Activists Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg join Barbie craze

As Barbie continues to take over the world as one of the biggest earning movies of the year, top activists are also joining the pink-infused phenomenon.

On Sunday, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai posted a photo of herself and husband Asser Malik taken at a screening of the movie.

Posing inside a life-size Barbie doll box, she cheekily captioned the photo “This Barbie has a Nobel Prize. He’s just Ken” – a reference to the “This Barbie …” meme that's taken over social media.

Yousafzai, 26, added: “We loved the movie, it was so funny and thoughtful. I hope this caption doesn’t hurt all the Kens as much as the movie Ken.”

While UAE fans will have to wait until August 31 to see Barbie, the Greta Gerwig-directed film has already grossed more than $775 million at the global box office. It's also earned the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film directed by a woman.

The film stars Margot Robbie in the titular role and Ryan Gosling as Ken, and follows them as they set off on an adventure into the real world.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg, who joined demonstrators in London to protest against the planned development of the Rosebank oil and gas field, also used an audio clip from the film.

In the audio, Robbie's Barbie asks her fellow Barbies the existential question: “Do you guys ever think about dying?”.

Thunberg's video features the words: “Do you guys ever think about the climate crisis?” along with the names of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, UK Energy Secretary Grant Shapps and energy company Equinor.

Demonstrators want the British government to abolish development of the Rosebank site, believed to be the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gasfield.

Journalist Christiane Amanpour, known for her war reporting in the 1990s, also posted a photo of herself at a screening with the caption: “This Barbie is a war correspondent.”

First launched in 1959, Barbie is still the most popular doll on the market. Last year alone, Barbie dolls generated $1.49 billion in sales, according to data company Statista.

Barbies have also celebrated inspirational role models over the years.

A doll modelled on American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad – the first hijabi Barbie – was launched in 2018 as part of the Barbie Shero line honouring women who break boundaries. Muhammad was the first American to compete at the Olympics while wearing a hijab, and won a bronze medal in fencing at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

US Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad holding the first hijab-wearing Barbie, which was based on her. Photo: Mattel

In 2019, in honour of Barbie's 60th anniversary and International Women’s Day, Mattel announced 20 new figures based on the likeness of prominent women, including activist and supermodel Adwoa Aboah; conservationist and daughter of the late “crocodile hunter” Steve Irwin, Bindi Irwin; actress, model and activist Yara Shahidi; tennis star Naomi Osaka; and film director Ava DuVernay.

British coronavirus vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert was honoured with a Barbie in 2021, while British primatologist Jane Goodall had a doll made in her likeness last year.

“I wanted a doll to be me even before this idea came up. I've seen little girls playing with Barbie dolls and certainly at the beginning, they were all very girlie-girlie, and I thought little girls need some choice,” Goodall said.

More recently in March, British scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock, who's been praised for her contributions in making space and science accessible to girls, was also honoured with a doll.

Specs

Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)

Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)

Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)

About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Fitness problems in men's tennis

Andy Murray - hip

Novak Djokovic - elbow

Roger Federer - back

Stan Wawrinka - knee

Kei Nishikori - wrist

Marin Cilic - adductor

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

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.”