Two Emirati women tap Twitter to try to delete the stereotypes



ABU DHABI// Frustrated by the presumptions people made about them because of their nationality, two Emirati women are using social media to break down stereotypes. Last November, Heba AlSamt, 26, and Hanan Huwair, 24 launched Emiratweet, an online forum aimed at uniting young Emiratis. Now they host regular events and consider it part of their national duty to change the image expatriates have of their generation. "The small events in Dubai for networking were always being organised by expats," Ms AlSamt said. "When I went to one, people looked at me as if I was from another planet, but I loved the atmosphere. "I thought I wanted to create a community of Emiratis who socialised like this. All expats had social groups they belonged to, but we didn't."

Ms AlSamt and Ms Huwair came up with the concept of Emiratweet, a concept that began as a simple Twitter account. They planned, once they had enough followers, to start a website and then to bring the virtual community into reality. "At the beginning, we sat together and we had a vision," Ms Huwair said. "We wanted to reach as many Emiratis as possible and open up a channel for them to discuss ideas and get inspired."

Ms AlSamt added: "We also wanted to use social media to change the wrong idea others have about us. "They think we are all spoilt and born with a golden spoon in our mouths, but we are talented and hard-working too. It's up to us to show people the reality." As part of their mission to engage the young UAE nationals, the women came up with a number of initiatives. At the first, Emiratalent, they hosted an exclusive screening of City of Life before it hit the cinemas, attended by the director, Ali Mostafa, and members of the cast.

Then, on International Women's Day, came Emiratalks, an event that brought together female speakers from the UAE to share their achievements. These efforts were followed by Emriatreasure, a book club to help promote local literary talent, and Emiratech, an online service to help with any IT problems. The women, who both work as IT managers in Dubai, want to inspire fellow nationals and make them more approachable to non-Emiratis.

"We are a minority, and there is some sort of strange mystery surrounding us, so foreigners are intimidated to talk to us," Ms Huwair said. "We want to show we have our own mind and we want other people to get reliable information about what is going on within the Emirati community; who we are and what we have accomplished." Next weekend, the women, who now have a team of around 15 members helping to organise the events and expand the database, will host the country's first Social Media Day.

Eventually, they hope to open a meeting place for members. But for now, they are encouraged as their following grows. Ms AlSamt said: "Sometimes, I get shocked by how quickly it expanded. But it keeps us going. We have to keep organising events and initiatives because we know people are waiting." aseaman@thenational.ae

The biog

Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
'Saand Ki Aankh'

Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Bayern Munich 1
Kimmich (27')

Real Madrid 2
Marcelo (43'), Asensio (56')

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

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If you go

The flights 

Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.

The trip

The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore  offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.

The hotel

There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.

 

 

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Company%20Profile
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