%20
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
![Private[ly], at Ductac, is showing the work of first-year students at Dubai Womens College.](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GPHU3VI4H7PTRWCHFYWOIH24GE.jpg?smart=true&auth=d1707923e29143e4b347fd05ef3132fb6a4c374d2639340b52a8a9e363d090b6&width=800&height=450)