I’ve often wondered how men fair amid the metropolises of Gulf malls. My female friends in Bahrain are shopaholics, as I probably would be too if I lived there , provided I could afford it.

They tell me there are two types of Bahraini man: Mr Shoptastic and Mr Shopaphobe. One example of the latter, and who tells his story with particular verve in his blog, is Ammaro.

Even Houdini Couldn’t Escape Bahrain Mall…

Ammaro gives a hilarious account of one Ramadan night post-ifta when, in dire need of clothing he finds himself in a compromising position: Can he get to his sneakers in time and bolt out of the door, or will he face, as he so eloquently puts it, yet another night of relentless ruthless shopping with his nearest and dearest.

“Honey?” She said.

“Dammit!” I thought, as I tried to slip my shoes on and make a run for it. “I need to go shopping today.”

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Seems like Lebanon’s got talent, beauty, style and pizzazz. I mean, I knew it had spawned onscreen siren Salma Hayek and sexy songstress Shakira, but I recently discovered three male icons that I never knew were Lebanese or had Lebanese blood. Ready for the revelations?

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If you’re a gossip addict (like me), it will have been hard to avoid the waitress scandal surrounding Indian golfing ace, Tiger Woods. Perhaps it’s best we just gloss over that… Moving swiftly on, and in the name of helping Indian men in the public eye to retain their reputation as faithful partners and husband, The India Times ran an interesting article on some of the country’s finest examples of “true gentlemen.” So ladies (and gentlemen), here is a quick pick of five of India’s most chivalrous stars:

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Life can bite if you’re a pet-loving man in Riyadh. A law passed in the Saudi capital mid-2008 prohibited men from walking dogs or taking cats out and about in the city.

In fact, whilst existing pooches and moggies have to be kept indoors, the law also states that you can’t buy such animals anymore.

What’s Wrong With Rover?

According to a July ‘08 AP article, the justification given for the ban was that some Riyadh men were using their pets to get close to women and in some cases, harangue them.

Dogs and cats were being used to break the ice between guys and girls on the streets, something that’s an absolute no-no in Riyadh where the sexes are strictly separated.

Apparently, men caught pet-handed risk having their furry friends confiscated by Saudi religious police, AKA the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

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I decided to read up on Qatari men as soon as I found out that there are 4 men to every one woman in Qatar. That’s pretty good odds really if one is looking to choose from an ample selection!

I found a great blog on Qatari men by Yousra Abdelaal, a keen-eyed lady who’s lived in Qatar for 6 years. Yousra sets out to hand all us lucky ladies the low-down on Qatari chaps and sift the wheat from the chaff on the rumours that Qatari men are unapproachable. Here are the highlights in a top five I’ve thrown together.

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It was a real revelation for me to discover the Palestinian women’s soccer team and the Jordanian female boxers that I blogged about recently. Equally fascinating is the bouquet of issues and questions thrown into the air by the very notion of Middle Eastern sportswomen in more traditional countries… where sport is still largely considered a man’s game.

A prime example is the 2009 controversy surrounding Alireza Mansourian, football academy director of Esteghlal, one of Iran’s biggest and most popular clubs,  Mansourian is a former Iranian soccer star-turned-coach at this Tehran-based club, which has attracted a huge following, although it is under the authority of Iran’s Islamic rulers.

Allegations were made in early ’09 that the club’s men and women players staged a battle-of-the-sexes match behind closed doors, in full breach of Iran’s gender segregation laws.

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I’ve always been fascinated by Turkish culture on many levels: the multi-faceted influences as East meets West that floods from Turkey’s 8 borders, the fusion of the traditional and the progressive mindsets that buzz within the nation.

I’ve been reading a lot about Turkish men lately, after stumbling across an article about Didim, where over the past couple of years, comparatively high numbers of Turkish men married British women.

I must say, I’m struggling to see the cultural similarities, (Nice cuppa PG and a chunk of Turkish delight?) but the statistics are clear as day, From January to October ’09 42 men from Didim married British women. Over the same period, one Turkish woman married a British man.

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Rightly, or wrongly, more conservative Gulf countries like Kuwait are often highlighted in the international media for gender inequality. The situation is undoubtedly improving across the board, thanks to the internet, women’s groups and what appears to be a general mellowing of attitudes.

There are always two sides, if not three, four or five to every story. I was curious to investigate whether there were any jobs that men in the Middle East aren’t allowed to do and lo and behold….

Since January 2007, Kuwaiti, men have been prohibited from working in women’s lingerie stores.

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There are many advantages to being a girl, if you ask me, and one of them is make-up. Natural beauty is all very admirable, as far as I’m concerned, even Mother Nature needs a helping hand now and again, and besides, it’s fun!  Let’s get one thing quite clear, I don’t know too many girls who’d go on a date without at least a lick of mascara.

I’ve been intrigued by the emergence of men’s cosmetics on the market, and the reaction it’s caused. The El Corte Ingles department store in Barcelona, where I’m based has extended its range of male personal care items to include concealers, powders, and even eyeliner for gents.

I asked my male friends what they thought of man-kup and I can’t say the response was exactly… enthusiastic. However, there was a time back in the days of Ancient Egypt when make-up was unisex.
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I often ponder the question of marriage within and beyond our faith, especially for men. As many of you know, Muslim women can only marry Muslim men, while Muslim men can marry Christians and Jews (i.e. “People of The Book”) if they so choose.

Islam, like many other religions encourages marriage within the faith, and is a diverse and widespread religion. Of course there are stipulations within the faith designed to support commonality of faith. First and foremost, if a Muslim man marries a practising Jewish or Christian woman, the children should be brought up as Muslims as Islam follows the culture of the father. Read the full story »