The remains of Grenfell Tower as seen from a neighbouring block in London. The tragedy, which claimed tens of lives, has delivered profound effects on British society. Carl Court / Getty Images
The remains of Grenfell Tower as seen from a neighbouring block in London. The tragedy, which claimed tens of lives, has delivered profound effects on British society. Carl Court / Getty Images

Why are women’s voices routinely ignored?



I drove past the burnt-out corpse of the London tower block that suffered the catastrophic fire earlier this month. The building’s 24 storeys were charred black, like a hellish ghoul looking over the whole of West London. Nearly 100 people have been reported dead, but the toll is likely to be much higher as the building was home to more than 500 people.

As a catalogue of human failings emerges – from selecting cheaper inflammable cladding, saving costs by not installing sprinklers and cuts to local fire services – it appears that this horrendous disaster was entirely avoidable.

The residents had repeatedly raised concerns about fire safety, and been ignored. In fact, the Grenfell Action Group had darkly predicted that only a catastrophic fire would make the authorities listen to their warnings. The building is located in the richest area of the whole of Britain, and very possibly one of the most expensive of the whole world. It is also home to some of the poorest and most diverse ethnicities, like the residents of Grenfell.

So the obvious question is, why weren’t their voices heard? The answer is equally obvious – to those of us whose voices are routinely ignored, talked over and diminished.

If a person wields status and privilege, then their words are interpreted within that framework as important, meaningful and to be acted upon. For a person without status - their poverty, class, ethnicity, language, networks and possibly even faith -- means their voices are muted rather than amplified, their importance diminished.

This problem of reducing the value of some voices recurs again and again across societies.

I recognise this from my own experiences as a small, Asian, visibly Muslim woman. In countless meetings, making contributions, I can see that a point I made was completely unremarked on until a white man – often older - made the same point.

Women’s voices are routinely ignored. Think about how in cases of domestic violence male perpetrators of horrific abuse are believed to be truly repentant simply by saying sorry. But when their female partners state they are in fear for their lives, their concerns are diminished and they are told to stay and be patient. The men’s empty words mean more than the black bruises and broken bones of the women.

Class has a huge role, excusing failings or elevating empty opinions, whereas those of poorer, less privileged classes have their voices mercilessly maligned. Again, just think of the UK’s most famous bumbler, Boris Johnson, a man whose errors are placed on a pedestal and excused with its own term, just “being Boris”. No poor person, woman or minority, would be excused in this way.

The class issue excuses even the unpalatable, giving hatred a veneer of respectability. Anti-Muslim protesters like leading hate figure Tommy Robinson are considered working class thugs, but put the same words into posher language and it becomes a legitimate opinion. Tommy Robinson gets blamed for his followers’ carnage, but poshly spoken commentators like Katie Hopkins claim that those who commit hate acts are nothing to do with them. Yet over the weekend in the UK a Muslim man was attacked in his own home - and found graffiti on his outside walls expressing that getting rid of Muslims was the “final solution”, the same thing Katie Hopkins had tweeted.

I could go on with examples, and you should explore further. But if you’re reading this you’ll either have experienced it directly yourself – in which case you know the scale of the challenge. And if you haven’t, then you need to open your eyes, because you are probably enjoying your own voice being privileged and elevated at the expense of others who desperately need to be heard.

We must fight imbalances in the way we listen to and act upon people’s voices.

The first step is to be vitally aware of how we give greater credence, or greater wrath, to people depending on their faith, ethnicity, gender or class. This discrepancy has significant, often life-changing, consequences. Just ask the residents of Grenfell.​

Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is the author of the books Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World

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'Morbius'

Director: Daniel Espinosa 

Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona

Rating: 2/5

 

 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.

Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.

The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.

'The Batman'

Stars:Robert Pattinson

Director:Matt Reeves

Rating: 5/5

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog

Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed

Age: 34

Emirate: Dubai

Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

Specs

Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km

Race card

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Transmission: ten-speed

Power: 420bhp

Torque: 624Nm

Price: Dh325,125

On sale: Now

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