Bangladeshi American Shahana Hanif Makes History; Elected to New York City Council
New
Age Islam News Bureau
03
November 2021
• East
London-Born Rifat Malik of a New American Publication Centring the Work of
Muslim Women Journalists
• Under
Taliban, Radio Stations Promoting Women's Voices Make Changes
• Arab
Filmmakers to Receive the 2021 Women at Sundance Adobe Fellowship
• UAE:
Women Have To Be Agents Of Change, Hears Panel On Gender Violence
• The
Woman Defying The Taliban On Girls' Education
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Bangladeshi
American Shahana Hanif Makes History; Elected to New York City Council
Shahana
Hanif of Bangladeshi descent makes history as the first Muslim woman elected to
New York City Council
---
By
Michael Gold and Karen Zraick
Nov.
3, 2021
In
New York City, a global beacon that draws a diverse population from all over
the world, the City Council has never had a person of South Asian descent — or
a Muslim woman — among its membership.
That
changed on Tuesday, when Shahana Hanif, a former City Council employee, won her
election in a Brooklyn district that covers Park Slope, Kensington and parts of
central Brooklyn.
Ms.
Hanif, who is Bangladeshi American, was the first Muslim woman elected to the
Council in its history, despite the fact that the city is home to an estimated
769,000 Muslims.
She
was one of two history-making South Asian candidates to win as well; the other,
Shekar Krishnan, won a seat representing Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in
Queens. (A third, Felicia Singh, another South Asian candidate, lost to her
Republican opponent in a closely watched Queens race.)
In
a statement on Tuesday night, Ms. Hanif said that she was “humbled and proud”
to be the first Muslim woman on the Council — and the first woman of any faith
to represent District 39. She cited volunteers and endorsements from community
and progressive groups, including the left-leaning Working Families Party.
“Together
we are building an anti-racist, feminist city,” she said. “We deserve a city
that protects its most vulnerable, a city that has equitable education, a city
invested in climate solutions that are local and driven by communities, a city
where our immigrant neighbors feel at home and heard and safe. This work
requires all of us to keep showing up even though the election is over.”
The
City Council will also have its first out gay Black women serve as members next
year: Kristin Richardson Jordan scored an overwhelming victory in a Harlem
district, as did Crystal Hudson in a Brooklyn district that encompasses parts
of Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and
Bedford-Stuyvesant.
A
number of other L.G.B.T.Q. candidates clinched victories, including Tiffany
Cabán in Queens. Chi Ossé in Brooklyn and Erik Bottcher in Manhattan had run in
uncontested races. Lynn Schulman was expected to win a seat in Queens.
The
candidates are part of a larger shift in New York’s City Council, which is
poised to be nearly as diverse next year as the city it represents. More than
two dozen women are positioned to take a majority of the Council’s seats, for
the first time ever.
Source:
New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/nyregion/shahana-hanif-muslim-city-council.html
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East
London-Born Rifat Malik of a New American Publication Centring the Work of
Muslim Women Journalists
East
London-born Rifat Malik
-----
By
Joseph Hammond
November
1, 2021
(RNS)
— East London-born Rifat Malik was recently appointed as the editor in chief of
a new American publication centring the work of Muslim women journalists.
“Muslim
women are often vilified, obsessed over, become the target of speculation or
are infantilized in the media and sometimes within the Muslim community,” Malik
told RNS.
The
Texas-based American Muslim Today hopes to change that narrative by placing
women at the heart of the storytelling.
The
current editorial staff is six women, including interns, while the sole men
involved in the project are in technology and other supporting roles. While
some outside contributors are men, the bulk of their content is authored by
women.
“The
point of our publication is to offer a woman’s perspective,” said Malik. Not
only on issues that affect women, she added, but also “those that impact the
wider Muslim community.”
The
publication’s foremost goal, she noted, is to provide professional coverage of
news and topics that appeal to the roughly 3.5 million Muslims in America, as
well as those living in other Western countries.
The
digital-only publication attracts 20,000 daily visitors across its web and
social media platforms, a figure that is steadily rising. The growth of AMT and
similar publications, such as Muslim Girl, suggests changing attitudes in the
Muslim community in America — toward women and media.
“I
think today there is a shift in the media industry writ large with more and
more women going into the profession,” said Malik. “That is being reflected in
the Muslim community. Last time we had seven female interns with the
publication. I think that interest and that of their families suggests a
growing understanding of the importance of media.”
The
first generation of Muslim publications in the United States tended to be
focused around a particular institution, be it a mosque or university Muslim
association. The lines between news reporting and editorial were often blurred.
Few of them involved women in any substantial way. AMT is an example of a new
generation of Muslim American media in the United States, striving to provide a
higher level of journalism.
Malik,
who heads the publication, moved from the UK to a small town in East Texas in
2009. Malik expected a Texas version of the racism and Islamophobia she
experienced as a British-born Pakistani. Instead, she found the community to be
accepting and tolerant.
“Unexpectedly
for me, this was to become one of the most enriching experiences of my life,”
said Malik. “Complete strangers would just come up and say how adorable my kids
were ... As a brown woman I felt I was equally respected and made to feel at
home.” She later moved to Dallas and said her initial positive perception of
America has only grown with time. Her children, she said, are enjoying an
experience far different from the one she experienced growing up near the city
of Manchester in northern England.
“It
was such a contrast to my own upbringing, where we were called ‘WOGS’ and
‘Paki’s’ on a daily basis, and white skin heads would set their dogs on us —
even our school buses operated an informal segregated policy, with South Asian
kids at the front and whites at the back.”
As
a child, Malik said she dreamed of being a journalist. Yet, as with many
immigrant families on both sides of the Atlantic, her parents encouraged only
three potential career paths: medicine, law, or engineering. As she dutifully
earned her law degree, she was shocked to find her younger siblings still
facing the racism she had faced as a school girl almost a generation earlier.
She found their experience and hers differed sharply from British
self-conceptions of a multicultural democracy. On a whim she wrote an op-ed to
The Guardian, a London newspaper. She never expected to hear back from them but
found crafting the piece cathartic.
“To
my shock, I got a call days later from an editor saying they would be
publishing the article. As a result, local community members reached out
because the sentiments resonated with them. A local TV network news program
interviewed my brother about his experiences. For the first time in my life I
got to have a voice and to feel worthy of being heard,” she said.
Malik
decided to re-focus her career on journalism and received a traineeship at The
Guardian and later positions with other British media outlets. As the deputy
editor of EAST, a national newspaper for British South Asians, she gained
experience with community journalism.
As
editor in chief of American Muslim Today, Malik hopes to provide coverage of
taboo and little-considered topics, particularly issues that often go uncovered
involving women.
Recent
stories include one about a Miami medical student seeking to spread awareness
of breast cancer, and another features a British Muslim woman who has developed
a hijab suitable to be worn under a hard hat.
AMT
also emphasizes coverage of mental health among the Muslim community. Suicide,
depression and dementia are increasingly impacting a new generation of Muslim
Americans, and AMT regularly brings on counselors and therapists as outside
contributors to write on these issues.
“We
have articles that involve certified therapists and experts in the field, which
I think is one way the publication is breaking down taboos and encouraging
those in need to seek mental health help,” Malik said.
“It’s
not just about changing the narrative and speaking for ourselves,” she said.
“That is, of course, important, but we think it’s also key for this generation
of Muslim Americans to build institutions — including within the media.”
Source:
Washington Post
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Under
Taliban, Radio Stations Promoting Women's Voices Make Changes
November
02, 2021
FILE
- A radio presenter reads the news during a broadcast at the Merman radio
station in Kandahar, Sept. 29, 2020.
-----
Mina
Akbari used to have a busy work schedule, presenting two daily shows for
Shamshad TV in Kabul, and preparing content on women's issues for Nargis, a
radio station in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province.
But
since the Taliban took Kabul on August 15, Akbari has been at home, too scared
to return to work.
Nargis,
the station where she worked, is one of at least three radio broadcasters run
or staffed by women that have made changes to staff or programming out of
concern that the Taliban may retaliate against them. One has temporarily
suspended operations.
While
none have received direct orders by the Taliban, under the group's previous
rule women were not allowed to work or have high-profile roles. And since it
took power, girls aged 12 to 18 have been told to stay at home.
The
Taliban's acting deputy minister for information and culture, Zabihullah
Mujahid, told VOA last month that women will be allowed to return when it is
safe.
"It
is for the Islamic scholars to decide the rules for women and teach them how to
work or continue their education," Mujahid said, adding that the Taliban
is waiting for the scholars to inform the government of their decision.
The
Taliban have also said that private media would be allowed to operate freely,
as long as they did not go against Islam. But the group has circulated media
guidelines, and rights groups have cited a spike in violence and threats
perpetrated by Taliban members in the past two months.
Some
journalists at state-run stations have also said they were blocked from
working. Shabnam Dawran, an anchor for the state-run Radio Television
Afghanistan (RTA), spoke publicly about how Taliban members prevented her from
going to work.
"I
was told by the Taliban to go home. The regime has changed," Dawran told
VOA Deewa.
Dawran
said that she was dressed in a hijab and presented her work ID, but she was not
allowed to enter office. Male colleagues, however, were allowed into the
station's offices.
"I
had only seen Taliban in the pictures, in the media, in the news, but I had
never imagined that one day I will stand up to and argue with them,"
Dawran said. "While I argued, one Talib came forward pointed his gun at my
head and said, 'It is just a matter of a bullet.' But I responded no matter
what, a hundred women like me has been killed and I will be the 101st."
Khadija
Amin, who works for the same channel, says she was also sent home.
"Taliban
would never want women to work. If the Taliban had no issue with women going to
work, why did they not have a single woman representative in the peace
process?" Amin asked.
"I
do not believe in what Taliban says," she told VOA, as she pointed to
reports of Taliban beating journalists.
Suhail
Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, did not
respond to VOA's requests for comment.
For
Nargis journalist Akbari, the memory of threats before the Taliban were
officially in power added to her decision to stay away from work.
"I
was threatened by the Taliban a couple of times for not wearing a head scarf in
the TV shows, for discussing women's rights or for reporting the facts about
Taliban. They even accused me of being against Islam and being an
infidel," said Akbari. "Several times for a short period of time I
had to move to the neighboring countries and then came back to continue my
work."
Several
staff at the female-run station have gone into hiding. Some have even left the
country.
Shafiqullah
Rahmani, station manager for Nargis, said that many women-run organizations
were affected by the Taliban takeover.
"Our
female colleagues are still frightened. Each one of these women have worked
more than 10 years in the field of journalism. We are in touch with them and
they wish to return to work but are waiting for the Taliban's leadership to
announce that they are allowed to go to work," Rahmani said.
It's
a similar story at Naz, a local station in Khost province that broadcasts shows
on education, health, awareness.
The
station was run by around 15 women, but after the Taliban captured Afghanistan,
none of these women returned. Instead, they were replaced by male colleagues.
Station
manager Anwar Sadiq told VOA Deewa that his female colleagues had to stop
coming in. "Their future is vague; they are still waiting," Sadiq
said.
"The
Taliban have not said anything to us about women's work in our radio, but the
women thought if Taliban do not allow girls [to go] to school then it means
they are not allowed to work either," he said.
In
the western province of Kandahar, local station Merman — which means
"woman" in Pashto — closed temporarily. Its team of female presenters
used to broadcast for 14 hours a day.
The
station was awarded the Reporters Without Borders prize for impact in December
2020 for its work promoting women's issues, and offering training.
Ruhullah
Sherzad, the station's manager, told VOA Deewa, "We have shut the radio
temporarily. We have not been assured yet."
When
asked if the journalists could continue if they broadcast from home, Sherzad
said it would be difficult.
"We
might not be able to provide all the technical assistance at home for our
workers. We have economic problems," he said. "There are so many
issues in Kandahar with electricity and internet. We cannot provide computers,
mics and all other equipment to these women at home. It will be costly."
For
radio journalist Akbari, the past two months have been tough. "My heart
breaks into pieces because I have no work to go to. I miss my colleagues and my
workplace," she said.
Source:
VOA News
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Arab
filmmakers to receive the 2021 Women at Sundance Adobe Fellowship
November
02, 2021
DUBAI:
The Sundance Institute, the nonprofit organization that organizes the yearly
Sundance Film Festival, announced the recipients of its 2021 Women at Sundance
Adobe Fellowship on Tuesday — and two Arab filmmakers have made the cut: Meryam
Joobeur and Malika Zouhali-Worrall.
The
year-round program aims to support women artists creating new work in film and
media.
It
offers a full year of support with custom-tailored mentorship from Sundance
Institute and Adobe executives through skill-building workshops, ongoing
coaching, a $6,250 cash grant and a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative
Cloud.
Fellows
will also receive introductions to key industry contacts and creative advisors,
referrals to specific career and development opportunities.
Joobeur
is a Tunisian director, based in Canada, who has previously been nominated for
an Academy Award.
Her
academy nominated “Short Brotherhood” (2018) screened at over 150 festivals and
won 75 international prizes. Her short films “Gods, Weeds and Revolutions”
(2012) and “Born in the Maelstrom” (2017), starring US actress Sasha Lane, also
screened internationally.
She
is co-owner of the Tunisia based production company Instinct Bleu with producer
Sarra Ben Hassen, and is currently developing her first feature project
“Motherhood.”
She
is the 2021 Sundance Institute’s January Screenwriters Lab Fellow.
Zouhali-Worrall
is a British-Moroccan filmmaker based in New York.
The
Emmy Award-winning director’s work includes the feature-length documentaries,
“Call Me Kuchu” (2012) and “Thank You For Playing,” which won the News &
Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary in 2017.
In
2021, Zouhali-Worrall completed her fifth short, “Video Visit,” which will be
released by production company Field of Vision, and screen at the US’s
BAMCinemafest.
Zouhali-Worrall
was a 2020 Sundance Institute Momentum Fellow.
Joobeur
and Zouhali-Worrall are among six other recipients that include filmmakers
McKenzie Chinn, Melody Cooper, Deborah Esquenazi, Cris Gris, Rajal Pitroda and
Shaandiin Tome.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1959991/lifestyle
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UAE:
Women have to be agents of change, hears panel on gender violence
by
Anjana Sankar
11
Oct 2021
While
education and legal reforms will give a big push to gender equality, the bigger
battle is to overcome cultural barriers that normalise violence against women
and young girls, a panel at the Women’s pavilion heard on Monday.
Girls
and women from different parts of the world joined in the live conversation
‘The ‘We Can! Girls’ Voices for Girls’ Empowerment’ that was hosted by
international charity Save the Children to mark the International Day of the
Girl on October 11.
One
of the panelists, Sara Al Madani, Emirati influencer and entrepreneur, said no
system, no leadership or strategy can better the cause of women unless the
right messages are conveyed at homes. “If there is a broken message at home –
that girls are princess and a rich prince will marry them, Al Madani said, “you
are slowly breaking their self-esteem, their resolve and purpose to live.”
“So,
there are these amazing organisations that are trying to change the world. But
each one of us sitting here can make the difference.”
She
said women only need inspiration and not empowerment to realise their
potential.
The
panel moderated by Heba Al Emara also heard from Mona Al Shazly, popular
television host from Egypt, call for the need to introduce lessons of gender
parity in school curriculums.
“We
need to talk about Middle East countries. Education is the key to changing the
culture. It is not easy. But when we introduce these concepts when boys and
girls are young and starting to understand the world, they need to hear
messages and stories that will amplify the crime of beating your sister or
wife,” said Al Shazly.
Sharing
real-life situations and how they are making a difference in their communities,
teenagers from Lebanon and Egypt spoke about how they use art to raise their
voice against gender violence and promote empowerment.
Gwen
Hines, CEO of Save the Children UK said, in her remarks that people have to
understand that short term decisions have long term consequences for girls and
their lives. “The more years of education she has, there are better prospects
for her not just economically but also for her to be able to speak for herself
and also take care of the welfare of her family,” said Hines over the zoom
chat.
The
audience were also treated to a virtual puppet show that drummed home the
message that child marriage can have disastrous consequences on their future.
The
sessions wrapped up with panel members taking a pledge to improve the lot of
girls by promoting education and awareness.
Source:
Khaleej Times
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The
woman defying the Taliban on girls' education
Nov.
3, 2021
When
the Taliban took power in Afghanistan they instructed girls and young women to
stay home from school. With no resolution in sight, one member of the Afghan
diaspora decided to act. Angela Ghayur's online school now has nearly 1,000
students and more than 400 volunteer teachers.
Angela
was just eight when civil war broke out across Afghanistan, in 1992. Her family
fled from their home in Herat in the west of the country to Iran, and for the
following five years Angela was unable to go to school - ineligible because of
the family's temporary visa status.
"It
was quite common back then that Afghan children who had fled to Iran couldn't
go to school, because they didn't have the right documents," Angela
recalled, looking out the window towards the sea from her home in Brighton in
the UK.
After
five years, Angela's father finally managed to secure the right paperwork and
she was able to go to school in Iran. And aged just 13, she realised she had a
calling.
Every
day after school, Angela would return home and teach 14 other Afghan children,
all of them unable to go to school. Angela's father was a gardener in Iran, and
she would gather the small class in his well-tended garden and teach them
everything she learned that day - reading, writing, maths.
Years
later, after the Taliban was deposed from power, Angela returned to Afghanistan
and qualified as secondary school teacher, before moving to the Netherlands,
and then finally to the UK.
Like
many members of the Afghan diaspora, Angela felt paralysed watching events
unfold in her home country unfold over the past few months. As the US withdrew
the last of its troops, after 20 years of war, the Taliban swept back to power.
In
what seems like an instant, two-decades of progress in women's education was
put in jeopardy. The Taliban claim that their restrictions on women working and
girls studying are "temporary" and only in place to ensure all
workplaces and learning environments are "safe" for them.
But
the thought of girls once again being deprived of education, like she was for
her first five years in Iran, made Angela miserable. After three months with no
indication from the Taliban that the restrictions would be relaxed, she felt
compelled to act.
So
Angela founded the Online Herat School, an educational resource for Afghan
women and girls. She posted on Instagram asking for help from any experienced
teachers, and since that first post nearly 400 volunteers have joined the
programme. Via Telegram or Skype, they offer more than 170 different online
classes in everything from maths to music to cooking to painting. Most of the
teachers are from Iran, and they work between two and eight hours a day.
"I
feel this school is the result of all of my pain, my agonies and
experiences," said Angela.
"Our
motto is, the pen instead of the gun."
Together
the volunteers support nearly 1,000 students. One of them is Nasrin, a
13-year-old who lives in Kabul with her four sisters. Since the Taliban took
power, and banned school for girls over seven, the sisters have all had to
forfeit school or university.
The
girls have been doing their best to keep on studying at home, but it's been
especially difficult for her two eldest sisters, who were at university
studying medicine and engineering.
"All
my dreams have been ruined. Even if the schools reopen, it won't be the
same," Nasrin said in an interview. "I wanted to become a pilot, now
that will never happen as the Taliban would never let girls be pilots."
But
the girls now have a ray of hope, in the form of Angela's online school.
Nasrin
is now studying Turkish with one of the volunteer teachers. She would love to
live in Istanbul one day, she said. The lessons have allowed her to dream
again.
In
recent weeks, there has been some positive news for female students in the
north of the country, where girls have returned to secondary schools in five of
the country's 34 provinces.
Young
women in private universities, but not state run facilities have also been
allowed to return.
But
for Nasrin and her sisters in Kabul, along with the large majority of female
students across the country, there is still a blanket ban on their return to
school.
Female
teachers too, like Nasrin's mum, have been told to stay at home, and the
Taliban have offered no plan as to when they will be allowed to return to work.
According
to UN estimates, 70% of all qualified teachers in Kabul are women. So even for
the boys and young men whose schooling continues, there is likely to be a
significant shortage of teaching staff to support them.
Long
before the resurgence of the Taliban as a political force, Afghanistan was
already struggling with an entrenched lack of access to education. According to
the Ministry of Education in 2019, more than a third of over 15 year olds were
illiterate.
With
the large majority of girls now stuck at home, this unfortunate statistic is
only likely to rise.
Source:
BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59063624
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