The writer argues that if you don’t want women to gain equal rights and don’t want them to work, then don’t let them work on raising the next generation. Getty Images
The writer argues that if you don’t want women to gain equal rights and don’t want them to work, then don’t let them work on raising the next generation. Getty Images

The majlis: Should we treat mothers in the UAE any differently?



When my father was diagnosed with cancer, my mother took it on herself to assume the role of the breadwinner in our household. My mother, Mouza Khamis Al Suwaidi, started working at the Ministry of ­Foreign ­Affairs, while continuing as a mother to six boys and four girls.

I’m grateful to have her as a role model for my sisters and a mentor to my brothers and myself. My mother believes in equality, and she was always proactive about this. I was raised to believe in women, to respect their sacrifice and most importantly to always believe in their capabilities. My mother used to always tell us: “Your wife is there when you are not. Your children’s heaven is under her feet; make sure she is standing strong and stable”.

With women in mind, a question I ask myself is: should we treat women differently because they’re mothers or should we treat mothers equally because they’re women?

Consider the current hot topic of leave benefits. Based on federal labour law, the UAE grants working mothers 45 fully paid days for maternity leave, which would include pre- and post-birth. Based on Abu Dhabi civil service law, a full-time female employee is entitled to 60 calendar days — 45 maternity and 15 nurture. But is that enough?

The Mother of the Nation, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, has continuously believed in the power of women. If it weren’t for her support of women, my mother wouldn’t have found a decent job. Sheikha Fatima recently ­stated that working mothers deserve longer maternity leave. For that to occur, however, human-resources personnel have to consider ways to implement this without disrupting productivity.

When I look at female employees, I see my daughter’s future. This fate could be shaped by what happens today, and I want my daughter, and all our daughters, to be given the rights they deserve. This includes the right to freely choose their careers and their marital status without fear of cultural shame, and to be able to compete with men as equals. I don’t believe in treating women differently – if you don’t want women to gain equal rights and don’t want them to work, then don’t let them work on raising the next generation. Women are pillars of society. Women shouldn’t be the only ones responsible for raising a country – fathers play an important role – but children still return to their mothers’ arms in times of need.

We shouldn’t, however, expect that all organisations will happily welcome the proposed six months’ paid leave for working mothers. We need to find a solution that can suffice for now. We could, instead, provide working mothers with flexible work weeks, reducing the normal 40-hour week to a flexible 20 hours. Meetings could be scheduled on the days that they’re present, with the rest of the work completed from home. I understand that not all jobs could be managed remotely, so there could be designated development programmes for working mothers, where they could train others or be trained during their maternity leave. The possibilities are endless.

The pay gap between men and women is narrowing, and women are now in almost every field, including some who are industry leaders. With living costs rising as well, more than ever, women are required to work. Yet helping women who work to ­fulfil their ­responsibilities as parents is what we should consider when planning our working environments.

I dedicate this to all the working mothers; those working on developing the next generation at work and at home; to my beloved mother and to my beloved partner.

Khaled Al Suwaidi is an education and training professional working for the Education and Training Department at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

If you have a good story to tell or an interesting issue to debate, contact Ashley Lane on alane@thenational.ae.

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
The biog

Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.

Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking

Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran

Superliminal%20
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ICC Awards for 2021

MEN

Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)

WOMEN

Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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The%20specs
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017

Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free

Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)

Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)

Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)

The%20Crown%20season%205
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Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The bio

Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Tales of Yusuf Tadros

Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)

Hoopoe