Woman Today May 2011 by Oryx Group of Magazines

contents woman today/ cyberities

May 2011

Virtually You

Thanks to the Internet we have a whole new online set of meanings for phrases and words, and a whole new set of disorders, depressions and personalities writes Nadira Mendis Amarasinghe.

off 34 Switching at work

30 40

Twitter, twitter, little Star

Shalinee Bharadwaj stalks some interesting celeb stories making news in the twitteriverse.

Move over Dr Spock

The internet is here! Dr Rajka Milanovic Galbraith looks at ways in which the internet has helped us be better parents, supported us in our endeavours and even given us better work/life balance.

36 Women

rule the roost

Compared to men, women seem to occupy a larger proportion of time on the web, says Kapil Bhatia.

2011 May

WT TRANSFORM 14

alyson's getting her groove back!

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no stopping Alyson. Watch her transform as she works with Nicole Van Hattem and a host of other trainers in her second month of training. Woman Today cheers her on.

18 world wide women

56 style stop

50 health & fitness

Hone your management skills

Rising from the comforts of a familyowned business, Aisha Alfardan has become the face of the Qatari Business Women Association. She talks to Sindhu Nair about her personal journey with the Association.

Are you waiting for a healthier life?

Nicole Van Hattem guides you through a 28 day detox cleanse to health and wellbeing.

Blessed to be doing this Wassan Al-Khudhairi is the first female Museum Director in the Arab region. At 30, she is also the youngest to have donned this cap. In conversation with Sindhu Nair.

A Heart of Green

Cassey Oliveira catches up with Kate Fletcher, Environmental Specialist at The Pearl-Qatar who is keen on making the Earth a cleaner place to live in.

May 2011

10 in short

VOLUME VI / ISSUE 05

May 2011

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Yousuf Jassem Al Darwish Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Sehgal Executive Vice President Alpana Roy Vice President Ravi Raman

Managing Editor Vani Saraswathi Deputy Editor Sindhu Nair fashion & lifestyle correspondent Orna Ballout Editorial Co-ordinator Cassey Oliveira correspondents Pragati Shukla Ezdhar Ali Contributor Shalinee Bharadwaj Art Director Venkat Reddy Asst Director – production Sujith Heenatigala assistant Art Director Hanan Abu Saiam Senior Graphic Designers Ayush Indrajith Sampath Gunathilaka M D photography Robert A

Managers – Marketing Mohammed Sami Zulfikar Jiffry Senior Media Consultant Chaturka Karandana Media Consultants Victoria Ferraris HASSAN REKKAB Marketing research & support executive amjeth ali

Accountant Pratap Chandran

sr. distribution Executive Bikram Shrestha Distribution Support Arjun Timilsina Bhimal rai

Published by Oryx Advertising Co WLL P.O. Box 3272; Doha-Qatar Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, 44667584 Fax: (+974) 44550982 Email: wtoday@omsqatar.com website: www.omsqatar.com Copyright © 2011 Oryx Advertising Co WLL Address all your correspondence to Woman Today, Oryx Advertising Co WLL, P.O. Box 3272; Doha-Qatar Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, Fax:(+974) 44550982, email: wtoday@omsqatar.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The publisher does not accept responsibility for advertising contents. Licensing/ Republishing WT content: To obtain permission for text syndication in books, newsletters, magazines, newspapers and web or to use images/pictures carried in Woman Today, please contact our syndication and licensing department on the numbers given above. Permission is also required to photocopy a WT article for classroom use, course packs, business or general use. Custom reprints: Published article/s to be used as stand-alone pieces can be reprinted by us on special request. The reprint cost is based on the length of the article and the quantity ordered. Contact our custom publishing division on the numbers given above for more information.To subscribe to Woman Today call our subscription department on the numbers given above.

May 2011

FROM THE EDITOR

The internet offers a freedom to express ourselves in any manner we wish; to be the person we want to be; to live the life we wish we had. It provides us with as much anonymity or as much visibility as we need. Which is why, online, we put our very best foot forward – pedicured, polished and buffed to perfection. A foot that has stepped on many foreign soils and has photos to prove it. A foot that carries a happy spirit, walks a sense of humour, and goes only where goodwill abounds. A foot that tangos with the perfect partner. What the other foot does and sees is a story that rarely will find an outlet on your Facebook wall or Twitter feed. It probably will receive a mention on the blog, but only ever so briefly. The problem is we shield our self-serving agenda with our online avatars. We master the art of subtle bullying, our ‘status’ is sometimes nothing more than a thinly veiled attack against those who dare to cross us; how many ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ we have, what we ‘like’ or ignore are all tiny sniffs of power. When you feel you can express yourself with impunity, then you need to exercise that much more responsibility. And in the heady rush of attracting smart, funny or sympathetic comments, we lose sight of that responsibility. This month, Woman Today explores our urge to be cyberities. Why are we who we are online? What makes us take on that avatar? Are we just setting ourselves up for depression born of envy, by making social media such an integral part of our lives? Are we creating a clique that excludes anyone who isn’t swayed by sweet chirps and Zuckerberg’s brainwave? Are we running scared of our personal space, in the quest to be on My Space? Will our communication be restricted to one-liners or 140 characters? Is what we are losing more valuable than what we may gain? While you chew on that, check out the bunch of brilliant women we feature this month who are making an impact in the ‘real’ world – Ayesha Alfardan, Wassan Al-Kudhairi, Kate Fletcher and Patrese Essel.

Vani Saraswathi PS: Don’t miss Alyson Gilpin’s transformation on pg 14

GO GREEN

letters What’s in an age?

Nokia E63

Woman Today invites readers’ feedback Share your views on the magazine or any issue connected to Qatar. One lucky reader will win a Nokia E63. Write to: The Editor, Woman Today, PO Box 3272, Doha Fax: (+974) 44550982, email: wtoday@omsqatar.com

Woman Today reserves the right to edit correspondence. Views and opinions expressed in the published letters may not necessarily be that of the publication’s. Prizes sponsored by:

May 2011

I am so glad that Woman Today touched upon a topic as sensitive as age in its April issue. For a woman, her age is a reminder of the years she lived – as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother and a grandmother. Every birthday celebrates not just the increasing fine lines on her face, but the years she struggled multi-tasking sometimes as a teacher, a doctor, a driver, a cook or a friend just to make her family happy. Her age taunts her of her fading youth, but it also empowers her with the years of experience, aspirations and sacrifices that made her so perfect, made her a WOMAN! Madeline Cruz Fearless number I loved the April issue of Woman Today. An entire issue dedicated to ‘age’ – it’s a treat for any woman. The article on grey hair was amazing. It captured my state of mind in a very informative way. I remember the first time I spotted a grey hair, I turned the house upside down. The article gave me an insight of the dreaded concept of greying. Usually, I would be the first to colour my hair black, but now I feel flaunting my grey wouldn’t look that bad! Sana Al-Salem Perfect time The article ‘Ready for Mommydom’ was a fantastic write-up in the April issue of Woman Today. It’s time we give women the choice of when they would like to become mothers rather than imposing decisions on them just to comply with societal pressures. To be a mother is a gift to all women. The gift will be best ap-

preciated when a woman is ready to receive it, not when she is coaxed to do so. As a whole, Woman Today does an excellent job in giving women a choice to live their life as they want. Sweety Joshi Managing the Black I am a Qatari and for me the Abaya is a symbol of power. I was happy that the article ‘Black Vs white’ reflected the same thought in the April issue of Woman Today. Dr Kholode Al-Obaidli has beautifully crafted 14 laws of Abaya Management which will act as a powerful tool for every woman, irrespective of her wearing an Abaya or not. It’s true that we don’t see many women at the top management level of an organisation. I believe Dr Kholode’s rules will help us in climbing the ladder of hierarchy. Fatma Al-Ansari A woman’s best friend Woman Today is every woman’s guide to life. It discusses issues that affect women on a daily basis. It captures the thoughts of those women who have challenged preconceived notions and gone ahead to be an inspiration for other women. It offers remedies and advice for those who are bothered about anything – be it health, fashion, beauty, parenting, etc. It’s a platform that provides women a chance to speak their hearts out to other women; to listen to their aspirations; to cheer with them; to mourn with them; to fight for them and to be with them. Thank you Woman Today for a fabulous job! Judy Frost

short

Veggie benefits against cataracts People who eat meat may be at increased risk of developing cataracts compared to vegetarians, according to a new research. Vegetarians and vegans are 30% to 40% less likely to develop cataracts than people who eat a lot of meat, say researchers at the University of Oxford in England. Other factors, such as smoking, diabetes, and exposure to bright sunlight, also have been linked to greater risk of cataracts. Compared with those who ate the most meat, the risks for developing cataracts were lower for all other groups. Mid-range meat eaters had a decreased cataract risk of 4%, low-meat eaters 15%, fish eaters 21%, vegetarians 30%, and vegans 40%.

Fussy babies at higher risk of ADHD

ussy babies, babies that cry excessively and have difficulty sleeping and feeding may be at increased risk for behavioural problems during childhood, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a study shows. Close to 20% of all babies show signs of “regulatory issues” such as persistent crying, sleeping issues, and feeding problems during the first year of life. Most of the time these symptoms are transient and infants adjust by the time they reach preschool. But “those with persistent regulatory problems in families with other problems may require early interventions to minimise or prevent the long-term consequences of infant regulatory problems,” the study concludes. An important point to note is that those who were at greatest risk for behavioural problems as children were also more likely to be from troubled families, including those with psychosocial problems and problems interacting with each other.

Side step your back pain

If you have back pain, sleeping on your side may help ease the pain. Health experts say that this position puts less strain on your spine than sleeping on your back or your stomach.

May 2011

Botox erases lines... and feelings! Yes, that’s what the latest research shows. Botox not only smoothens out wrinkles, it also dulls your ability to understand the emotions of others. Botox, used in cosmetic and medical procedures for 20 years, paralyses muscles, hindering certain facial movements, such as frowns, that over time can cause wrinkles. “People who use Botox are less able to read others’ emotions. If muscular signals from the face to the brain are dampened, you’re less able to read emotions,” say the researchers.

Juiced up?

uice boxes are healthy? How often do we pack a carton into our kid’s lunch bag, because it’s ‘healthy’. Unfortunately, that’s not always the true. There are two ingredients in many of these juices that are far from healthy. Added sweeteners. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of the most common sweeteners, and a pilot study found mercury contamination in this ubiquitous ingredient. It’s also highly processed. Artificial food dyes. Studies have concluded that modest doses of synthetic colours added to foods can provoke hyperactivity and other disturbed behaviour in children. Read the ingredients and look for 100% juice products. That’s if you don’t want to put the juicer at home to work.

Visualisation tricks

f you want to eat healthier, just picture yourself doing this: eating healthier! Visualisation is the tried and tested method of achieving your dreams. Be it eating healthy, losing weight or getting wealthy. It’s all about mind over matter. There are lots of tools available online to start work on your visualisation board.

2011 May

wise

work

Day

scenario:

I sat in my office and I could feel the tears building up behind my eyes – those transparent windows to our souls. John, one of my direct reports came in excited about a new project. He tried to scen ario show me his idea and I My sw ivel cha : mumbled a response ir was turning a as my eyes stayed report, s another dire ct M glued to my comin with aryam, strolle a propo d puter screen and sal she was wo rk my fingers tapped met he ing on. My ey rs es about h and I asked h away. He left less er er wee kend a she sha enthusiastic. nd re in Om d about divin an. I to g ld h my last dive an er about d almost drowne how I d my h band. usW left my e laughed. Sh office w e ith a sk ip.

Day

Mood

Con tagion

Am I Emotionally and Socially Intelligent?

Do emotions and our social circuits affect our work? Can my behaviour deflate or energise my organisation? Do they influence the performance of others? Do women have an advantage or disadvantage in this area? In order to accurately answer these questions we first need to look at both emotional and social intelligence. Emotional Intelligence has been defined as the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively. Danial Goleman in his book “Emotional Intelligence” identifies four fundamental capabilities that make up our EQ: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills. Self-awareness is the ability to read and understand your emotions as well as to understand their impact on work, relationships and life. People that are self aware are usually confident in who they are and have a positive sense of selfworth. They understand their strengths and limitations. One of my favourite colleagues, Sarah, depicts this. She is intelligent, organised and knows who she is. She tells the story of how as a kid she wanted to join the swim team but didn’t know how to swim. Sarah, understanding her limitations, took swimming lessons and joined the team and participated in her first race. She finished last but got a standing ovation because everyone was so amazed that she finished. Sarah tells this story while laughing at herself. She knows who she is and likes this person. So do I.

May 2011

Self-management includes competencies like self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, achievement orientation, and initiative. One of my team members, Paveena, exudes these qualities. During turbulent times of change in our organisation she continued to motivate the rest of us as she kept focused on pursuing excellence with integrity and honesty. Her initiative to raise the bar higher in her own job performance served as an example of what the rest of us needed to do. Social awareness is that ability to see other’s needs and look from another perspective. Caren, our office manager is the most socially aware person I know. She detects the heartbeat of our customers and even knows when the guy who serves us tea has is having a bad day. She has the ability to read the undercurrents of our organisational life. It is almost like Caren was born with radar that tracks the pulse of everyone that walks within a few feet of her. I am constantly joking about the need to send certain people back to Charm school. Social skills are probably the most important elements in the make-up of Emotional Intelligence and can be detected in an effective leader. These skills include things like visionary leadership, influencing others, developing others, communication, being a catalyst for change, conflict management, building bonds and collaboration. When I first moved to Qatar two years ago, I was drawn here by the social skills of my boss. His vision for making a difference in the educational realm of Qatar drew me to accept moving my family to

studies are revealing subtle truths about what makes a good leader and how our behaviour can influence our organisation through mood contagion

the Middle East. He influenced me in such a way that I wanted to be a part of that vision – building a Qatar-based business and financial academy that Qatar would be proud of. Emotional Intelligence continues to be a concept that dominates literature as we see how empathy and self-knowledge affect leadership. Social Intelligence is a new frontier but if we dig a bit deeper we discover research in the past five years in the emerging field of social neuroscience. This is the study of what happens in the brain while people interact. Believe it or not, studies are revealing subtle truths about what makes a good leader and how our behaviour can influence our organisation through mood contagion. In my day one scenario, I deflated John’s energy and affected his job performance when he left my office. He was less enthusiastic and less motivated to work on his idea. In my day two scenario, I energized Maryam by laughing and setting an easygoing tone through my contagious good mood. This stems from neurobiology which shows that positive behaviours create a chemical connection between a leader’s and his or her followers’ brains. The most recent discovery by a group of Italian neuroscientists is the identification of mirror neurons in the brain. These are neurons that mimic what another person does. When we consciously or unconsciously detect someone else’s emotions through their actions, our mirror neurons reproduce those emotions. Recently I had a manicure at one of the hotels here in Doha. As I asked my manicurist about her life she told me of her situation – she is married and a mother of seven children. She told me how she hasn’t seen her

children or husband in over two and half years and even though she had seniority she opted to let her colleague go on holiday instead of her because she was a widow with four children. As she shared her story of sacrifice for her colleague and family, I found myself with tears (again) in my eyes. My emotions were connected to hers. You may have noticed that many of my examples in this article are of women. Is that because we women are more socially and emotionally intelligent? The answer is yes and no. It is true that women in general tend to be more adept at immediately sensing others’ emotions. In a recent study by Margaret Hopkins of the University of Toledo and Diana Bilmoria of Case Western Reserve University, entitled Are there gender differences in the demonstration of emotional and social intelligence competencies?, they came to the conclusion that there were no significant differences between male and female leaders in their demonstration of emotional and social intelligence competencies. The most successful men and women were also more similar than different. However, gender did moderate the relationship between the demonstration of these competencies and success. Male leaders were assessed as more

successful even when the male and female leaders demonstrated an equivalent level of competencies. In Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis HBR article “Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership” they state: “Leading effectively is, in other words, less about mastering situations – or even mastering social skill sets – than about developing a genuine interest in and talent for fostering positive feelings in the people whose cooperation and support you need.” My team at QFBA (Qatar Finance and Business Academy) is the probably the most high-performing in all of Doha. We have a biweekly meeting where we get together and share what we are working on. It is fun! We laugh and truly enjoy being together. It is a creative atmosphere. In the same way, destructive emotions can infect an entire group and inhibit its performance. Working in the heart of West Bay and the QFCA, I am aware that performance is the bottom-line of success across all industries. As a leader I am aware of my responsibility to be both emotionally and socially intelligent in the way I treat my colleagues. By managing these interconnections adroitly I can deliver a high-performing team and measurable business results. I am in the mood to be contagious!

Susan Lansing is the Director, Corporate Development at QFBA. She is responsible for generating new business for the corporate programmes as well as designing and crafting solutions for the top management of GCC companies. She strives to develop strong, long-term, and valuable relationships with the corporate world while leveraging faculty expertise. 2011 May

Measurements: down a total of 16cms or 6.3 inches

Weight: down 3kg

alyson's getting

her groove back! "Looking back over the past month it's hard to believe how much has changed and how much I have transformed. I have lost 16cm since starting the programme and even more amazing 2% body fat! I have enjoyed every minute of last month. I am feeling energised and definitely more positive mentally. My attitude is no longer if and maybe but WHEN I AM. I now see myself as a slim, energetic and a vibrant me.

hat has helped this transformation is the support and encouragement from my family, friends and strangers who have been following my blog. My family are enjoying the "NEW" healthier food and the more energised mom. My sons also make sure I go to Curves. My husband has started to notice that I am slimming down. Daily I receive comments from friends that they are noticing changes both physical and about my attitude to life in general. "My exercise buddy has been a great motivator. One of my friends even gave me a gift of a motivational book for dieters and offered me her support whenever I needed it. Everyone of these people have made it all so much easier for me, making my willpower and commitment even stronger.

May 2011

"My strongest support and encouragement definitely has been Nicole, my health coach from Art of Abundant Living, being there every step of the way cheering me on at my lows and celebrating my successes. The trainers at Curves have been very encouraging, and monitoring me every step of the way. Gill from "Cooking with Gill" has given me some great cooking skills and ideas. Gabrielle, my hypnotherapist has given me the skills to visualise what I can be and the willpower to stay focussed on my goals. "It is really a great feeling to put on clothes that once were tight and now are fitting and are even loose!! I have rediscovered my waistline â&#x20AC;&#x201C; WOW what a feeling!! I cannot wait for my transformation to continue..."

Body Fat: down 2%

Over the last few weeks, Alyson Gilpin has made tremendous progress. She had two coaching sessions with Nicole. Here is what the coach has to say: Coaching Session 2: At the beginning of each session we review the previous two weeks, what's working well and what needs more focus. After doing this we explored Alyson's bigger vision for her life. We discussed the use of a vision board. Going through the process of creating a vision board gives Alyson an opportunity to really explore what's important for her life and particularly in relation to her health and wellness. The vision board is also a useful tool for Alyson to express her feelings, wants and desires to those who may be able to support or guide her on her wellness journey. It's also fun to create and a pleasure to review. It's also an inexpensive, individual tool that Alyson can easily change and adapt as her life journey progresses. As Alyson gains greater clarity around what she really wants and creates a clear picture of it happening she will be much more likely to make conscious and unconscious choices that will take her in the direction of her personal vision.

Coaching session 3:

During this session we celebrated Alyson's success with losing 16cms (6.3 inches) and enjoyed a giggle over how her clothes were beginning to look differently on her body. We looked at the type of exercise routine she is maintaining and how an exercise buddy is helping her to stay on track with the number

of sessions at Curves each week. To help Alyson setting herself up for success we arranged to have Gill from "Cooking with Gill" to do a kitchen pantry makeover and a private cooking class. This is a great way to gain some perspective on the products that are lurking in your kitchen and distracting you from eating well, and an opportunity to gain important skills in cooking family friendly healthy and delicious meals that can also be made in bulk and frozen for convenience.

Dr Rajka Milanovic Galbraith who is on the Woman Today Transform team, working with Alyson, records her progress: Alyson's starting BMI of 38.11 by definition is obesity. This puts Alyson 1.99 points away from severe or morbid obesity. Obesity puts her at risk for multiple medical problems: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, dementia (later in life), blood clots both in the legs and lung, liver disease including gallstones and fatty liver, osteoarthritis, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol

etc), sleep apnea, certain cancers (esophageal, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, kidney, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma), irregular menses and urinary incontinence. Weight loss will help take the pressure off Alyson's three herniated discs and may allow time for those discs to reabsorb thereby potentially avoiding future surgery. Furthermore, with her newly added exercise program, Alyson's serotonin levels will increase and help naturally combat her depression. The programme Alyson is undertaking is holistic which will enable her to have the tools to maintain any weight loss that occurs over the next 6 months. It is wonderful that Alyson is not diabetic according to the lab results and does not have high cholesterol. The medical results do however show that Alyson's morning cortisol is high and this could be due to her high stress levels at the time of the test or a sign of Cushing's disease. Therefore, she should have her morning cortisol retested during a time period she is not feeling stressed.

2011 May

ill Johnsen of "Cooking with Gill" helped Alyson with her attitude towards cooking and eating. Gill says: "I love food, always have! I love eating it, I love cooking it and I especially love sharing it with friends. I've travelled all over the world, and spent as much time as I could inrestaurant and domestic kitchens, learning how to cook different foods, from claypot chicken over an open fire in China, to helping prepare a wedding feast in Jordan, and some amazing fine pastries in a French patisserie. I am quite proudly a home cook who started cooking when I was 4! Passionate about what I do I am excited at sharing my love of food, recipes and tips, and helping others to match their kitchen and cooking to their lifestyle and enjoy food more."

Following Alyson

Alyson has been sharing her personal journey online. Here are some excerpts from her blog posts

April 26: I had the most informative day with Gill from Cooking with Gill last week Monday. Gill came over to my house and gave me a Pantry Makeover! ...On Thursday afternoon, Gill came to my house and cooked with me!! How great is that!!

On twitter:

April 24: I received, from the GREEN BOX , an organic vegetable box from a local farmer! ...I had a weigh in with Curves and although I did not lose a lot on the scale I did lose a lot in centimeters and my body fat has dropped by 1% and that's what needs to happen. I am TRANSFORMING!!

#@AALNicole#wttransform@womantoday Had a great workshop with Nicole on visionboards which help empower to focus on +ve changes and new you

April 16: Well the first issue of Woman Today showcasing my transform is out!! Seeing the article in print is almost surreal WOW!! The motivation for me has been fantastic. Saying no to temptations is so much easier.

#wttransform@womantodaynicole@aal Get an exercise buddy it helps motivate you and keeps you focussed. GET UP AND GO!! Keep moving!!!

April 2: I needed to buy some workout clothes to workout in as my increased workout programme leaves me sadly lacking in the area of workout clothes. Well what a depressing experience. Firstly to find the size to fit "the larger woman" is almost impossible! To read more, bookmark womantodaytransform.wordpress.com.

Mobile partners :

May 2011

@A A L Nic ole # w t t r a n sfor m@woma ntoday Had second photo shoot at Curves today. Feeling great a lot of +ve talk from friends, noticing changes

wttransform@WomanToday AAL@Nicole I really did not want to exercise today but I did, visualised what I plan to be, glad I went I feel great. To cheer Alyson on, and be part of her journey, follow her @wttransform.

health partner

curves Curves has is supporting Alyson on her transformation. As Nicole points out, Curves works because it gives you a complete cardio and strength-training workout in just 30 minutes, where you can burn up to 500 calories every time. The circuit is made up of resistance machines that work every major muscle group, two muscles at a time. And with a circuit coach to teach and motivate, you're sure to reach your fitness goals in no time. Whether you want to lose weight and inches, gain energy or tone up, the Curves circuit will work for you.

beauty & spa partner

support partner

Ten tips for creating a successful strategy for personal change 1 Define your vision – what will success look/feel/act/sound like? 2 Clarify & regularly review goals 3 Tap into personal motivation triggers 4 Create quick wins 5 Break down the big goals into small achievable steps 6 Call on support networks 7 Build skills for long term success

Curves is the largest fitness franchise in the world, created specifically for women to offer a complete fitness solution. The Curves 30 minute workout exercises every major muscle group and burns up to 500 calories through a proven programme of strength training, cardio and stretching. In addition, club promotions and events encourage women to support charitable causes, learn about healthrelated issues and forge lasting friendships as part of the global Curves community.

8 Recognise & celebrate successes along the way 9 Have fun 10 Thank yourself for taking the time out to recognise a change is needed, for having the courage to make a start, and for moving forward

What is Woman Today Transform?

Woman Today Transform has been launched to show you how a normal woman with a normal life in Qatar, with life's every day challenges and her own personal health hurdles, can be empowered to take back control of her right to a vibrantly healthy body and mind. To expose followers of Woman Today Transform to the wide array of health services, products, knowledge, people and activities that exist to support you with your personal health journey. Cheer for Alyson as she shares her experience, thoughts, and challenges. One woman – transforming her world! Follow her on: wttransform.wordpress.com wttransform Nicole van Hattem is a Board Certified Holistic Health Coach, writer, speaker, presenter and Corporate Wellness Consultant. Nicole is also the Founding Director of Art of Abundant Living and runs a thriving health coaching practice. Nicole’s passion is to guide and support clients as they make the changes they’re ready for and that work for their lifestyle and health style. The process is empowering and supportive and enables Nicole’s clients to get the most out of this incredible life and to live it in health, abundance and joy. With over 20 years professional experience working with multi-national corporations in the Gulf Region, UK and Australia, Nicole’s main areas of expertise are: * Individual wellness coaching * Corporate health and wellness programs * Employee engagement initiatives * Leadership development Nicole transformed her own life and as a result her body transformed too. To read her story and view the before and after pictures, please visit www.artofabundantliving.com – Success Stories.

women

worldwide

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hone your management skillsâ&#x20AC;? By sindhu nair

May 2011

isha Alfardan has had her fair share of proud moments. Though she rose from the comforts of a family-owned business, as the Vice Chairman of Qatari Business Women Association (QBWA) she has become the face of its operations, and is now seen as a role model for other aspiring entrepreneurs. On the eve of the much awaited second Qatar International Business Women Forum (QIBWF), to be held from May 17-18 2011, she talks to Woman Today about her personal journey with the Association. “Being role models for Qatari women puts a big responsibility on us and it is now our turn to pay it forward. I am proud of what Qatari women have achieved so far and the name they have managed to make for themselves, but I also think that they have to continue working hard,” she says.

How different will this year’s QIBWF be? We are building on last year’s success, but we will be more focussed on promoting participation through foreign embassies in Qatar as well as Qatar embassies around the world, so we are expecting delegations from around 20 countries, and we have tried to engage as many chambers of commerce and businesswomen associations around the world as possible. This forum is a huge initiative and it takes serious efforts to pull it off, especially at this particular time with the challenges that the Middle East region is facing.

What has been the learning from last year? What were the take home messages? The first time is always difficult, and there are many lessons learnt. However, we always look positively at errors because they become points that help us improve the work we are doing. This forum is a very important initiative that the QBWA is undertaking as it provides a platform for businesswomen and men to network, exchange ideas and generate business opportunities. It is also important to introduce Qatari businesswomen to the world as an a key player in Qatar’s economy.

In last year’s conference, entrepreneurship was one of the topics that was given much emphasis? Could you share the success stories from last year? Entrepreneurship is always a hot topic. It’s one of

QIBF: Economic empowerment of women in the Arab world Under the patronage of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser the QBWA in collaboration with Interactive Business Network (IBN), is organising the second Qatar International Businesswomen Forum on 17 and 18 May, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel - Doha. Woman Today is the media partner for this event. Following the resounding success of the first forum in 2010, the second forum will resume and expand on the discussions of pressing issues of the hour and on the economic empowerment of women in the Arab world. Given its already well-established status as a path breaking event in Qatar and the Arab world, the QIBF in its 2011 meet will host a number of leading Gulf, Arab and international speakers, and is expected to attract wide participation from senior government officials, experts and specialists in business, financial and social affairs, as well as representatives of civil society, NGOs, and women leaders in business and other professions and activities.

Main topics on the Forum’s agenda include: 1) Businesswomen Face-to-Face with the Current Economic Uncertainties: Challenges Converted into Opportunities. 2) Access to Capital - Challenges. 3) Leading with Emotional Intelligence. 4) Challenges Women Face in Family Business. 5) Interview with the United Nations Representative to discuss the “UN Women” Entity and its Implications for Arab Women. 6) Role of NGOs in Uplifting the Businesswomen and their Achievements. 7) Organisational Capabilities and Strategies in Small and Medium Enterprises. 8) Performing within Cultural Boundaries and Limitations. To take part in the second Qatar International Businesswomen Forum, please log on to www.interactiveb.com.

QBWA’s objectives to support entrepreneurs and provide assistance to business start ups and small and medium businesses. This support is being demonstrated through the programmes we are offering. For example, we delivered a training programme last December for women who wished to start their business and upon completing the training programme, four of the 15 have actually started new businesses. The programme is known as SME Training and it was delivered in partnership with BNP Paribas Bank and their Career Centre in Doha.

What is the one key factor that hinders the growth of women in business in Qatar?

women need to hone their business management skills and take the lead in running their businesses.

There is more than one factor, but in general, women need to hone their business management skills and take the lead in running their businesses. If they do 2011 May

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that, with this supportive environment and the economic growth that Qatar is witnessing, the sky is the limit! Women should be encouraged to play a bigger role in economic decision making.

And what is the one factor that favours Qatari women over their peers in the region? The stability and growth of the economy, as well as the support of the government for both men and women especially with the Qatar National Vision 2030 which stresses on women empowerment and on generating more opportunities and vocational support for Qatari women.

Qatar has a fair number of women graduating from its high-profile universities. Isn’t that by itself an encouraging feat?

Tips for women entrepreneurs Everything starts with a dream. But with good education, ambition and dedication you will make your dreams come true and make yourselves, your families and your country proud. Good ideas are not always feasible business plans, so make sure to have a solid plan as well. It’s always OK to ask for advice from more experienced people. Network, network and network. Learning is a lifelong journey, and we learn something new every day.

May 2011

It is encouraging, but the gap between the educational attainment and rate of participation in the workforce remains a challenge, and this challenge is not only in Qatar, it’s in the Arab world in general; the gap is one of the largest in the world. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) reported in 2010 that only 29% of women in the MENA region are engaged in the workplace. This figure is significantly lower than the 69% reported in the rest of the world and is indicative of a problem that affects not only Arab women but the greater productivity and advancement of the region at large, therefore, our role as businesswomen association is to try to address these factors that hinder women, and improve women employment by addressing the challenges and overcoming them.

There is an interesting session scheduled at the forum on ‘Is Having it All’ possible for women. Who will be contributing with their success stories in this? Personally do you think this is possible? These sessions are there to give the opportunity to women to demonstrate their achievements in both professional and personal lives, and we have so far very interesting speakers from Qatar and the region. In my opinion, women are talented and they can

multi-task by nature. You see working moms who are on top of their work and professional growth. They take care of their families, spend time with their children, and manage their households. The important thing for women to learn is how to balance their lives and achieve life-work balance.

How do you describe your personal journey with QBWA. I invested a considerable amount of time and effort in building a trustworthy and credible name for the association, and I ‘d like here to thank our Chairwoman, HE Sheikha Al-Anood Bint Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who put her trust in me and supported me and the association, and without her this wouldn’t be possible. QBWA now is considered one of the fastest growing businesswomen organisation in the Gulf.

And how important is it to have a mentor? It’s very important to have a mentor – for me it’s my father; he is the one who raised me to be who I am today. He taught me that we generate what we think we deserve. By working hard, we build our own future. He instilled in me the importance of never forgetting our past; because without it, we have no future. And most importantly, he taught me that loss makes us stronger.

Tradition and culture vs career and development. Are they mutually exclusive? Not at all, we are proud of our traditions and culture, and we should work hard to preserve them. However, the world is changing, and being a career woman is something to be proud of. As I told you before, balance is the key.

Do you think you have had an easy start because of the backing of an established family business? Or was it more difficult as you were constantly under scrutiny? It’s easy and difficult at the same time; it’s easy because I found all the support I needed from my family, but it’s also difficult because I was under pressure to prove to everyone that I can do it

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May 2011

Blessed to be doing this Tall, attractive and full of energy, Wassan Al-Khudhairi breaks numerous stereotypes. She is the first female Museum Director in the Arab region, one of a handful in the world and at 30, she is also the youngest to have donned this cap. In conversation with Sindhu Nair.

To be someone who is involved in the everyday activities of a Museum and to see how art has affected at least one life is a very rewarding experience.

or Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Chief Curator at Mathaf, her life is her work – that’s not to say she is in anyway boring. She has a huge circle of friends – all of them from the museum world; she loves reading – constantly updating herself on global museum dinner; she enjoys meeting new people – inevitably, they are artists whose work she has been following. If that sounds monotonous to us, here is what Wassan has to say: “My world revolves around the art field and there is never a dull moment.” She is surprisingly nonchalant about her achievements. Does it not affect her at all? She laughs, “Not at all. I don’t think this restricts me in any way but it does challenge me to find the best way of running Mathaf. I also hope that I be a role model for others to prove that if they really work hard and hold on to dreams they can achieve them.” She believes that the person who does it for the first time always opens doors for others to follow. “Art and culture are important in enhancing the lives of people. To be someone who is involved in the everyday activities of a Museum and to see how art has affected at least one life is a very rewarding experience and one that I will cherish all my life. With art you get to touch and affect another person and that is a profound feeling.” Connecting with people and the power of linking people is what makes Wassan love what she does.

A flair for art

Wassan along with her mother

The first impetus that pushed her towards art came from her mother who was a passionate art enthusiast. “She was no professional but genuinely liked to collect and admire art from the region. My grand2011 May

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mother lived in Baghdad. Baghdad had a very dignified art culture of its own and we were influenced by her and what was happening around her. “My mother always took us on museum visits and whenever we travelled, we were certain to visit the museums of that country. We even visited the museum in Sri Lanka when we visited the country,” she says. Even as a child, going to museums was never boring as her mother made it a fascinating family affair with interactive sessions around each artefact on display. All this sparked an interest that was fanned by her later experiences in Cairo. But “the turning point as an adult” was when she enrolled at the American University in Cairo, where she did her undergraduate studies. “I was sure I would be in the world of art but was still undecided about what I should focus on and the art scene in Cairo awakened me. It made me want to know more about the Arab world; it initiated an excitement in me, a passion for the Arab artist in the modern and contemporary period. So Cairo always holds a special place for me.”

Women and Museums The museum world, says Wassan, is full of women. “In the West, a large number of women work in museums. Here too there are several, though the number of those in higher positions is relatively fewer. In Qatar with such fabulous female role models, HH Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned and HE Sheikha Mayassa, women are no longer lagging behind in any field.” For Wassan, Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad Al

Quicks Take

Most inspiring Talking to people who are visiting the galleries Can’t do without My iPhone Wake up to The sun shining down on me De-stress Yoga, it helps to clean up my mind Self-love It is important to care for yourself but it is more important to be balanced about it Future To continue working in the art community, maybe bringing more exhibitions to Qatar

May 2011

Art in a nutshell?

Art is not just about having a canvas and painting, it is more about creating an experience says Wassan. “It is much more ‘conceptional’.” “If you have seen our exhibition, “Told, Untold, Retold,” you know that art is not just about paintings or how well you do it. If you have a passion and you want to express it, you can be an artist. Your success or popularity lies in how well you refine your message to the people and connect with them.” Advice:

“Always keep positive energy around you. Keep people who emanate the same.” Thani in particular plays a huge role in inspiring her. “She is young, energetic and passionate. She is also committed to developing the Art world.” What about women artists? “We have a good representation of women artists in our collection here at Mathaf. But the male artists do outnumber. These questions always come up and though there are women artists, there is a shortage. It could be because sometimes there are fewer opportunities for women in the creative fields and also because they are getting less attention than others. But it is a matter of time and there are no figures to prove that women are lagging behind,” she says.

Mathaf Moments Wassan’s typical day is ‘very busy’ and is never spent behind the desk. “Lots of lively discussions, brainstorming, interactions with colleagues at Mathaf and Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) and workshops is the routine at Mathaf.” But what she loves most is talking to people, creating relationships and fostering long-term associations. “I also have a passion for art and it gives me great joy when I guide Arab artists to a bigger platform. So working with Mathaf is like a personal journey for me, the mission of the Museum and my dream seems to be interlinked.” What about the challenges that she faces on a day-to-day basis? “A new Museum has numerous challenges but none that are not manageable. I would call this opportunity as rewarding since we are involved right from the inception of ideas to actually see them being

implemented and also enjoy the results.”

Learning that matters Wassan is of Iraqi origin and has lived in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UK and the US, where she worked at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York. She received her BA in Art History from Georgia State University and MA with distinction in Islamic Art and Architecture from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. As an Arab who has travelled, worked and studied in numerous countries, Wassan carries memories from each continent through the connections that she has established. While Egypt was her inspiration to pursue modern and contemporary art, at NY she learnt that the interacting with the community you life in is most important while memories of Iraq are mostly nostalgic, about family, her roots and historic sights of Baghdad. “Your experiences are shaped by the culture, the history and the people in the country.” Wassan is also excited about what is happening in the Arab world. “As part of this younger generation, I never thought that I would see change. As long as I can remember, the situation in these countries has always been the same. It is good to be part of change that is positive, especially looking at what happened in Egypt. Earlier when people knew that I was in Qatar, they used to ask me, how difficult it is working in the Middle East and now there is a change in perception. People now ask me how it feels to be part of change and that is a very encouraging question. Many of my friends and artists I know were involved in the protests and it was indeed an exhilarating phase.”

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A Heart of

Green

Remember lessons in primary and middle school when we were taught to keep our planet clean? Projects, charts, activities that aim to drill eco consciousness in us. Out of school, for many the lessons perish. For those who have learnt it well, it becomes their job! Cassey Oliveira catches up with Kate Fletcher, Environmental Specialist at The Pearl-Qatar (TPQ) who is keen on making the Earth a cleaner place to live in.

s far back as Kate remembers, she has always been fascinated with the environment. Perhaps because she was always taught to protect it, she says. At the age of four, she learnt about the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign. “I was also taught not to throw away litter, instead re-use them or pass it on to someone. But things seem to be more disposable nowadays,” she says. And it annoys her when people throw litter carelessly, especially out of their car windows. “I have in the past picked it up and given it back to them through the window, taking them by surprise.” Kate’s team at UDC echo her environmental sentiments. Together they are committed to reduce the environmental impacts of their operations carried in and around TPQ. Despite being one of the largest water-found urban developments, the Island adheres to an environment-friendly corporate culture. “A lot of marine life and birds find a home in and around TPQ, and many steps have been taken to ensure their well-being. In fact, we once collaborated with the Ministry of Environment to save the life of a rare green turtle, which was found injured in the sea and found shelter at one of our rock revetments. It is currently recuperating at a clinic in Dubai,” she says. Surprisingly Kate’s career didn’t start off as an environmentalist; it was in podiatric medicine. “I loved working as a Podiatrist and met many interesting people; however it just wasn’t the profession I wanted to be in for the rest of my life.

May 2011

“It’s been 15 years since I last worked for the UK National Health Service. A little retraining would be required before I get my hands on a scalpel again,” she says.

Qatar’s green scene Originally from Walkeringham, a small village in South Yorkshire, Kate says Qatar is a lot different from her

Green Job

village – there is less of green here, for one. But she’s content with the steps the country is taking in terms of environmental protection. “The Ministry of Environment is pro-active within the country. One only has to look up newspapers to see what new initiatives have been implemented daily or what conferences and exhibitions are taking place relevant to the environment,” she says. It’s been seven years now in the Middle East for Kate. Adjusting to a new place is never an issue for her. “I find it interesting to learn how others live,” she says.

Back at home

Kate has initiated several projects in and around TPQ such as: Environment protection training sessions as part of an induction programme by the HR team.

Currently on her maternity break, Kate is ecstatic with her new born bundle of joy. “My husband and I are lucky to have a beautiful baby girl,” she says. Like most women, being a working mother is daunting for Kate – but she is hopeful. “I am looking at working from home for a while. Most women do not get a choice anymore and have to go back to work, even back in the UK. But things will work out – I am not the first woman to be in this situation,” she says. Now that she is a mother, Kate is keen on ensuring that her child would follow her ‘green’ principles too. “The key for people to realise the importance of implementing good environmental practices is to explain why they are important. It is our responsibility to ensure that right principles and morals are instilled in our future generations.” And with Kate, we too anticipate a cleaner tomorrow!

Educational programmes for home owners and public through specialised publications and short films. Installation of a UNESCO specified recycling system. Blanket ban on plastic bags. Retailers can only sell a re-useable or degradable alternative.

QuickTakes You recycle:

Plastic, paper, cardboard and e-waste Slogan you carry at work:

Reduce, re-use, recycle

Eco-friendly tips At home Don’t waste water. Switch off the tap while brushing your teeth, washing, shaving, etc. Take shorter showers. Carry a re-usable bag to the shops. If you forget one, fill the given plastic bags as much as possible. Avoid using multiple plastic bags. At work Print on both sides of the paper. Write notes on the empty side of used papers. Switch off all electrical items when you leave the office. Standby mode consumes electricity. Switch lights off in rooms when there is nobody. on the move Take a litterbag in the car so you have somewhere to put your waste. Don’t throw cigarette ends out of the car window. They might end up in seas, polluting them. (Cigarette stubs take 12 years to degrade and parts of it might never.)

Thing close to your heart:

My family

Implementation of a high-tech ENVAC vacuum waste disposal system. Encouraging and protecting avifauna and marine life. Beach clean-up including a rigorous rock revetment clean-up.

Your philosophy in life:

Smile always

To be a woman is:

To have a choice to be anything you want Make a difference by:

Treating people the way you want to be treated Environment:

It is our future and we need to look after it Hobbies:

Painting, reading, socialising and now being a mother

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Working on your image

de ! i s t In ou

Twenty-seven-year-old London-born Patrese Essel is a woman on a mission. She devotes her time managing her company, Shapes Image Consultants (www.shapesimageconsultants.co.uk); and passing on her tricks of the trade to Doha’s style set. She talks to Orna Ballout about fashion and how she maintains a successful career under tough circumstances.

What brought you to Doha?

My husband got offered a job with Qatar Investment Authority so we decided to move here. It was such a hectic move; I set up my company in London in October 2009 and things just got into full swing before we moved in May 2010. I planned my wedding in six weeks to happen three weeks before we re-located!

Why should women visit an image consultant? Many clients come to me who are going through a transition period in their life. They may have just had a baby or started a new job. People who have fallen ill or put on weight also come as they’re not sure what looks good for them anymore and need guidance. I can relate to people on many levels as I’ve put on weight before and experienced illness – I was diagnosed with full blown Multiple Sclerosis (MS) four years ago.

What symptoms do you experience from MS and how does it affect your job? Symptoms include fatigue, memory loss, slurred speech and sensory loss. It doesn’t affect my work too much as long as I know in advance all the requirements. For example, I was once doing a photo shoot and the client told me the children were between the ages of 12 and 14. I turned up to the shoot and the kid was 17 and took an adult size medium! This was a bit of a nightmare; when I’m not given all the information beforehand it is difficult as it brings on stress which isn’t good for my illness.

What is the toughest aspect of dealing with MS? Probably that my medication makes me put on weight; I’ve put on two stone since I was diagnosed. I think there are also positive aspects. Before I was diagnosed, I was too busy and always in the gym. Now I’m calmer and have much better organisation skills. I have to take daily

May 2011

injections but incorporate them into my lifestyle. I don’t wake up and think “ugh I have to do my injection”, I work it into my daily routine. It pushes me to do things I never used to do because you never know what’s going to happen.

What exactly does your role entail? It is varied. I have an initial consultation with each client which costs QR250 where I take all their details, measurements and get to know about their lifestyle and interests. I offer other aspects including Wardrobe Management (which is more often than not wardrobe clearance!); Style and Colour Analysis and Personal Shopping. I really encourage people who can afford it to try everything. I also run workshops and have just started an event – Doha Fashion Exchange. I hope to make this a monthly event where ladies are invited to bring an item of clothing, place it on a rail organised into size, and then choose something in exchange for the piece they’ve brought – all accompanied to the rhythms of a DJ, refreshments and goody bags!

You must have extensive knowledge of fashion to offer guidance to others? I studied Fashion and Business and have quite a lot of experience from working in the UK. I worked as a stylist for GMTV and Closer magazine, and also with many designers on London’s Portobello Road. I’ve always been interested in fashion and it is a bonus to get paid for something you adore.

morals and a certain amount of freedom of expression can really mould a child into a well-rounded person.

There is conflict regarding parents bringing children to get makeup, manicures and waxing done; what’s your view? It is sometimes nice for parents to show children things we can do – like painting nails and visiting the hair salon. However, there should be a boundary; waxing is a definite no. I think little children look cute with their nails painted and hair styled; it is good for them to experience it every now and then.

What are you most successful at in your work? Organising and style analysis; I find clients tell me a lot of personal things in this line of work so it is important that I make them sign a confidentiality agreement. Once this has been agreed they let loose! If women do work on the outside, they generally need to work on the inside too. I have to refer lots of my clients to life coaches, and I’m seriously considering training to become a life coach as I think it will really benefit my profession and help clients.

Do you find any recurring trend among women who seek your advice? Most women feel like they’re getting right, and contact me to clarify if they are but it usually turns out that they’re not!

Who is your rock? Why do you think children have issues about the way they look? I think the media plays an important part; TV and magazines portray a stereotypical image of a woman which isn’t a reality. It is about feeling good in yourself, not trying to be something that you’re not.

I’m at an age where I’ve built up a good support system of people. It has to be my husband though; he helped me choose my medication for my illness and has always been so supportive. His sister was ill when he was young so he knows what to do.

What next? What can parents do to help children maintain a positive image? I think the best advice is to tell your child is that they’re beautiful no matter what happens or how they look. Try and encourage them to do things they want to do, not something you want them to do. Giving them

I want to be content in my career first. I’m nearly there but want the awareness of image consultants to be a lot more prominent in Qatar. Not a lot of people know what the profession entails. I see a lot of successful women here who don’t make enough of themselves, and I hope to see an improvement in the future

the best advice is to tell your child is that they’re beautiful no matter what happens or how they look. Try and encourage them to do things they want to do, not something you want them to do.

2011 May

woman today/ cyberities

Virtually You Thanks to the Internet we have a whole new online set of meanings for phrases and words, and a whole new set of disorders, depressions and personalities, writes Nadira Mendis Amarasinghe.

emember when 'tweet' was the sound a bird made, 'writing on a wall' was considered vandalism of property, 'changing status' meant going from being single to being married or vice versa and 'checking mail' meant walking down the driveway to your mailbox? Being social used to mean helping out your neighbours, mingling at parties, or feeding the homeless, but now a tweet here, a change of status there and you are social! We spend more and more time in front of our computers, just us and the screen, and we kid ourselves into thinking we are socialising because we are 'chatting' with or snooping into, oops, sorry, I meant keeping up with our friends' lives. When there's an issue in our lives we blog about it, which to some, equates dealing with it. Those of us with those way-too-smart Smartphones find ourselves tweeting, updating our statuses and checking mails at the most random moments â&#x20AC;&#x201C; while making dinner, or at a traffic signal! By saying all this I am not casting any aspersions on the internet or on social networking. There are a lot of good things that come out of them. For example, it is believed that if Facebook was a country, in terms of population it would be the fourth largest country in the world, right behind China, the US and India. It can therefore be considered a great source of influence in terms of people power. Facebook is also a great way for those of us who are away from our home countries, families and friends to keep in touch. Twitter is a great way of sharing information. A few weeks back when it started to drizzle in Doha, it was up on Twitter before the raindrops actually hit the Corniche! Tweet to ask about which camera under QR1000 is best and you will get a stream of

May 2011

replies; and then there is Google, which throws up a wealth of information be it for your kid's third grade history project or a quick recipe for a healthy family dinner, or the latest update on world politics. So yeah, the Internet and the social networks are great; great for those who know how to use them, moderately. What about the dark side of Internet usage? It's not about Internet scams, or pornography or child abuse, but what the Internet does to the mental health of its users. Internet Addiction Internet Addiction Disorder is a disorder that is fighting to make its way into the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Some believe that Internet addiction is a farce, but there are those who believe that it is a serious problem persisting in our society today, and I personally agree with the latter group. Internet addiction has been described as an impulse-control disorder that is similar in nature to gambling addiction. Although many question whether Internet addiction is a true addiction or simply problematic behaviour, for some users it can meet certain addiction criteria: an obsessive and compulsive urge to maintain satisfaction, and experiencing irritability and discomfort when stopped. As with other addictions, excessive Internet use can stimulate the release of dopamine and the pleasure derived from that encourages further use. I must say that I, along with many of my friends, can sheepishly identify with some of these mentioned symptoms. I walk straight from my bed to my PC to check mails and Facebook, and it takes something big to keep me from breaking this routine.

woman today/ cyberities

OPINION You Start Liking people less on facebook than in person

10 % true

39 % not at all

51 % occasionally

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Woman Today Online Poll

Taken from one perspective, a person with a vulnerability to Internet addiction is likely to be someone who might have problems developing satisfactory relationships with others. The person may feel insecure or inadequate to handle life in the real world. Reason: The Internet offers a virtual or make-believe community in which an addict can deny and repress real-life problems. Single people and young adults are cited as most likely to be using the Internet. Social networking, dating websites, updating personal web pages, e-mailing, and instant messaging, among other things, are common activities. While this sounds harmless enough, it translates into consistently and significantly less time spent with family and friends, studying for school, and on the job. A report in 2009 claimed that social networking sites cost employers $2.25 (QR8.19) billion in lost work hours alone. Internet based depression and loneliness Internet usage encourages people to spend more time indoors, and the lack of fresh air and sunlight leaves us with low levels of those 'feel-good' chemicals in our systems and that leads us to feel depressed and low. Social networking too can be pegged as a frequent cause of depression. People who spend a lot of time on their Facebook, Myspace or other social networks often perceive their lives as 'boring' in comparison to the lives of their friends. Other people seem to have better social lives, happier looking family pictures â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they look thinner, sexier etc in comparison to our own. Their kids achieve more, are involved in more activities, had a bigger birthday party than our own. We tend to forget reality and start measuring our self-worth based on what we see of our

friends' lives on Facebook. A friend has 700+ friends and I have 150+; is it necessary for me to feel I am less liked by people? Friend A and friend B share a 'wall conversation' about a nameless third person who gets on their nerves; do I automatically assume they are talking about me? Among all the pros of social networking there can be the dangerous cons that can lower our self-esteem and lead to depression. Social networks can also ironically turn us antisocial. When was the last time you actually called some of those ever so good friends you regularly 'chat' with? Is the internet or technology for that matter eating into your 'real-time' with real people? Do you often find yourself smiling at your PC screen or your phone more than you smile at the people around you? Last evening, leaving a gathering of people my husband disapprovingly told me that I was being completely rude because despite having said my formal goodbyes I walked away from the gathering while engaged in a chat conversation on my phone. I argued that I had already acknowledged people and said goodbye, but apparently it was still rude and I am inclined to an extent to agree when I think of it objectively. Online relationships are great, but when they start replacing your real 'in-the-flesh' relationships it is time to worry. Remember that when life throws you a curved ball you need a real hug; not a computer screen throwing icons at you! Multiple Cyber Personalities I met up with a good friend of mine recently whom I spend a lot of time chatting with online, and she claims that I am more 'chatty' online than in person. I beg to differ, but this is something many people might hear.

2011 May

woman today/ cyberities

those you interact with online, in person are

OPINION

the same

different

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Woman Today Online Poll

Single people and young adults are cited as most likely to be using the Internet. Social networking, dating websites, updating personal web pages, e-mailing, and instant messaging, among other things, are common activities.

We tend to be less inhibited when talking online than talking to someone in person. In an online chat it is easier to think out your answers or questions before you type and hit send than if you are put in a spot in person. It is easy for us to build up a completely different personality online than we really have. Social networks provide an outlet for the socially challenged to express themselves in digital form. Someone's online personality may be completely different from their offline persona, causing chaos when their two "lives" intersect. The negative impact of social networking sites is evident in online dating when the couple meet face-to-face for the first time. Commonly their personalities do not match their selfwritten descriptions. It is easier to type what someone wants to hear rather than telling the truth. How many online names do we use? Different names for different email addresses depending on what you use the address for, different names on blogs, pseudonyms for various web based forums and communities? If you said 'yes', you are not alone. Use of pseudonyms online is a common practice, but with those multiple pseudonyms, do you also have multiple cyber personalities? If you have colleagues on one of your social networks you might be more inhibited while on another network you might just be your crazy self, and this is a good thing because there are appearances everyone needs to keep up at work. While having multiple cyber personalities has its obvious practi-

May 2011

cal uses, it can cause personal ethical problems, and even make the Internet not as nice a place as it could be. People can use their multiple cyber personalities to reveal parts of themselves that they are not ready to share with people in their lives. It can also be used to engage in any activity that your "real" self would never do, including being dishonest, cheating, having cyber sex, or creating strife for others. The biggest problem with multiple cyber personalities is that it allows people forego a sense of responsibility that they would be called on to uphold in the real world. If these thoughts have led you to go through a mental check list, maybe its time to evaluate your online life. The Internet and Social Media are powerful tools. But just as it is with many things in life, what is powerful must first be understood, in order for it to enrich us instead of inhibiting us or injuring us.

(The author is a psychologist & counsellor. She writes for Woman Today and addresses various psychological and emotional issues. If you have questions you wish answered, write in to wtoday@omsqatar.com)

woman today/ cyberities

Switching off at work

By Vee Ess

Guess which command keys are most used on keyboards in work desks across the world? Alt+Tab. Every time a shadow falls over your shoulder alt+tab to your word doc; every time you hear footsteps behind you alt+tab to your office email; if you feel your boss's breath on your hair (from a yard away) you alt+tab to research sites...

ow complicated would our lives be without this simple toggle key combo? Most of us are not browsing porn or watching a pirated copy of Rio online. At the most we are appeasing our voyeuristic urge by trolling through Facebook or Myspace profiles of 'friends' with picture perfect virtual lives and egotistic blog posts. We are probably browsing webmd.com to check out cures for adult acne or home remedy for BO. It's more likely we are surfing Bayt. com or Monster for that dream job. Rather harmless pursuits, yet we do a mental jump-up and a physical alt+tab, because what we are doing is stealing: Playing truant and stealing work hours off our employer. What if your focused 4-hour input is worth more than a colleague's 8-hour laboured effort? How much time online for personal work is too much? Who does the audit, and who sets the timer? Here are a few simple rules of thumb that tell you whether your online addiction is getting the better of you at work.

You buy time for an urgent project, pushing deadlines. Yet, you keep abreast of every status update on your fb feed, beat your record of 20 comments a day, and have managed to browse the latest from Victoria's secret. You boot the computer, and it's a good half hour before the first stroke of work is done. Facebook: check. Twitter: check: Personal mail: check. Youtube link: check. Project work: eventually. You are logged into IM services â&#x20AC;&#x201C; gtalk, yahoo messenger etc â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all the time, and at any given point of time have three or four chat windows active.

May 2011

Your official mails are all 140 characters or less, words are devoid of vowels (lyk ths) with ample emoticons thrown in. Your colleague's internet use annoys you. But every time you frown upon him or her actions, your personal browser is active. We are the mirror image of our worst peeves. Almost all office gossip is shared on Twitter and/or fb status updates. Your every feeling of slight, power or achievement is not fully realised till it has been verbalised online and attracted at least a couple of comments. Your credit card record shows maximum activity during office hours. In which case, not only are you wasting work hours, you also need to address your shopaholic issues. If you have nodded sheepishly to two or more of the above, let the danger bells ring.

Now, here is what you shouldn't do. Don't use office mail for personal communication. The employer 'owns' your official mail, so be careful about what and to whom you say things. Don't air your work woes in public forums. The internet is porous, and you don't quite know whose favour or good will you will require in future. Try to keep your professional relationship (use linkedin) separate from your private rendezvous (Myspace, Orkut, Facebook). Your boss is not your friend. Don't go buddying him or her. The only reason boss-person buddies you is to keep tabs on the flock.

woman today/ cyberities

Women rule the roost By Kapil Bhatia

77% of their customer base. Definitely the onrom conception till about the line retail therapy helps the women to relax and eighth week of development Other figures from brightens one's mood. both men and women are almost Oxygen Media Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook has reexactly the same. The only differenFrom today's tech savvy tiator is a pair of chromosomes that portedly said women drive 62% of activity in women aged determines whether the person is a male or terms of messages, updates and comments on 18-34 female. The differences that manifest then grow the website. with them and are evident even in the online Online Videos have become a popular 57% presence and usage. According to a research medium of communicating on the web. A Nieltalk to people online more than face-to-facE conducted by Comscore (global source of son study in 2010 shows women aged 25-44 digital market intelligence) as a percentage of are a major force behind the rapid adoption. 34% global Internet users, women are catching up More than half of the women interviewed durcheck Facebook the first thing in the morning quickly with men. In fact, in North America ing the study admitted to watching video durboth the genders are at par. ing the course of the day while at work. Men 26% Men may have taken the lead in the global are more upbeat about Online Trading, Sports, get up in the middle of Internet user's category, but women occupy a Games, Personal Finance and Technology. the night to read text messages larger proportion of time on the web. The avMen also dominate the internet search world 21% erage 15+ female spends 8% more time online (71.6 searches per searcher for men vs. 64.0 for check Facebook than her male counterpart. women) during the night While Social Networking has become a Johanna Blakeley, who was recently feapopular activity for all Internet Users, women tured on Ted Talks, spoke on End of Gender 50% of single women (vs. 65% of single take the lead in the usage. As per Comscore, on Social Media. She said women outnummen) think it's okay meeting and globally women spent an average of 16.3% of ber men in all the age segments on use of Sodating other singles they meet through Facebook their online time on social networks, comcial Media. If men are the amplifiers of the pared to only 11.7% for the men. web then women are the speakers. If men The Twitter technology being popular among both the genders has lead the online technology then women drive the e-commerce sales. been adopted for a different reason. A general observation is that, Certain activities such as shopping and socialising are known to be women like to have a conversation within the 140 characters, whereas favoured by women in the physical world and this behaviour is men prefer sharing information and links. According to the study, a replicated online, especially on Social Media front. larger percentage of female Twitter users say they use the site to find deals and promotions. Women are also more likely to use the service to follow their favourite celebrities. Kapil Bhatia is an E-Business Executive, working in the Females are definitely the drivers of the e-commerce business on the Financial Services Industry. His work ranges across Digital Internet. This is evident from the revenue figures of sites such as ZapMarketing, e-Channels and development of online strategies, pos (more than $1 billion in revenue last year), Groupon ($760m last with a sound Information Technology base. He is an avid blogger @ http://iwep.blogspot.com. year) Diapers ($300m estimated revenue last year) are all driven by a majority of female customers. According to Groupon, women form

May 2011

woman today/ cyberities

Blog and I Kirsty Rice, one of Qatar's prolific blogger, confides in Woman Today about what started her off.

could tell by the way the Immigration Officer was slowly thumbing through my passport that something was wrong. Each time he looked up, he began asking my husband questions about me and my passport. No matter how many times I attempted to join the conversation, the officer refused to acknowledge me. I felt invisible. Initially I was confused, then embarrassed, and finally outraged. I began to question my validity – I was a thirty year old successful career woman, a Major Account Manager for an International Recruitment Firm. Why did I suddenly feel like a young blushing bride, an appendage, a piece of extra luggage that my husband was travelling with? I looked down at my shoes and there it was – my six month pregnant belly. For the time being, the career was on hold. I was pregnant and unemployed. I was an "Expat Wife". Is that how he saw me? Jakarta was an enormous city and I suddenly felt very small. As I set out to learn about my new home, I struggled with my introduction. I didn't have a job, friends, family or an address – who was I? As the days turned in to weeks and later months, I slowly began to settle and without a conscious effort a new me arose. I began spending time with women who were older than me, younger than me. My new friends were from all over the world, they fascinated me. I read more, I asked more questions. I'd gone from a lonely and confused new arrival, to a woman who was satisfied with her own introduction. I didn't need the business card. I knew how to flag down a Bajaj on the street, I could navigate my way through the market, I learnt how to shop for food without getting ill. I travelled with three children under the age of four on my own and lived to tell the story. When I did return to work, it no longer defined me. Eleven years, seven countries and four children later I arrived in Doha. It was here that the writing began. First a blog, a few writing courses, some magazine work and now its turned into a book. It was here my simple piece about "The Expat Wife" gathered hundreds of comments and emails. And the one that makes it all worth it: "I'm that woman in the hotel room, I feel exactly as you did ... thank you for writing this". This is why I blog.

Kirsty Rice, Australian writer and blogger You can catch her on Twitter @shamozal

OPINION do you access social networking sites...

28 % 72 %

on your mobile

on the computer ON average, how much time do you spend on the net everyday

% i log on to it wherever i am free

% 5-8 hours

24 hours via mobile Woman Today Online Poll

May 2011

woman today/ cyberities

twitter, twitter, little Star By Shalinee Bharadwaj Social media and celebrities are like Siamese twins. It's no surprise to find entertainment journalists and informed panellists of the Social Media Week events, turning their lens to the celebs' newly found goldmine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Twitter. Why Twitter, anyway? According to the panellists, Facebook is more impersonal because you can't verify fan pages or alleged celebrity profiles, there's always the doubt that someone else is pulling the strings behind the curtain. Facebook threads are a lot easier to follow than the cyclical stream of retweets. In short, Facebook is more for friends while Twitter is more for celebrities! That said, Woman Today stalks some interesting celeb stories making news in the twitteriverse. Tweet, tweet!

@Love is in the air Celebs may prefer privacy in their romantic escapades but when love lapping sells inviting fame, which celebrity would deny it. Former Aussie cricket star Shane Warne and model Elizabeth Hurley not only exchanged flirtatious messages on Twitter, but announced the end of their earlier relationships on the micro blogging site. Tom Cruise declared his love for actress Katie Holmes while jumping up on Oprah's famed furniture. Now Twitter provides a bigger stage with nearly 95 million tweets a day and Liz Hurley and Shane Warne are only being its latest players!

@Breaking News Celebs no longer rely much on publicists; they are now breaking the news themselves! Film star Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy both used the site to inform fans of their split, with Frasier star Kelsey Grammer tweeting about his divorce from former Playboy model Camille Donatacci three months later. Latest on the chart is the decision of Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria to divorce Tony Parker in cyberspace.

@Bitter Battles The crown goes to pop diva Rihanna-considered third in line behind Eminem and Lady Gaga to become the world's most watched YouTuber, and R&B star Ciara currently making headlines for lacklustre sales of her album, Basic Instinct. The drama started when Ciara dropped by E!'s Fashion Police with Joan Rivers and Kelly Osbourne, and mentioned that Rihanna was less than cordial when the two ran into each other at a recent social event. The snippet avalanched when both of them took to Twitter, battling it out with sarcastic comments with fans and celebs taking sides!

May 2011

Following

woman today/ cyberities

@Self promotion Many celebs are using the 'tweet formula' to ride the wave of promotion and fame. Kim Kardashian, for example,has made herself accessible to her fans; she markets products over her profile and treats her followers as a focus group, posting choices for perfume bottles or awards, showing dresses to get their opinions. Her followers will deal with Kim crying over the most mundane matters because they feel that they know her as a friend! Another one is rapper Chris Brown. In order to clear his name after being abusive against Rihanna, Chris released a public apology. This again, led to a huge boost in his Twitter followership.

@Sticky Notes Some celebs babble incessantly through their tweets, ending up with their foot in the mouth. In the past, Lindsay Lohan posted her topless photo and embroiled in fights with her dad and Dr Phil. More recently she was read berating comedian George Lopez for a comment he made about baby powder in her shoes. And when she's not ranting about how everyone's a liar and out to get her, she's sending hateful/depressing/pleading Tweets to on-again, off-again paramour Samantha Ronson!

@Yellow pages Word of mouth is arguably the greatest form of advertising. If reports in some tabloids are to be believed then celebs may be making bagfuls of money to tweet about brands or services! Nicole Richie, Kim Kardashian, Whitney Port and Audrina Patridge can reportedly earn up to $10,000 (QR36,400) per tweet for companies including Sony and Nestle! Britney Spears and P. Diddy have been named as the biggest earners, who could lap up to $20,000 (QR72,800) per tweet!

the most annoying internet use issue you see at work place

OPINION

55 %

too much facebook Woman Today Online Poll

14 % 31 %

too much personal email

others (IM chats)

2011 May

woman today/ cyberities

Bully on the Net By Cassey Oliveira

Picture this: A child is active on a social network site. One fine day a classmate

posts a nasty message about him, and before you know it, there would be dozens of comments bombarding his page. What then happens to this child?

nfortunately this goes unnoticed, says Aaron Hollingshead, High School Counsellor at American School of Doha (ASD). "Usually students are hesitant to report cyber-bullying because they don't want to be seen by their peers as being a 'snitch'. As a result, the child becomes

depressed." A major factor that drives students into this trap is "a false sense of anonymity". "It's easier to say something malicious about a peer via BBM or Facebook than face-to-face. Sadly, these same students don't realise that posting messages or images that hurt others, can result in repercussions at school and beyond," says Aaron. Cyber-bullying is no longer tagged a problem of the West; Aaron sees it spanning cultures. "Coming from the States, I haven't noticed any difference in the way students misuse social media based upon their culture or ethnicity," he says. Also, bullying doesn't strike any particular age-group, but the means by which students get bullied does change as they grow older and become more technologically savvy. "The type of comments can become more hurtful and long-lasting as students

For parents/ teachers:

May 2011

Be proactive. Talk to your children about how they use the internet, what do they browse and with whom do they chat.

enter middle and high school years, since this is a time they become more aware of their bodies, thought processes and the world around them," he adds. Does the solution lie then in curbing internet usage? Perhaps, manoeuvring would be more effective. "Parents should Aaron Hollingshead, High School monitor what their children are doing Counsellor, ASD online, on their mobile devices or during their free time. It's their job to teach their children how to act responsibly while using the internet and social media," says Aaron. Along with parents, Aaron feels that schools too share an equal responsibility to engage students in conversations regarding how they view and treat others. "While most students are willing to have mature and open dialogues about bullying when we make the first move, the key is engaging them in these conversations and challenging them to look at what they are doing and saying through a different lens," he says.

Allocate a maximum time that your child can spend on the internet.

Keep your children away from certain websites that may be harmful for their viewing. Explain them why you are doing so.

woman today/ cyberities

Tips for online safety children

DOS Mina Nagy Michel Takla, Web Editor, ictQatar

Regulating web pages There are several things that a child can enjoy online, but one wrong step and the internet turns into a terror. Social network sites are one place that a child needs to be extra cautious says Mina Nagy Michel Takla, a Web Editor at ictQatar. "Children need to realise that whatever they post on their social network profiles will instantly become public. They have to be careful when disclosing their personal information. For that, they need to get acquainted with the privacy settings on social media sites to be able to control who views their information." Engaging with the social media on a regular work basis, Mina ensures that he promotes cyber-safety through these pages. "ictQatar has launched a dedicated website www.safespace.qa to help parents, teachers and children stay cyber-safe. We also have a bilingual blog, www.digitalqatar.qa where we regularly write about cyber safety in English and Arabic," he says. (Mina has written a blog 'Stop the silence' on cyber-bullying.)

don'ts

Protect your privacy: Do not give out any personal information (phone number, home address or name of school) to anyone you meet online. Beware of bogus polls and survey which steal personal information from you.

Do not give photographs to strangers nor misuse the photographs of others.

Do not agree to meet strangers you find on the Internet. If it's for an assignment, take your guardian along.

Be careful while choosing names for an account. Avoid names that reveal a lot about your life, your location or other personal information.

Do not open e-mail messages from strangers. They often contain viruses that can damage your PC.

If anyone requests for your credit card number or bank account on the internet, inform your guardians.

Do not reveal your password to anyone, even to your best friend.

While at school, if you receive messages that contain racial discrimination or other hurtful or uncomfortable remarks, report to the authorities.

Do not spread false information about a person through the internet. Do not post messages that could affect a person's image.

Always obtain information from reliable websites.

OPINION

Courtesy: www.safespace.qa

on social networking sites, are you friends with random people?

YES Woman Today Online Poll

14 %

86 %

Courtesy: www.safespace.qa

Advise your children to immediately report any kind of misconduct they see on the internet.

Activate parental controls and other software programmes to block certain sites.

Children often use information from the internet for their assignments and projects. Ensure they credit the source to avoid facing charges of plagiarism.

2011 May

woman today/ cyberities

Search search

Move over

Dr Spock The internet is here!

Cyberparenting commonly refers to parental controls over the internet to protect your child. But Dr Rajka Milanovic Galbraith looks at ways in which the internet has helped us be better parents, supported us in our endeavours and even given us better work/life balance by allowing us to become virtual if we choose.

hen you have your first child so many questions arise. And with no two infants being alike, sometimes the textbook way to address things doesn't apply. That puts parents in a dilemma: what to do if their child doesn't fit the mould? The beauty of parenting is in discovering your child. However, when no amount of troubleshooting works, the internet can be a handy helper. It allows us to use the combined pool of other parent's past experiences as well as gives us access to experts instantaneously. This becomes ever more important for the first-time mom who is nowhere near family or friends as is the case with most expats. When our son was born, he was severely irritable from reflux â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for a year. It was a vicious cycle of eat, vomit, cry. The doctor's were great in evaluating him and prescribing medications to ease the discomfort. His GI specialist even warned us how taxing this diagnosis was on parents and to utilise all of our resources when we simply became worn out. However, no one could answer my question: What will my son's demeanour be like after the reflux

May 2011

subsides? Will he always be this irritable? We needed some hope to hang on to. I happened upon an infant reflux forum and found the information I needed: No, he will not always be this irritable. Our daughter loved being swaddled even after 6 months of age. But at over 100 percentile for height none of the swaddling cloth were large enough. This time, I happened upon a thread on www.babycenter.com that offered invaluable information. Some parents weaned their infants from the swaddle using a variety of methods and some had larger cloth made. All of them had a success story to report which provided me with a lot of options; we had larger swaddle cloth made. Here are some useful sites: babycenter.com is invaluable for the pregnant mom. They email weekly updates about the foetus development and what to expect. There are also hundreds of expert answered questions; Is it safe to colour your hair in pregnancy? Safe to wear high heels? The site is free but for a fee you can have premium access. Two additional sites recommended by oth-

Tips to heed Choose the games that your child plays, and then play them with them. If you are unable to play with them then set a timer or use an online timer (http://www.internettimer.net/) During the "tween" (aka pre-teen) years, introduce a joint journal you can keep with your child specifically so that your child has an avenue to bring up sensitive subjections and questions. Your tween writes down a question, or whatever is on her mind and then you respond back in the journal. It takes the pressure off your tween when you go on to discuss the issue in person. During dinner, add telling about the worst part of your day in addition to the best part of your day. This allows for children to know that there are daily challenges in life and that sometimes we all have bad days. It also allows for discussion of issues that might otherwise not be brought up.

woman today/ cyberities

Q&A How much video game playing is safe for my child? Most child development experts recommend that children's "total screen time" – which includes watching television and videos, surfing the Internet, and playing computer or video games – be limited to one to two hours a day. The ill effects of too much screen time are social isolation, physical inactivity, and potential for increased aggressive behavior if they are playing too many violent games. Electromagnetic fields (EMF's) are electrical fields that radiate from all electronics – power lines, modems, and appliances, and have been linked to cancer. This is another reason to limit computer time. How do I keep my child safe on the internet? Safe-search filters are perhaps the easiest and the most effective method: CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, SentryPC are some examples. Stick to search engines that are kid friendly like Yahoo! Kids, or www.kidsclick.org. Keep your computer in an open place. Commonsense.org is specifically about safety. And ikeepsafe.org contains a lot of material that I use about internet safety and balancing online/offline time. Talk to your child about the perils of giving out any sort of personal information online. Keep your computer and online connection password protected. This way, if you are preoccupied or not home, online access is not possible What are some good educational websites? Here is a list of some teacher recommended sites: Studyladder (math and literacy), Carrotsticks (math), Khanacademy (math and science videos), Gamequarium (activities), Brainpop (science cartoons) and Tumblebooks (reading). Some of the sites are free and some are subscription based. Check with your school as some schools have education subscriptions that allow all the students in a class/school to participate at lower rates or for free. Poll your child's teachers as they will always know the best sites.

er mums are: www.yummymummyclub.ca and www.mops.org. An excellent source here in Doha is the Doha Mums private forum. You have to attend an event to become a member and gain access to this forum. The forum provides a sounding board for the mums. Often if I see a medical or parenting question that has already been answered by several mums, I have nothing more to add. These mums have become their own experts and really know their stuff! A word of caution if you join some of the other mummy forums: a little medical knowledge is dangerous. Be careful. For general medical questions, I like www.uptodate.com which now has a patient version available; this is my trusted source. Another good source is www.webmd.com. But gaining insight into challenges with

your infant or child is not the only way that we have benefited as a cyber society. It has allowed some parents to strike a better balance between work and life by becoming virtual or mostly virtual. When I first looked for virtual work as a medical doctor at the beginning of 2010, I found ONE position. Now just a year later, there are dozens of opportunities available. If you do any sort of work that is amenable to freelancing: web design, copy writing, editing etc, you can post your services on such sites as www.elance.com or www.odesk.com. Another local mum reported going back to school to get her master's degree online. It helped to prevent what she called "baby brain"! I cannot even imagine where we will be in 10 years time as mothers. I envision a whole lot of balance.

Dr Rajka Milanovic Galbraith is an American Board certified family physician, a mother of two and a wife who has resided in Doha for the past 6 years. She has over 14 years of clinical experience and is regarded highly by her patients, colleagues and staff. Recently she launched a website: www.expatdoctormom.com which provides up to date information in a wide variety of areas including: healthcare, parenting, travel, and entrepreneurship. Dr Rajka will be writing a regular column covering subjects from women and family health to parenting issues. If you have questions you wish answered, please write to wtoday@ omsqatar.com, subject line ‘Ask the Doc’.

OPINION

do you keep an eye on your child's net usage?

% yes, i have enabled a child lock

% no, i dont intefere Woman Today Online Poll

2011 May

woman today/ cyberities

happy browsing... By Shalinee Bharadwaj

Our world is surely going the Net way with an average of 9-10 waking hours being spent on the computer daily. Woman Today brings to you some popular websites to keep you hooked for a few more interesting hours. Shop online

Fashion passion

www.amazon.com: This is the retailer for the 21st century where along with its compendious selection, you will find product recommendations, wish lists, and reviews from people like you. www.ebay.com: You want it, someone's got it. The eBay economy is thriving, with auctions, bidding and selling in frenzy for everything from collectibles to cars.

Style.com: Browse over 58,000 runway looks (by season, designer, and trend), read the latest fashion news and parties, chat in their fashion forum, or skim Vogue and W photos. Fashion.net: Read fashion news online daily, or search the archives. Get to see photographs and snippets about fashion trends.

Educational notes Cooking made easy Cooking.com: Its unique selection of cookware and appliances and recipes is what makes the site a genuine attraction for the sort of cook who's a fan of cooking shows and cookbooks. Allrecipes.com: It offers users peppy food ideas and resources, including recipes, menu ideas, meal preparation tips, culinary ware and news.

Parent Power www.parenting.com: Besides providing information on a host of issues related to pregnancy, child birth and child rearing, this site has interactive forum and blog for parents. You will find everything you may need being parents; from lunch pack ideas to handling tricky kids and situations! www.askdrsears.com: We have raised our kids taking cues from Dr Sears book on pregnancy and child care. This website gives an opportunity to be abreast with the latest in the paediatric world. Join their active FB page and get interactive.

Health & Fitness sites Womenfitness.net: This site has everything and anything that a fitness conscious woman would be looking for. From fitness yoga, health concerns, beauty, weight loss, pregnancy and recipes for healthy living, the site is exhaustive in its content. Fitness.com: The site not only offers informative articles on the topic but also customisable exercises to suit individual fitness plans. Besides it has a range of tools to keep track of your fitness and health.

OPINION

18 4 61 17

first thing in the morning you logon to...

facebook Woman Today Online Poll

Gamequarium.org: A portal to more than 2000 interactive learning activities and games for preschool through grade 6. Also features Readquarium, a section dedicated to literacy. Teach-nology.com: Contains over 30,000 lesson plans, 7,500 free worksheets and printables and loads of web tools for teachers.

May 2011

google

your personal mail

others

do you consider online shopping and banking safe?

Yes, i use it frequently

no, it's risky

woman today/ cyberities

blue bird By Rabia Zaman

e’ve been hearing about it for years now. But do you know what Twitter really is? “It’s just status updates, isn’t it?” No, there’s much more to it than that. Twitter is the most efficient way of not only connecting with colleagues, friends, associates and business contacts, but is also a great way to gather news and get connected to any community you wish. To start tweeting, simply sign up and post your first tweet, it’s that easy! All messages must be 140 characters; this limit was created to accommodate those using mobile devices to update. An idea is to build up a few people to follow based on your interests, observe the interaction and once comfortable you can dive in, it may take you a while to get the hang of it but stick with it and you’ll soon be addicted! Create Twitter Lists to group people, based on country, interests, or anything you like. You can add people to this list and people can in turn follow the list, the list will appear as a separate tab so whenever you want to see what people in Fashion or the Swim Team are doing just click the list.

OPINION

Twitter Language Ok, it can be a bit intimidating with all the @s and #s, which can look like another language. But fear not once you’ve observed a little it will become clear. @ is used to “mention” for example, “@womantoday when is the next issue available?” As for the hash # it is used before a word to create a trending topic, so if you were talking about #recipe or #cats you would simply use the hash before and it would be added to the trend. You can then click on the word to see all other tweets that used that particular word. Want to post a link? It may take you over your 140 character limit so use http://bit.ly/ to shorten links allowing you space to type a short description. Posting an image is simple through your mobile device, most devices give you the option to “send to twitter” doing so from your desktop is just as simple. Sign in to twitpic.com using your twitter account details and begin posting. So what are you waiting for? Sign up and follow @WomanToday and get started. Happy Tweeting Tweeps!

do you keep online interactions separate from workplace interactions?

45.1 15.7 39.2 %

all the time

never

sometimes

Woman Today Online Poll

would you add your bosS as a friend?

% yes

% will think about it

% you crazy?

2011 May

woman today/ cyberities

The 'e' before read

e-readers in the market Amazon's Kindle Border's Kobo Barnes and Noble's Nook Sony's Reader Apple's iPad samsung galaxy tab

By Cassey Oliveira

study performed by the Association of American Publishers showed that eBook sales totalled more than $90.3 (QR329) million in February this year, way over that of paper backs and hardcover. Seems like an army of e-books have invaded the markets; do you have your e-reader? What's more soothing – peering into your e-reader to read your favourite novel or the feel of a hard cover book while you flip those pages? "As long as you are reading, that's important," says Dr Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, Reading and Writing Development Director at Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing. The surge of e-books in the market doesn't perturb her. Like all industries, she expects the publishing industry to adapt to the use of technology. "As long as people have stories to tell, there will be publishing. The format will no doubt continue to change, as it did from hand drawn markings in caves, to custom made books, then the printing press, onto the computer," she says. E-books have helped writers find a market for themselves. "What used to be a year or longer process to bring a book to market has now been significantly reduced via e-book technology. Writers now have an option of self-publishing and going straight to their readers," added Mohanalakshmi. If everyone's okay with digitisation, it wouldn't be long when we would start treasuring the last few surviving copies of books. And if there is a dearth of books, what would the library – an abode of books – house? Frieda Wiebe, Library Director of Georgetown University in Qatar (GUQ) Library clears this notion. "Libraries offer so much more than just a place to hold books – they organise information and provide seamless access to multiple information resources; they offer rich media services and skills in using software and equipment; they provide a

variety of reading and study spaces, both physical and virtual; they offer literary and other programs and events; and they license online resources for institutional use," she says. Digitisation comes handy especially for primary resources and rare materials that are difficult to obtain and expensive to maintain in any other format. "But not all scholarly resources can be accessed for free nor are they universally available, and hence libraries are significant in our society," Frieda Wiebe, Library Director, she says. GUQ

What do readers prefer? Preference for print or digital is usually determined by the purpose, content of the material, and the availability and cost of the resource. "Certainly the ability to read a newspaper, journal, or book online at home or in any location is very convenient and may be a perfect experience. The item may, however, require a license for use or a cost to purchase. There are many issues that will determine which format is preferable," says Frieda. As for now, what matters most is that you enjoy reading – be it online or in print.

OPINION

do you own an e-book reader?

yes

don't read

Woman Today Online Poll

May 2011

fitness

health&

Are you waiting for a healthier

life? By Nicole van Hattem

What are you waiting for – After the summer break, after the kids go back to school, after the festive season is over, after the load at work calms down before you take the steps you need to take in order to have a vibrantly healthy life? With an already busy life it can seem daunting to find time to focus on moving your body more, relieve stress, manage your thoughts better or improve the quality of your diet. What if 28 days was all it took to give your mind and body a super health boost? A detox is a great way to clean out the old and make way for the new. A simple detox could change your life!

To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. Buddha Follow this 28 day detox cleanse to health and wellbeing: Week One: It’s all about intentions and small steps. REMOVE – From the list “foods to avoid” – choose three items you will remove completely this week. COMMITT – Announce to those closest your commitment to focus on your health for the next four weeks. Ask them if they would like to join you. NOTEBOOK – List all the reasons for doing this

cleanse. Highlight the positive outcomes you are looking forward to experiencing as a result of staying committed. DIARY – Look at your diary and decide what can be cancelled, postponed, removed, delegated, combined with something else to create space for you to focus on the cleanse. KITCHEN – Look around for your trigger foods/ drinks. Hide them in a cupboard, give them away, throw them away or feed them to those you love (think about this one!).

Week Two: You’re listening to your body more and removing the rest of the foods on the “foods to avoid list”. EAT – Increase the amount of cooked/raw leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and seeds. REMOVE – From the “foods to avoid list” – remove the remaining foods from your diet. WATER – significantly increase your intake of water – aim for three litres per day. GO SHOPPING – Fill you fridge and pantry with vibrant, fresh, fruits and vegetables (organic and

FOODS TO AVOID: Caffeine Sugar

soda and soft drinks

May 2011

wheat

soy products

animal products including dairy and eggs

alcohol

artificial colours/ preservatives/ flavourings

processed foods

BENEFITS of a cleanse: •

Rid your body of disease threatening toxins

•

Gives cells an opportunity to cleanse, heal and rejuvenate

•

Increase your energy levels

•

Let go of old habits, explore new foods, create healthier habits

•

Enjoy weight loss without dieting and lower high blood pressure

•

Clean and replenish your colon

•

Bring clarity to mind and spirit

•

Improve the quality of sleep, stabilise moods and overcome food addictions

seasonal where possible) BLENDER/JUICER – this is a key tool for the third week of the detox. You can either splurge on a Vitamix or KitchenAid, buy a basic machine or borrow the equipment from your mum/neighbour/ friend. RECORD – Note down all the things you are experiencing. What foods do you crave, what new recipes have you tried, what are the changes in your moods, sense of taste or smell, digestion, sleep, energy levels. Week Three; Lots of fresh smoothies and juices. EAT – This is the time when you only eat raw fruits, leafy greens, vegetables and sprouts. Juice them or blend them. Consume a variety. Have as much as you need throughout the day. Listen to your body. EXERCISE – Keep it light while you are cleansing. Your energy needs to be used for your elimination

system and not your muscles/lungs. RECORD your experiences and thoughts. MASSAGE – Fantastic for flushing out toxins, relieving stress and treating yourself. SLEEP – Aim to be asleep no later than 10pm. Aim to get up around yawn..... I mean dawn or earlier. SWEAT OUT those toxins through exercise, hot baths, sauna or steam room. MEDITATE / PRAY / GET INTO NATURE – Reconnect with something bigger than yourself, make time for spiritual renewal, focus on a higher purpose, an inner essence or a natural force. Week Four: Success CELEBRATE – You did it! EAT – Slowly reintroduce your old favourite foods. Bring back one at a time, over a period of days and listen to your body. After 1-2 hours note how you feel reintroducing wheat, dairy, caffeine, sugar, artificial ingredients. How do you feel the next day.

DETOX GROUP: Doing a detox with a group is a fabulous way to stay focused and motivated, share ideas and experiences, find out what’s working for others and receive lots of tips, strategies and recipes. If you’re ready for a healthy step in the right direction, join the May or June detox group on Facebook (More Raw). You’ll be guided day by day, week by week by a Health Coach and be part of a supportive network of other like-minded people who are cleansing their systems. You can join by emailing nicole@artofabundantliving.com

Nicole van Hattem is an Executive Health Coach, writer, speaker, presenter and corporate wellness consultant. Nicole is also the founder and director of Art of Abundant Living and runs a thriving health coaching practice. Satisfy your hunger for life – to find out more go to www.artofabundantliving.com, join Art of Abundant Living on or follow Nicole on @AALNicole and

NOTE: Listen to your body and use common sense. Consult your Doctor if you are undergoing or recovering from any medical treatment or condition, are pregnant or breast feeding. Life is now. Yesterday no longer exists and tomorrow doesn’t exist. This moment right now is everything you have. Live it well! Give your digestive and elimination systems a rejuvenating rest before you go on holidays this year

SIGNS How can you tell that your body’s detoxification systems aren’t functioning as they should? LOOK OUT FOR THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS: • Premature ageing • “Brain fog”, poor memory and concentration, headaches, migraines • High blood pressure, fluid retention, palpitations • A white-coated tongue, bad breath, indigestion, bloating and flatulence, nausea, intolerance to fats and rich foods, candidiasis, constipation/diarrhea, pale stools, stools that float • Reduced tolerance to alcohol, unexpected hangovers, increased sideeffects from medical drugs • Mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, panic attacks • Erratic blood sugar levels leading to hypoglycemia, causing sugar cravings, moods swings and energy drops • Easy weight gain, difficulty losing weight, fatigue, ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) symptoms, unusual body heat or flushing • Gallstones, inflamed gallbladder, pain over the right upper abdomen • Rheumatism and arthritis, fibromyalgia • Rhinitis and hay fever • Hives, eczema, dermatitis, grey shadows under the eyes

2011 May

fitness

health&

Sit up, shoulders back! O h gosh, these are probably familiar words from your childhood! I certainly find myself repeating them to my own children. But, what happens as we move towards the other end of our lives? Hmmm...shoulders rounding, abdominal and back muscles not so strong, upper back subtly hunching. And, yes, with the upper body tending to slump, we’re not as tall as we were... But, hey! This doesn’t need to be accepted with helplessness and resignation. There are things we can do to keep our upper bodies strong and balanced, namely by working with yoga asanas (poses). Indeed, if we do not work on our posture, if we just ‘let it go’, there will most likely be knock-on effects on our health and wellbeing, some of them being ones that you would never have dreamed could be linked to a poor posture. When our upper bodies assume a C-shape (after years of leaning forward over a desk, driving, in fact most activities in our lives), the natural curves of our spine are altered. This can affect the pressure on the discs and on the nerves that exit between the vertebrae, leading to painful muscle spasms or back pain. With a C-shaped upper body comes a ‘forward head’ position. Stand side-on to a mirror and observe where your ears are, relative to your shoulders. For the heavy head (it weighs about 3kg) to be nicely balanced atop the spine, a vertical line from the ears should intersect the shoulder. If the head is forward, it demands more energy from the body and puts strain on the spine. The rounding of the shoulders in poor posture shortens the muscles across the chest which can cause pinching of the nerves, often triggering pain right down to the wrists.

Megan is a yoga teacher at Yama Yoga Studios in Doha. See www.yamayogastudios.com for information about her classes.

May 2011

Interestingly, ‘slumping’ limits our breathing capacity – the ribs drop down into the abdominal area and this restricts the oxygen reaching the bottom of the lungs, an area which is particularly rich in blood supply and therefore where the oxygen-CO2 exchange can be especially effective. By slumping, we deprive ourselves of better oxygenation of our entire body. And of course it is not just the lungs that are compressed when slumping occurs. all our internal organs are affected. A study of over 1,300 older patients in the US with excessive kyphosis (rounding of the upper spine) for over four years found that slumpers were 44% more likely to die during that period, and 2.4 times more likely to die of heart-related conditions. So how can yoga help? The abdominal muscles are vital to good posture, as are all the muscles in the back. If practiced at least two times a week, yoga will significantly strengthen these muscles. In addition, back-bending poses stretch the abdominal muscles and forward bending poses stretch the muscles in the back, while twisting poses stretch and strengthen all these postural muscles. As the muscles pull on the spine, the vertebrae become denser and stronger. When the tissues around the spine are stretched, contracted and squeezed, fresh blood is brought to the discs (which do not have a direct supply of blood, but rely on the movements of the tissues around them), delivering nutrients and carrying away toxins. Result – a much stronger, flexible, and mobile spine and upper body that are able to adopt good posture

By Megan Hare

with ease. Yoga teaches us to ‘stand tall’. Imagine someone has their hand on your head. Now push the feet down into the ground while you push that hand up with your head. In doing this we lengthen the spine, stand up straighter and taller, and automatically activate the abdominal wall. Throughout a yoga class, you will hear the teacher repeatedly reminding you to ‘lengthen the spine’. This action increases the space between the vertebrae, a healthy state for the discs and nerves. Finally, yoga raises awareness of posture. Mountain Pose, the foundation of all standing poses, focuses on all the elements of good posture. Go back to standing at the mirror side-on. Adjust the body as far as possible to enable the line from the ears and shoulders to continue down vertically, intersecting the hips, knees and heel. People who start practicing yoga develop a keen sense of body awareness. They find themselves noticing when they are slumping – and correcting it. As we get older, we should remind ourselves to take some positive actions to help our body age in a strong, healthy and graceful manner. A good posture being one of them

fitness

HEALTH&

May Fitness

Stair Workout

Heel raise

Stand with the balls of your feet on a stair or step. Keep your legs straight, squeeze your glutes, chest up and belly tight. Channel an Olympic diver and as you exhale, push your heels up as high as you can. Return to the starting position and repeat. This move makes for killer calves!

May 2011

Straight step on and step down (slow, fast)

Use a step or park bench for this cardio workout that will tone your thighs and backside. Start by stepping up with your right leg, followed by your left, alternating. Gradually increase the pace after a thirty second warm up. With your heart rate lifted keep it going until the end of the set. The higher the step, the harder you will have to work and the better results you will achieve.

Do you consider exercise the stairway to hell rather than the stairway to a glorious, fit figure? Tuck in to these step exercises, used by celebrities and sports stars, with your favourite tunes and you'll forget you're even exercising! Repeat these exercises to one of your much loved tracks. Once you get to the end of the cycle â&#x20AC;&#x201C; go again for one more round!

Side step

Keep that heart pumping and turn to your side, stepping up on your right side for two minutes, then changing sides. This killer exercise will tone your inner and outer thighs. For better results, pick up the pace and burn some fat.

The staff at Six Senses Spa will be back next month for a toned June.

Knee to elbow

Channel some Jane Fonda 80s style moves here and tone your core and legs at the same time. Standing with feet at hip width, step your right foot up, bringing the knee as high as possible, touching it with your left elbow. Alternate each step and keep your stomach muscles sucked in. What's better than working your legs and core together, and improving your coordination at the same time!

2011 May

stop

style

Dsquared2 perfumes:

Scent of nature

Shewood Golden Lightwood fragrance from Dsquared2 perfumes is a concoction of bright woody notes and heavy notes of lemon and neroli which further intermingle with the warm and dazzling notes of heliotrope and musk. A spray is enough to drag you into the soft yet sensual world of nature.

L’Occitane:

magic of almonds

L’Occitane’s new almond range products come packed with the invigorating ingredient – the almond bud. Rich in flavonoids, the buds are known to stimulate skin micro-circulation and thus improve drainage while reducing the appearance of cellulite. Let the power of almonds work their way through your skin!

Pronovias: Spring is here

The new Pronovias cocktail spring collection 2012 revolves around two concepts – femininity and nature. The skirts are made flirty with waves, pleats and frills while the gowns are given a flowing structure. The collection is dominated with fabrics such as silk, bambula organza and soft satin that complement the powdery shades of lavender, pale pink, lemon and watergreen. Evening wear comprises beautifully designed classics in soft tulle, double knit and satin in colours like klein blue, cherry, chocolate brown or genuine black. Each piece is complete with stunning gemstones details.

May 2011

Dumond:

Shoe wonder

Dumond’s shoe collection for spring/summer 2011 is infused with the richness of the deep waters as seen through its three new lines – Reefs, Golden Seaweeds and Crystal Clear Waters. The season presents strong and tropical colours like the yellow, red, coral and several shades of blue, green and classic shades of grey, beige, brown and black that play with bovine leather. From flat sandals, ballerinas to block or wedge heels – every shoe fits pretty on your feet. Dumond collections are available at Shoe Mart stores.

EstÈe Lauder: Defining eyes

Estèe Lauder’s new double wear stay-in-place gel eyeliner is as soft and precise as a liquid liner. The formula’s ultra-pigmented shades glide easily on the eyelid and stay for up to 15 hours without smudging. Choose from a range of three continuous shades: Stay Onyx, Stay Coffee and Stay Midnight – you draw the line!

City Lifestyle: spring surprise

This season, City Lifestyle stores will be dazzling with the hot new collections from Suzy Smith London and Fiorelli. The Suzy Smith range offers cool and stylish buttery cream leather shoppers and mini cross body bags. These cute carriers are adorned with fancy chains and badges in fresh white, black and sand nautical stripes with touches of gold. Fiorelli’s handbags for spring are perfect arm candies for office. The handbags exude a ladylike femininity with soft ruche details, gathers and twists and come in fresh white and summery aqua hues. Bag one now!

2011 May

town

around

Turning Japanese at TPQ

whimsical event featuring Japanese drummers, awe-inspiring acrobats and an enormous tuna fish enthralled Doha’s elite at the opening of trendy Japanese restaurant, Megu, at The Pearl-Qatar (TPQ). The entrance of the New York based modern Japanese restaurant into the market was a perfect partnership for The Hospitality Development Company (HDC), which continually strives to maintain excellence with its impressive portfolio of dining venues. Many of Doha’s prominent figures were on hand for the inauguration of the chic eatery including the Japanese Ambassador, HE Kenjiro Monji. Attendees mingled in the sophisticated surroundings while sampling some of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Culinary delights came in the form of the delicious Megu Original Crispy Asparagus – asparagus battered in Okaki rice cracker, and mouth-watering offerings of Wagyu Kobe Beef Chateaubriand smothered in an array of delicious sauces.

AIWF celebrates 10th anniversary

n the occasion of its 10th anniversary, Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) – a non-profit global organisation linking Arab women and their international counterparts – will hold a special programme in London from May 11-13, 2011. The programme includes a headline conference on new emerging economies and leaderships, a commemorative business dinner and a seminar dedicated to the youth. The programme will be a step further to develop AIWF’s initiatives on globalisation, sustainable human development, economic competitiveness, connectivity and innovation. It will also celebrate AIWF’s achievements in enabling Arab women to advance in business, professional and Haifa Fahoum Al-Kaylani, AIWF Founder and public life. Chairman AIWF Founder and Chairman, Haifa Fahoum Al-Kaylani said, “As we commemorate our first successful decade, AIWF continues to champion the advancement of gender equality and sustainable development in the Arab world through strategies that underline the power of partnership.”

May 2011

Jamil Fashions gets bigger, better The Redtag Group will re-open its existing Jamil Fashions store as an all new revamped Redtag store in Doha. As the first store in the country, it will showcase the latest range of affordable fashions, accessories and home ware. Redtag Group, CEO, Ernest J. Hosking said, “We are happy to have our first store opened in Qatar. This marks our presence in the country and provides us with a springboard to establish ourselves as a value fashion retailer. Our aim is to continue to build our brand in Qatar and within the region as it has already established its presence firmly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE.” The brand’s stylist, Riaan Albertyn said, “The new summer collection promises to entice with its concept of ‘The desire to be different’. Bold and bright colours replace the classical black. Turquoise, fuschia pink to apple green and shades of blue will be the best colours to focus on this season.”

CMUQ-BQFP

holds translation conference

he second annual two-day translation conference, titled The Travelling Text, organised by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) in association with Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) explored various aspects of translation and Amal Mohammed Al-Malki, PhD, the current and ongoing Assistant Teaching Professor of English at CMUQ challenges facing translators, while providing practical solutions from veteran experts and linguists in the field. Experts in the translation field conducted workshops with leading practitioners and educators to focus on various aspects of the craft in relation to translating from Arabic to English and vice versa as well as among other languages. “CMUQ understands the importance of translation in our bilingual and multilingual students’ daily lives and the need to equip them with the academic training that helps to turn a simple daily act into a professional one,” said Amal Mohammed Al-Malki, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor of English at CMUQ.

JOIN US NOW AND ENJOY OUR SPECIAL OFFER: PAY FOR 3 MONTHS 1600 QR AND GET 2 MONTHS FREE 5 MONTHS = 1600 QR ONLY

Imam Yahya Hendi, the Muslim chaplain at GUQ

A Journey with Islam

two-day lecture series, A Journey with Islam in the 21st Century, was sponsored by Georgetown University Qatar's (GUQ) Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS). The lecture was held by Imam Yahya Hendi, the Muslim chaplain at GUQ, who spoke on ethics, human rights, social justice, women and gender in Islam. CIRS’s Monthly Dialogue Series are designed to present interested community members with a forum for quiet, thoughtful dialogue with scholars from GUQ and elsewhere about their latest academic endeavours and their research agendas.

town

around

Touring the Island A round 25 ladies from the American Women Association (AWA) were shown around The Pearl-Qatar, visiting shops, reviewing RME yacht at the Ronautica, lunching at Gordon Ramsay restaurant and taking in the breathtaking view that the Island had to offer. The 21st TPQ Lifestyle Excursion is part of the Island’s promotional programme that invites various ladies associations and embassies to visit the premises. This programme will help in creating awareness about the lifestyle, and residential and investment opportunities at TPQ to the visitors and sponsors.

The ladies were welcomed at the Oyster where they were shown a presentation of TPQ.

Lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant. There was also a beauty demonstration and lucky prizes distributed later. At Cugini Fashion, the ladies were offered refreshments, goody bags and lucky draws.

Vasiliki Katsiafliani, AWA Excursion Coordinator with UDC’s Samer Kassas. She said, "It was a beautiful experience visiting TPQ with a great insight into the project. The visit to the yacht and the beautiful shops left us astounded and tantalised. Lunch at Maze was great too and we hope to repeat that again sometime."

Suzanna Parry(l), Maze Restaurant Manager with a lucky draw winner, and Samer. She said, Ferry to parcel 1 arcade

Excursion Sponsors Cugini Fashion, Elnara Saloon, Qatar Luxury Co., L’Occitane, Ronautica and Maze Restaurant. media partner: Woman Today

May 2011

"It was great welcoming the AWA at Maze. They thoroughly enjoyed our cuisine and ambience. Life on TPQ is great which the ladies were able to experience for half a day. We wish to welcome them and others again."

aloud

thinking

LibertÉ, ÉgalitÉ, FraternitÉ ?

But no room for the Niqab

Woman Today correspondent Ryabokogn Natalia writes from Paris on how the Niqab ban has only further marginalised Muslim women, forcing them into crippling stereotypes.

f the five to six million French Muslims, fewer than 2,000 wear the Niqab. Now those couple of thousand women choose to stay home because they would be slapped with a 150 Euro (QR807) fine, as per the recent law that bans face-covering in public. The law forbids wearing the niqab and burqa in public places from shopping malls, supermarkets to Champs-Elysèes avenue in Paris and popular tourist places in France. The raging veil debate is fuelled by arguments of French identity, feminism and multiculturalism. Before the ban on Niqab was the law on secularity and against conspicuous religious symbols in schools. Though that law pertained to students and staff, it also meant a veiled parent couldn’t attend PTA meetings. Women with full veils were not allowed to pick up their wards either. Of course the main repercussion of this was on the men, who

May 2011

saw themselves on regular pick-up duty. France is the first European country to implement the ban, though rumblings on these lines are felt in rest of Europe too. French President, Nicolas Sarkozy said “We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity. The burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome in the territory of the French Republic.” However, for Muslim women living in France, the ban is an affront to religious freedom. Niqab-wearing 32-year-old Kenza Drider, from Avignon, calls the ban ‘racist’. “I will under no circumstance stop wearing my veil. If I am warned verbally and must appear before the local prosecutor, I will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.” The veil, for her, “is a submission to God”. Ironically, the ban seems to be having the opposite of the desired effect.

Increasing number of young women are beginning to use the veil as a symbol of their respect for and support of Islam. “I felt it my duty to participate in this combat against oppressions that target my religion,” says Khadija, 24,who has been wearing the niqab since 2009. Though her family didn’t support her decision initially, she persisted and defended her choice. Today she and her friends are unwilling to give up the veil, and the only compromise they mull is replacing it with a surgical mask. Contrary to Sarkozy’s stand that the law will liberate women, it has only further marginalised them. Even if they have been forced to wear the veil by their families, at least they had a degree of freedom to function outside their family and homes. Now, thanks to the ban, they cannot even go out without the threat of a fine hanging over their heads. Karima, 21, says: “I miss this freedom to go out, now I am afraid of being harassed or receiving a penalty.”