Society must look differently at the role women play
I am writing in reference to Asmaa Al Hameli's blog post, Family, journalism, marriage and society (May 30).
What we need to do as women is teach our sons how to look at women differently.
We need to show them that the role of women has diversified.
We have been able to multitask successfully within the home, and we can do it in the outside world, too.
With culture and religion as a beacon of guidance, why not?
I hope the women of the next generation face fewer barriers to their success.
Zubia Mughal, Abu Dhabi
Just last night, my mother, my sister and I were talking about this very subject.
It is sad how some people, especially women, stop achieving their dreams because they fear what others may think.
If I have learnt anything through my journey in life, it is that people will always have something to say about you, even if you are sitting at home doing nothing. So, you might as well give them something good to talk about.
I am grateful to my parents for raising us in a way that we don't let what people may say influence our decisions to do something; we are guided by whether it is morally incorrect or against our religion's teaching.
Name withheldby request
Best way to find a suitable suitor
I am writing in reference to the blog post, Marriage is an unplanned commitment in the UAE (May 23).
My sister married at 21 and she is happier than ever.
This is because, as a family, we first checked the groom's religious dedication and his mannerisms.
Then came consideration of his physical appearance and his education.
Muhammad Najam, Abu Dhabi
Motor market is out of the way
I know I'm not the only one to think that it was a bad idea to put Abu Dhabi Motorworld in its current location (Drive a hard bargain at informal market, June 1).
It's too far from the city, and people think they are not getting a fair price from the dealers.
I have a friend who advertised his car on a website and had 30 calls by the end of the day, most offering near the asking price. He could tell who the dealers were, because they offered several thousand dirhams less.
I understand that dealers want to make a profit and need money to pay for their facilities and operating costs. However, if you want people to drive so far with no assurance of a good deal, why would they do that?
One suggestion is that they could offer a free shuttle service to and from the city, so that people who don't have cars already can go out there and see what's on offer.
I doubt too many people in the market for a used car would want to pay over Dh100 just to get there and back by taxi.
Donald Glass, Abu Dhabi
Two sides to the genocide claims
I believe The Review article Partial recall (May 25) makes unfounded claims of genocide against the Turkish people.
Long before the term "genocide" was even invented, European colonialists committed mass murders in Africa, America and the Asia-Pacific region. During those times, Turks and Armenians lived peacefully together.
Turks have never committed genocide, but they have been the subject of mass killing in many parts of the world.
Who remembers the 50,000 Turks killed in a matter of days in Peloponnese during the Greek uprising of 1821?
Who remembers the 1.5 million Turks killed or displaced by the joint armies of Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria in 1912-13?
Who remembers the 250,000 Turks massacred and deported from Crete between the 1850s and 1913?
Nobody. But the writer Caleb Lauer very well remembers the million Armenians who were deported from Anatolia.
I am not going to go into a detailed explanation of why the Armenians were deported, but one must understand something very clearly: whenever a Muslim is killed, it is viewed in western power circles as a mere "death", but when Christians are killed, it is too readily branded as genocide or a massacre.
If there are really those who want to open doors of dialogue with Turkey, it is surely only going to happen if we are able to look at history through an unbiased lens.
Serhat S Cubukcuoglu, Dubai
Turning up the heat in the UAE
In Forecasters blow hot and cold (June 3), some experts are quoted as saying the weather in the UAE could get even hotter.
Is hotter possible?
C Murphy, Abu Dhabi
