With the topic of gender equality being spoken about loudly in almost all races, religions and cultures, it’s a stigma and world understanding that women are usually the weaker of the sexes almost in all fields. But as of recent times, the world view is changing and more and more women are out to conquer everything they see, taking it all by storm one establishment and field at a time. Women of the Arab world, specifically Saudi Arabia are pushing harder to prove themselves and are succeeding; the sky is the limit.
Sports is a field known in the Kingdom as a male dominant field, but in recent years, more female athletes, fitness trainers and fitnatics are popping up, breaking that “male dominant” stereotype. One Saudi female is not only breaking that one stereotype, she is also breaking another by being the only Saudi female kickboxing and boxing trainer in the Kingdom as far as anyone knows. Halah Al-Hamrani, a 38-year-old mother of one, is a strong-willed woman who believes that all women must challenge themselves and push their limits. She’s doing what she does best, box, and she loves it!
Arab News caught up with Halah and spoke to her about her love for boxing.
Your choice to box and kick box is outside the known “exercise” regimen the Saudi women are used to, how did you progress throughout the years and why did you choose this path?
After graduating high school in Jeddah, I moved to San Diego and majored in Environmental Studies and minored in International Relations. I had already been doing martial arts since the age of 12, starting with karate, then moving on to different arts. I have a black belt in jujitsu too. When moving to the States, I decided that I wanted to learn how to “throw a proper punch,” something you don’t find in martial arts. I’ve been training myself in boxing and kick boxing for a long time, starting with Muay Thai, a very specific form of kick boxing, the art of eight limbs (characterized by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins) and it’s the only form of kick boxing that involves knees and elbows. After coming back to Saudi Arabia, as a woman, I wasn’t able to find work in my field, so after two years I decided to start personal training. I got my certificate from NASM and have been training clients for 10 years now.
Was it difficult to train clients in boxing and kick boxing in Saudi Arabia, since it’s considered to be a male dominant sport?
I’m constantly surprised with the amount of attention this gets from the female population; I receive countless e-mails from women wanting to learn how to box. That’s their biggest attraction. It’s new and interesting for them and they do it as a form of a workout and I find it incredible how many women are excited about this sport.
When it comes to form and technique, is there a difference between kick boxing and boxing?
After practicing Muay Thai for six years, I met an amazing boxing instructor in the US and I decided to focus more on boxing. There is a very big difference when it comes to form and technique, with Muay Thai you learn how to throw really powerful kicks with your knees and elbows but the punches aren’t very pretty. It’s more about beating your opponent down, but with boxing it’s about understanding how to beat that opponent out. It’s more of a dance which I’ve started to fall in love with it and I continued with that for four years. Conditioning is pretty much the same for both kick boxing and boxing but technique can be varied from one who has trained in boxing first, then kick boxing, it will be harder to grasp the understanding of using both your lower body and upper body instead of a punch but easier if it was the other way around. The styles are different.
What type of other exercises do you incorporate in boxing and kickboxing to help increase your balance?
I did some calisthenics, which is body weight strength training and got attracted to yoga through that. To me yoga had postures that required more core strength and balance. I like to challenge myself and a.m. willing to try out different poses on my own to find that balance through the training I did with calisthenics. Yoga is a great addition to my workout, it helps with my flexibility in kicks, get some peace and serenity on bad days and helped a lot with my balance as a boxer.
Can you please walk readers through your classes?
Usually we start with a 5-minute warm up, moving on to light weight to concentrate on approaches and technique so they are able to strengthen their shoulders and after that the hard intensity cardio starts with the heavy bag. After the heavy bag there is conditioning such as pushups, jump squats, sit ups and abs training, ending with some stretching to cool down. The classes are between an hour and a half.
Many women have their doubts and are self-conscious about their body image, their ability to perform effectively and succeed in their goals in boxing. How do you approach such a person and motivate them after their realization that boxing is a tough sport?
Every student of mine would have a moment or two of doubts. I think what makes them push forward and continue on is realizing that they are getting better at it. I’m their cheerleader, I direct them and positively reinforce them. But if a student comes in defeated and is already intimidated by it, it’d be hard for me to veer them into the right direction with words, it’s their progression and ability to push through the workout that helps them. I never force my students to do something they’re not able to do, everyone starts off with their own level of strength and my job is to direct them through the training and allow them to realize their potential at the end of the day. Boxing and kick boxing is a mind set.
What is your philosophy in exercise and health?
There are things that need to be understood about attaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s a misunderstanding that “dieting” is what being healthy is, I don’t believe in calling it a “diet”. First, it shouldn’t be incorporated with “lifestyle” because dieting is something temporary, lifestyle is a lifetime choice. If everyone makes the time to include some kind of exercise such as walking or jogging and decides to cut out unhealthy foods such as sugars and processed goods, then that’s a lifestyle choice. To be healthy is a mindset, it’s not a strict regimen depriving oneself from everything, it’s ok to have a cheat meal every now and then and that balances everything out. Consistency is the key.
It’s a common fact that everyone wants to lose weight STAT. What’s your response to that?
It sickens me to see so many young girls who go through extreme measures to just be skinny and there is no need for it what so ever. It’s difficult and I understand when some girls come to class dreading attending and going through my tough workout but they inspire me when they go through with it. They do it, they commit to it and they push themselves past their limits and that is my joy in teaching. Skinny is not an option, healthy and fit is the goal each woman has to strive for. If I was able to help a girl learn how to do a pull up in a month’s time, that is an accomplishment for her and me.
Some might say that boxing and kickboxing isn’t for girls, what’s your opinion on that?
That’s not true, girls are just as strong as men in boxing and kick boxing. It’s a stereotype and it’s unacceptable. All it needs is learning the right moves and techniques, commitment and dedication and have the right mindset to be able to perform. There is no such excuse as “boxing is for men only”.
Why choose the title “Fight Like a Girl”?
Because it’s boxing and it’s seen as a male dominant sport. It’s supposed to be ironic but not really. “Fight Like a Girl” is not supposed to be a negative connotation, instead should be something positive because with training, women can be just as strong as men, you can do it just the way they can and be proud of it too.
Would you ever want to compete professionally?
That would have been my dream, but unfortunately they don’t accept women past a certain age to enter the Olympics for boxing. If I really wanted to, I could probably try professional boxing but I would be starting at the age of 38 which is usually not done so I doubt I will ever have the chance. InshaAllah I hope to find a Saudi girl that I can train and maybe give her the chance to be the first.
Laila Ali, the daughter of legendary heavy boxer Mohammed Ali, the best known sports figure in the world, got into the ring in 1999 and showed the crowd how it’s done. She has won many titles and gained fame as not only the daughter of the legendary boxer but also on the basis of her skills. She told how her father advised her on every negative thing associated with boxing but has never told her “don’t do it” instead he asked her to show him her best pre-fight stare down and then pretended to throw jabs at each other.
Women are the backbone of society, the strength of a woman’s will can never be tethered, Halah proved it and so can many more. Be sure to follow Halah on her Instagram page FLAGBOXING. For appointments, please e-mail the trainer at flagboxing@gmail.com.
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Email: life.style@arabnews.com
One Saudi woman shows how to ‘Fight Like a Girl’
One Saudi woman shows how to ‘Fight Like a Girl’
In Dubai’s Gold Souk, bullion’s record run brings little joy for jewellers
- Bullion prices have hit record highs above $3,400 an ounce
- US tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold
DUBAI: In the bustling Gold Souk in Dubai, dubbed the “City of Gold,” 22-karat gold jewelry is a traditional favorite for weddings, religious celebrations, and as a family investment.
Yet with bullion prices hitting record highs above $3,400 an ounce, there are signs of change, as buyers look to diamonds and lighter gold jewelry, instead.
While US tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold as an investment, the impact is different for gold jewelry, according to Andrew Naylor, head of Middle East and Public Policy at the World Gold Council (WGC).
“In markets like Dubai, this creates a two-fold effect: on one hand, you see stronger interest in gold as a safe-haven asset, on the other, high prices dampen jewelry demand.”
At Dubai’s Gold Souk, retailers said they are seeing this trend, as current prices prompt shoppers to look for alternatives.
“There are no potential customers nowadays because of the gold prices,” said Fahad Khan, a sales representative at retailer Damas Jewellery.
“It’s a little bit tough to afford gold, so I think it’s better to go with diamonds,” said Lalita Dave, 52, as she browsed around the Gold Souk.
Lab-grown diamonds
Dubai has been a magnet for gold buyers for at least 80 years, starting with Iranian and Indian traders, both cultures sharing a tradition of 22-karat jewelry for adornment and investment.
Yet as gold prices rose 27 percent last year, demand for gold jewelry in the UAE fell by around 13 percent, outpacing an 11 percent drop globally, according to the WGC.
Jewellery demand could face further pressure across key regions in 2025 if gold prices remain elevated or volatile, the WGC said in its gold demand trends report published in February.
Price swings, more than price levels, are increasingly shaping consumer behavior, particularly in India, it noted.
Shifts in Indian purchasing patterns often ripple through Gulf markets such as the UAE, where buyers are a key driver of sales.
Goldman Sachs recently raised its end-2025 gold forecast to $3,700 per ounce and said prices could climb as high as $4,500.
“Higher gold prices are likely to dampen demand for jewelry, in a classic example of how the best cure for high prices is high prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
One sign of economizing has been the rise of lab-grown diamonds.
India exported $171 million worth of lab-grown diamonds to the UAE in 2024, up almost 57 percent from $109 million two years earlier, data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council showed.
India’s exports of cut and polished diamonds to the UAE in the April–November 2024 were up 3.7 percent.
UAE ranked third in global diamond imports in 2023, trade data shows, its primary trade partners including India, South Africa, and Belgium.
While the UAE accounted for just 1.5 percent of the global diamond jewelry market by revenue in 2023, it is projected to grow by 5.9 percent annually to reach nearly $2 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
That outpaces the global growth forecast of 4.5 percent and makes the UAE the fastest growing market in the Middle East and Africa.
Trade tensions
One impact from recent trade tensions with the US has been accelerated talk about finding alternative markets and production hubs, two executives at major Indian diamond exporters said.
If tensions persist, potentially spanning years, one of the sources speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said his company’s contingency plans included shifting some Indian production overseas, including to the UAE.
Shamlal Ahamed, managing director of international operations at retailer Malabar Gold & Diamonds, said the rise in lab-grown diamond jewelry sales in the UAE appeared to be driven more by design preferences than pricing and he remained bullish on gold jewelry demand.
“While price-conscious buyers may wait for a dip, our experience shows that such declines are often short-lived, with buyers quickly adapting to new price levels.”
NASA’s oldest active astronaut returns to Earth on 70th birthday
WASHINGTON: Cake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens picture their 70th birthday.
But NASA’s oldest serving astronaut Don Pettit became a septuagenarian while hurtling toward the Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
A Soyuz capsule carrying the American and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, the day of Pettit’s milestone birthday.
“Today at 0420 Moscow time (0120 GMT), the Soyuz MS-26 landing craft with Alexei Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner and Donald (Don) Pettit aboard landed near the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan,” Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said.
Spending 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates Ovchinin and Vagner orbited the Earth 3,520 times and completed a journey of 93.3 million miles over the course of their mission.
It was the fourth spaceflight for Pettit, who has logged more than 18 months in orbit throughout his 29-year career.
The trio touched down in a remote area southeast of Kazakhstan after undocking from the space station just over three hours earlier.
NASA images of the landing showed the small capsule parachuting down to Earth with the sunrise as a backdrop.
The astronauts gave thumbs-up gestures as rescuers carried them from the spacecraft to an inflatable medical tent.
Despite looking a little worse for wear as he was pulled from the vessel, Pettit was “doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth,” NASA said in a statement.
He was then set to fly to the Kazakh city of Karaganda before boarding a NASA plane to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Texas.
The astronauts spent their time on the ISS researching areas such as water sanitization technology, plant growth in various conditions and fire behavior in microgravity, NASA said.
The trio’s seven-month trip was just short of the nine months that NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams unexpectedly spent stuck on the orbital lab after the spacecraft they were testing suffered technical issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.
Space is one of the final areas of US-Russia cooperation amid an almost complete breakdown in relations between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine conflict.
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Philippines devotees nailed to crosses to re-enact Christ’s crucifixion
- Around 80 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million people are Roman Catholics
- Rituals form part of Holy Week, which spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday
CUTUD, Philippines: Christian devotees from the Philippines were nailed to a cross on Friday in a reenactment of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in the predominantly Catholic nation.
Hundreds of Filipinos and foreign tourists flocked to the northern village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province to witness Ruben Enaje nailed to the cross and portray Christ for the 36th time in an annual devotional display. Two other devotees joined him in re-enacting the crucifixion.
Actors dressed as Roman soldiers hammered Enaje’s palms with two-inch nails. Ropes and fabric supported their bodies as they were raised on wooden crosses.
“The first five seconds were very painful. As time goes and the blood goes down, the pain numbs and I can stay on the cross longer,” Enaje, 64, said in an interview.
Around 80 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million people identify as Roman Catholics. The rituals form part of Holy Week, which spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and is one of the most sacred and solemn periods in the Philippines’ religious calendar.
During Holy Week, some devotees flog their backs repeatedly with bamboo whips in an act of self-flagellation to seek penance and atonement. The Catholic Church has discouraged the practice, saying prayers and sincere repentance are enough to commemorate Lent.
‘Star Wars’ fans wave lightsabers as an upcoming film gets announced in Japan
- Gosling and director Shawn Levy appeared on stage Friday before a lightsaber-waving crowd at Makuhari Messe center outside Tokyo
- The event, called Star Wars Celebration, continues through Sunday
CHIBA: The Force was with many Japanese, as well as visitors from abroad, at a “Star Wars” event on Friday where Lucasfilm announced that the next installation in the franchise will hit theaters in May 2027 starring Ryan Gosling.
Appearing on stage before a lightsaber-waving crowd at Makuhari Messe center outside Tokyo, Gosling showed a photo of his childhood bedsheets, plastered with illustrations from the space epic created by George Lucas.
“I guess I was dreaming about ‘ Star Wars ‘ even before I saw the film,” Gosling said.
Shawn Levy, who will direct the movie, told the crowd that “Star Wars: Starfighter” will not be a prequel or a sequel, but a new standalone adventure with new characters set several years after “Episode Nine.” Filming starts later this year, he said.
Levy, who also directed the 2006 film “The Pink Panther” and the recent Netflix series “Stranger Things,” said little else, noting: “I can’t say much about it because I understand the rules.”
Only the title was shown on a giant screen, although that was enough for the crowd to burst into cheers.
The event, called Star Wars Celebration, which runs through Sunday, is full of “Star Wars“-themed merchandise including T-shirts, toys, books, manga comics, AC chargers, cellphone covers, autographs, posters and more.
The Lego booth featured a man wearing the ominous black mask and cloak of Darth Vader, made out of Legos. The deep-breathing villain also appeared as traditional Japanese lacquerware decorating earphones in a limited edition of 10, each selling for 990,000 yen ($7,000). Darth Vader T-shirts were more affordable at 8,000 yen ($56).
“It makes me so happy to think everyone here loves ‘Star Wars,’” said Yoshiki Takahashi, 26, who was holding a remote-controlled R2-D2 miniature robot.
“I love the directing, the sound of the gun and the lightsaber, but above all the story, with great fight scenes and, of course, human drama,” he added.
Another Japanese man, who said he goes only by Hiro, was dressed as the “Star Wars” character Mandalorian, in a detailed costume he made himself, complete with a plastic sword and armor.
Also present were “Star Wars” fans from around the world, including a robed Raul Herrera, a computer science teacher from Chile, who was there with friends.
“All of them,” said Herrera, when asked which ‘Star Wars’ films he’d seen. “The sense of commitment of the characters, I really like it.”
With offshoot stories spanning generations and literally the cosmos, “Star Wars” is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time since its 1977 debut, starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.
It may be natural that “Star Wars” appeals to Japanese: Its story about a samurai-like hero who befriends various characters along his journey echoes the nation’s fables, as well as legendary Akira Kurosawa films.
Scientists find possible chemical signs of life on a faraway planet
- Researchers found evidence of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in the atmosphere of the planet known as K2-18b
- On Earth, those two compounds are produced primarily by microbial life, such as marine phytoplankton
LONDON: Astronomers have found possible chemical signs of life on a distant planet outside our solar system, though they caution more work is needed to confirm their findings.
The research, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, detected evidence of compounds in the exoplanet’s atmosphere that on Earth are only produced by living organisms and contended it’s the strongest potential signal yet of life.
Independent scientists described the findings as interesting, but not nearly enough to show the existence of life on another planet.
“It is the strongest sign to date of any possibility of biological activity outside the solar system,” Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan said during a livestream on Thursday.
By analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers found evidence of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in the atmosphere of the planet known as K2-18b. The planet is 124 light-years away; one light-year is equivalent to nearly 6 trillion miles.
On Earth, those two compounds are produced primarily by microbial life, such as marine phytoplankton.
The planet is more than double Earth’s size and more than 8 times more massive. It’s in the so-called habitable zone of its star. The study appeared in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Madhusudhan stressed that further research is needed to rule out any errors or the possibility of other processes, besides living organisms, that could produce the compounds.
David Clements, an astrophysicist at Imperial College London, said atmospheres on other planets are complex and difficult to understand, especially with the limited information available from a planet so far away.
“This is really interesting stuff and, while it does not yet represent a clear detection of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, it is a step in the right direction,” he said in comments released by the Science Media Center in London.
More than 5,500 planets orbiting other stars have been confirmed so far. Thousands more are in the running out of the billions out there in our Milky Way galaxy alone.
Launched in 2021, Webb is the biggest and most powerful observatory ever sent into space.
