‘Ana Arabia’ (I am an Arab Woman) Exhibition Brings Together Arab Women In Design To Showcase Work
11
December 2022
•
‘Ana Arabia’ (I am an Arab Woman) Exhibition Brings Together Arab Women In
Design To Showcase Work
•
Female Journalists in Farah, Afghanistan Ask to Resume Their Work
•
The Secrets Shared By Afghan Women
•
Women’s Rights and Girls’ Education, a Major Challenge for the Interim Afghan
Government
•
Petition Filed In LHC Against Discrimination With Women In Receiving Summons
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ana-arabia-exhibition-arab/d/128606
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‘Ana Arabia’ (I am an Arab Woman) Exhibition Brings Together Arab Women In Design To Showcase Work
Photo (@RiyadhSeason)
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ARAB
NEWS
December
10, 2022
RIYADH:
The exhibition “Ana Arabia” (Arabic for “I am an Arab Woman”), which highlights
Arab women in design and fashion, launched on Saturday at Riyadh Front, one of
the entertainment zones of Riyadh Season.
The
exhibition showcases the work of Arab women in fashion, jewelry, perfumes,
leather and other fields related to design in what is the largest event of its
kind in the Middle East.
The
event brings together fashion experts, designers and businesswomen to market
their products in an interactive environment that highlights Arab female
creators and represents a unique opportunity to gain new experiences in design
and fashion.
Visitors
to the exhibition, which also includes entertainment events, can explore the
works of over 200 designers from all over the Arab world.
“Ana
Arabia” will be open from 4 p.m. until midnight until Dec. 16. Entry tickets
can be booked via the link:
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2214116/saudi-arabia
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Female
Journalists in Farah, Afghanistan Ask to Resume Their Work
In a gathering in the province of Farah, female
journalists asked Islamic Emirate officials to let them resume their media
activities.
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By
TOLO news
10-12-2022
"Women
have not been allowed to continue their activities one hundred percent up to
this point, but they have said that they will allow them. We will be happy if
they allow us and truly abide by their promises," said Marzia Noorzai, a
journalist.
The
representatives of Naw-e-Zan radio said that in addition to receiving
permission for media operations, they also need financial help in order to
continue their media activities.
"Life
safety is really essential, but so is financial support. We ask the Islamic
Emirate to please allow women to work," said Homaira Mohammadi, Naw-e-Zan
radio's director.
"We
support all forms of media, whether it is Naw-e-Zan radio or other stations,”
said Abdulhai Sabawoon, director of the information and culture department of
Farah.
There
are presently seven active radio stations in the province of Farah. The
directors of the halted media organizations say they hope they will be able to
start again.
Source:
Tolo News.Com/
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181130
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The
secrets shared by Afghan women
By
Lyse Doucet
11-12-2022
At
times, voices of Afghan women rise from the streets of Kabul and other cities
in small, loud, protests. Often, they ring out in speeches by women now far
away, outside Afghanistan. But mostly, their thoughts are only expressed
quietly, in safe places. Or they fester in their heads as they try to reconcile
their lives with the increasingly rigid rules of the Taliban government. They
restrict what women wear, where they work, what they can do, or not, with their
lives.
In
the months before the Taliban returned, in August 2021, 18 Afghan women writers
wrote fictional stories, drawn from real lives, and published early this year
in the book, My Pen is the Wing of a Bird. Many Afghan women felt let down and
left alone by the international community. But these writers used their pens
and phones to comfort each other and to reflect on issues now faced by millions
of women and girls. Here, two writers in Kabul, with pen names Paranda and
Sadaf, shared their thoughts written in secret.
"Today
I woke up with determination. When I chose my clothes, I decided to wear a pink
headscarf to fight with the black headscarf I wear daily... is it a sin to wear
a pink headscarf?"
Paranda
prefers to wear pink, to feel feminine. But what women choose to put on is now
a battleground. Strict Taliban edicts on modesty are enforced, often
forcefully. In this traditional society, Afghan women aren't fighting against
head-coverings - some just want their right to choose. You see it on the
streets, in public spaces. A pink scarf. A sparkling trim. A little light in
the dark.
"Going
backwards is not easy. Going forward is also a big hassle, should I be hopeful
or not? We cannot go back," writes poet Hafizullah Hamim.
Afghan
women have been leading the charge in rare public protests. Small brave crowds
have taken to the streets in Kabul and other cities brandishing banners calling
for "bread, work, freedom." They've been forcibly dispersed, and
detained. Some have disappeared in detention. Across the border, in Iran, it's
also the women leading calls for change with cries of "women, life,
freedom" and a demand to end mandatory hijab. For Afghans, it's the right
of women to work, for girls to be educated.
''The
Taliban guard stopped our office car, he pointed at me… my heart beat faster,
my body shook. It felt as if a wind was blowing across me... when our car moved
away, it felt like the wind moved in another direction. My fear turned to
anger."
It's
the unpredictability that is so hard. Some Taliban guards are aggressive, some
more accepting. Women's journeys are nerve jangling. For long distances over
72km (45 miles), a mahram - a male escort - is mandatory. Some Talibs invoke
the rule at will - sending women home on a whim.
You
often see queues at ice cream kiosks, crowds of women and children in cafes.
These have become places to escape for a rare treat, a retreat. Now even public
parks and women-only gyms and baths are off limits, "because women don't
observe hijab", the strict dress code. All this means small spaces could
get smaller still.
"The
public baths owner's daughter has been engaged. It's amazing. She's only 13.
Her mother says the Taliban will never re-open schools, let her go to her home
of luck... it seems that little girl is me... I was in despair the first time
the Taliban arrived. I also accepted a forced marriage... the wounds still
haven't healed... but I got up from the ashes and stood up."
It's
repression on repeat. Afghan women recall, painfully, 1990s Taliban rule which
also ended their education. Paranda, like many others, seized opportunities
when the regime was toppled in 2001 - like going to school or getting divorced.
A new generation of schoolgirls has grown up with even bigger dreams. Their
pain is profound as their schools stay shut.
"I
had used social media but now I have locked my lips. I'm upset with my society,
the naked words men use against women. I believe the roots of Afghan women's
problems are not the governments which change and bring new rules… it is the
evil thoughts of men toward women."
Afghan
regimes come and go; patriarchy stays put. Afghan women have long lived with
limits set by men. But advances of recent years are reversing - with what the
UN describes as "staggering repression". It has a knock-on effect -
reinforcing conservative family norms which keep women and girls under wraps.
"I
must write about what is happening. There are so few media now… I believe that,
someday, Afghanistan will be a very good country for women and girls. It will
take time. But it will happen."
Paranda
is a pen name - it means bird. Women like her, especially educated women in the
cities, refuse to be caged. Many have fled. Many still hope to. Small crowds
bravely protest. Even in remote corners of the country, I've met illiterate
women seething inside about their prison-like life.
"Write!
Why are you scared? Who you are afraid of? ... Maybe your writing can heal
someone's soul… Your pen becomes the support of someone's broken arms and
brings a little hope to some hopeless people," writes Sadaf.
A
writer's life anywhere can be fraught with doubt and fear. For Afghan women, it
is especially so - to find safe quiet corners to write, to forge a sense of
self and purpose. Being published in "My Pen is the Wing of a Bird"
gave new life to their words.
"One
of the students introduced the book in beautiful words, and the best part was
when she mentioned my name. All my students cheered for me. I write this as the
most pleasant memory of my life."
"My
belief tells me I should not worry about money as God may have something better
for me. But God knows why I am worried. We are a family of 10, and I am the
only breadwinner. I did not earn much better in the last Republic and it isn't
good in this Islamic Emirate."
Women's
work hasn't been wiped away. Some female doctors, nurses, teachers, policewomen
are still in their jobs, mainly working with women and girls. Some
businesswomen are still in business - but there's a crushing economic crisis. And
doors have been slammed shut for women in most government ministries. With
girls' high schools closed, the link between women and work is being severed.
"I
said, 'No, no! I cannot commit suicide.' I comforted myself, saying, 'Maybe you
don't want to live. Still, your suicide will affect many other lives. Please be
kind to them, you are strong, everything will be fine, you can make it. This
too shall pass.'"
It's
a whisper you hear everywhere. Suicide attempts - especially among young women
- are reported to be on the rise, but it's hard to confirm. Families keep their
secrets. Public hospitals are told to hide any proof. A UN agency tells me when
they meet women in the provinces, this issue comes up. Forced marriages of
young girls blocked from school is cited as a cause.
"How
can we be normal and not become crazy? How much pain can we tolerate? Finally,
my heart accepts that this land has faced everything inhumane and cruel. But
when will this end?"
More
than one generation now has only known war - it's been more than four decades.
The country lurches from one conflict to the next. Afghans keep daring to dream
the next chapter will be better than the last. It's a story which never seems
to end.
"I
sprinkle sparkles of hope on the surface of my heart… There is a fire within
me. There is a spirit within me telling me to fight. I have to hope the law of
nature will send its orders in these dark days to change this darkness to a set
of lights."
Afghans
often say hope is the last thing to die. In recent years, before the Taliban
took over, when everyday violence intensified, some said hope was killed too.
But people who have lived through so much still hold fast to whatever hope
still lives.
Source:
Bbc.Com
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-63638876
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Women’s
Rights and Girls’ Education, a Major Challenge for the Interim Afghan
Government
By
Nizamuddin Rezahi
December
11, 2022
Since
the current regime’s takeover of power in August 2021, they have barred women
from working in government organizations and banned girls above grade six to
attend classes and get an education. Women’s and girls’ education have become
one of the hottest topics to be discussed on the national and international
levels.
Recently,
a conference entitled “International Conference on Afghan Women’s Education”
co-chaired by Indonesia and Qatar, was held in Bali, Indonesia last week.
Representatives from 38 countries, international organizations, NGOs and
academics attended the meeting. The participants stressed the need for
supporting women’s education in Afghanistan and finding a comprehensive
solution to the existing issues Afghan women are faced with.
“Getting
an education is the natural right of every human being, including women and girls.
Afghan women, therefore, should not be deprived of this very basic right,” one
participant said. Another speaker of the conference said ‘female education is
an investment for the future of the nation’ and added that hundreds of Afghan
women would be provided with scholarships to educate out of the country.
Meanwhile,
the de facto authorities have not yet altered their strict policy toward
women’s rights and girls’ education. Although respecting human rights and
freedom, particularly that of women is a major component of the Doha Agreement,
the current regime emphasizes practicing their established policies regarding
the aforementioned matters. Moreover, they label it something foreign, backed
by Western thoughts and ideologies.
Source:
khaama Press
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Petition
filed in LHC against discrimination with women in receiving summons
By
Staff Report
December
10, 2022
LAHORE:
A writ petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging
discrimination against women over receiving “summons” issued by the court.
The
petition questioned why the summons, both in criminal and civil cases, could
not be served or received by female family members. “Serving summons only to
the adult male of the family members and depriving the female of this right is
itself a violation of the right guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan,”
petitioners Syeda Izzat Fatima and Maryam Chaudhry implored the court.
Advocate
Syeda Izzat Fatima implored in the petition that the service of summons in
criminal cases shall be only on the adult male member of the family of the
person summoned. While in a civil suit, Order V Rule 15 provides the service of
summons on an adult male member of the family.
The
petition noted that relevant section 70 of Cr.P.C and Order V Rule 15 of CPC
are outdated in today’s era, women are working side by side and are active in
every sector of the field. Both these codes create a distinction and
discriminate between genders.
The
Code of Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure Code does not consider an adult
female member of the family capable and competent to receive the summons, she
noted.
She
argued that the majority of males work outside the house while female members
are mostly available, especially during day time, at their home. Therefore,
women must have the right to receive summons and come under the ambit and
definition of an adult and reasonable person, she added.
The
counsel contended that the aforesaid relevant section and Rule 15 both fail to
account for situations such as when the person summoned resides only with
female family members or when the only person available at the time of service
of summons is a woman.
The
aforesaid section and Rule are hence unconstitutional by creating a gender bias
and discrimination between males and females. Under British law, Criminal
Procedure Rules 2015 Rule 4.3 to 4.4 discuss the provision and delivery of
summons but nowhere are they restricted or limited to an “Adult Male”.
Under
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States District Courts, summons
is described in Rule 4 Summons, including details about the method and process
of serving summons. However, nowhere in the entire Rule has the word “male”
been used.
The
petitioners requested the court to direct the concerned quarters to legislate
or amend laws in accordance with the Constitution.
They
further prayed the court to direct taking urgent initiative towards this
ongoing issue regarding gender discrimination and look over the
unconstitutional aspect of Section 70 and Rule 15.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ana-arabia-exhibition-arab/d/128606