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Daraas change Snowden gets with times but asylum in Russia Emsak: 03:30 Fajer: 03:40 remain traditional Dohr: 11:54 Asr: 15:30 Maghreb: 18:39 2 11 Eshaa: 20:05 Max 46º Min 30º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 15888- Friday, August 2, 2013 PAGE 8 Local FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2013 By Nawara Fattahova launched a new collection of kaftans this Ramadan. “I presented a collection of kaftans to suit the atmosphere of Ramadan and fam- vening gatherings in Ramadan are usually full of vibrancy ily visits, especially after iftar. Most women are now wearing the Eand colour. What adds to the festive atmosphere are the daraas as a kind of fashion, so I have improved the style of the tra- daraas, traditional Kuwaiti dresses women wear in Ramadan, ditional Kuwaiti dress to make it look more trendy to suit the which are called kaftans in Morocco. With globalization, outfits modern lifestyle. I designed the daraas to compete with the have become more international. Local fashion designers always evening dresses that some women wear in Ramadan. I give them prepare special lines for the holy month and Eid, and the daraa or the choice to wear the kaftan instead,” she said. kaftan is an essential and major part of the collection. According to Ajeel, kaftans designed for Ramadan are differ- Muntaha Al-Ajeel Muntaha Al-Ajeel, a popular Kuwaiti fashion designer, ent than those for ordinary days. “The Ramadan kaftans are deco- rated with embroidery, bright threads, more crystal stones, and other decorations. Also, I mix different fabrics and textiles in one kaftan. Sometimes I mix even three different textiles - soft and rigid - which is not common for the regular kaftans. It is hard to design and finish, but it looks special and unique,” she said, explaining that she mixes silk and jacquard or chiffon and taffeta. “It’s not necessary to mix soft fabrics together. Although thick and thin textiles are hard to sew, I combine them to make a special design for Ramadan,” explained Ajeel. Ajeel designs the Ramadan kaftan to be comfortable. “Usually the dresses are designed slim or stretch but I don’t find it suitable for ghabqas or visits where food is served. As women usually wear kaftans for these receptions, they need to wear comfortable and loose dresses to hide the body after eating much,” she point- ed out. The colors of the Ramadan kaftans are also different. “I prefer using silver and golden colors for the kaftans of Ramadan, as these colors are brighter and suit this holy month, as the atmos- phere is different from other months. What’s special about the Ramadan kaftans is that I don’t design accessories for them as I usually do for the normal kaftans simply because they have differ- ent colors and much decoration. They look already attractive without any accessories, while the regular kaftans are more sim- ple and usually have only one color, so we complete them with accessories,” explained Ajeel. Ajeel recently participated in a fashion show held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. “The embassy of Kuwait in the US invited me to join them in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Kuwait becoming a member state of the UN. So I participated in this celebration with a fashion show of my designs which was a great opportunity for the invitees to know Kuwaiti traditional dresses and designs. I was glad to participate in this occasion,” she concluded. Local FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2013 Conspiracy Local Spotlight Theories Public properties under threat A hand can’t clap alone By Muna Al-Fuzai [email protected] By Badrya Darwish ast week green paint was found splattered on the of property. Police haven’t yet determined whether the van- Lincoln Memorial in Washington. More green paint dalism is connected with the Lincoln Memorial and on Lwas discovered on the Joseph Henry statue, and on another statue on the National Mall. Investigations are still the organ console and casework of the historic Bethlehem undergoing. They said it is too early to tell whether the Chapel at the National Cathedral. Green in the US and same person was responsible for the vandalisms, noting [email protected] orange in Kuwait! that while the paint appeared to be splattered indiscrimi- I did not give this matter much thought until recently. nately on the memorial, the statue appeared to have been t has been a long time since I last discussed the With the Arab Spring, destruction of public properties deliberately painted. topic of traffic. I haven’t dwelled on it since Maj seemed common when compared to the killings and dam- The purpose is clear - to express anger and refusal. But IGen Abdel Fattah Al-Ali started the crackdown aging of properties. To many a sculpture is just rock and while the message gets heard clearly, public properties are on reckless drivers. Since then many rumours start- paint. This reflects vulgarity because it ignores history and damaged. It is a threat to the country’s history and these ed spreading that the campaign targeted expats the sacrifices offered to make this sculpture a daily incidents should not be viewed as individual acts. I think it only. The law should be applied to everyone regard- reminder to all. Orange in Kuwait, green somewhere else, is more than that and we should not just let go. less if he or she is an expat or a citizen. Every driver and the chain is long. Meanwhile, crews worked to remove the paint from the should abide by the rules for his or her safety and Officials at the US cathedral discovered the paint inside Lincoln Memorial, which was reopened to visitors. the safety of others on the roads. two chapels. Officials called police and closed the cathedral Destruction of historical properties appears is a form of vio- to visitors while authorities searched the grounds. The lence but if the perpetrators are let go without punishment, The punishment for expats is what I did not like. police later stated that a woman was arrested in the area of these sentimental reminders of heroes could vanish. True Just like we punish Kuwaitis with fines and tickets, the cathedral and would likely face charges of destruction civilizations and nations keep their heroes safe. the same punishment should apply to expats. Why is suddenly the deportation law related to the traffic law and its punishments? Every accident, such as crossing the red light, is specific to certain circum- Kuwait’s my business stances. If someone is found guilty his punishment should be equal to us, Kuwaitis. Today I read that Maj Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Ali Real leaders must sell us on their goals came up with more strict rules for the roads in Kuwait. Maybe, he will start applying them after Eid. I completely agree with him. I have been asking myself for a long time: ‘Why traffic here cannot be as organized as in the United Kingdom or any other people to office, or appoint them to positions of authority, or By John P Hayes even before we allow them to become parents, why don’t we developed country’? Why is there wasta here and insist that they demonstrate their leadership skills? If some peo- people are lenient with the law? ple are born leaders - we hear that all the time - they may not While driving on the streets I often ask myself: need training in goal setting, for example, or other leadership ‘Why someone parks on the curb or blocks the [email protected] skills. But for those who can’t pass the leadership test, let’s insist road?’ I have seen many young women parking at that we teach them how to lead, which means we teach them the handicapped parking lot. Solving the traffic how to develop a vision for the future (the importance of which I problem is more than punishing with fines and car discussed last week), how to set specific goals, and other relative ontinuing with my series about leadership: Leaders are towing. There are other solutions that come from skills (I’ll discuss more of them in future columns). Few things are the municipality and all the ministries. Before we planners and therefore they must be goal setters. Given more important for us individually or collectively, and yet, we do Cthat America is the 7th most competitive country, accord- little to nothing. ask people not to park at the wrong empty spaces ing to the World Economic Forum, it’s safe to assume that Modern schools and universities surround us - all it takes we should ask ourselves: ‘Where are the available Americans are goal setters. But only three percent of Americans now is someone to teach leadership skills (we have many teach- parking spaces?’ Isn’t this a good question? When set goals. Eighty percent of people say they do not set life goals! ers who can do so), and someone to insist that students master landlords construct buildings why aren’t they What does that mean for the rest of the world? What does it these skills. And there’s the problem! Who’s going to require forced to reserve space for parking lots for the ten- mean for Kuwait, which is 37th among competitive countries? Goal setters are known to be happier than non-goal setters, and students to learn reading, writing, math and leadership skills? ants. The same applies to commercial buildings. they earn more money. So why don’t more people set goals? Who’s going to decide that students cannot graduate from Every commercial building should have a parking “I don’t know how” high school or college without first demonstrating leadership lot.

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