Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
September 23, 2022
It is difficult, at this stage, to anticipate the long-term outcome of protests that have gripped cities throughout Iran this week.
They were sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been detained by the country's morality police for allegedly failing to wear her headscarf correctly. By law, all women must wear one in public.
The scale and severity of the protests point to intense, widespread anger. Women are cutting their hair in front of large crowds as an act of protest. Police vehicles are being overturned and their stations torched. Images of religious and government-affiliated officials are being torn down. The working and middle classes are marching together, as are the young and the old.
In response, authorities have stepped up their control of the internet, restricting WhatsApp and Instagram. The move is reminiscent of mass protests in 2009, after which Twitter was permanently blocked, even though the most senior Iranian government officials regularly post on the site, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
But however dramatic these developments might seem, protests happen fairly frequently in Iran. So far, in the more than four-decade history of the regime, they have led to few government concessions, with at best empty words from the government and brutal oppression at the worst times. This round, nine people have died so far. The sacrifices are significant, the main achievement is reminding the world of the will of the Iranian people.
A protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's 'morality police', in Tehran. AFP
Demonstrators disperse during the protest for Amini, who died in a hospital in the capital Tehran on Friday. AFP
The crowd chanted 'Death to the dictator', meaning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while some women took off their headscarves. AFP
A man pulls out a police motorcycle set on fire during the protest. Amini had been detained for violating the country's conservative dress code. AP
In recent months, rights activists have urged women to remove their veils in public, a gesture that would risk their arrest for defying a dress code as the country's rulers crack down on 'immoral behaviour'. AP
Iranians protest in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran's Kurdistan province, following the Amini's death while in custody. AFP
Iranian police officers clash with demonstrators in Tehran. Police said Amini fell into a coma as she waited with other detained women at a morality police station, rejecting allegations that she was probably beaten. AFP
The demonstrations are so intense and widespread because women’s rights affect everyone in Iran. This is not fundamentally about clothing. It is about how authorities police women and their affairs, treat them if they resist and then cover up scandals if they are harmed, abused or, in Amini’s case, die. At the moment the trauma is not just about how she died, but the government's inadequate, insulting response. At first, authorities blamed her sudden death on underlying health issues. Her family then came out saying she had none.
A society where deadly civil unrest can happen as a result of how far back a scarf sits on a woman’s head is not a stable one. The protests should in part be viewed as a continuation of a longer chain of demonstrations that have been taking place this year. Whether over water shortages or a cost of living crisis, Iranians have on a number of occasions made their intense anger at the government clear.
The situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon. Negotiations to find a new international deal regarding Iran's nuclear programme are stalling. Getting one would lead to an easing of sanctions and revive an economy that has been curtailed for more than 40 years. Instead, the government sticks belligerently to a regionally destabilising and very expensive foreign policy.
If there is any chance that the protests might bring tangible results, it could be down to the fact that Iran's arch-conservatives are in power, the camp that is most committed to restrictive policies on what women wear and Iran's isolation. The travesty of what happened to Amini that will be firmly laid at their feet and that could make anger at them overwhelming.
After all, they have had the option to do something about these abuses for a long time. They have done little to tackle them. In fact, at least in terms of the morality police, the situation seems to be getting worse. Their activity had been somewhat muted in recent years. Now, these authorities seem emboldened and more women are getting harassed.
Even if nothing changes in the near term, the protests still point to a fundamental problem for the government. After almost half century in which to convince Iranians that Ruhollah Khomeini's radical republic imposed in 1979 is the best way forward, many are still not convinced. They are willing to fight and endanger their lives to make that clear.
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Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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.”
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
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Director: James Cameron
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
