'Building Sharjah': A tale of modern architecture in the Arab world

07/07/21 • 12 min

Our guest is Sultan Al Qassemi, who is not just a friend of the show but also the inspiration behind some of our guests. He joins us in the studio to talk about his latest book, "Building Sharjah", which is the most extensive study of any city in the United Arab Emirates and quite possibly the entire region.

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Fleeing persecution: Transgender Yemeni woman speaks out

Our guest was born Hosam, a popular Arabic boy's name, to a strictly religious family in Yemen's port city of Hodeida. From a young age, she didn't feel comfortable in her clothes or her skin. Behind closed doors, she would shave her bodily hair and put on makeup, imagining what it would be like to be a woman. Hosam's life turned upside down when she was detained because of the mere shape of her eyebrows and subjected to torture. Today, Ritaj, a transgender woman, is living in France, having escaped the clutches of her strict relatives and local authorities. She tells us her story.

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Lebanon's economic crisis: Fighting food insecurity amid shortages

Pharmacies in Lebanon have gone on an indefinite strike. Drug importers have warned they are running out of hundreds of drugs, as the country's central bank has failed to pay overseas suppliers millions of dollars in dues. This, coupled with fuel shortages and power cuts which can last up to 22 hours a day, has resulted in the situation in Lebanon going from bad to worse. Haddak Men B3id is an organisation on the ground that aims to end food insecurity. We talk to its co-founder Gaelle Matar in Beirut.