How to shine as a woman in a man’s world
The social media trend report about the stark sexism women face at the workplace was an eye-opener (“Working while female”, Gulf News, March 14). However, I am sad to say that it didn’t come as a surprise. As someone who has been working for nine years in the IT industry, I am surrounded by men, and often feel like I have to adopt masculine traits to be heard. Often, that goes against my personality and femininity, too, but the job has to be done. This means squaring my shoulders, speaking in a very matter-of-fact way and refusing to joke around too much, in case I am misunderstood. After several years, I feel I have gained the respect of most of my colleagues and they treat me as an equal. However, there are still a few who tend to ‘mansplain’ or explain things to me patronisingly. My solution? Work hard and do my job better than anyone else on the floor, so that no one has a doubt – I am a force to reckon with.
From Ms Natasha Gonsalvez
Dubai
Something is not right
I saw this video a few days ago and felt physically sick (“Gulf News Facebook: Police arrest man who fed cat to dogs”, Gulf News, March 14). This so-called human being deserves nothing but punishment for the rest of his sorry life. Anyone that can do this is clearly not right in the head and should be jailed for the rest of his life.
From Mr Patrick Moran
UAE
Facebook comment
Full force of the law
I trust this cruel person will get the most severe penalty under the laws of the UAE. The authorities should send out a clear message that this type of behaviour is not acceptable and carries a severe penalty. I have 100 per cent trust that the respectful authorities will punish both the involved people to the maximum extent.
From Mr Petteri Terho
Dubai
Facebook comment
Who kills for fun?
I never watched the video. I would never be able to overcome it. I saw a video of animals being stripped of their fur and that is still in my mind, years later. Nevertheless, even if the cat survived this torture, it would never understand why such a thing happened. Would it know it was punished for killing a bird or a hen? How much do we, as adults, understand even though we are educated? Killing for sport or for revenge is very sad. I am not a vegan, neither am I a meat-lover. It is just about ethics and how one is brought up in one’s family. Some minds are really sick and twisted. You really have to be mentally unstable to commit acts like this. Let us hope this man is severely punished.
From Ms Suzette Santana
UAE
Facebook comment
Arrest them both
There were two people in the video – one carrying out the act under the instructions of the person filming. Both these men should be arrested and receive the severest punishment!
From Mr Nesim Majzoub
UAE
Facebook comment
Terrible owner
I am shocked that this man has trained his dogs to behave in this manner. How you raise your pet reflects in their behaviour. If they are friendly, loving and playful, it shows you treat them with love, as you should. The mere fact that these dogs ate a cat live, shows that the man has trained them into becoming bloodthirsty. The dogs should be removed from his possession and rehabilitated. This is sheer animal cruelty!
From Mr Ali Barakat
Sharjah
Criminal act
The dogs are being trained to eat live animals for fun? If it happens in a forest naturally, that is a different situation, but in this case, it has happened because a human being has trained them to be like that. It is a crime!
From Ms Umm Meeran Syed
Mumbai, India
Facebook comment
Future of Gulf aviation
It is true that Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways could change the face of the civil aviation industry through innovation, which other carriers have not experimented with (“Travel ban has mixed impact on Gulf carriers”, Gulf News, March 14). Capital expenditure was never a problem for these Gulf carriers. Not only do they operate long distance flights, but they have found new, profitable destinations in South Asia, too. Their respective operating hubs have helped grow the business, fleet and manpower beyond industry expectations in a short span of time. Allied industries and the local economy is growing in tandem with the airlines. The success and failure of Gulf carriers have a direct impact on their local economy. However, their growth has posed a potential threat to fellow carriers in the US and European Union (EU). The allegation of state subsidies came to light recently. What were deemed as ‘open skies’, have now come under criticism in the name of ‘fair competition’.
On the whole, the way ahead for Gulf carriers is not smooth. Keeping the fleet and manpower intact is a formidable task, especially when the carriers are facing multiple challenges, such as subsidy allegations on the one hand and stiff competition on the other, with budget airlines moving in. Even though US President Donald Trump may not act on the subsidy allegations for the time being, thanks to the friendly relations his country has with the respective Gulf countries, and the economic progress the US is making on account of Gulf carriers, he may be forced to do so in the future, in his effort to ‘make America great again’.
From Mr Girish R. Edathitta
Dubai
Goa takes centre stage
As a layman, I feel that Mridula Sinha, Goa’s governor, has violated the established constitutional practice of inviting the single largest party in a hung assembly to form a government (“Jaitley gets charge of defence ministry as Parrikar resigns”, Gulf News, March 14). Hence, the protest of the Congress party seems to be a genuine one. At the same time, if I am not mistaken, in their heyday, the same power methods were adopted by the same Congress to form their government in some states, and to retain power. Anyway, let us hope that the Apex Court judges are impartial in their verdict to allow Congress to form a government, not only in Goa but in Manipur, as well. Let us see whether the other parties in these states are keen to ally with the scam-tainted Congress party!
From Mr N. Mahadevan
Chennai, India
Bollywood mindset?
This is a very cheap move (“Varma faces heat for Sunny Leone tweet”, Gulf News tabloid!, March 11). How can the filmmaker make such a statement so easily, that too, on social media? People need to focus more on what they say. Many men I know lack empathy and that is why they just shoot off such comments. If they put themselves in the place of others and think before they say such things, it would save a lot of people a lot of anguish. A factor common to all regional industries and Bollywood is the unrealistic and stereotypical portrayal of women. This is also a reason why many men think it is okay to say such insensitive things about women.
From Ms Megna Rajagopal
Dubai
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