Afghan Journalist Anisa Shaheed Receives the Knight International Journalism Award
New Age Islam News Bureau
24 May 2022
• Honour Killing: Spanish Sisters of Pakistani Origin,
Killed By Their Close Kin, Were Tricked Into Coming to Pakistan
• Iran Films Criticised For Showing ‘Parallel Reality’
On Women
• Can’t Ask Women ‘To Wear, Remove Hijab’ Says Boxing
Champ Nikhat Zareen, Urges ‘Peace, Harmony’
• Sisters allegedly murdered by husbands in Pakistan
‘honour’ killing
• Freed British Woman Says Iran Forced Her to Sign
False Confession to Spying
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghan-journalist-anisa-award/d/127080
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Afghan Journalist Anisa Shaheed Receives the Knight
International Journalism Award
By Saqalain Eqbal
24 May 2022
The International Center for Journalism (ICFJ) awarded
Afghan journalist Anisa Shaheed the Knight International Journalist Award 2022.
An international journalist award was also given to a
group of Ukrainian journalists for reporting and documenting “horrific” images
of the Mariupol siege. As Russian bombs poured down on Mariupol, the Ukrainian
team reporting for the Associated Press stayed in the city to show the world
what was going on.
For her research article on resource management during
the Covid-19 crisis, Anisa Shaheed was selected the winner of the annual
International Journalism Awards.
Last year, Anisa Shaheed was also recognized as “The
Face of Freedom of Speech” by Free Speech Hub and was awarded the best
journalist of the year.
Anisa Shaheed was born and educated in Kabul. She
received a journalism degree from Kabul University and has worked in the field
ever since.
Shaheed was one of the TOLONews reporters who has been
with the organization since the inception and has worked in a variety of capacities.
She was compelled to evacuate alongside many of her
colleagues and other residents when the Taliban reappeared in 2021, reversing
women’s rights and threatening journalists with death.
Source: Khaama Press
https://www.khaama.com/anisa-shaheed-receives-the-knight-international-journalism-award43749/
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Honour Killing: Spanish Sisters of Pakistani Origin,
Killed By Their Close Kin, Were Tricked Into Coming to Pakistan
Arooj Abbas, 21, and
Aneesa Abbas, 23.(TWITTER/@Xadeejournalist)
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Waseem Ashraf Butt
May 24, 2022
GUJRAT: The two Spanish national sisters of Pakistani
origin who were killed by their close kin had been emotionally blackmailed as
they were called to Pakistan on the pretext that their mother was on the
deathbed and she wanted to see them. On being misinformed about the condition
of their mother, both the sisters arrived in Pakistan a day before their murder
on May 20.
A close kin to victims Arooj Abbas and Aneesa Abbas
told Dawn, on condition of anonymity, on Monday that Azra Bibi, the mother of
deceased women, had also been evacuated from village Nothia of Gulliana police
precincts in Kharian tehsil following the burial of her daughters last Saturday
since she also faced a threat to her life. He said one of suspects, Hassan
Aurangzaib, whose nikah was done to Arooj Abbas, had also hurled threats to
kill the victims’ mother. However, Hassan is in custody now. A relative of the
mother immediately took her out of the village after the burial and now she had
been shifted to a safer place in another city. The woman is in contact with
police and might record her statement before the police within a few days after
coming out of the trauma.
The mother was one of the eyewitnesses of the brutal
killings as her statement could prove vital in the case, an official of the
Gujrat police said. The area people and family sources said Azra Bibi had been
confined by her in-laws in a room after she came to Pakistan a couple of months
ago and they did not let her talk to her daughters in Spain. However, Muhammad
Abbas, the father of deceased remained in Spain and did not accompany his
daughters to village Nothia where the plot of their killing had already been
prepared.
Another family source said the deceased sisters were
dragged by the suspects who put their headscarves around their necks to
suffocate them before shooting. All this happened in front of the children at
home as 12-year-old Fakhar Abbas, the youngest brother of the slain sisters,
had also been missing since then.
It is said the mother was worried about the
whereabouts of her youngest son as two of her sons, Shehryar, the main suspect
and Asfandyar had already been arrested along with four other suspects, the
uncles and two cousins of the deceased who were also their fiancé.
Moreover, Azra Bibi had already been passing through
the agony of a tragic death of her elder son, Haroon Abbas, who was 18 years
old when he drowned in a Jhelum canal around seven years ago when he went there
along with his cousins. Now his both daughters are killed and two sons have
been booked for killing their sisters, leaving her whole family in disarray,
the source said and added that the suspects also had an objection to the both
sisters for wearing western dresses.
Similarly, the sisters were against their forced
marriages to the cousins and had been demanding divorce whereas the relatives
in Pakistan and parents would ask them to expedite the process of documentation
for visas for their husbands to move to Spain.
Police had booked at least nine people, including
seven nominated and two unidentified suspects in the case of sisters’ killing.
An ASI of Gulliana police became the complainant in the case after which six
suspects were arrested whereas a woman, Farzana Haneef, wife of Haneef, and two
unidentified suspects were yet to be arrested.
Meanwhile, all the arrested suspects were produced in
the court of area magistrate Kharian on Monday who granted five days physical
remand of the suspects to police until May 28.
Source: Dawn
https://www.dawn.com/news/1691193/spanish-sisters-were-tricked-into-coming-to-pakistan
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Iran Films Criticised For Showing ‘Parallel Reality’ On
Women
May 24, 2022
CANNES: An Iranian director, who unsettled Cannes with
a film about a serial killer “cleansing” the holy city of Mashhad of
prostitutes, on Monday criticised the way women are represented in Iranian
films.
Ali Abbasi, whose film “Holy Spider” is in the race
for the Palme d’Or at the French Riviera film fest, said any serious movie that
manages to get made in the Islamic Republic “is a miracle”.
But the country’s film-makers “have been presenting a
parallel reality of Iran in the past 50 years”, he told reporters.
“In this parallel reality, women sleep with all their
clothes on. They always have five metres of cloth around their head… They never
fart or have sex or touch anyone. They barely walk. A kiss on the cheek – you
cut to a flower in the wind.
“That is not an inspiration to me. It shouldn’t be,”
he added.
Despite restrictions, Iranian cinema has had
remarkable success internationally – not least director Asghar Farhadi, who has
won two Oscars and is on this year’s jury at Cannes.
Abbasi, who was born in Iran but now lives in Denmark,
said he asked permission to film in Mashhad, home to the holiest shrine in
Shiite Islam.
He was even willing to accept restrictions – which
include a ban on filming women without a headscarf – but eventually realised
the Islamic authorities would never agree.
The crew was also prevented from filming in Turkey and
ultimately shot the film in Jordan.
Abbasi told AFP that if Iranian censors had a problem
with the graphic violence, drug use and prostitution in his film, they have “a
problem with reality, not with me”.
‘Serial killer society’
The film is inspired by the true story of a working
class man who killed prostitutes in the early 2000s and became known as the
“Spider Killer”.
“Holy Spider” suggests there was little official
pressure to catch the murderer, who ends up a hero among the religious right.
“The movie is not only about a serial killer … it’s
about a serial killer society,” Abbasi said.
In the film, a journalist from Tehran who helps solve
the case is herself a victim of lascivious rumours and male predation.
The story bears similarities to the real-life
experience of the actress playing her, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who was forced into
exile in 2006 after a smear campaign around her love life.
She told the press conference she was inspired by her
real journalist friends in Iran.
“I know the difficulties they face every day,” she
said. “Many of my journalist friends, especially women, left Iran just after
me.”
Abbasi insisted the film should not be seen as
controversial.
“Everything shown here is part of people’s everyday
life. There is enough evidence that people in Iran have sex, too. There’s ample
evidence of prostitution in every city of Iran,” he said.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Can’t ask women ‘to wear, remove hijab’ says boxing
champ Nikhat Zareen, urges ‘peace, harmony’
TANUSHREE PANDEY
24 May, 2022
New Delhi: After losing the Tokyo Olympics trials
against Indian boxing legend Mary Kom three years ago, Nikhat Zareen hit rock
bottom. Not one to give up, however, the boxer from Telangana ensured she came
back stronger, and went on to win a gold medal at the World Boxing
Championships in Istanbul last week.
Zareen won in the flyweight category (50-52kg),
defeating Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas.
Not only has the feat made her a celebrity across the
country, but even Kom — whom Zareen refers to as her ‘idol’ — took to Twitter
to congratulate the younger boxer.
“Congratulations Nikhat for winning Gold medal. So
proud of you on your historic performances and all the best for your future
endeavors,” wrote Kom.
Born in Telangana’s Nizamabad city, 25-year-old Zareen
told ThePrint in an interview Wednesday that she had always wanted to break
gender stereotypes — the reason for her taking up boxing. She was in the
national capital for a felicitation ceremony.
The journey from choosing to take up boxing to winning
the world championship, has been an easy one, however. On the way, she has
battled patriarchy, social pressure, injury and more. And believes in “freedom
of choice”, when it comes to the hijab controversy that has rocked the country
in the past few months. The boxer also pushes for “peace and harmony” in the
country.
“I was an athlete since the age of 10. My father was
also a sports person, so he used to coach me. Once he took me to a nearby
stadium and I realised that all the sports had women players other than boxing.
I asked my father if women can’t box,” recalled Zareen.
She added: “He said women can do anything, but the
world thinks that women can not play a tough sport like boxing. That sentence
inspired me to choose boxing. And today I am very happy that I chose to box,
because I think I was meant to do this. And today, even if I have been able to
inspire a single woman to come in the field of boxing, I think I have won my
actual medal.”
Zareen, who also works as assistant manager at the
Bank Of India, Mumbai, spoke of her interest in music, shayari, shopping and
Salman Khan. The boxer not only hopes to meet the actor one day, but also marry
him, he he agrees.
‘Hijab a personal choice’
While Zareen describes herself as a “deeply religious”
person, boxing for her is “above religion”.
“I am a religious person but a lot of times I have
even missed reading namaz for my training sessions. I believe that if you are
putting in all your hard work for something, God will reward you. If you do
good, good will come back to you. More than prayers. I believe in being a good
person and wanting the good for others, that is the only way to make God
happy,” said Zareen.
The Telangana boxer also believes in giving agency to
women to make their decisions.
Asked about the recent controversy in Karnataka over
the hijab ban in educational institutions, Zareen said, “No one can or should
ask women to wear hijab, no one should ask them to remove it either. At the
same time hijab should not stop women from doing anything.”
Talking about her own field, the boxer added, “Even
boxing (rules) allows women to wear hijab inside the ring. I was never asked to
wear one by my family. But if women want and if they feel more comfortable in
hijab, they should not be stopped.”
‘Faced backlash from my community’
Recalling the reaction of the “orthodox Muslim
community” around her to her choice of taking up boxing, Zareen said, “When I
decided to pursue boxing professionally, my father supported my decision, but
my mother was very scared. She had only one concern, that boxing could injury
to my face and body. But my relatives and people in the community really
demotivated me.”
The 25-year-old added: “They always used to criticise
me for wearing shorts, being a Muslim woman. They had a very orthodox mindset —
that women should stay indoors and do household chores. But my father stood
with me against all odds. Initially when I started boxing, I was hurt very
badly by some boys, it left bruises on my eyes and nose, and when I reached
home, my mother started crying and said who will marry you if you damage your
face in boxing. I promised her that one day I will make a big name for myself,
and that boys will queue outside my house to marry me. Today, my mother has
become very chilled, in fact she has become my half-coach. I am happy that I
could change my mother’s mindset, along with others.”
‘My Hindu friend and I pray together’
Replying to ThePrint’s question on an alleged incident
of a man in Madhya Pradesh being beaten up on the suspicion of being a Muslim —
he was later found to be dead — Zareen said, “As an athlete, we have never paid
heed to the religion of any person because that’s the sportsman spirit we have
been taught. Country comes first for us. But when I see communal incidents
taking place around me, I feel very bad.”
She added: “I am a Muslim, but my best friend is a
Hindu. I do the namaz and she does her puja together, in one room very happily.
I do not see any problem here. Indians should never fight on the lines of
religion. We are one, we are equal, we should live with peace and harmony.”
‘Dealt with mental health issues’
While preparing for the World Championships in 2019,
Zareen got to know that the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) would not be
holding trials to choose participants for the event, and had already chosen
Mary Kom to represent the country. When Kom won a bronze at the World
Championships, she automatically became the choice to represent the country at
the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Zareen had then written to the then sports minister Kiren
Rijiju for a “trial” and “fair chance”. A furious Mary Kom was then reportedly
quoted as saying, “Who is Nikhat Zareen?”
Though the minister chose not to involve himself in
the matter, a trial for the event was finally held. Mary Kom defeated Zareen 9-1.
After the match, Kom reportedly did not even participate in the customary
handshake between adversaries.
Talking to ThePrint about the incident, Zareen said,
“I was very upset about losing the bout against Mary Kom. And more than that I
was upset with what followed. I hit rock bottom mentally, because I felt very
lonely.”
She added: “Nothing could make me happy. But God also
had a plan for me. I think God also knew that I should not train myself in that
dark zone, I should come out of it and then train myself with a positive
mindset, which I could not achieve after the trials. I went home to take some
time off and soon after that Covid (pandemic) happened. So coincidentally I got
to give myself time and came back stronger.”
Zareen also spoke about seeking professional help to
overcome her mental crisis.
“My psychologist also helped me get through those
times. All you need is for someone to hear you out and understand you, and
fortunately enough I had my family and close friends who really had my back.
But I would always suggest everybody to talk to someone, anyone, but talk,
because keeping things inside only does more harm. I will tell all the
youngsters to take a break or talk when they feel upset, otherwise the mind can
push you towards harsher things.”
Source: The Print
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Sisters allegedly murdered by husbands in Pakistan
‘honour’ killing
Haroon Janjua
24 May 2022
Two sisters with dual Pakistani and Spanish
citizenship were allegedly killed by their husbands, uncle and brother in a
so-called “honour” killing a day after they were tricked into travelling to
Pakistan.
Aneesa Abbas, 24, and Arooj Abbas, 21, were strangled
and shot dead on Friday after arriving in the eastern city of Gujrat with their
mother, Azra Bibi.
It is understood that, on arrival in Pakistan, the
sisters were pressured to help their husbands, who they were forced to marry
last year, apply for spouse visas so they could travel to Europe.
It is alleged Aneesa and Arooj were killed when they
refused to help. Both women wanted to divorce their husbands, who were also
their cousins, so that they could remarry in Spain.
“The investigations have confirmed that both the
sisters were killed in the name of ‘honour’,” said investigating police officer
Muhammad Akhtar.
Police said the women’s husbands, Hassan Aurengzeb and
Atiq Hanif, their uncle, Hanif Goga, and their brother, Shehryar Abbas, have
been arrested and confessed to the killing. Two other men have been arrested in
connection with the attack.
Hundreds of women are murdered by family members in
Pakistan each year in so-called “honour” killings for violating conservative
norms governing women’s relationships, despite 2016 legislation ending the
loopholes in the law that allowed culprits to walk free in the country’s deeply
patriarchal society.
Earlier that year, the murder of Qandeel Baloch, known
as “Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian”, by her brother Waseem Azeem sparked national
outrage and demands for changes to the law. Azeem was sentenced to life
imprisonment but was acquitted in February this year after his parents pardoned
him.
Samar Minallah, a human rights activist, said: “This
is yet another brutal murder of innocent girls raised in another culture
valuing basic human rights, yet treated like inanimate objects by their own
families.”
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,
an independent rights group, more than 470 cases of “honour” killings were
reported in the country last year.
It is not uncommon for parents with dual citizenship
to force their daughters to marry cousins in Pakistan to secure European visas.
A report on forced marriage, published by the UK government in 2020, found
almost 40% of cases involved British citizens being taken to Pakistan to marry
against their wishes.
In 2016, Samia Shahid, a British Pakistani beautician
from Bradford in the north of England, was raped and killed when she returned
to Jhelum district after marrying a man from outside the family. She had
previously left her first husband, a first cousin from their village in
Pakistan. Her ex-husband and father were arrested for her murder. Six years
later, the case is ongoing.
Source: The Guardian
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Freed British woman says Iran forced her to sign false
confession to spying
23 May 2022
LONDON — A British-Iranian charity worker who was
detained in Tehran for almost six years says she was forced by Iranian
officials to sign a false confession to spying before she was freed two months
ago.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe said British government
officials were present at Tehran airport when, “under duress,” she signed the
false admission to spying. She said she was told by Iranian officials, “You
won’t be able to get on the plane,” unless she signed.
“The whole thing of me signing the forced confession
was filmed,” Zaghari-Ratcliffe told the BBC in an interview broadcast Monday.
“It’s a tool. So I’m sure they will show that some day.”
Opposition Labour Party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, who
represents Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s home district in London, said the revelation
raised “serious questions” for the British government. She said Foreign
Secretary Liz Truss “must set out in Parliament what she knew about this
shocking revelation and what consequences it could have for my constituent.”
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained at Tehran’s airport in
April 2016, as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family in Iran.
She was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the
news agency, but she was on vacation at the time of her arrest.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in
prison after she was convicted of plotting the overthrow of Iran’s government,
a charge that she, her supporters, and rights groups denied. She had been under
house arrest at her parents’ home in Tehran for the last two years.
She and another dual citizen, Anoosheh Ashoori, were
released and flown back to the UK in March. Their release came after Britain
paid a 400 million pound ($503 million) debt to Iran, stemming from a dispute
over tanks that were ordered in the 1970s, but were never delivered.
Source: Times Of Israel
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghan-journalist-anisa-award/d/127080