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Emmy-nominated Indian journalist brings women’s conference to Dubai

Event discusses topics about inclusivity, overcoming adversities and breaking stereotypes

Published: Thu 26 Oct 2023, 9:44 PM

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Nayla Al Khaja, Barkha Dutt, Jessica Smith, Mina Liccione, and Sara Hamdan during the panel discussionat the We The Women’s inaugural UAE edition powered by Khaleej Times in Dubai on Thursday. Photo by Shihab

Nayla Al Khaja, Barkha Dutt, Jessica Smith, Mina Liccione, and Sara Hamdan during the panel discussionat the We The Women’s inaugural UAE edition powered by Khaleej Times in Dubai on Thursday. Photo by Shihab

Emmy-nominated Indian journalist Barkha Dutt brought an inclusive women’s conference to Dubai on Thursday and called it the best place to the host the event. We The Women, a platform founded by Dutt, organised a conference in partnership with Khaleej Times, that discussed topics about inclusivity, overcoming adversities and breaking stereotypes.

“We could not have picked a better place to organize an event for women,” said Barkha Dutt during her opening speech at the event. She then went on to share some figures that she found astounding. “Fifty per cent of the UAE parliament is made of women,” she said. “We in India have been fighting for equal representation for years and a legislation was recently passed about this. So it is very impressive that this country already has over 50 per cent representative.”

She also praised the 95 per cent literacy rate of women in the country and safety and security of the UAE. “According to a report by Georgetown University, when asked which of the countries women felt the safest in, the answer was UAE,” she said. “So I cannot think of no better country to have the international edition of this conference.”

The Indian edition of the conference was held in the city of Jaipur in March this year with several notable speakers, including Bollywood stars Vidya Balan, Aditya Roy Kapur and Janhvi Kapoor.

“You make the world better”

Speaking at the opening, Khaleej Times CEO Ravi Tharoor praised women for the multitude of roles they play. “You make the world better,” he said, to thunderous applause. “Keep doing that.”

He also paid homage to the women in his life. “I have five strong women in my life,” he said. “My grandmother, who was a businesswoman, had seven kids and was single. She ran a business of about 300 people so I learnt my first PnL (profit and loss) lesson from her in the 1970s. My mother, who could have been anything but chose to be a homemaker and raised three boys.” He also further gave credit to his wife and two daughters for shaping him to be the man he was.

The event gave a platform for women from various walks of life to come together and share their stories of inspiration, challenges and success. From the first Emirati woman to academically study emotional intelligence to a Paralympic swimmer to a breast cancer survivor, women spoke about their grit and sheer determination to succeed in their own ways.



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