Challenges remain for disabled rights in UAE, says expert

The UAE still faces significant challenges in changing attitudes towards the disabled, a leading academic said on Wednesday.

Professor Eman Gaad, from The British University in Dubai, said more work was needed to ensure society accepted those with disabilities on equal terms.

Prof Gaad was speaking during the launch of a new book chronicling the city’s drive to improve disabled access.

Building An Inclusive City, written by Victor Pineda, provides a road map for other cities aiming to provide better facilities for people of determination.

“Dubai has always been an inclusive city but when it came to disability we needed to do some work,” said Prof Gaad.

“I am glad to see we have the right policies in place when it comes to physical accessibility.

“The challenge now is to avoid trying to be politically correct and doing someone a favour because they are disabled.

“It is about accepting they [those with disabilities] are equal and have the same rights as anyone else.”

Prof Gaad's comments came days after UAE authorities launched a nationwide campaign aimed at increasing support for people with disabilities.

The drive, part of the legacy of the Special Olympic Games held in Abu Dhabi in March, includes a proposal, to be put before the country's Executive Council, guaranteeing disabled people the right to work in the UAE.

Mr Pineda, whose book focused on the years 2007 to 2013, said he was grateful for the assistance of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai.

“This book documents how a transformation took place here [in Dubai],” the University of California, Berkeley lecturer said.

“Now the book can act as a guide for other cities that want to follow in Dubai’s footsteps in becoming accessible to people with disabilities.”

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor

Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide

Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.

The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.

Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”