With regard to the question posed by Khaled Al Suwaidi in The Majlis (Should we treat mothers in the UAE any differently?, September 9), an obvious way to reduce the gap between the genders is for maternity leave to be extended.
I doubt it will get increased to the level in many European countries, where it can be up to two years. That length of time is good because a child should stay with the mother in the first two years.
So for many women here, a new child means that they will quit their jobs because it’s not worth coming back to work if it means leaving your two-month-old child with a nanny.
Mariyah Fatimah, Dubai
The help for ladies in the workplace might be the case if they are Emirati but it does not apply to most expatriate ladies, where companies want female staff on their husband’s or father’s visa because it means they can avoid paying allowances. Also, local contracts for expat women tend to come with lower salaries in comparison to expatriate men.
The male teachers I work with are predominantly on twice our salaries, with large houses and cars, whereas women are asked to share with another teacher or have a one-bedroom apartment – and that’s if they are on an overseas contract. Those on a local contract get no allowances at all.
Don’t try being a single, widowed or divorced mother here because one ends up working 80 hours a week to survive.
Tanya Milbourne, Dubai
Yes, women deserve to get equal pay. If they perform the same job and the same responsibility and hours, I don’t see why they should get paid any less.
Name withheld by request
Mortgage caps need exceptions
Your editorial, Mortgage cap is there for a good reason (September 9), notes that some are claiming it is hindering the recovery of Dubai's property market while others are saying it is preventing another crash.
In my view, it is doing both – preventing would-be buyers and preventing another bust.
That’s why a relaxing of the cap should be considered on an individual basis, depending on each person’s salary, credit history, current loans etc.
Tarek Tabbara, Dubai
Once the rules are relaxed for one, they’re relaxed for all.
Perhaps they could lower the deposit to 20 per cent for expatriates, but that would be my only recommendation.
Anything else will lead to a huge crash post Expo 2020.
Lee Sutton, Dubai
The rules should be relaxed on an individual basis.
Irshad Valli, Dubai
Goat’s distress was unnecessary
Of course, the goat in Kolkata featured in the photograph in The National on September 9 was trying to escape from the boot of a taxi.
Being treated in this way – locked in a boot of a car, no air and overheated – is disgusting and cruel.
I had a goat as a pet and they are intelligent, loving animals, the same as a dog or cat.
People were laughing at this distressed creature. Sacrificing an animal is a traditional part of Eid, but it should not involve cruelty to the animal. Everyone should have more respect.
Lorraine Ludman, Dubai
Dubai Opera will broaden appeal
Emirati-American composer Mohammed Fairouz's article, Programming diversity is the key to a great opera house (September 10), shows that the Dubai opera house is a chance to make Arabic culture internationally renowned, as well promoting diversity in a sector of the arts that is very European and American focused.
Chris Reid, Dubai
‘Sully’ depicts a callous morality
In a world where saving lives – or even one solitary life – is lauded, we need a thorough check on our morality about the refusal to give due credit to the pilot who saved more than 150 lives (Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks bring the Miracle on the Hudson to life in Sully, September 9).
After Captain Chesley Sullenberger landed in the Hudson River without a single loss of life, but incurring damage to the plane, a lengthy inquiry by the plane’s insurers hardly lauds his achievement and is more concerned about whether the pilot might have averted the material loss.
Such callousness shows this essential industry is more concerned about the bottom line than about loss of life.
A R Modak, South Africa
