'Displacement took more than my home': Women and girls describe fleeing violence in northern Syria
New Age Islam News Bureau
24 January 2025
· “Displacement took more than my home”: Women and girls describe fleeing violence in northern Syria
· Haq is tale of Muslim women's fight for dignity and justice
· Muslim London Mayoral Candidate Laila Cunningham’s Proposal to Stop and Check Women Wearing Burqas Sparks Criticism
· We can't ignore how Muslim women were impacted by the Grok scandal
· EU allocates EUR10M for women's economic empowerment in Afghanistan
· Iraq urged to do more to protect women after ugly incident in Basra
· Nearly three-quarters of education and healthcare jobs in the UAE are held by women
· I will write, I will rebel, I will not apologise - that’s my identity: BanuMushtaq
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/syrian-women-flee-violence/d/138583
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“Displacement took more than my home”: Women and girls describe fleeing violence in northern Syria
23 January 2026
UNFPA and its partners have deployed mobile health teams to reach displaced people in Northern Syria with sexual and reproductive health services, dignity kits containing essential hygiene items, and psychosocial counselling @ UNFPA Syria.
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ALEPPO, Syrian Arab Republic – When fighting intensified near her neighbourhood in Aleppo, in northern Syria, Fatima and her family had to run. Now eight months pregnant and sheltering in a makeshift camp, the mother of three said her biggest fear isn’t the biting cold – it’s what will happen if she goes into labour.
“I worry about my health, but I worry more about where to go if something happens,” she confided. “Displacement is not just losing your home. It’s losing your privacy, your safety and access to healthcare, especially as a woman.”
Fatima is one of tens of thousands of women and girls affected by the recent violence and insecurity around Aleppo, which has forced large numbers of people to flee, disrupted essential services and shut down hospitals.
“We fled under bombardment, with nothing but our fear,” Farida, 39, told UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.
“Every step we took felt like it could be our last.”
An evolving crisis
UNFPA and its partners have deployed mobile health teams to reach displaced people with sexual and reproductive health services, dignity kits containing essential hygiene items, and psychosocial counselling. The teams are also referring displaced people to a broader network of humanitarian assistance, as people struggle to find a safe haven for themselves and their families.
In Aleppo, some 58,000 people are still displaced following recent clashes between the Security Forces of the transition Government and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces. Insecurity has also now spread to surrounding areas, including Ar-Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor Governorates. With transport and public services disrupted, it is even harder for those trying to escape the violence to access critical health support.
Winter conditions have only deepened the suffering: Thousands are now enduring freezing temperatures, sheltering in makeshift camps, former schools and unfinished buildings across northern and northeastern Syria.
Ruhan, a mother of three from Aleppo, fled with only what she could carry. “The cold is unbearable. My biggest fear is keeping my children warm and safe,” she told UNFPA, which provided her with reproductive health services, counselling and a dignity kit.
Supporting displaced women and girls
As of December 2025, more than 890,000 people had been newly displaced in Syria due to intermittent violence, adding to almost 7 million already displaced inside the country. While over 2 million internally displaced people and 1.3 million refugees have returned to their areas of origin, many are going back to communities where basic services are damaged, overstretched or barely functioning.
After 14 years of conflict, climate shocks and economic decline, Syria’s recovery remains fragile and uneven, and humanitarian needs are immense. The healthcare system is severely damaged, with just over half of hospitals and one third of primary healthcare centres functional. This has left around 400,000 pregnant women struggling to access maternity services.
Yet funding cuts are further restricting access to care, placing over 100 UNFPA-supported service delivery points at risk of closure in 2026. Sustained international investment is essential to restore healthcare, strengthen local systems and support recovery for Syria’s women and girls.
In 2026, UNFPA is appealing for US$45 million to provide life-saving health and protection services to women and girls across Syria.
Source: unfpa.org
https://www.unfpa.org/news/%E2%80%9Cdisplacement-took-more-my-home%E2%80%9D-women-and-girls-describe-fleeing-violence-northern-syria
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Haq is tale of Muslim women's fight for dignity and justice
AashaKhosa
24-01-2026
Poster of movie Haq and the late Shah Bano
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Some stories are not meant to entertain. They are meant to disturb, to question, and to stay with you long after the screen fades to black. The Shah Bano case is one such story — not merely a legal battle, but a moral reckoning for a nation caught between faith, law, politics, and human dignity.
When cinema revisits this history, stitched together with courtroom speeches, Quranic verses, and anguished monologues about identity and belonging, it becomes more than a film. Haq featuring YamiGautam in one her best performance so far and Imran Hashmi becomes a mirror.
At the heart of this narrative lies a simple yet devastating truth: sometimes justice is not denied by cruelty, but by compromise. “Kabhikabhimohabbatkaafinahihoti, humeinizzatbhichahiye.” (Sometimes love is not enough — we need dignity). This dialogue by ShaziaBano played by YamiGautam, is about a hurt felt by a woman at her man’s treachery cloaked in religion.
Though the filmmaker has not linked the film to the Shah Bano case, the connection is apparent to those who know about the fight of a Muslim woman for her dignity after being abandoned by her husband for another woman. The above dialouge alone captures ShaziaBano’s struggle. She was not fighting religion; she was fighting abandonment.
An elderly woman, married for over 40 years, thrown out of her home, divorced through triple talaq, and denied even basic financial support — Shah Bano’s tragedy was heartbreakingly ordinary. What made it extraordinary was her courage to walk into a court of law and ask for ₹500 a month under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Not as a rebel or reformer, but as a hungry, helpless woman asking not to be left to die quietly.
And suddenly, a personal plea turned into a national storm.
The film’s courtroom speeches — especially those echoing Imran Hashmi’s lines — expose a deeper anxiety within Indian Muslim identity: “Yeh case sirf maintenance kanahihai… yeh case haimusalmankipehchaan ka.” (This is not just about maintenance; this is about Muslim identity).
For decades, Indian Muslims had already paid a heavy price for Partition — blamed for a division they did not choose, repeatedly asked to prove loyalty to a nation they never left. In this fragile atmosphere, the Shah Bano judgment felt, to many, like another stripping away — not of money, but of autonomy.
The fear was not about ₹500. The fear was: If secular law can override Muslim personal law here, what remains of our distinctiveness? Thus the debate hardened into binaries -Personal Law vs Secular Law; Identity vs Equality; Community autonomy vs Women’s rights
But the film and history both reveal i that this was never truly a clash between Islam and justice. It was a clash between power and vulnerability. Because the Quran itself says: “Walilmutallaqatimata’unbilma’roof” — Divorced women must be provided for with fairness. Sharia does not preach abandonment. It condemns it.
Yet somewhere between scripture and social practice, compassion was replaced by control. The Supreme Court’s 1985 judgment in Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum remains one of the boldest moments in Indian legal history. It said clearly:
Earlier cases like Bai Tahira (1978) and Fuzlunbi (1980) had already paved the way, affirming that Muslim husbands could not escape responsibility by paying token mahr and washing their hands of a woman’s survival. The courts were doing what law is meant to do at its best — protect the weakest.
But justice in a courtroom does not always survive politics outside it.
The tragedy deepened in 1986 when the Rajiv Gandhi government, bowing to pressure from conservative religious leaders, passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act. Overnight, Shah Bano’s victory was hollowed out. Maintenance was limited to the iddat period. What the Supreme Court had given, Parliament took away.
The film captures this betrayal with painful clarity: “Secularism kenaam par humsewadakhilafikijarahihai.”In the name of secularism, promises are being broken.
Shazia, like real-life Shah Bano, becomes the casualty of vote-bank politics — her dignity traded for political convenience. The same leaders who claimed to protect Muslim identity ended up sacrificing a Muslim woman’s life to do so.
While the nation debated her case in drawing rooms and parliament halls, Shah Bano was isolated, pressured, and accused of dishonouring Islam. She received threats. She was asked to withdraw.
Though the law eventually turned against her, the greater tragedy was personal. Shah Bano was left carrying the burden of a national debate on her fragile shoulders. Facing social pressure and public scrutiny, she chose silence over struggle — not as a defeat of faith in justice, but as a quiet search for peace after years of conflict.
She once said, in essence: “I wanted dignity, not a movement.”And yet, she became a movement. What the film does beautifully is what judgments often cannot — it restores the human face to a legal citation.
The speeches by characters echo the anguish of a community torn between survival and self-respect, but the camera never lets us forget the woman at the centre.
ShaziaBano’sdialouge “Talaqekgaali ban chuka ha,” Divorce has become a curse word, reminding us that behind every ideological debate is a woman paying the price. And when another voice argues that nikah is not just a contract but a responsibility, the film quietly asks: if faith cannot protect the vulnerable, what is it protecting?
In 2001, long after Shah Bano’s death, the Supreme Court reinterpreted the 1986 law and restored what it had always meant: Muslim women are entitled to a fair and reasonable provision for life.
This film and Shah Bano’s narrative are not relics of the past. They speak directly to today’s India, where questions of Uniform Civil Code, religious freedom, and women’s rights still ignite the same anxieties.
But the lesson is timeless: A nation is not judged by how loudly it protects traditions, but by how quietly it protects its most vulnerable citizens.
Through her courtroom battle, she raised an uncomfortable question: Can a society claim moral greatness if it sacrifices women at the altar of identity?
What deserves special recognition in this entire saga is the moral courage shown by the Indian judiciary. From Bai Tahira to Fuzlunbi and finally Shah Bano, the courts consistently refused to reduce Muslim identity to a rigid stereotype. Instead of seeing secular law as an enemy of faith, the judges treated it as a bridge, proving that constitutional values and religious conscience need not be rivals.
By upholding maintenance rights, the Supreme Court did not attack Islam; it protected the most humane spirit within it. In doing so, the judiciary preserved not only the dignity of divorced Muslim women, but also the dignity of Indian Muslim identity itself — showing the nation that justice strengthens a community, it does not erase it.
This is not just a film review, but a reminder.
The Shah Bano story, told through cinema and history, is not about law versus religion. It is about courage versus comfort, justice versus convenience. She never asked to be a symbol. She only asked not to be abandoned. And because she refused to disappear quietly, India was forced — however reluctantly — to listen. That is her legacy.
Source: awazthevoice.in
https://www.awazthevoice.in/society-news/haq-is-tale-of-muslim-women-s-fight-for-dignity-and-justice-49391.html
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Muslim London Mayoral Candidate Laila Cunningham’s Proposal to Stop and Check Women Wearing Burqas Sparks Criticism
Jan 24, 2026
On January 7, 2026, Reform UK, a right-wing political party in the United Kingdom, announced its candidate for the 2028 mayoral election—Laila Cunningham. Following the announcement of her candidacy, Cunningham stepped into controversy over her comments on the burqa, an outer garment worn by Muslim women.
wing politician stated that Muslim women wearing burqas should be subjected to security checks. She remarked that concealing one’s face could indicate that a person may be hiding it for criminal reasons. According to Cunningham, society is open, and no person living in it should ever cover their face.
Her comments invited widespread criticism, with many claiming that the proposal could amount to an indirect attack on the safety of the Muslim women. She made these remarks during an interview on the Standard podcast, where she also stated that parts of London resembled a Muslim city.
According to a report by The Guardian, the Muslim population in the United Kingdom is expected to rise to 5.6 million by 2030. The 2021 census by the UK’s Office for National Statistics reported that more than 3 million people living in England and Wales are Muslims. Cunningham’s comments on the rising Muslim population in London drew sharp criticism from British politician and current London mayor Sadiq Khan.
The mayoral candidate emphasized that London should have one overarching culture, which she described as “British culture.” She further expressed her disapproval of parts of London becoming, and feeling like, a Muslim city. “If you go to parts of London, it does feel like a Muslim city. The signs are written in a different language. You’ve got burqas being sold in markets,” said Cunningham.
Responding to her remarks, Sadiq Khan stated that her proposal to stop and search women wearing burqas could be found offensive by many Londoners.
He said, “The idea that you can stop and search somebody because of the clothes they wear, something all Londoners would find offensive.” Many critics described Cunningham’s statements as hostile and dangerous, arguing that her proposal aims to isolate Muslim women who wear burqas.
Women’s rights campaigner and leader of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, ShaistaGohir, stated that the charity had to remove photographs of its staff from outside its offices due to a rise in abusive and threatening letters and emails.
Gohir further questioned Cunningham’s politics, asking why she chose to focus on burqa-wearing women in London—who make up a relatively small proportion of the population instead of addressing issues such as the cost of living. “Is she going to get the police to arrest wealthy burqa-wearing visitors in Harrods, or is it just women in Whitechapel?” Gohir asked.
Cunningham is a Muslim woman who was born in Paddington, London. Her parents were of Egyptian origin and migrated to the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Before entering politics, the 2028 mayoral candidate was a practising advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the agency responsible for criminal prosecutions.
Source: newsgram.com
https://www.newsgram.com/uk/2026/01/22/navigating-the-uk-university-journey-from-india
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We can't ignore how Muslim women were impacted by the Grok scandal
BY ALIA WAHEED
23 January 2026
As I was scrolling through X, I came across a photo of three young women on a day out, who happened to be wearing hijabs
‘@grok have her wear a see-through plastic bikini’, said another.
And those were the more vanilla ones.
As I kept scrolling, the demands became more and more explicit, such as semen on their faces and, for some reason, bare feet. And Grok, X's AI chatbot, had obliged.
Several requests specified that all clothes should be removed – except their hijabs.
Muslim women who have posted pictures of themselves on social media have been targeted by men because they wear hijab, by men who get off on seeing women who have chosen to cover up, stripped naked. A WIRED review of 500 Grok images found that around 5% featured images of women who, as a result of user prompts, were either stripped or made to wear religious or cultural clothing, with modest Islamic wear and Indian saris being the most common examples.
At the heart of this disturbing trend is the intersectionality of racism, misogyny and Islamophobia, where women have had their faith and gender weaponised against them.
These deepfakes deliberately fetishise the hijab, which is a symbol of modesty and plays into stereotypes of Muslim women being submissive and sexually repressed.
It has also once again called into question how safe the online space is for women, especially marginalised women.
“There aren’t many spaces for Muslim women in the real world, partly because of cultural rules, but also, so the online space has given us a lot of freedom that we don’t get in real life to express ourselves,” Ayesha, 19 (who only wanted to give her first name)
“Some of my friends are crazy, though, like they wear hijab IRL, but post pictures of themselves in sexy clothes like the Kardashians.
“One of my friends posted a video of herself dressed like Lara in Katseye and dancing to Gabriella, which got loads of views. I would have freaked out, but she was like, ‘My mum doesn’t even have Facebook’.
“That’s not me, though. My faith is important to me, and my hijab represents that," she explained.
“I started posting stuff for fun, really, just make-up reviews or trips abroad. Most of my followers are Muslim women like me who are practising Muslims, but want to enjoy fashion and beauty, too. I only have 200 followers, so it's not like I’m a big influencer or anything.
“I got a direct message, and a guy I didn’t know sent me a screenshot and said, ‘Is this you? I didn’t know you were such a ho'".
To her horror, what had been a harmless picture she posted on Instagram from a trip to Morocco had been edited so she was wearing just a bra and thong and posted on an account on X.com, which posts sexualised images of women in hijab. The account, which has now been suspended, had 100k followers.
“My legs gave way beneath me, and I couldn’t breathe. I was trembling and burst into tears. I don’t know whether it is right to say it felt like being raped because I don’t want to sound like I am downplaying what women who have been raped have been through, but it made me feel violated, dirty and disgusting.
“What was really gross was that they got off on seeing me naked except for my hijab, so it felt racist and Islamophobic.”
The account was suspended due to numerous reports by hundreds of users.
Ayesha has now deleted her Instagram account and says she's terrified the image will be seen by family and friends. In the days since, the government has announced it will push through legislation to criminalise the creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes, which covers the use of Grok. X has also confirmed that it prohibits users from removing clothing from images of real people in jurisdictions where it is illegal.
In a statement, a spokesperson for X said, "We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content.
We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X Rules. We also report accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary."
Ayesha's case shows how woefully unprepared for the fallout of the damage unfolding for Muslim women online.
“The idea that a guy halfway around the world could have that image on their phone is sickening. Also, my family is really strict, so if they saw the images, I don’t know what they would do. But I have no way of controlling that. I am going to be living in fear for the rest of my life. I don’t think my life can go back to how it was.”
The trend highlights the layered discrimination that women of colour face, having both their race and religion weaponised against them, something which, as a Black Muslim woman, Amani, 24, is all too familiar: “I'm on social media a lot, and I’m quite feisty, so I get into arguments with racists, which put me in the firing line. I’d posted a picture of myself, and I get that it was dumb, but it's second nature, and you don’t really think about what could go wrong.
“The next thing I know, all these random guys were asking Grok to put me in underwear and God knows what else. When I clicked on their accounts, a lot of them had posted stuff from Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson, so it was obvious my religion and race were why they were doing it.
“I was quite lucky because my workplace was really supportive. Funnily enough, my online followers helped me by reporting it themselves and giving me advice on what to do, like reporting it to Ofcom.”
“What's really stupid is that a lot of non-Muslim girls post images on social media in lingerie and bikinis, which is fine, as it is their choice and their agency, and people will ask to put them in hijab with their bikinis. Like, why would you even do that? They just really hate Muslim women.”
“It is horrible and disgusting, and I know it can have real-life implications on Muslim women, especially if they come from strict families. Even though my family is pretty chill, they’d be really angry. I’m hoping it gets banned.
Organisations in the VAWG space are calling for more action to protect victims from marginalised communities. Annie Gibb, a practising Muslim herself and CEO of Amour Destine, which supports women from marginalised communities who have faced traumatic domestic abuse and sexual violence, described it as “sexual and spiritual violence”.
“It's not only a violation of her body — it’s a violation of her faith. The racialised targeting of Muslim women is both sexual and spiritual violence, deliberately exploiting what they hold sacred to shame, control, and silence them.
“This particular harm is compounded by fear of community judgment, family repercussions, and a lack of understanding or protection from mainstream systems.
“Digital spaces are not separate from real life — the violence experienced online follows women into their homes, communities, workplaces, and places of worship. When faith, identity, and bodily autonomy are attacked simultaneously, the consequences are far-reaching.
“It presents the same power imbalances present in grooming and exploitation, stripping individuals of consent and agency. For many survivors, this can resurface trauma and undermine feelings of safety and dignity.”
For a lot of Muslim women, the online space has given them the freedom to express themselves that they don’t always get IRL, so having that freedom taken away from them shows how Grok AI can be a force of oppression.
While some people have argued that a ban on it is a ban on freedom of speech, if your freedom of speech is dependent on oppressing marginalised women, it’s not freedom.
Source: glamourmagazine.co.uk
https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/grok-muslim-women
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EU allocates EUR10M for women's economic empowerment in Afghanistan
Jan 24 2026
The European Union announced that it will allocate EUR10 million to launch the second phase of its Women's Economic Empowerment through Local Enterprise Development (WE-LEAD) program in Afghanistan, according to a report by Tolo News.
According to Tolo News, citing the EU, the program will be implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and local Afghan institutions, aiming to improve livelihoods, create income opportunities, and support the economic role of women.
According to Tolo News, citing the EU, the program will be implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and local Afghan institutions, aiming to improve livelihoods, create income opportunities, and support the economic role of women.
Program Details and Objectives
The statement issued by the European External Action Service (EEAS) on January 22 said that the new phase builds on the results and lessons of WE-LEAD Phase I and UNDP's Area Based Approach for Development Emergency Initiatives ABADEI. "It will support women at different stages of economic activity from informal savings groups to micro, small and medium sized enterprises through integrated financial and non-financial services tailored to Afghanistan's social and economic context", it said.
It noted that with a budget of EUR10,000,000, WE-LEAD II focuses on removing barriers that limit women's economic participation-- particularly restricted access to finance, markets, skills, and reliable income opportunities. "The project promotes culturally appropriate and Sharia-compliant financial mechanisms combined with business development support, mentorship, and market linkages", the statement said.
Implementation in Underserved Regions
It also mentioned that the initiative would be implemented in selected underserved provinces in the Central and Central Highlands regions, where women's labor force participation is low, and access to financial services remains limited. "By working through community-based platforms and local market systems, the project aims to ensure safe, inclusive, and sustainable engagement for women entrepreneurs", the statement observed.
Local Endorsement and Formal Agreement
FaribaNoori, head of the Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "Donor institutions supporting women's capacity-building, especially for those newly entering business, are extremely helpful. A woman who is the sole breadwinner of her family could benefit from at least 30-40% in cash or equipment support to contribute to her household", according to Tolo News.
The EU also announced that it has signed an agreement with UNDP to implement this phase of the program in several underprivileged provinces of Afghanistan, as per Tolo News.
Source: asianetnews.com
https://newsable.asianetnews.com/world/eu-allocates-eur10m-for-womens-economic-empowerment-in-afghanistan-articleshow-6e17bdq
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Iraq urged to do more to protect women after ugly incident in Basra
Mina Aldroubi
January 24, 2026
Iraq must do more to protect women after a harassment incident in Basra sparked nationwide outrage and highlighted gender-based violence, activists have told The National.
A video went viral showing dozens of men mobbing and shoving a screaming woman before she was pushed into a car during a New Year’s celebration event. Authorities have arrested 17 people in connection with the case.
Suhaila Al Assam, a member of the Iraqi Women’s League, told The National the arrests were not enough and “more must be done to stop attacks on women”.
“What happened in Basra is a serious indicator of the continuation of violence and violations against women," she said.
"It reflects the weakness of law enforcement, lack of real deterrence for perpetrators, and the social norms that justify or tolerate violence."
The harassed woman’s mother has asked for the video to be taken down from social media. Violence against women, including through so-called "honour killings", has long plagued Iraq's deeply patriarchal society, although there are no official statistics.
“Women in Iraq are not adequately protected despite the existence of some constitutional and legal texts, which are just ink on paper,” said Ms Al Assam, who added that there are no laws against domestic violence.
She said harassment of girls and women at public events was becoming increasingly common because of a lack of punishment for perpetrators. Iraq has a “weak law enforcement system and shows little accountability for such crimes, which encourages the recurrence of violence”, she said.
TahiraDhakil, a former member of parliament and a university professor, told The National that some extremist social and religious norms enabled violence to persist against women.
“I blame [extremist] religious men for allowing these men to attack the young innocent woman," she said.
She said the causes of the Basra incident lay in deep social repression that creates the ground for misconduct towards women.
The Iraqi parliament must ratify and put into effect a Child Rights Act that has been in review since 2022, she said.
“This would be the first step to stop violence against girls, boys and children. It’s imperative that the government passes this draft law,” Ms Dhakil said.
“I find this very important, especially to report violence that women are exposed to, which sets the trend for future generations to stop these horrific acts."
Legal position
Iraq’s penal code has loopholes that enable domestic violence, with provisions that allow a husband to punish his wife, parents to discipline their children, and lenient sentences to be given for violent acts – even murder – if they have so-called “honourable motives”.
In addition, parliament passed amendments to the country’s personal status law in October 2024 that would, in effect, legalise child marriage.
Iraqi law currently sets 18 as the minimum age of marriage in most cases. But the changes passed would let clerics rule according to their interpretation of Islamic law, potentially allowing the marriage of girls in their early teens – or as young as nine under the Jaafari school of Islamic law, followed by many Shiite religious authorities in Iraq.
"The harassment incident that occurred has shed light on an increase in child marriages since the amendments were put in place," Ms Dhakil said.
Human rights activists say child marriages are extremely difficult to track because they take place outside the legal system.
"We do not have such figures, and it remains unclear whether accurate data even exists," said RazawSalihy, an Iraq researcher for Amnesty International.
"Before the passing of the amendments to the personal status law, which muddied these waters further, such marriages would, in theory, have constituted a breach of the law and therefore remained unregistered.
"The impact of the amendments to the personal status law is already being felt, though they are being applied inconsistently and without clear safeguards."
In some governorates, courts have begun enforcing the changes in marriage and custody cases, the researcher said.
This has been seen in ways that "undermine existing protections by allowing husbands to unilaterally alter marriage contract terms in their favour," she said.
The UN has reported that more than one million women and girls across Iraq are at risk of gender-based violence.
Source: thenationalnews.com
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/01/20/iraq-urged-to-do-more-to-protect-women-after-ugly-incident-in-basra/
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Nearly three-quarters of education and healthcare jobs in the UAE are held by women
January 24, 2026
Dubai: Women continue to play a fundamental role in some of the UAE’s most vital sectors, accounting for nearly three-quarters of education jobs and more than two-thirds of healthcare roles, according to newly released labour market data for 2025.
Figures published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation show that women held 74.3 per cent of positions in education professions last year, while 66.5 per cent of healthcare jobs were filled by women.
The data also point to a broader strengthening of the UAE workforce. Skilled labour grew by 6.3 per cent in 2025, thanks to expanding employment opportunities, improved qualifications and rising demand for specialised expertise across the economy.
Women’s participation extends well beyond education and healthcare. Skilled female workers made up 45.8 per cent of the total female workforce.
In the technology sector, women accounted for 37.9 per cent of information technology roles, demonstrating their increasing presence in technical and future-focused professions.
Meanwhile, total workforce numbers rose by 12.4 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year, driven by a 7.8 per cent increase in the number of registered establishments. The expansion has contributed to job creation and reinforced the private sector’s role in boosting productivity.
Young people remain the backbone of the workforce, representing 54.9 per cent of all workers, a sign of a labour market that remains dynamic and responsive to economic and technological change.
In leadership roles, women held 17.4 per cent of senior positions, including legislators, executives and business managers. Private sector engagement has also grown, with 36 per cent of establishments appointing women during the year.
Source: gulfnews.com
https://gulfnews.com/uae/nearly-three-quarters-of-education-and-healthcare-jobs-in-the-uae-are-held-by-women-1.500419113
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I will write, I will rebel, I will not apologise - that’s my identity: BanuMushtaq
Jan 24, 2026
BanuMushtaq, Booker Prize-winning author of Heart Lamp, enthralled the audience at a city literary festival audience with her fearless reflections on writing, women, and rebellion. With candour and quiet humour, she spoke of her journey as a Muslim woman writer navigating societal expectations, identity, and a literary practice that refuses compromise.
'I don’t hate men, and my women don’t hate men'
BanuMushtaq spoke passionately about portraying women through her own lens rather than through the male gaze. “All the time, men in fiction set standards for women, how to drape themselves, how to lower their gaze, how silent they should be. But as a woman, I don’t need to write all those things. I say why should I not shout, why should I not smile in public. I want to smile - that’s all. I have rights, and I use them.”
Her feminism, she clarified, is rooted in equality rather than resentment. “I don’t hate men, and my women don’t hate men. They are our own kin -fathers, brothers, husbands, sons. But the difference starts when men insist on patriarchal rules. That is where rebellion begins.” From men who are violent to those who are empathetic and caring, her characters reflect the full spectrum of humanity. She recounted, for instance, a man who punished his wife for taking their sick child to the doctor in his absence, even as her work also depicts men who respect women and seek their counsel.
Everyday objects as voices of resistance
In Mushtaq's stories, objects are never mere props, they are characters that actively participate in rebellion. In one story, a pregnant woman is forced to wear high heels; when the child in her womb signals distress, she resists by tactfully breaking the shoes. Scooters, household items, animals, all acquire a voice, agitate, and bear witness to the struggles of her characters. “They start speaking, they keep silent, and they carry significance along with the story,” she explained, underscoring her ability to embed political and emotional meaning into the smallest details.
I am a Muslim woman writer - I will not apologise for who I am
BanuMushtaq
'Women don’t bitch around other women. They are sisters'
At the heart of her work lies the power of women standing by women. “Women don’t bitch around other women. They are sisters,” she said. In The Black Cobras, women protect and support one another against patriarchal forces, demonstrating that solidarity can exist even where society expects rivalry. Banuji also reflected on her own experiences: being a Muslim woman writer brought intense scrutiny, abuse, and prolonged trolling. “I was orally assaulted, trolled, humiliated for six months. Writing is easy; sustaining it is hard. I suffered physically- rashes, allergies, and mentally. A psychiatrist told me it was self-rejection. I had to come out of that trauma without medication.”
Her writing, she noted, is also deeply aware of history and context. On triple talaq, she stressed that the practice is patriarchal rather than Islamic in origin, and emphasised the need for legal and social reform. “During Prophet Muhammad’s time, women had rights to life, property, marriage, and education. Unilateral talaq is an acquired practice of patriarchy."
'A writer should give hope, stand with the people, not with power'
BanuMushtaq's defiance extends to language itself. She refuses to italicise “other” Urdu and colloquial words in her writing. “There should not be restrictions on my writing. I am versatile in multiple languages. Words of my community, words of the poor, deserve to be heard.” Her literary philosophy remains inseparable from her social conscience. “A writer should give hope, stand with the people, not with power. The protagonist may rebel within the household and beyond, but there must always be hope, for her, her daughters, and for society.”
Her stories have travelled across cultures and geographies, resonating with readers who recognise her characters in their own lives, regardless of faith or background. Through humour, empathy, and fearless truth-telling, BanuMushtaq continues to demonstrate that literature can be both deeply personal and radically political.
All the time, men in fiction set standards for women. But as a woman, I don’t need to write all those things. I say why should I not shout, why should I not smile in public. I want to smile - that’s all
BanuMushtaq
Source: indiatimes.com
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/i-will-write-i-will-rebel-i-will-not-apologise-thats-my-identity-banu-mushtaq/articleshowprint/127371944.cms
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/syrian-women-flee-violence/d/138583