Hot Shots

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The Battle of the Sexes Mark 2
A film about tennis greats Billie-Jean King and some guy, oh, OK, former world number one Bobby Riggs, Battle of the Sexes made good box office last year. Now it seems the BBC may have set itself up for a rematch with the revelation that it pays John McEnroe 10 times as much for Wimbledon coverage as Martina Navratilova. The Beeb has tried to dig itself out of this particular hole by arguing that McEnroe’s role is entirely different to that of the female former champ. That may well be the case but Navratilova has gone on record to say that her agent actually asked if there was a wage gap and was told “no”. After Carrie Gracie’s very public spat with the corporation earlier this year over her lack of parity with male colleagues, it seems the BBC has some way to go to restore its credibility in the equality stakes. And, as a publicly funded broadcaster, I’d say the UK government needs to step in and tell it, very emphatically, to get its house in order or risk losing licence payers’ cash.

Facebook Shocker
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I heard you can access all the data Facebook holds on you. All you need to do is go into settings and at the bottom of the general settings page there is a section where you can download your personal data from the platform. It’s a bit of a scary revelation! Beware, though. If you’re going to do this, make sure your laptop, or wherever you save it, is secure!

Behind the Veil
It seems that every month there is a new and momentous development to comment on from across the causeway. This month, it’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s statement to CBS that: “The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of Sharia: that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men. This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover.” He went on to say: “The decision is entirely left for women [sic] to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear.”

This is a big deal, and not just for Saudi women. Much of the Muslim world takes its guidance from Saudi Arabia and in Bahrain, for instance, local friends tell me the black clothing, now so common, was rarely seen before the opening of the causeway. They say Bahraini women’s traditional way of dressing was much more colourful. It would be lovely to see a return to this – if, of course, that is the woman’s choice.

Doggone It!
I’m delighted to report Bahrain finally has something that has been missing from this little island and is much needed — a dog park. It was due to open as we went to press, so I can’t tell you too much about it but what I do know is that it’s at Bed and Biscuits and promises two large, grassed play areas (one for little dogs and one for the bigger guys) where our four-legged friends can have a good old run and romp. Regular readers will know that I’m a bit of a crazy dog lady, so, I’m looking forward to paying a visit and will report back in due course.

Power to the (Female) People
I’m proud to tell you that we’re partnering with the Women’s Empowerment Summit that’s due to take place on the island over two days next month. There’ll be big-name speakers and around 500 women are expected to take advantage of a series of workshops, mentorship programmes, networking events, Q&A sessions and more, all aimed at encouraging women across all areas of business. It’s set to be a brilliant event, which I’m really looking forward to attending. Find out more in our interview with organiser Wafa Alobaidat, on page 32. Hope to see lots of you there.