Biden Nominates Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, First Muslim Woman As Federal Judge
New
Age Islam News Bureau
20
January 2022
• Support
For Hijab-Wearing Muslim Students: Campaign Against Hate Speech Launches
Signature Drive
• France
Moves Closer To Banning Headscarves In Sports Competitions
• Turkish
Women Decry High Price Of Sanitary Pads
• UN
Envoy Lauds Women’s Role In Iran’s Socio-Economic Development
• Envoy:
US Sanctions Breach Basic Rights of Iranian Women
• Dubai's
Arab Health To Examine Why Women Had Fewer Babies During Covid-19 Pandemic
• Egypt
Advises Pregnant Women To Get Vaccinated Against Coronavirus
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/biden-nusrat-jahan-choudhury-judge/d/126198
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Biden
Nominates Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, First Muslim
Woman As Federal Judge
Nusrat
Jahan Choudhury has served as legal director of the American Civil Liberties
Union of Illinois since 2020. Milwaukee Sentinel Journal via AP
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By
Joseph Choi
01/19/22
Biden
nominates first Muslim woman as federal judge
President
Biden on Wednesday announced his latest round of judicial nominees, among them
Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, who would be the first Muslim American woman to serve
as a federal judge if confirmed.
The
eight nominees in Biden's 13th round of judicial nominations were nearly all
women, with only one male nominee included.
The
district nominees are Choudhury, Tiffany Cartwright, Ana Isabel de Alba, Robert
Steven Huie, Natasha Merle, Jennifer Rearden and Judge Nina Nin-Yuen Wang.
Arianna Freeman was nominated to serve as a circuit court judge for the 3rd
U.S. Circuit.
If
confirmed, Choudhury would also be the first Bangladeshi American to serve as a
federal judge.
She
currently serves as as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) of Illinois. Choudhury, a graduate of Yale, Princeton and Columbia, has
held numerous positions in the ACLU throughout her career, including working as
an attorney for the Racial Justice Program.
According
to ACLU, much of Choudhury's work with the organization has involved
challenging police practices that discriminate against people of color and
disproportionately "punish people for being poor."
In
June 2021, the Senate confirmed Zahid Quraishi to serve as a U.S. district
judge for New Jersey, making him the first Muslim in U.S. history to be
confirmed as a federal judge.
The
majority of Biden's judicial nominees have been women and people of color, in
line with his promise of nominating a diverse group of people to lifetime
appointments to serve on the bench.
Former
President Trump's judicial nominees were significantly less diverse, with 76
percent being men and 85 percent being white, according to the Alliance for
Justice progressive advocacy group.
Source:
The Hill
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Support For Hijab-Wearing Muslim Students: Campaign Against Hate Speech Launches Signature Drive
(Representative
Image)
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Jan
20, 2022
Mangaluru:
An organisation, Campaign Against Hate Speech (CAHS), has condemned the
discrimination faced by hijab-wearing Muslim women students across colleges in
Karnataka. CAHS has initiated a signature campaign around a public statement,
condemning the discrimination against hijab-wearing Muslim students in these
places, particularly in Udupi. Nearly 1,000 citizens have signed this
statement, indicating the deep concern and distress at the denial of young
Muslim women’s right to education, and the right to practice their religion,
they stated.
They
have demanded that the Karnataka Minorities Commission take immediate
cognizance of this incident and take adequate measures to inquire into the
discriminatory practices of the Karnataka PU College. The commission should
also ensure institutional protection is provided to Muslim minority students
vis-à-vis their religious practices and language, they urged. The signatories
also demanded that the department take cognizance of the ‘unconstitutional’
incidents and ensure Muslim female students are allowed into classes while
wearing hijabs, with immediate effect.
They
also sought disciplinary action against authorities of educational institutions
in Chikkamagluru, Uduppi and Mangaluru, for refusing to allow students to wear
hijabs in classrooms. CAHS also sought remedial classes for the affected Muslim
women students as well as institutional mental health support to the students
impacted, CAHS demanded in the statement. TNN
Source:
Times Of India
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France
moves closer to banning headscarves in sports competitions
January
19, 2022
PARIS:
The French Senate has voted in favor of banning the wearing of headscarves in
sports competitions, arguing that neutrality is a requirement on the field of
play.
The
French upper legislative house voted late Tuesday in favor of amending a
proposed law stipulating that the wearing “of conspicuous religious symbols is
prohibited” to take part in events and competitions organized by sports
federations.
In
their text, senators clearly said that the amendment aims at banning “the
wearing of the veil in sports competitions.” They added that headscarves can
put at risk the safety of athletes wearing it when they practice their
discipline.
The
amendment proposed by right-wing group Les Republicains and opposed by the
French government was adopted with 160 votes in favor, and 143 against. A
commission composed of members from the Senate and the lower house should now
gather to find a compromise on the text before it is published, meaning the
amendment can still be erased.
It is
unclear whether the ban would be implemented for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The
Olympic organizing committee did not immediately answer a request for comment.
Les
Hijabeuses says all Muslim women should have the right to play their favorite
sport at competitive level while wearing a headscarf if they want to.
(@leshijabeuses)
The
vote came a year after lawmakers in the French parliament’s lower house
approved a bill to strengthen oversight of mosques, schools and sports clubs in
a bid to safeguard France from extremists and to promote respect for French
values — one of President Emmanuel Macron’s landmark projects.
With
France bloodied by terror attacks, few disagree that radicalization is a
danger. But critics also see the law as a political ploy to lure the right wing
to Macron’s centrist party ahead of this year’s presidential election.
In
the amendment, senators said all citizens are free to exercise their religion,
but insisted that everyone should refrain from putting forward their
differences.
“Today,
there is legal uncertainty about the wearing of religious symbols, and it is
necessary for the state to clearly define the rules,” the amendment voted by
senators read. “If the wearing of the veil is not explicitly forbidden, we
could see the emergence of community sports clubs promoting certain religious
signs.”
The
French soccer federation already bans women from wearing headscarves in
official matches, as well as at competitions it organizes. A collective of
headscarf-wearing soccer players called “Les Hijabeuses,” in relation to the
word hijab referring to the headscarf, has been campaigning against that ban.
The
group says all Muslim women should have the right to play their favorite sport
at competitive level while wearing a headscarf if they want to. It has launched
legal action at the Council of State, France’s highest administrative
jurisdiction, to overturn the federation ban.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2007846/world
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Turkish
women decry high price of sanitary pads
Sibel
Hurtas
January
19, 2022
Turkey’s
leading political satire magazine, LeMan, devoted its cover to women’s
menstrual products last week, depicting a woman looking desperately at a
sanitary pad flying away in the air. It was a lampoon of the extent to which
Turkey’s economic turmoil has eroded purchasing power, sparking a campaign to
lower the prices of sanitary pads, which have become unaffordable for millions
of women.
Turkey’s
government-run statistical institute says consumer inflation hit 36.08% in
2021, while independent researchers put the figure as high as 82.81%. According
to the institute, the price of sanitary pads rose by nearly 60% over a year to
reach 1.05 liras ($0.08) per piece in December. Menstrual products are among
the goods on which the government levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) of
18%.
Amid
dizzying price hikes on basic goods and services from bread and meat to
electricity and public transport, sanitary pads have become a luxury beyond the
reach of millions of women. According to the Deep Poverty Network, a civic
group devoted to helping the poorest, a survey it conducted among 103 families
shows that sanitary pads have become inaccessible to 82% of women.
The
growing problem has prompted local administrations to add sanitary pads to the
list of handouts they provide to the needy. Istanbul’s Kucukcekmece
Municipality, for instance, launched a campaign under the slogan “Sanitary pads
are not a luxury but a basic need” last week, aiming to meet the needs of some
10,000 women in its district.
In
some universities, female students have placed “solidarity boxes” in restrooms,
from which fellow women can get sanitary pads for free. Female university
students have also held demonstrations to draw attention to the problem. In the
capital, Ankara, one might even come across street graffiti calling for free
access to sanitary pads.
Canan
Gullu, head of the Turkey Women’s Associations Federation, which cooperates
with municipalities to help women in need, told Al-Monitor the organization
collected six lorryloads of sanitary products destined for “women who are
victims of violence and poverty in places where violence and poverty is rife.”
According
to Gullu, the problem of access to sanitary pads has grown over the past
decade, becoming more visible during the COVID-19 pandemic and aggravating
further due to the country’s economic crisis. Ignorance on sexuality and female
physiology lays at the core of the problem, she said, recalling a widespread
practice until not so long ago whereby sellers would wrap sanitary pads in
paper or put them in black plastic bags as if to hide something shameful. And
last spring, for instance, some supermarkets sealed off their sanitary pad
sections as part of pandemic restrictions banning the sale of non-essential
goods. For Gullu, such practices show how female physiology is being ignored in
the country. “It is a mindset stemming from gender inequality, which, amid the
economic crisis today, ignores the women’s problem of access to sanitary pads,”
she said.
Emphasizing
that menstrual products are a basic need, women activists are calling on the
government to lower the VAT on such items to the minimum rate. The issue
reached parliament last week as Candan Yuceer, a female lawmaker for the main
opposition Republican People’s Party, submitted a bill calling for a 1% VAT on
sanitary pads and their free distribution to poor women.
The
bill has yet to be taken up, but even an eventual VAT reduction would not be
enough to resolve the problem, Yuceer told Al-Monitor. “A VAT reduction should
be accompanied with a price adjustment because manufacturers have taken
advantage of the economic crisis to push prices to exorbitant levels,” she
said.
Yuceer,
a medical doctor by profession, drew attention to the health risks the problem
poses. “Sanitary items must be sterile and used only once or women could suffer
serious infections,” she said.
Gullu
noted, “In terms of reproductive health, we see that noncompliance with
hygienic rules results in uterus infections. And this is being transferred to
future generations as well.”
In
response to the rising outcry, Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanik
made do with a statement that her ministry might initiate a study of the
problem to propose measures. “We have been receiving requests regarding also
adult and baby diapers, along with women’s hygienic products,” she said last
week, adding that putting an upper limit to the prices of such products might
be among the considered measures.
Yuceer
said, “It’s remarkable how the government has yet to take action on the issue
while it has been passing laws favoring rent seekers or men almost on a daily
basis.” Other opposition deputies have proposed similar bills to lower the VAT
on sanitary pads in recent years, but to no avail, she noted, stressing that
the opposition is ready to back any government initiative on the issue.
Aysen
Sahin, a columnist for the daily Evrensel, recalled controversial remarks by
some government members and supporters advising the popular masses to eat and
consume less as a means of coping with the skyrocketing prices. “What are they
going to tell women now? To use two sanitary pads a day instead of six and get
a vaginal infection or change tampons every six hours instead of every two and
risk a toxic shock? … It’s such a vital issue,” she told Al-Monitor.
Refugees,
seasonal agricultural workers, students and prisoners are among the worst hit
by the problem. According to the Deep Poverty Network, women unable to afford
menstrual products use mostly pieces of cloth by rewashing them several times.
Source:
Al Monitor
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/01/turkish-women-decry-high-price-sanitary-pads
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UN
envoy lauds women’s role in Iran’s socio-economic development
January
19, 2022
“Despite
the imposition of United States sanctions, which in addition to violating rules
of international law, breach the basic rights of women and girls, especially
their right to development, significant achievements have been made in the
empowerment of women and girls in Iran," Takht Ravanchi said on Tuesday
addressing a UNSC session titled “Women, Peace, and Security: protecting participation,
addressing violence targeting women in peace and security processes”.
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great importance to the role of women in
socio-economic development as well as the political and cultural life of our
society," he added.
He
said that women play an important role in the socio-economic development and
political life of all societies.
In
conflict situations, women are subject to violence and discriminatory
behaviors, and in post-conflict situations, they have undeniable potentials to
contribute to peace and security processes, IRNA quoted Takht Ravanchi as
saying.
Therefore,
in conflict situations, efforts must be focused on addressing the root causes
of violence against women particularly conflict-related sexual violence, and in
post-conflict situations, the main approach must be to protect their rights and
ensure their participation in conflict resolution and peace processes as well
as the humanitarian and reconstruction activities.
“We
share the view that women’s political, social, and economic empowerment is
critical as it can increase their resistance against violence in conflict
situations and promote their role in further contributing to the peace and
reconciliation processes and reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in
post-conflict situations.”
“Just
as an example, I would like to mention education, which is vital for women’s
empowerment. We have made significant progress in this regard and as a result,
currently, women and girls comprise more than half of all university students
and the number of girls who study medicine and science in Iran has become twice
that of men.”
As
such, women are active participants in day-to-day affairs in Iran. They are
also very active in elections as both candidates and voters. Furthermore, our
Parliament has adopted “the Charter on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities”,
which ensures the protection and promotion of women’s rights in different
areas, he concluded.
Source:
Tehran Times
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Envoy:
US Sanctions Breach Basic Rights of Iranian Women
2022-January-19
Takht
Ravanchi made the remarks, addressing a UN Security Council meeting on the
issue of women, peace, and security on Tuesday.
The
envoy reminded how the bans not only violated the international law, but also
breached the basic rights of women and girls, especially their right to
development.
“However,
the Islamic Republic has made significant progress in enablement of women and
girls, specially in the field of education,” he said.
“The
Islamic Republic attaches much importance to the women’s role in socioeconomic
development and the Iranian society’s sociopolitical life,” the envoy stated.
He
hailed making considerable progress towards empowering Iranian women and girls,
despite the US illegal and inhumane sanctions targeting the country.
Takht
Ravanchi, meanwhile, touched on the situation of women in West Asia, expressing
dismay over the destructive effects of occupation and foreign intervention, as
well as terrorist activities targeting girls and women in the region.
He
said the oldest case for such impairment would be the Palestinian women, who
continued to suffer the consequences of decades of Israeli occupation and human
rights violations.
“In
disputes and conflicts, efforts should be focused on addressing the root causes
of violence against women,” the Iranian official said.
The
US reimposed sanctions against Iran in 2018 after illegally and unilaterally
leaving a 2015 deal between Tehran and G5+1 group of countries (China, Russia,
Britain and France plus Germany).
Washington
has refused to lift the bans, even in the case of foodstuffs and medicine,
despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Source:
Fars News Agency
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001029000212/Envy-US-Sancins-Breach-Basic-Righs-f-Iranian-Wmen
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Dubai's
Arab Health to examine why women had fewer babies during Covid-19 pandemic
Jan
19, 2022
Experts
in obstetrics and gynecology will meet at the Arab Health summit in Dubai this
month to discuss why women have decided not to have babies because of the
pandemic.
The
Arab Health Obstetrics and Gynecology Conference will discuss trends in women’s
health, including the impact of Covid-19 on reproduction and fertility.
Dr
Human Fatemi, group medical director of ART Fertility Clinics in Abu Dhabi,
said the pandemic has people rethinking their plans to have children.
"The
pandemic has definitely postponed the desire to be parents, and the desire of
having a child," he said.
"For
some patients, especially women who have reduced ovarian reserve and are older,
the pandemic will significantly impact fulfilling their desire to have a child.
"As
a specialist in infertility, I would not be worried about Covid-19 and getting
pregnant. The key message is to maintain hygiene, wear masks, ensure social
distancing and be cautious. If you have a reduced ovarian reserve and desire to
get pregnant, one should not delay it."
Several
pieces of research show a direct correlation between the pandemic and women's
desire to have babies.
According
to research from the United Nations Population Fund, public health crises and
economic shocks have long been recognised as conditions that alter reproductive
behaviour.
Data
from the US, Europe and East Asia reveals sharp declines in births starting in
October 2020, compared to the same months the previous year, indicating
Covid-19 has prompted a short-term fertility decline in many countries.
Research
by the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows one in five Australian
women changed their baby plans because of the pandemic, and one in seven women
indicated it probably impacted when they would have children, with most of the
study cohort (92 per cent) choosing to delay getting pregnant.
This
was supported by a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
journal, which reported on the relationship between the pandemic and births for
22 high-income countries, finding particularly strong declines in southern
Europe – Italy (-9.1 per cent), Spain (-8.4 per cent) and Portugal (-6.6 per
cent).
However,
doctors said research does not prove there is a greater risk to pregnant women.
They should follow precautions and can safely deliver babies.
Dr
Kiran Mehndiratta, specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist at NMC Speciality
Hospital Abu Dhabi, told The National in May 2020 - during the peak of the
first wave - that pregnant women are not at an increased risk compared to
others.
That
said, she added it was important to know the immunity of pregnant women is reduced
to ensure the baby is not rejected by the mother, as half of its genes come
from the father.
That
means anyone with complications in pregnancy, such as diabetes or hypertension,
which are known to be risk factors for severe Covid-19, could be at higher
risk, too.
Most
of the “very small number” of pregnant women who had tested positive for
Covid-19 at NMC Speciality Hospital, where Dr Mehndiratta works, were also
asymptomatic.
“Only
a few of them gradually developed a cough,” she said.
This
backs theories that suggest pregnant women are no more vulnerable than others
to the effects of Covid-19.
The
Obstetrics and Gynecology Conference is a regular feature of Arab Health, which
will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from January 24 to 27.
The
conference will host several key sessions covering fertility, reproduction and
Covid-19, including a session on ‘Covid-19 and the fetus’, presented by Prof
Asma Khalil, who specialises in obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine at St
George’s University Hospital, London. A session on ‘Covid-19 and the impact on
fertility’ will be presented by Dr Johnny T Awwad, executive chairman of
women’s services and chief of reproductive medicine at Sidra Medicine &
Research Centre, Qatar.
Source:
The National News
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Egypt
advises pregnant women to get vaccinated against coronavirus
19
Jan 2022
Ministry
spokesperson Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said that the European Medicine Agency
recommends pregnant women be vaccinated since pregnancy has been associated
with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, particularly in the second and
third trimesters.
On
Tuesday, the European Medicine Agency announced that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines do
not cause pregnancy complications for expectant mothers and their babies
following a detailed review of several studies involving around 65,000
pregnancies at different stages.
The
mRNA COVID-19 vaccines Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna are among the vaccines Egypt
is using in its mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus.
Egypt
has obtained a total of 132 million doses of various coronavirus vaccines so
far, of which 36.6 million first doses and 24.1 million second doses have been
administered, the acting health minister said during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The
minister also revealed that 489,700 booster doses have been used, bringing the
number of total administered doses to 61.3 million.
Source:
Ahram Online
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/biden-nusrat-jahan-choudhury-judge/d/126198