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Happenings

A Changing Middle East: New Jobs for Women in Saudi Arabia

By: Katie Beiter For the first time, women in Saudi Arabia are being allowed to work in pharmacies, herbal medicine stores and optical stores in malls. The new opportunities are part of a plan, called Saudi Vision 2030, to diversify its economy away from a reliance on oil by utilizing a traditionally untapped resource: women. The ultra-conservative Wahhabi nation, known for having repressive laws surrounding women, has committed itself to increasing female employment rates from 22% to 30% mainly by reforming laws. “They are marketing it as a social reform but it is very much tied to the economic situation in Saudi Arabia,” Adam Coogle, a Middle Eastern researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told The Media Line. Saudi Arabia, which has a population of roughly 31 million, is a vital member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Around half of its gross domestic product is based…

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Happenings

Women have been named to some of Japan’s top posts, but the country still lags on female empowerment

By: Ann M. Simmons Acknowledging that Japan has failed to fully promote the advancement of women, the Japanese government has pledged to elevate their status in the workplace and in the country’s political arena. In the last five months, three women assumed high-profile political positions in Japan: The country’s new defense minister, the governor of Tokyo and the leader of the opposition Democratic Party are all women. In the corporate world, “male business leaders started to view women’s empowerment not as a human rights issue but an economic issue,” said Kaori Sasaki, a prominent women’s rights advocate and president and chief executive officer of ewoman Inc., a think tank and consulting firm. “Public companies have started to open the doors for women to be on boards — that’s why I’m sitting on several public companies’ boards,” Sasaki told The Times during a recent interview. “Also, companies started doing a lot…

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Governance in Heels

Women in Parliament: Where does India figure among the rest of the World?

By: Bhanupriya Rao While the global average for Women in Parliament stands at 22.4%, India is at the 103rd place out of 140 countries with a mere 12% representation. Within Asia, India is at the 13th position out of 18 countries. Countries like South Sudan, Saudi Arabia have better Women representation in Parliament than India. Women’s representation in elected bodies, Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies is a source of huge disappointment. As we observed in a previous article, women occupy just 66 seats in the 543 member Lok Sabha, which is a mere 12%. The scenario for women Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) across all state assemblies in India is even worse, with the national average being a pitiable 9%. The best among them, Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana have 14% representation while the worst states are Pondicherry and Nagaland, which have no women MLAs at all. This being the…

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Food ,Travel & Leisure

The Hidden Sensation in North Africa’s Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Mint

Northern Africa comes with many side attractions which include its hills and valleys, precious artefacts and ancient historical treasures, and also scrumptious choice delicacies. Although the people of northern Africa are perceived to be less friendly than other regions in Africa, this fact largely remains an individual perception as the respect they accord on the continent as well as their homely nature, speaks more than that perception.

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7 Things

7 Things you need to know about your sense of taste

While taste is simply defined as the sensation of flavour perceived in the mouth and throat on contact with a substance, scientists explain taste as the sensation produced when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor cells located on taste buds in the oral cavity, mostly on the tongue. So much science Jargon right? Let’s take it from another angle; did you know that food companies are constantly working to provide the best products to satisfy clients? According to Scientific American, an average person has about 10,000 taste buds and they’re replaced every 2 weeks; so it’s a little wonder how these things work. It may be difficult to figure out how they work, but here’s what I found in a piece from Amanda Greene: You can’t see your taste buds: Those bumps you see on your tongue when you say “ahh”? They aren’t taste buds. “Those…

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Exclusive Q&A

Africa’s Champion in the Fight against Diabetes-Her Excellency, Bongi Ngema-Zuma

With about 415 million diabetic patients as against the 34 million patients living with HIV, the drive to curb the widespread of Diabetes has not been given much attention. This is one of the reasons that led the First Lady of South Africa Her Excellency, Bongi Ngema-Zuma to set up a foundation to cater for the needs of Diabetic patients, as well as create much-needed awareness about the disease.

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