British-Iranian Woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Fears Return To Prison In Iran After Extra Year Added To Sentence
New
Age Islam News Bureau
17
October 2021
•
British-Iranian Woman Fears Return To Prison In Iran After Extra Year Added To
Sentence
•
Moral Policing, Mob Forces Woman To Remove Hijab And Burqa In MP
•
Jennifer Gates Marries Egyptian Nayel Nassar In Muslim Ceremony, $2 Mln Wedding
•
How Women In Australia's Football Community Helped Afghan Female Footballers
Get Out Of Kabul
•
Imperative For Women To Enjoy Their Rights, Powers: Chief Justice of Pakistan
•
Bangladeshi Women’s Leadership in Water Governance
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/nazanin-zaghari-british-iranian/d/125593
--------
British-Iranian
Woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Fears Return To Prison In Iran After Extra
Year Added To Sentence
By
RFE/RL
October
17, 2021
Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe after she was released from house arrest in Tehran in March
2021
-----
The
husband of a British-Iranian woman says his wife is “traumatized” by the
possibility that she could be sent back to prison in Iran after an Iranian
appeals court upheld a ruling that adds another year to her sentence.
Richard
Ratcliffe said concerns have been raised that his wife, Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, may now be sent back to prison, telling the BBC on October
16 that his wife is "waiting for the call to summon her back" and
said that she was "traumatized at the thought of having to go back to
jail."
Ratcliffe,
who has been campaigning for his wife's return to Britain since her original
incarceration in 2016, said he was surprised to learn of the ruling upholding
the additional year to her sentence.
Lawyer
Hojjat Kermani said on October 16 that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was
"concerned" when he informed her about the appeals court decision at
a closed-door hearing. He said that she had been in touch with her family about
the decision.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe
was first jailed in 2016 after being accused of plotting against the regime --
charges that she, her supporters, and rights groups deny.
She
was sentenced to another year of confinement in April on charges of
"spreading propaganda against the system” while participating in a protest
in front of the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009.
She
spent the final year of her initial sentence on parole at her parents' home in
Tehran as Iran temporarily released thousands of inmates in response to the
coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
The
initial court ruling against Zaghari-Ratcliffe was five years plus a one-year
travel ban abroad. The extra year added to her sentence means Zaghari-Ratcliffe
cannot leave Iran to join her husband and 7-year-old daughter in London for
nearly two more years.
Ratcliffe
said he held a strategy meeting with the British Foreign Office on October 15
anticipating something would happen to his wife's appeal during the autumn.
He
said he had urged the government to take quicker action to get his wife out and
criticized it for failing to deal with problems until they become crises.
Foreign
Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement on October 16 that Iran’s decision to
proceed with the "baseless" charges against Zaghari-Ratcliffe was an
"appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through."
She
added: "We are doing all we can to help Nazanin get home to her young
daughter and family and I will continue to press Iran on this point."
Employed
by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the Reuters news
agency, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taken into custody at Tehran's Imam Khomeini
International Airport in April 2016 when she tried to return to Britain after
visiting family in Iran.
Rights
groups accuse Iran of holding dual nationals as bargaining chips for money or
influence in negotiations with the West. Tehran denies the accusation.
Source:
www.rferl
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-britain-zaghari-ratcliffe-prison/31513758.html
---------
Moral
Policing, Mob Forces Woman To Remove Hijab And Burqa In MP
October
17, 2021
By
India.com
New
Delhi: In yet another case of moral policing, a group of people in Islam Nagar
are of Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal forced a woman to remove her hijab and burqa
after suspecting that the man on whose scooter she was riding pillion was a
Hindu.
A
video of the incident has also gone viral on social media wherein a man from
the group, who is apparently capturing everything, is heard telling the girl
her act was ‘disgracing’ the community, while some women can be seen forcing
her to remove hijab, while she opposed.
Confirming
the incident, Intkhedi police station in charge RS Verma said, “A youth and the
girl arrived in Islam Nagar in the afternoon. Some people stopped them and
asked the girl to take off her burkha and show her face. It is suspected that
the people believed the man was Hindu and the girl Muslim.”
Source:
India.Com
---------
Jennifer
Gates marries Egyptian Nayel Nassar in Muslim ceremony, $2 mln wedding
Tala
Michel Issa
17
October ,2021
Microsoft
heiress and eldest daughter of Bill Gates, Jennifer Gates married Egyptian
equestrian Nayel Nassar in a secret Muslim ceremony followed by a civil
ceremony on Saturday in New York, the New York Post reported.
Rural
roads were shut down by authorities on Saturday for the $2 million wedding to
take place and saw hundreds of guests driven to the ceremony in SUVs at her $16
million Westchester horse farm.
The
couple’s wedding plans were revealed after online news media the Daily Mail
reported that the pair were planning the ceremony on Wednesday. Following the
report, photos of tents being set up at the estate surfaced on social media.
Masses
of hydrangeas and other plants were wheeled in and pastry chefs from French shop
Laduree carried a huge two-tiered white wedding cake into the property as the
couple geared up for a second civil ceremony on Saturday, the Daily Mail
reported.
“Absolutely
swept off my feet this past weekend, surprising me in the most meaningful location
over one of our many shared passions. I can’t wait to spend the rest of our
lives learning, growing, laughing ang loving together. Yes a million times
over.”
The
wedding comes one month after Melinda French Gates threw an intimate outdoor
party for her daughter, which was attended by the people closest to Jennifer.
“Thank
you for this incredibly special celebration, @melindafrenchgates,” Jennifer
tweeted on September 14 alongside a series of photos from the outdoor bash,
including a smiling snap of Melinda, 57.
“So
deeply grateful for all the amazing women in my life who advise, support, and
uplift me. [Cheers] to this new chapter!” she added.
Source:
Al Arabiya English
---------
How
women in Australia's football community helped Afghan female footballers get
out of Kabul
By
Samantha Lewis
17-10-2021
Three
words were all it took. Three simple words – "are you OK?" – that,
like a stone dropped in a lake, created ripple effects that would change the
lives of some in Afghanistan's women's football community, perhaps forever.
In
August, Australian referee Joanna Charaktis was sitting in lockdown in
Melbourne. Like many around the world, she watched on the news as the Taliban
rapidly took control of Afghanistan after capturing its capital city, Kabul.
Charaktis
felt entirely helpless. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how. The
problem was so big, so complex, and she was just one person. What kind of
impact could she possibly have?
"I
had met a girl in my football travels who was from Afghanistan, who is heavily
involved in football there and I remembered that I had her on Facebook,"
Charaktis told ABC.
"So
I thought, 'Maybe I should reach out?' but I got stuck because part of me felt
like she probably had 100 other issues on her mind and I didn't want to
contribute to that negatively. What can I really do, after all?
"She
replied and said, 'Look, it's really bad; I'm fearing for my life, I'm scared
the Taliban is going to come for me because of my involvement in football.'
"She
was basically just sitting around waiting with not much hope. Again, I felt
that same helplessness; I didn't even know what to say – what can you say? All
you want to do is help them, to just say, 'I'm coming to get you, I'll get you out.'
"I
told her I'd reach out again in a couple of days, but she reached out first.
She sent me a letter that Alex Hawke, our Minister for Immigration, had
released about bringing 3,000 Afghans to Australia on the rescue mission. She
sent that to me and asked if I could help her with it. So I called his office,
wrote an email, whatever. Didn't hear back.
"But
then I thought, 'How can I help from a football perspective?' So I spoke to my
mentor, [referee] Allyson Flynn, and told her the story. She had just been
included in a mentoring program with Women Onside and had been paired with
[former Matilda] Moya Dodd.
"She
[Flynn] reached out to Moya, who said to her, 'There's this whole rescue
mission happening for the national football team, so maybe we can get these
people on that list'.
Over
the next few days, Charaktis and Dodd found themselves as the contact points
for some of the women on the ground in Kabul, relaying messages, tracking
locations and fielding questions as the evacuation unfolded.
The
fleeing Afghans were advised to write the Australians' phone numbers on their
arms, to be called if a soldier asked to verify their identity. Photos of
passports and birth certificates were sent to their overseas contacts via
WhatsApp in case the Taliban destroyed the physical copies.
"It
was that voice message I got from her," Charaktis said. "In the
background, it was really loud, you could tell there were a lot of people. And
just hearing the despair in her voice: 'I can't get in. We can't get in. The
gates are shut, there's no-one there.' And I just thought, 'Oh my God, now
what?'
"We've
seen the photos and videos in the media of what was happening and the chaos of
it all and you're thinking, 'How are they going to get in? How is this possibly
going to work?'
"It's
still that process of feeling helpless because it was up to them to get to the
airport, it was up to the soldiers to go and find them outside and bring them
in, it was up to them to continue with that whole journey.
"They
were outside the airport for 36 hours and I was sitting here in Australia in
lockdown being like, 'How is she going to charge her phone? Her phone is going
to die, how will she contact us? She's gonna get lost in the crowds, then
what?' All these sorts of things I was worried about.
"Like,
what else can you say to someone when they're in that moment? It's hard to even
put yourself in their shoes and understand what they're going through, but to
be able to provide that tiny bit of support … that actually means something,
you know?"
Charaktis
remembers the moment her friend boarded the Australian Defence Force plane.
"I was like, 'Take some photos if you can. You should document this
journey'. She sent me some photos and there's one of her in front of the RAAF
plane they got on, and I was like, 'This is amazing.'
"To
see that after four days of almost hell, not knowing what was going to happen
and probably little hope before that, to see her standing in front of the
plane, smiling, showing the peace sign … it was amazing."
But
the rescue mission wasn't over once they arrived: they still needed clothes,
toiletries and other items to help them through two weeks of isolation, as well
as into the next chapter of their lives.
That's
when Women Onside, a non-profit organisation set up by a group of former
Matildas and others in the Australian women's football community, stepped in.
Having
watched the situation unfold in Afghanistan, Women Onside set up an Afghan
football support network, which included a fundraiser and volunteer register.
At the time of writing, almost 100 people have signed up to help in whatever
ways they can.
The
support network was led, in part, by Women Onside board director Asma Mirzae,
herself a former Afghan refugee. She, like Charaktis, watched on with a sense
of total powerlessness as the Taliban re-took control of Afghanistan.
"Just
like for any Afghan diaspora, we watched the horror of the events unfolding in
Afghanistan from far away," Mirzae told ABC. "I found myself and my
family members watching the news all day long.
"The
survivor guilt was quite surreal; no matter how far my family and I are from
Afghanistan, Afghanistan will always be part of our identity.
"It
was devastating to feel that we're so powerless, we're so helpless; we can't do
anything other than to raise awareness and check on loved ones.
"But
when we heard that there was a group of compassionate people here in Australia
working behind the scenes to evacuate these girls, that was the moment that got
us thinking in terms of what we can do now that they're here – and that's how
the Afghan Football Support Network started."
"Although
there are a few of them who can speak English, the majority of them are
struggling," she said. "That's where I've been able to jump in and
bridge that gap, the communication barriers they're experiencing.
"I've
been proactively and constantly in touch with the girls. After they found out I
speak the language, I've been getting numerous messages and calls just seeking
some help and support wherever possible. Language has definitely been
instrumental in terms of the girls being able to communicate and share their
concerns and at the same time, I've been able to pass that on to the relevant
volunteers to get the support they need."
Former
Matildas such as Moya Dodd, Jess Mitchell and Kate McShea would shuttle back
and forth between Kmart, Officeworks, and Woolworths, delivering bundles of
clothes and food to the athletes and their families at their respective
quarantine hotels, sometimes well into the night.
Mirzae's
lived experience came in handy here, too. In addition to the care packages, she
also helped coordinate the production and delivery of Afghan food to the groups
living in post-quarantine accommodation. The comforts of home and seeing a
familiar face sometimes making all the difference.
"I
told my mum about the situation – and Mum was not fully aware of all the work
I'm doing behind the scenes because she has her own concerns and is going
through difficult times herself reliving the experience she'd gone through –
but when I told her that I was supporting these athletes, it didn't take her
too long to prepare some homemade meals and get some Afghan bread for all the
girls and their families.
"One
of them messaged me right after having that dinner saying that she felt like she
was at home when she was eating that meal. That just brought tears to my eyes.
It's the least we can do, right?
"Over
the past few days, I've been actively getting other members from the community
involved, particularly the Melbourne Afghan Soccer Association (MASA). We
started another round of campaigning and we've decided to extend that support
to the other newly-arrived refugees in that temporary accommodation because
when I went there, there were so many more people who needed help.
"MASA
have been extremely helpful to complement the work of Women Onside and to
support the broader newly arrived Afghans. Members from MASA have delivered
over 300 bags of Afghan bread twice a week to the hotel, as well as collecting
and arranging donated items like clothing and footwear.
"It
didn't take [the athletes] too long to bombard us with messages saying how
thankful and appreciative they are of us for making that effort, although they
are just small gestures from our perspective. But they're very grateful for the
fact that we made this effort to bring them food and see them in person."
As
the Afghan group begin to transition into the next stage of their lives with
the help of more formal settlement services, the role of Women Onside will
shift. Here, Mirzae says, is where football will play a bigger role.
"Football
is such a powerful tool that mobilises you and empowers you to be your best
self and to reach your fullest potential, so wherever possible, we'll be using
football to make integration much easier for these girls.
"Where
Women Onside will complement the [government] support is through the social
engagement side of things, with football being one of the drivers. That goes
back to my lived experience as well and how much of an impact football had on
me as I was on a journey to resettle in Australia.
"The
fact that I had my family, my siblings around me definitely made things easier
and made me feel that I am at home. But as soon as you step outside of home,
that's when challenges arise. That's when you start to feel out of your comfort
zone and don't feel like you belong. For me, that's where football really came
into play; it helped me overcome these challenges.
"The
person I am today is because of football; football was the tool that helped me
to resettle and make Australia home and to give back."
Incredibly
proud of our Melbourne Afghan Girls Team (Melb United) coming together and
supporting our newly arrived Afghan brothers and sisters inc. the Afghan
football group! United - Always & Forever! ❤️ ⚽️
@WomenOnside pic.twitter.com/LMNppX4JwX
Whether
any of the Afghan athletes decide to play football again at all – let alone for
their national team – remains a lingering question. Few would blame them if
they left the game altogether, having already suffered so much on its behalf.
For
Mirzae, though, she sees football as more than just a tool of social
integration and individual empowerment. For these newly arrived refugees, the
game can act as a political symbol, too.
"It's
the Afghanistan no-one wants to see or be portrayed like. For us to shift that
narrative is through our actions and one action could be through our continued
participation in football.
"Continuing
to participate in football – whether that might be on a national level or
grassroots level – is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our defiance against
the Taliban.
"I'm
in a position [now] to stand in solidarity with most of our Afghan women
athletes, to stand against the Taliban and say, 'No, the Afghanistan you've
portrayed to the world is not the Afghanistan we resonate with.' So for us to
continue playing football is definitely a sign of defiance against the
Taliban."
For
Charaktis – the stone in the lake – this was a moment that not only confirmed
the power of football but also the power of a single person to create positive
change in the world.
"It
all comes from football. You can get anything done because everyone can help
with something and if they can't, they'll know someone who can help.
"Football
has literally brought us all together. I would not have met my friend if I
wasn't involved in football, or if she wasn't involved in football. I wouldn't
have my connections to Allyson Flynn and she wouldn't have had her connection
to Moya. None of this would have happened without football.
Source:
ABC.net
-----------
Imperative
For Women To Enjoy Their Rights, Powers: Chief Justice of Pakistan
Our
Correspondent
October
17, 2021
LAHORE:
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed has said it was imperative
that women enjoyed all rights and powers guaranteed by the Constitution.
He
was addressing a ceremony on Saturday to inaugurate the Pink Ribbon Hospital,
the first ever fully dedicated breast cancer facility in Pakistan and the
world, on Saturday.
Justice
Gulzar said that the Constitution has guaranteed many rights and powers to
women which should be provide to them. He said that not only women should be
given representation everywhere but all their rights should also be protected.
The
CJP highlighted the constitutional rights of women in the country and said that
the women were not only a valuable part of the country but the lifeline of the
society, adding, “the wellbeing of women leads to wellbeing of the whole
nation.”
The
Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed said it was unfortunate that a country,
with a huge women population, had no specialized breast cancer institute,
adding that as many as 40,000 deaths a year due to breast cancer could not be
overlooked.
He
urged the need of comprehending the gravity of the situation and added that
breast cancer hospitals and clinics should be established throughout the
country to detect and treat the disease on the early stage. He assured the
hospital administration of an unflinching support by the Supreme Court to the
cause.
Earlier,
the CEO of Pink Ribbon Pakistan Dr Omer Aftab said that his organization was
working dedicatedly on the issue of breast cancer in the country for 17 years,
adding, “the journey of the organisation has been full of challenges as there
was a time when even mentioning the word “Breast Cancer” was taboo, which has
now become a leading topic in the national health agenda.”
He
asserted that the organisation had educated 1.3 million young girls on the need
of breast self-examination, and 18 million women on early detection techniques since
the inception of the organisation back in 2004.
Dr
Aftab highlighted that the consistent campaigns and various community
engagement initiatives led to a 400 per cent increase in mammogram screening in
the country.
The
hospital was a fully charitable organization depending on donations. “Upon
completion, the hospital will be able to provide world-class treatment to
40,000 deserving breast cancer patients, annually,” he added.
Source:
The News
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/901085-imperative-for-women-to-enjoy-their-rights-powers-cjp
----------
Bangladeshi
Women’s Leadership in Water Governance
OCTOBER
16, 2021
ALBERTA,
Canada — Women in Bangladesh play a crucial role in collecting water, often
bearing the brunt of physical labor and household chores. Despite women and
girls playing an instrumental role in water collection and facing
disproportionate impacts of improper and unsafe sanitation facilities, they are
vastly underrepresented in leadership positions within the water industry.
Women often do not have the opportunity to participate in decision-making
pertaining to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as men overwhelmingly
dominate these positions. In Bangladesh, only “20% of representatives in water
management organizations” are women. To increase women’s employment and
potential leadership in water governance, the World Bank has introduced the
Bangladesh Rural WASH for Human Capital Development program. The water sector
acts as a crucial source of employment for women and the lack of women in the
industry is representative of immense untapped opportunity.
A
multitude of complex, intersecting factors prevents women’s participation and
employment in WASH. Barriers arguably begin in the education system, where a
limited number of women graduate from STEM and TVET programs. Additionally,
cultural norms in Bangladesh coupled with gendered expectations restrict women
from even attempting to enter the workforce.
Because
of these entrenched social norms, leadership positions in water governance
often seem unattainable for women and many people label work in WASH as “dirty,
dangerous and heavy.” Moreover, barriers such as the lack of gender-friendly and
private sanitation facilities, a lack of menstrual products and overt
discrimination in the workplace prevent women from remaining in or moving up to
leadership roles in the WASH industry.
Access
to water and sanitation is still one of the most prevalent and pervasive global
challenges. Remote and low-income areas often struggle to obtain access to
water. To combat these inequalities, fresh perspectives are necessary to shape
water availability in Bangladesh. Marginalized populations living in poverty, such
as women, the elderly and people with disabilities, experience even more
difficulties accessing water.
Bangladeshi
women understand how households use and conserve water firsthand and also have
the lived experience of attempting to properly manage a menstrual cycle without
the necessary resources and facilities. By integrating women into the workforce
and training them to take on leadership roles, new and necessary perspectives
informed by experiences with inequality, intersectionality and marginalization
can come to the table. Expanding the hiring pool to include women while
dismantling barriers to leadership makes way for addressing the WASH sector’s
evolving needs more efficiently.
Furthermore,
both women and companies benefit from gaining access to better jobs in WASH.
Evidence proves that gender-diverse companies outperform less diverse companies
and several studies link greater diversity to an expanded skillset within the
company.
The
Bangladesh Rural WASH for Human Capital Development program creates space for
women’s voices in WASH by “providing improved access to water, sanitation and
hygiene services in 78 rural sub-districts in Bangladesh.” The World Bank will
provide “microfinance loans and sanitation grants for investments” in WASH
facilities and hopes to “shift WASH decision-making from men in town markets to
women in homes.” The program will encourage female “representation and
leadership in water management committees,” with the goal of “women chairing
30% of these committees.” Those chairing will receive training and support on
how to use their voices to bring to light crucial WASH matters.
Finally,
the program will support 150 female entrepreneurs to “market and sell soaps,
disinfectants and menstrual hygiene products at household doorsteps,” further
encouraging ideal menstrual hygiene practices for girls and women.
Source:
Borgen Magazine
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/water-governance/
-----------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/nazanin-zaghari-british-iranian/d/125593