People participate in a protest against abortion ban at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago, the United States, on May 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ping/IANS)
The 5-4 order of the overwhelmingly conservative nine-justice bench is expected to change American social life as it exists now, reports Yashwant Raj
The US Supreme Court on Friday overturned the fundamental right to abortion granted by an earlier order in the Roe v. Wade case nearly 50 years ago. The 5-4 order of the overwhelmingly conservative nine-justice bench is expected to change American social life as it exists now.
The court has left abortion rights to be determined individually by the 50 states. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have state laws protecting abortion and will remain unaffected by the Supreme Court order.
About 17 states do not have any explicit laws either upholding abortion rights or prohibiting abortion, according to one study and nearly half of all 50 states are expected to make abortion difficult or impossible. Women from states with a ban or restrictions will be free, however, to travel to other states for the procedure.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey (a 1992 case in which the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling was upheld) have enflamed debate and deepened division,” Justice Samuel A. Alito wrote for the majority opinion. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
The order as delivered was very similar to a leaked copy of Justice Alito’s opinion in May and was widely anticipated of the overwhelmingly conservative non-justice bench with the addition of three conservative justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts are the other three conservatives. The three liberal justices are Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
“This fall, Roe is on the ballot,” President Joe Biden said in remarks from the White House, declaring the restoration of abortion rights as an election issue for Democrats, starting with the mid-term elections in November.
U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. (Xinhua/Liu Jie/IANS)
Codifying the abortion rights through a legislation by congress, he added, is the only option now and that is only possible with more Democrats in both chambers. For the moment, he vowed that women travelling from states that don’t allow abortion to states that do will get the full protection of his administration.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, slammed the court order. “Today, the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved the GOP’s dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions. Because of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell (top Republican senator), the Republican Party and their supermajority on the Supreme Court, American women today have less freedom than their mothers,” she said, adding: “This cruel ruling is outrageous and heart-wrenching. But make no mistake: the rights of women and all Americans are on the ballot this November.”
Safe #abortion is health care. It saves lives. Restricting it drives women and girls towards unsafe abortions, resulting in complications, even death. The evidence is irrefutable. https://t.co/EB5BsKIxG7#RoeVsWade
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 24, 2022
The court issued the order in connection with a Mississippi law that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of conception. The law had not been implemented because it was ruled violative of the Supreme Court’s order in the Roe v. Wade in 1973, that made abortion a constitutional right. Chief Justice joined his other conservative colleagues to uphold the Mississippi law — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health — 6-3; but he joined the liberal to oppose his conservative colleagues’ decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade order in a 5-4 order.
Abortion has been a politically emotive issues, specially with Republican who have had it as a key election plank for decades. The American public, however, stands largely supportive of abortion rights — 61 per cent favour abortion in all or most cases while 37 per cent want it be made illegal in all or most cases, according to Pew Research Center.
During rally for pro-abortion rights in LA.(photo: https://twitter.com/wmnsmarchla)
About three-quarters of White evangelical Protestants (74 per cent) think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, the center found, while 84 per cent of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 66 per cent of Black Protestants, 60 per cent of White Protestants who are not evangelical, and 56 per cent of Catholics.
Abortion rights supporters are girding up for a long battle to restore these constitutional rights. But with the judicial route now blocked for a time with the brutal conservative majority on the Supreme Court bench, they are looking at legislating a law to codify it.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer has scheduled a vote on a prospective law but he does not have the support of 60 members — essentially, 10 Republicans — and is unlikely to get anywhere.
Democrats, who overwhelmingly favor abortion rights, cannot enact a protective law unless they expanded control of both chambers, which they don’t have now. But restoration of these rights could become a key election plank and a rallying point for liberals, starting with the mid-term polls due in November.
What makes the lives of Asian women so unbearable that they feel the only way to escape the horror of their everyday existence is to take their own lives?
We all know that there are issues within parts of the Asian community with forced marriages and honour killings when young people struggle to cope with being raised between two vastly different cultures.
The cases of Shafilea Ahmed and Banaz Mahmood are well known and were well-publicised after they died. No one helped them when they were alive when it could have made a difference to these young women and saved their lives.
According to Journeyman Pictures, one of the main causes of suicide is because of young Asian women seeking to escape marital rape after being forced to marry someone they don’t want!
However, there are other stories besides these more typical stories of honour killings and forced marriages that don’t get told.
For example, take the case of Sara (not her real name) who stood first at every school she attended before the age of sixteen and was told by Asian peers that she was considered the most likely to succeed.
Awarded the prize for best O Level results at 16 and having been invited on an Asian radio show in 1988 ( Smeet Petite and the Karachi Kid on GLR Radio) after winning a competition, she and her peers felt she was set to have a bright future.
After being considered for a place at Cambridge in 1990 (She had attained the points at A Level and aced the interview at King’s College Cambridge), she attended a red-brick university (rated among the Top 10 British universities) from 1989 and graduated with a 2:1 BA Hons in 1992.
A hard-working serious minded young woman, she was a trained and qualified teacher by the age of 22 like her father, maternal grandfather and great grandfather before her. Sara’s life looked as if it was set to shine….
In the late 1990s, she attended Thames Valley University for a script writing course and her tutor Tony Dinner ( a former head of the BBC Script Unit) told her in front of a class that her work was good and that she must never give up on her talent even though it was hard for new writers to get a foot in the door!
It looked as if she had it all until she became the target of a smear campaign by other Asians who quite possibly had a problem with her success.
This was even though she had been a child of divorce who had been raised without a father from the age of 10 in council housing on a pittance as her mother received no child support! In spite of this disadvantage, she had worked hard to build a better life and had achieved some success because of hard work.
Despite her efforts, she found herself being smeared as a terror threat to Britain by mentally unstable people connected to the father who had failed to pay child support and had been absent from her life from the age of 10. They destroyed her success after never having contributed to it!
Not only that but then she was targeted by other Asians who were rivals to that paternal family who called her “the daughter” of the man who had abandoned her at age ten because he didn’t want to pay child support!
They made her pay to the age of 50 for the absent parent who never paid for her when she was a child of ten and carried out a tribal vendetta against her!
This was tribalism, something that is prohibited in Islam which these Asians claim to follow! Other crimes condemned in Islam were to follow- slander of innocent women, spying and backbiting innocent people, harming the fatherless, the less fortunate the “widow” and her fatherless orphan!
A teacher’s daughter, grand daughter and great grand-daughter, she was rumoured by these pathologically lying strangers to be a terrorist, tart, gang person, a drug addict!
Gossip is a sin in the religion of Islam but gossip was favoured over 40 years of verifiable exemplary school and work reports and an enhanced DBS check!
Sara found herself being depicted as the exact opposite of all that she was after being exemplary! Her mother had raised her to believe that being good and working hard was the key to success but this proved not to be the case!
Sara was deeply humanitarian and had been a regular charity donor giving to seven British charities a month and doing voluntary work but they slandered her as a terrorist!
A teacher’s daughter, grand-daughter and great grand-daughter this teetotal woman was rumoured to be a gang person taking drugs possibly by Asian gang people taking drugs in a part of London where she never goes and knows no one!
She and her maternal relatives complained to the police and her MP about the abuse.
Sara even turned to social media in desperation and uploaded verifiable proof of the facts- 40 years of verifiable school and work reports and other documents that prove she has been exemplary and deeply humanitarian as well as proof that she had lost contact with her father in primary school!
She felt compelled to do this because in a society that has lost the fear of God, lies can be casual and even exemplary people can be demonised to save face for those who have done wrong especially when bigotry, racism or discrimination is involved.
Suicide is forbidden in Sara’s religion and as a devout Muslim she turned to her faith for comfort, a faith which forbids suicide but there is no joy in her life after being exemplary and the girl who once was thought by some of her Asian peers to be the most likely to succeed now counts down to the day when her life will be naturally over and she can escape the sadness of a life that feels empty.
At 51 she has ended up with no husband, no children. She has never known what it is to have a wedding day, to be a bride or to hold a new born child in her arms, to be a mother, to have a family that will be there for her in her old age to care for her as she cares for her mother. This is a sad ending for a girl who was exemplary.
Someone whose poetry had been published in the children’s section of the Young Observer in Asia in 1981, Sara never did write the sitcoms, novels and plays she might have written because of the stress caused in her life by other Asians who made her a target for the more sinister and dangerous people of other groups who harbour covert racist tendencies who would always try to demonise even exemplary Asians like herself in order to whitewash the wrong done to them.
There is good and bad in every ethnic group and sadly Asian women who are unprotected and disadvantaged in some way can be targeted by the nastier elements of every group who will milk their disadvantage. This is what happened to Sara.
After 9/11, local councils were given the right to spy on terror suspects. All it took for Sara to become a suspect was for an unstable, possibly envious person to tell lies! While working at her local council she noticed a colleague repeating word for word things she had said in her own home, the same colleague who openly stated that, “Kicking people’s heads in with bovver boots is a primitive method but it works.”
She began to suspect that far right violent and dangerous racists who like to brain damage Asians were invading her privacy on every level as a result of the lies of other Asians!
She stopped writing for fear of plagiarism and all her talent was wasted. She has spent her life in fear of being brain damaged, the girl who had stood first and been told by a former BBC head that she had real potential, real talent.
Writers can bring millions into the economy if their talent is nurtured so it is Britain’s loss if British writers are wasted. Sara was also top ranked in an industry said to be worth $63 billion dollars a year to the economy but this talent was also wasted. (Why the ESL Market is set to boom in the next 10 years – www.CEFRexambot.com)
This is a story less typical than the stories of forced marriages and honour killings but it is a story that needs to be told for if even exemplary Asian girls can’t make it, then what hope is there for the rest of us?
No wonder the suicide rate of Asian women is three times the national average and on a par with the suicide rate of soldiers returning shell shocked from wars! Asian women who are disadvantaged in some way are being set up to fail!
Instead of ignoring the problem, the Asian community in Britain needs to face what is wrong and work together to rectify the situation to make life better for Asian women. There is no excuse for apathy on this issue given the shockingly high suicide rate.
It is unacceptable that Asian women and girls can be exemplary and end up endangered and with nothing after following the rules and being perfectly behaved.
Captain Deepti Sharma, Kate Cross and Simran Bahadur took two wickets apiece, while Ayabonga Khaka got one for Velocity…reports Asian Lite News
West Indian all-rounder Deandra Dottin’s impressive performance with both bat and ball powered Supernovas to the 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge title with a four-run win over Velocity in a thrilling final at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Saturday.
It was the third title for Harmanpreet Kaur led Supernovas, who had earlier won the first two editions of the tournament in 2018 and 2019 before losing to Trailblazers in the final in 2020. The tournament was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dottin’s attacking fifty (62 off 44) guided Supernovas to 165-7 in 20 overs after being put in to bat. With the ball, she took two wickets for 28 runs in her four overs to play a crucial role in restricting Velocity to 161 for eight.
Chasing a target of 166 runs for victory, Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia got Velocity off to a brisk start in the chase. However, Shafali had to depart for an 8-ball 15 in the third over bowled by Dottin.
Bhatia scored a boundary off Ecclestone but she handed a catch back to the bowler soon after. Kiran Navgire, who played a match-winning knock in her last game, couldn’t do anything as she was bowled by Ecclestone for a 13-ball duck.
After a couple of quiet overs, South African batter Laura Wolvaardt eased the pressure a bit by scoring two boundaries off Vastrakar in the ninth over. But Chantham was out lbw in the same over and by the time the 11th was completed, Velocity had lost half their side with their captain Deepti also making it back to the hut in King’s first over.
Velocity went without a boundary for 22 deliveries before Rana played a sweep off King for a four in the 13th over. But Velocity were still playing catch-up, with as many as 91 required off the last seven overs.
Wolvaardt and Rana tried to keep up, scoring some much-needed boundaries, but Alana King bagged the wickets of both Rana and Radha in the same over while Dottin picked up her second by sending Kate Cross (13 off 7) back after being hit for two fours, to further dent Velocity’s chances.
However, Wolvaardt (65 not out off 40) and Simran Bahadur (20 not out off 10) struck a six apiece off King in the 18th over, which brought the equation to 34 off the last two overs.
Vastrakar, who bowled the penultimate over, gave 17 runs as Wolvaardt and Simran hit crucial boundaries. Velocity needed 17 runs from the final over but left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone (2/28), the No. 1 ranked T20I and ODI bowler, conceded just 12 runs to win the match despite Wolvaardt hitting a six off the first ball.
Earlier, Dottin stitched 73 runs for the opening wicket with Priya Punia (28) and added 58 for the second wicket with in-form captain Harmanpreet Kaur (43 off 29 balls).
Despite Dottin getting out to Deepti, bowled by the Velocity captain, the Supernovas were well-placed to finish in the vicinity of 180, having reached 131/2 at the end of the 15th over.But a collective bowling effort by the opposition bowlers in the last five overs dented their innings and Supernovas finished with 165-7 on the board.
Captain Deepti Sharma, Kate Cross and Simran Bahadur took two wickets apiece, while Ayabonga Khaka got one for Velocity.
Brief scores: Supernovas 165/7 in 20 overs (Deandra Dottin 62, Harmanpreet Kaur 43; Deepti Sharma 2-20, Kate Cross 2-29) beat Velocity 161/8 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 65 not out, Simran Bahadur 20 not out; Alana King 3-32, Sophie Ecclestone 2-28, Deandra Dottin 2-28) by 4 runs.
Flight 117, with a crew of seven, was co-piloted by Yara Jan, 23, who is also the youngest Saudi female pilot…reports Asian Lite News
Saudi low-cost airline flyadeal have announced the first domestic flight in the Kingdom with a fully female crew, most of them Saudis.
The announcement was made on the airline’s official Twitter account @flyadeal on Friday: “For the first time in Saudi aviation history! #flyadeal operated the first flight with an all-female crew, the majority of which are Saudis by the newest A320 aircraft. Flight 117, flew from #Riyadh to #Jeddah”
Saudi women have proved themselves in many careers that men dominated for a long-time including aviation-related positions. Flight 117, with a crew of seven, was co-piloted by Yara Jan, 23, who is also the youngest Saudi female pilot.
Jan told Arab News that she was extremely proud to be taking part in such a historic moment in aviation for Saudi women. “As a Saudi woman trying to lead my country with a proud step it was a moment of pride and joy.”
Jan graduated from flight school in Florida, US, in 2019, and joined Flyadeal a year ago. She said that being the co-pilot means assisting the pilot in many key role tasks such as navigation and completing many checklists.
Jan is aware of how important this is for young Saudi women.
“Although being a Saudi woman pilot is new, it is not impossible for our generation, especially with the backing that we are receiving from our beloved country and our respected leaders, who have supported me a lot to become the youngest female pilot in a Saudi airline. I will always be pleased to have the chance to make a positive change.”
The number of Saudi female pilots has grown recently. Three names stand out: Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi, the first female pilot to fly with a Saudi commercial pilot license; Rawia Al-Rifi the first to fly an Airbus A320 internationally as a civil aircraft from the UAE; and co-pilot Yasmin Al-Maimani, who was the first woman to co-pilot a commercial plane in the Kingdom.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the entire nation, especially women, should strongly condemn the “deplorable language used against the daughter of the nation Maryam Nawaz”, reports Asian Lite News
After former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan issued an objectionable statement against PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz during his Multan address, politicians, journalists, and civil society members have censured Khan for his “sexist and misogynist” comments.
During his jalsa, Khan, referring to Maryam’s Sargodha rally on May 19 in which she continually berated him, said: “Someone had sent me the speech delivered by Maryam Nawaz in Sargodha yesterday,” Geo News reported.
“In that speech, she uttered my name with such passion that I would like to tell her: Maryam, please be careful, your husband may get upset because you were constantly repeating my name.”
Following his comments, condemnations started pouring in from politicians and civil society members on social media.
Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also happens to be Maryam’s paternal uncle, expressed strong disapproval of Khan’s statement and said that the entire nation, especially women, should strongly condemn the “deplorable language used against the daughter of the nation Maryam Nawaz”.
Maryam Nawaz. (Photo: Twitter/@MaryamNSharif)
Censuring Khan for his statement against the PML-N vice president, former president Asif Ali Zardari said that he condemned the derogatory language used by the PTI chairman.
“Those who have mothers and sisters in their homes do not use such language against other women,” the PPP co-chairman said.
Forbes Middle East unveils annual ranking of women behind Middle Eastern brands 2022
Forbes Middle East has unveiled its fourth annual ranking of 50 Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands 2022, recognizing the women leading the region’s most successful brands…reports Asian Lite News
The full list reveals 30 female founders of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands, and 20 female founders of tech-based brands.
The 30 Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands are running businesses across various categories, including accessories, baby care, beauty, fashion, footwear, jewelry, and perfumery. The list was constructed based on the brand’s celebrity endorsements, social media following, geographic presence, years of experience, and media coverage. For the fourth consecutive year, Huda Beauty cofounder Huda Kattan reigns in first place. In 2021, Forbes recognized the beauty mogul as one of America’s Self-Made Women, with a net worth of $490 million as of April 8, 2021. She is followed by Azza Fahmy, Amina, and Fatma Ghali, who are behind Azza Fahmy Jewellery. Mona Kattan of KAYALI, Rayan Al Sulaimani of Atelier Zuhra, and footwear designer Andrea Wazen round up the top five.
Of the 30 brands, 13 are headquartered in the U.A.E., followed by Egypt with eight and Lebanon with five. The ranking represents 18 different nationalities. Egyptians dominate the list with 11 entries, followed by Lebanese with four entries. Fashion is the most popular category with 13 listees, followed by beauty and jewelry with seven and five brands, respectively.
The 20 Women Behind Middle Eastern Tech Brands were additionally evaluated on the amount of external funding they have received as well as revenues disclosed. Leading the pack is the cofounder of logistics firm iMile, Rita Huang Zhen. iMile secured $40 million in a Series A financing round in November 2021, bringing its total funding to $50 million since inception and making it the ninth most-funded startup in MENA in 2021. List veterans Mona Ataya and Leena Khalil of Mumzworld rank second. In a landmark exit, the e-commerce platform was acquired by Tamer Group in June 2021. Fintech powerhouses Nadine Mezher of Sarwa, Souqalmal’s Ambareen Musa, and Khatna’s Fatma El Shenawy make up the top five.
This year’s listees hail from 17 different nationalities working across 13 sectors. Jordanian founders reign with three entries, with Brits and Saudis close behind with two entrepreneurs each. Fintech is the most popular category with five entries, followed by logistics providers with three, and two each in e-commerce and crypto exchanges. The businesses are primarily based in the U.A.E., with 13 entries. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are each home to two companies.
Click here to view the complete 2022 ranking of the Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands.
Ugandan flight instructor Catherine Kitandwe inspires girls into male-dominated field
Like many children, Catherine Kitandwe’s dream was to become a pilot. Along the way she digressed but later in her adult life, she found a footing in a profession she dreamt of.
Kitandwe is now one of the only two women flight instructors in Uganda, according to the Uganda Professional Pilots Association (UPPA), an umbrella organization bringing together pilots and aeronautical engineers.
Kitandwe graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in public health. A year after her studies, Kitandwe embarked on pursuing her childhood dream of flying planes. Her first hurdle was convincing her parents to allow her to follow her childhood dream.
“It was tricky talking to them about this crazy dream. But I was determined. This is what I wanted. I had faith,” the 28-year-old told Xinhua in a recent interview.
She started applying to various schools both within and outside Uganda until she was admitted to Vine Air Flight Academy, a local flight school. The admission into the flight school left Kitandwe’s parents apprehensive because of the costs involved. Evelyn Kitandwe, her mother, said they were not sure they would manage to take her through the training.
“We feared the heights involved, the possibility of there being accidents and all sorts of things,” Evelyn Kitandwe added.
June 2020 was a memorable time for Kitandwe in flight school. It marked the shift from “ground to airwoman.”
“This was the first time I had my successful solo flight. This is when I gained my weight as a pilot,” she said.
After getting her commercial pilot license in 2021, Kitandwe went for further training as a flight instructor, and in April 2022, she graduated, joining Captain Esther Kyokunda, another woman in the category.
“This also called for more passion as it was more challenging. It was not easy switching seats and going up there with someone who has no much experience flying planes,” Kitandwe said.
INSPIRING OTHERS
The UPPA described Kitandwe’s graduation as a flight instructor as an inspiration and is optimistic that many other women would take on the role.
“We are happy taking on this role ad hope to see more ladies become instructors in the future,” the association said.
“It is not about gender but the skills one acquires. Nothing is impossible,” Kitandwe said, advising more girls to follow their dreams.
With the training she received, Kitandwe said she is now ready to impart the same skills to others.
Kyokunda, the other woman flight instructor, described Kitandwe as a hardworking young woman.
“I am happy she became an instructor. She has all the qualities of a good mentor,” Kyokunda said. “She is a good role model and other girls should learn from her.”
Kyokunda advised other girls to join them in the cockpit. “Let them know that it is possible for them to become pilots and even instructors. Today we are two female instructors, we want to be three or even more tomorrow.”
Catherine Kitandwe, a commercial pilot and flight instructor, takes a walk after an interview with Xinhua in Kampala, Uganda, on April 16, 2022. (Photo by Kiggundu Joseph/Xinhua)
KT 2077 was led by artistic director Cosmin Costinas (from Para Site, Hong Kong) and Kathmandu based co-curators Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung…writes Sukant Deepak
‘A Woman Was Harassed Here’ — if you were in Mumbai a few years back, it was not uncommon to encounter a bright pink poster with this line at different public spaces. These were the places where artist Aqui Thami or someone she knew had faced harassment. This was also part of the recently concluded Kathmandu Triennale 2077 (KT 2077).
“The project essentially emerged from my desire to mark these spaces to build community, call attention to the harassment women face and most importantly reclaim my power from these spaces where I was rendered powerless. There has been much love shared majorly by women and immediate participation and exchange. Of course, we have also witnessed some hostility from the authorities and people who do not want women to talk back,” this indigenous artist based in Mumbai tells.
Member of ‘Bombay Underground’, a collective that experiments with diverse public art practices, the artist, who runs the ‘Dharavi Art Room’ and started the ‘Sister Library’ as a roaming library aiming to take books to places that do not boast of libraries, and offering space, not just for reading but healing too. Her practice, which is centred around the culture of DIY, self-publishing and guerrilla poster, she believes in the act of ‘doing’ and addresses political and social issues.
Stressing that she had always experienced art as a medium of healing, the artist adds, “Dharavi Art Room is a wonderfully warm family, and we have worked towards building a space where we are allowed to be curious, to make, to question, to dream and so much more in spite of everything that is going on in our lives.”
Currently pursuing a doctoral degree from TISS, Mumbai, the artist says that KT 2077 was refreshing as she witnessed two powerful indigenous curators and artists putting together a brilliant festival. “Such art festivals are crucial for all people to have an opportunity and space to come together and reflect on culture,” she adds.
KT 2077 was led by artistic director Cosmin Costinas (from Para Site, Hong Kong) and Kathmandu based co-curators Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung.
Talking about the ‘Sister Library’ which she started when she started reading women exclusively about seven years back, she recalls, “When I started, it was all the books that impacted me and was almost like looking into the mind of the artist. Over the years, it has grown to be so much more. With all the travels and collecting books and independently published works, to starting a radio — ‘Sister Radio’, to a Riso press — ‘Sister Press’ and publishing our newspaper, ‘Sister Times’. The travelling has been extremely enriching. I am forever grateful to the ever-growing community that wants to centre and celebrate women and Women’s works. The work evolves with every interaction and is ever-growing and evolving”
Thami, who grew up in Darjeeling but left home when she was 15-years-old, is in Venice currently, doing a residency at the Ocean Space in collaboration with the Sami pavilion at the Venice Biennale. “I am happy to be here and looking forward to creating work thinking about our relationship with oceans as indigenous peoples.”
Organized under the supervision of the Women’s Committee of the Kuwait Football Association and in cooperation with Eighty Percent, the sports management company
Burgan Bank concluded its successful sponsorship of the under 18 First Football League for Young Women, organized under the supervision of the Women’s Committee of the Kuwait Football Association and in cooperation with Eighty Percent, the sports management company. This sponsorship comes as part of the Bank’s comprehensive social responsibility program, which focuses on supporting the sports sector to open the way for the younger generation to excel in various sports, and encouraging initiatives aimed at empowering women in various fields.
The closing ceremony was held on the grounds of Abdul Rahman Al-Bakr Stadium in Al-Adailiya, in the presence of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Yousef, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Football Association, Fatema Hayat, member of the Board of Directors and Head of the Women’s Sports Committee, and Kholoud Al-Feeli, Head of the Communications and Public Relations Department at Burgan Bank. The Juventus Academy team was crowned the league champion, followed by the Union of Schools and Higher Education team in the second place, and the Young Women’s Team of El-Ayoun Girls Club ranking in the third position.
Commenting on the First Football League for Young Women, Mrs. Kholoud Al-Feeli, Head of the Communications and Public Relations Department at Burgan Bank, explained that Burgan Bank’s slogan “Driven By You” and the Young Women’s League slogan, “You are the future” align through their goals and their future outlook for the youth who represent Kuwait’s future. She further praised the great efforts by the Women’s Sports Committee of Kuwait Football Association, headed by Mrs. Fatima Hayat, for organizing the first-of-its kind Football League for Young Women in Kuwait.
Al-Feeli also emphasized that active participation in sports is one of the main foundations for a nation’s growth and development, stating “Burgan Bank’s strategy aims to empower the youth, and we are keen to sponsor the Women’s Football League in the coming seasons, and support many other sports to further advance the development of Kuwait’s sports sector.”
On her part, Mrs. Rabea Al-Hajri, Eighty Percent General Manager, commended Burgan Bank for sponsoring the Women’s Football League and supporting the young generation, particularly girls, in developing their sports skills, which will place them on the global map as real contenders within the international sports landscape.
Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is currently the third largest bank by assets in Kuwait. From its earliest days, the Bank has significantly focused on the corporate and financial institution sectors, in addition to diversifying its offering to cater to its growing retail and private banking customer base.
Burgan Bank has majority-owned subsidiaries, collectively known as the “Burgan Bank Group”, in the MENAT region. This Group is supported by one of the largest branch networks across the region and includes: Gulf Bank Algeria – AGB (Algeria), Bank of Baghdad – BOB (Iraq & Lebanon), Tunis International Bank – TIB (Tunisia), and the fully owned Burgan Bank Turkey. Furthermore, Burgan Bank has a presence in the UAE through its corporate office, Burgan Financial Services Limited.
The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years, through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region. Moreover, Burgan Bank’s brand has been built on a foundation of real values – trust, commitment, excellence and progression – which serve as a reminder of the high standards to which the Bank always aspires. In fact, the Bank’s core philosophy of ‘Driven by You’ is the foundation on which its products and services are continuously developed.
Burgan Bank is a majority owned subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), one of the largest holding companies in the MENA region.
Apollo Hospitals, one of the largest healthcare conglomerates in India, is ranked amongst the best hospitals worldwide for providing advanced medical services. It has touched the lives of over 150 million patients from 140 countries. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited consists of Hospitals, Pharmacies, Primary Care & Diagnostic Clinics and Telemedicine units across 50 countries. Apollo’s vision for the next phase of development is to ‘Touch a Billion Lives’.
Apollo Buckingham Health Science Campus (ABHSC) at Crewe is a unique project which brings healthcare, academia, innovation, and research under one roof to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. It brings together public and private healthcare providers and educators to address the current and future needs of the UK healthcare sector. Asian Lite’s Anasudhin Azeez meets Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals. EXTRACTS:
Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals
ANASUDHIN AZEEZ. What will be the role of ABHSC in the Apollo network?
PREETHA REDDY: The Crewe campus plays a leading role in the introduction of the Apollo Hospitals Group in the UK. The vision is for a vibrant campus which inspires collaborations between education, healthcare, research, and innovation. Our early collaboration with the University of Buckingham is supporting the growth and development of the clinical workforce in the UK. Apollo is also exploring other exciting collaborations with academia and the NHS, to upskill existing qualified staff from overseas, with its international fellowship programs. The Crew campus will play a crucial role in the professional development of the healthcare staff. We are planning to train 100 plus students at medical school from next academic year. We will also provide short-term courses for medical professionals from all over the world to upskill their talent to meet the demands of the changed health sector landscape.
ABHSC will be the third medical college in the Apollo network. We created a separate division in the Apollo corporate eco-system for knowledge and education. We are one of the largest e-learn providers in India. We are also running 15 nursing colleges. We are also conducting specialty courses for doctors, nurses, specialist nurses and healthcare managers to upgrade their skills. We are also introducing courses like BSc in Data Analytics to support the healthcare system. Data analysis is important for decision making. Another programme on agenda is to train healthcare psychologists. Mental health is a key area to be focused in the post-Covid medical scenario. The Crewe campus will be one of the global centre for medical research and skills development.
AA. What’s Apollo’s strategy to tackle post-Covid healthcare issues?
PR: We are beginning to see the impact of post-Omicron on heart disease. Given the widespread mild infections in the third wave, many patients have not seen a doctor or checked on their recovery.Apollo has started highlighting the importance of doing a preventive health-check, so post-Covid patients can understand their health status and take appropriate steps for a full recovery.
We have two programs at Apollo that can help with this—ProHealth CoRe (Covid Recovery) and ProHealth Covid Recovery & Wellness—these are best done 4-6 weeks after diagnosis. We are focusing lung, heart and vascular system. We are doing extensive screening tests to identify the real causes.
Apollo ProHealth CoRe program is designed for those recovering from mild/moderate COVID in infections.This at-home program will help bounce back to peak health, by assessing the current health status through a home sample collection and personalised health risk assessment, virtual consult with a physician on 24×7 App, and follow up by a health mentor for three months on diet/exercise. This program will help monitor the effects of Covid-19 on various organs, and ensure consumers are on a path to recovery. Based on the physician’s recommendation for further hospital-based tests the patient can choose to visit the hospital, with a 50% discount on ECHO and CT as recommended.
Apollo ProHealthCovid Recovery and Wellness program is designed for those with severe infection and have a long recovery path. It is a comprehensive assessment with physician & pulmonologist consult, and rehabilitation, as recommended. This is recommended for those with severe illness.
These programs are active in all our hospitals and we are encouraging more post-Covid patients to check on their health, with the goal of preventing premature cardiac events and other sequelae.
AA. Apollo is now expanding to Central Asia with a tertiary hospital in Uzbekistan. Are there any other mega projects on the anvil?
PR: We recently signed a MoU with Marafon Group in Uzbekistan to set up a first of its kind tertiary care hospital that will benefit 60 million people in Uzbekistan and bordering regions of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. The Marafon Group already operates over nine medical and diagnostic centres and now Apollo Hospitals would offer technical consulting, clinical excellence, commissioning and BOMA (Branding, Operations and Management Agreement) for the tertiary care hospital in Uzbekistan.
Talks are going on with many health services providers. We are planning to open an office in the Middle East to facilitate the services in the region. We are getting huge response for our proton cancer treatment in Chennai. A base in the Middle East will streamline the process.
AA. Apollo is targeting to meet “Touch a Billion Lives”. Affordable healthcare is still a dream for millions across the world. How will you achieve your Corporate Vision?
PR: The cornerstones of Apollo’s legacy are its unstinting focus on clinical excellence, affordable costs, modern technology, and forward-looking research & academics. Apollo Hospitals has a robust presence across the healthcare ecosystem including hospitals(71 hospitals with 12,000 beds), Pharmacies (4,500) Primary Care (over 100) & Diagnostic Clinics (150), and several retail health models. The Group also has Telemedicine facilities across several countries, Health Insurance Services, Global Projects Consultancy, Medical Colleges & research foundations (15), Medvarsity for E-Learning, Colleges of Nursing and Hospital Management, and a Research Foundation. In addition, Apollo 247—an online consultation portal, and Apollo Home Health provide the care continuum.
Since its inception, Apollo Hospitals has been honoured by the trust of several million individuals who come from 140 countries. At the core of Apollo’s patient-centric culture is TLC (Tender Loving Care), the magic that inspires hope amongst its patients. Through these multiple portals, Apollo is touching scores of lives within and outside India.
As a responsible corporate citizen, Apollo Hospitals takes the spirit of leadership well beyond business and has embraced the responsibility of keeping India healthy. Recognizing that Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the greatest threat to the nation, Apollo Hospitals is continuously educating people about preventive healthcare as the key to wellness. Likewise, envisioned by Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, the “Billion Hearts Beating Foundation” endeavors to keep Indians heart-healthy.
AA. Apollo is known for its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Which are the projects close to your heart?
PR: Apollo Hospitals has championed numerous social initiatives—to cite a few which assist underprivileged children:
SACHi (Save a Child’s Heart Initiative) screens and provides pediatric cardiac care for congenital heart diseases, SAHI (Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired), and the CURE Foundation focused on cancer care. To introduce population health into the Indian narrative, the Total Health Foundation, as envisaged by Dr. Reddy, is piloting a unique model of healthcare in the Thavanampalle Mandal Andhra Pradesh. It aims to provide “holistic healthcare” for the entire community starting from birth, through one’s journey into childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
We believe that “Expertise shouldn’t multiply the treatment cost”. The Apollo Surgery program, backed by the trust built over three decades, is committed to providing guaranteed price transparency for any surgery to help patients and their families make the most informed decision for their healthcare needs.
In a rare honour, the Government of India had issued a commemorative stamp in recognition of Apollo’s widespread contributions, the first for a healthcare organization. More recently Apollo Hospitals was again honoured with a postal stamp for having successfully performed 20 million health checks and its pioneering efforts in encouraging preventive healthcare in the country.
AA. Covid-19 has changed the landscape of the medical sector. What’s your take on telemedicine and how Apollo is adapting to the new technology?
PR: Telemedicine is not a new concept in India and has been in existence since 2001, but the pace of adoption since then has been unhurried. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the long-anticipated surge in telemedicine services worldwide.
Apollo had launched the Apollo 24/7 app, which brings the entire health setup to a person’s doorstep with virtual consultations, home-sample collection for diagnostics and home delivery of drugs and medication. We also introduced the contactless in-patient monitoring system in a few of its hospitals, stepping towards smart hospital concept.
According to research, the telehealth market in India stood at US$ 13.15 billion in FY2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.31%. The online doctor consultation market is expected to be over $800 million by FY2024 growing at 72 percent CAGR. Also, investment in virtual health continues to accelerate.
Per Rock Health’s H! 2021 totaled $14.7 billion, which is more than all of the investment in 2020 ($14.6 billion) and nearly twice the investment in 2019 ($7.7 billion). As the investment into virtual health companies continues to grow at record levels, so does the pressure on the companies within the ecosystem to innovate and find winning models
Apollo has been implementing telemedicine for two decades and has been a pioneer in this field increasing the convenience for people to receive care through the most convenient channels. Apollo TeleHealth has made major contributions to the country’s primary healthcare through Public-Private Partnerships and has touched more than 13 million lives with over 16.5 million teleconsultations delivered and 20,000 clinical transactions on a daily basis.
Apollo TeleHealth is the largest and oldest multi-specialty telemedicine network in the world. Today, Apollo TeleHealth has emerged as India’s single largest turnkey provider in the area of telemedicine with 800+ public health centres, 100+ franchised teleclinics, and point of presence through 350,000 common service centres, and rapidly expanding to other geographies. We are already working with the government of Andhra Pradesh for operating 195 UPHCs in the state. Apollo has also expanded its service footprint by providing Tele-Ophthalmology services at 115 centres in collaboration with the government across the state. Other than that, Apollo’s Himachal Pradesh Tele Health Program is providing much-needed Emergency, Speciality, and super-specialty consultation services to locations at about 14,000 feet above sea level in the Himalayan Mountain range.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh has also entrusted Apollo for Tele-Radiology services in its 134 Community Health Centres (CHC) and Telemedicine services in 120 CHCs. Apollo TeleHealth has also set up Digital Dispensaries across 100 selected PHC of Jharkhand State with state-of-the-art equipment for vital signs monitoring, screening program, and ICT devices with other hospital furniture for the said services.
The Common Services Center (CSC) Scheme is one of the key pillars of the ambitious National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Government of India to digitally empower rural Citizens. With a mission to take healthcare to the masses, Apollo TeleHealth recently set up 5 Digital Dispensaries in Meghalaya, collaborating with the state government.
