Marriage is brilliant, except when it's not. We look to it as the fulfilment of our fairytale dreams and children might flourish in its warm embrace. And we use legal frameworks to give solidity to our human desire for coupling.
Yet our societies and spiritual leaders are often found to fall very short of providing the right kind of legal framework to support us in our marital endeavours – and to give us a graceful exit when needed.
This is the case across all religions and cultures but as a Muslim woman, it feels particularly galling when I see the horrendous consequences of these attitudes and practices on Muslim women, under the claim that it is Islamic and that for Muslim women to challenge it is a betrayal of Islam and constitutes being a bad Muslim woman.
I know that even writing this piece might open me up to accusations of opposing or denying Islam. That's not the case. I simply want the unfairness to end and for the sanctity of marriage to be demonstrated in actions, not just words.
Such challenges are even harder in countries where Muslims are minorities because it leaves Muslim women making difficult choices about whether to challenge such decrees, which might add fuel to the broader narrative used to demonise Muslims more generally.
It is one of the reasons why the Indian government's move to ban triple talaq has been so contentious. Islamic law is enshrined in Indian law so this interference is seen as fuel by the government to satisfy a Hindu nationalist agenda, in the process criminalising Muslim men and conveniently turning a blind eye to the miseries women in India face more generally, a country recently named by the news organisation Thomson Reuters as the worst country to be a woman.
Last month a woman in India who was campaigning for an end to triple talaq was denounced by a Muslim cleric, who issued a fatwa against her, calling for her to be banned from receiving medicine if she fell sick or funeral rites if she died.
Despite such complicated socio-political conundrums facing Muslim women, it does sometimes seem to be secular law that offers recourse.
This week in the UK, a court ruling created a shift in the way Muslim women navigate divorce, even if no civil marriage has been conducted, which could have implications for thousands of Muslims in the UK and allow the possibility of laying claim to a share of assets to the marriage.
A high court judge decided the 20-year marriage of Nasreen Akhter and Mohammed Shabaz Khan fell within the scope of English matrimonial law, even though they never underwent a civil ceremony.
The judge declared the nikaah, or Islamic wedding ceremony, constituted a marriage, suggesting that there was a form of contract, even though nikah has been declared legally non-existent in previous cases.
Since a nikaah conducted in the UK is currently not recognised as a legally valid marriage, many Muslim women have found themselves left without the protection of the law in the case of divorce, death or a husband remarrying, either unaware that they have no legal protection or on the promise of a civil marriage which never materialises.
This is sometimes justified within Muslim communities, who say the Islamic marriage is the only one necessary.
All of this seems rather ironic as the husband in this case said they were "only" married under Islamic law and therefore there was no relationship of signficance.
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Read more:
‘Triple talaq’ divorce not legal in EU, top court rules
Drive to get UK Muslims to register marriages
UAE family matters: how to protect your assets in a divorce
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Whatever the political or legal backdrop, has it really come to the stage where secular courts are providing better protection for the rights of Muslim women than the Muslim community itself? Doesn't it make a mockery of claims about the sanctity of marriage? Where are the spiritual leaders in charge of the way marriage is managed in Muslim families – and this is not just a problem in minority Muslim countries – who should be fixing these problems?
Instead, we have cases like that of the mother of a teenage girl, jailed by a British criminal court in May for forcing her daughter to marry an older man who had raped her at the age of 13. Or the Sudanese teenager sentenced to death for killing the man her father forced her to marry after the husband invited three men to help him rape her. Or the Turkish body Directorate of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, which issued a fatwa declaring couples could get divorced by phone call, fax or text message.
The spirit of marriage in Islam is one of dialogue, mediation and consultation. It is mind-boggling that you could be at the supermarket handing over your credit card to pay for groceries when a Whatsapp arrives to tell you that your marriage has ended.
And that's even before you consider what kind of impact such disregard for the seriousness of marriage and family would have on the children. Imagine you are a small child playing happily, only to be told your your father has divorced your mother by declaring talaq three times and life as you know it is over.
Instead of being outraged that women are fighting this imbalance and being forced to take matters into their own hands, clerics and lawmakers need to start thinking about how the implementation of the law really does uphold the spirit of marriage.
Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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.”
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
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.
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
Disturbing%20facts%20and%20figures
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
