Facebook Launches Partnership with Egypt to Protect Women from Cyber Harassment
New
Age Islam News Bureau
02
January 2021
• Morocco’s Ilham Bel Makhfi Wins Miss Arab World 2020
•
Following Sahoo Bint Abdullah Al-Mahboub’s footsteps Four Saudi Women Changed
Their Driver’s Luck by Marrying Them
•
Tamil Nadu Muslim Women Aid society of Tiruchy Appeals To Start Medical, Arts Colleges
For Muslim Girls
•
No Bar On Granting Anticipatory Bail for Offence by Muslim Women under Triple
Talaq Law: SC
•
Empowerment During Covid-19: Members Of Iranian Women’s Group Make And Sell
Masks
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/facebook-launches-partnership-with-egypt/d/123959
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Facebook
Launches Partnership With Egypt To Protect Women From Cyber Harassment
Alaa
Omran
Jan
2, 2021
CAIRO
— Facebook announced on Dec. 17 a partnership and cooperation initiative with
Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) to spread awareness about the
protection of women on the giant social media platform.
The
initiative, titled “Women’s Safety Resources,” includes the use of online
material such as GIFs, cartoons and videos in a bid to raise awareness among
female users on how to manage and adjust their Facebook privacy settings and
block anyone who engages in violence against women.
Maya
Morsy, NCW head, said in a Dec. 17 statement on her Facebook page that the
council focuses on fighting violence against women in all forms, adding that
social media has become a means to practice “violence in its various forms such
as harassment, bullying and blackmail, among others. The partnership [with
Facebook] aims to spread awareness among women on how to protect themselves
from all the forms of violence practiced against them through Facebook.”
Morsy
stressed the importance of such partnerships to ensure women’s protection while
using Facebook and to raise awareness about the importance of privacy settings.
“It
is also very important for women to exercise their rights to control the
situation when they are faced with any form of online violence. We are working
on spreading awareness on how to activate these [settings],” she added.
“The
safety of all users is important to us at Facebook, and we are committed to
providing tools and resources designed to keep all users safe and to working
continuously to develop them to support enjoyable experiences in a constantly
changing digital environment. The partnership with the NCW in Egypt would allow
us to reach and interact with a wide range of women,” Joelle Awad, policy
programs manager at Facebook in the Middle East and North Africa, said in a
press statement.
“The
Facebook administration is committed to supporting and enabling individuals
around the world to communicate via our platform in a safe way, where the
control power is in the users’ hands. They get to decide what to share and with
whom to share. This is the vision through which we will continue our work,”
Awad added.
The
NCW had previously launched several awareness campaigns on social media to
combat cyber violence and cybercrimes against women, in cooperation with
various local and international partners, in a bid to spread awareness on ways
to prevent negative practices on the internet, increase the use of safety and
protection programs, in addition to learning about the available support
services.
Naswhi
al-Deeb, an Egyptian member of parliament, told Al-Monitor, “The partnership
signed between NCW and Facebook is a good [step], especially in light of the
many and unacceptable harassment and inhumane violations that women face on
Facebook. The platform has become a virtual world on its own and must have a
set of laws and regulations governing it.”
Deeb
believes that some Facebook users have no restrictions and ethics online, and
the existence of such a partnership between the two sides would create moral
restraint for some of the users, especially since the protection of women
should be a priority on social networking sites, notably on Facebook, where
women constantly face harassment and violence. She added that this partnership
is seen as a new outlook for using all available tools to protect women from
all kinds of violence and harassment across the virtual world, especially
Facebook.
Ahmed
Arafa, director of the digital marketing firm Di Median Company, told
Al-Monitor, “The partnership between the NCW and Facebook is a good idea as it
will be in the interest of women’s rights, stopping some people from violating
their privacy and freedoms on their Facebook pages through a friend request or
personal message to women.”
He
believes the partnership allows the reporting of a person or page attempting to
harass Facebook female users and violate their privacy, which would prompt
legal measures by the Facebook administration. Arafa explained that this
benefits society and protects women from any violation of their privacy, since
what has been taking place online amounts to moral collapse, while this
partnership would protect women against any encroachment on their personal
freedoms and would provide them with security while using Facebook.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/12/egypt-facebook-initiative-protect-women-harassment.html
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Morocco’s
Ilham Bel Makhfi Wins Miss Arab World 2020
By
Safaa Kasraoui -
Jan
1, 2021
Morocco’s Ilham Bel Makhfi Wins Miss Arab World
2020
-----
Rabat
– Moroccan woman Ilham Bel Makhfi earned the title of Miss Arab 2020 earlier
this week in Egypt.
Ilham
Ben Makhfi outperformed 11 other participants who represented 12 different
countries in the beauty pageant, which ended on Monday.
Several
participants from Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, the Comoros, Djibouti, Sudan, Jordan,
Algeria, and Iraq, among other countries, participated in the event.
Morocco’s
28-year-old Miss Arab World holds a master’s degree in economics.
Egyptian
news outlet Masr Alyoum reported that Yemeni woman Sarah Al Agha clinched the
title of Miss Arab for Tourism for her efforts to support Arab tourism through
youth conferences.
Professor
of plastic surgery Omar Rashad chaired the jury.
Ilham
Ben Makhfi’s win is not the first time a Moroccan woman has claimed this type
of title.
On
June 29, 2019, Moroccan model Sofia Saidi took home the “Miss Arab Top Model”
crown.
From
Rabat, the model expressed satisfaction, saying that a good academic background
is a must.
“We
are in an ever-changing world, today everything is going so fast, so for me,
modeling is a passion but I know for sure that I will not do this all my life.
So I wanted to succeed in my academic career in conjunction with modeling,” she
said.
Saidi
also expressed pride at being Moroccan.
“I’m
lucky to be Moroccan because this nationality is one of the few that adapts to
different environments and backgrounds easily, both linguistically and
socially,” she told MWN last year.
She
also called on Moroccan women and girls to pursue their dreams and to “never to
listen to anyone who discourages” them.
“If
you want something you can get it if you work hard enough,” she said.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/01/330321/moroccos-ilham-bel-makhfi-wins-miss-arab-world-2020/
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Following
Sahoo Bint Abdullah Al-Mahboub’s footsteps Four Saudi Women Changed Their
Driver’s Luck By Marrying Them
02ND
JAN, 2021
After
a Saudi billionaire woman married a Pakistani driver, it seems like drivers
have great luck in the kingdom.
The
world got shocked after the news of Saudi billionaire businesswoman Sahoo Bint
Abdullah Al-Mahboub, whose wealth is valued at 8 billion$ got married to her
Pakistani driver spread like a fire on social media.
Following
Sahoo’s footsteps, 4 other Saudi women married their driver and changed his
luck in just a few minutes.
According
to the details, four Saudi women teaching in a remote village school married
their driver so they can live closer to work and avoid the daily hectic
commute.
As
per the sources, the Saudi women fell in love with the man’s ‘good morals’ and
decided to marry him and live together in the village where they teach.
They
tied knot in a short ceremony, and have agreed to pay the driver a share of
their monthly salaries.
https://www.bolnews.com/popular/2021/01/4-saudi-women-changed-their-drivers-luck-by-marrying-him/
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Tamil
Nadu Muslim Women Aid society of Tiruchy Appeals To Start Medical, Arts
Colleges For Muslim Girls
02nd
January 2021
TIRUCHY:
Executive member of Tamil Nadu Muslim Women Aid society of Tiruchy and
neurologist MA Aleem appealed to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to start
an Arts and Science College for Muslim women and a medical college under Wakf
Board. Aleem presented a petition to Palaniswami during his visit to the
Natharsha Mosque on Thursday.
The
Federation of Oorali Gounder Associations also submitted a petition to
Palaniswami seeking DNC (denotified caste) category tag for members of the
community all over the State. At present, Oorali Gounders are classified as DNC
in in Tiruchy, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Karur and Pudukkottai districts and as
Backward Caste elsewhere.
Earlier,
farmers, along with the Tamil Manila Congress’s farmers wing led by their State
treasurer Vayalur N Rajendran, submitted a petition to Palaniswami, seeking
measures to ensure irrigation.
They
demanded a check-dam across the Cauvery with 2 TMC capacity near Kulithalai
Kumarapalayam. Rajendran said many farmers are dependent on the major canals of
the Cauvery, Uyyakondam, Ayyan and Kattalai. However, these are not perennial
canals and groundwater decreases when water is scarce.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/jan/02/medical-arts-colleges-for-muslim-girls-sought-2244332.html
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No
bar on granting anticipatory bail for offence by Muslim women under triple
talaq law: SC
02nd
January 2021
NEW
DELHI: The Supreme Court has said there is no bar on granting anticipatory bail
for an offence committed under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Marriage) Act 2019, which makes the practice of instant divorce through
"triple talaq" among Muslims a punishable offence, provided the court
hears the complainant woman before granting pre-arrest bail.
The
apex court noted that under the provisions of the Act, a Muslim husband who
pronounces "triple talaq" upon his wife can be sentenced to a jail
term that may extend to three years.
The
top court said the prohibition in the 2019 law is evidently one "which
operates in relation to a Muslim husband alone".
A
bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud referred to the relevant sections of
the Act and also the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which
relates to directions for the grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest.
"For
the above reasons, we have come to the conclusion that on a true and harmonious
construction of section 438 of the CrPC and section 7(c) of the Act, there is
no bar on granting anticipatory bail for an offence committed under the Act,
provided that the competent court must hear the married Muslim woman, who has
made the complaint, before granting the anticipatory bail," the bench,
also comprising justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee, said.
"It
would be at the discretion of the court to grant ad-interim relief to the
accused during the pendency of the anticipatory bail application, having issued
notice to the married Muslim woman," it added.
The
bench was hearing an appeal filed against a Kerala High Court order, which had
declined to grant anticipatory bail to the woman.
Referring
to the provisions of the 2019 Act, the apex court said, "The prohibition
in sections 3 and 4 is evidently one which operates in relation to a Muslim
husband alone.
"This
is supported by the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Muslim
Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019, when it was introduced in
Parliament."
The
top court passed the verdict while granting anticipatory bail to a woman
accused of harassing her daughter-in-law, who got an FIR lodged in August last
year, alleging that her spouse had pronounced "triple talaq" on her
at their house.
The
court noted that under section 3 of the Act, the pronouncement of "triple
talaq" by a Muslim husband upon his wife has been rendered void and
illegal while section 4 deals with the punishment for the same.
"Thus,
on a preliminary analysis, it is clear that the appellant, as the mother-in-law
of the second respondent (complainant woman), cannot be accused of the offence
of pronouncement of triple talaq under the Act as the offence can only be
committed by a Muslim man," the bench said.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/jan/02/no-bar-on-granting-anticipatory-bail-for-offence-by-muslim-women-under-triple-talaq-law-sc-2244426.html
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Empowerment
during Covid-19: Members of Iranian women’s group make and sell masks
Dec
31, 2020
As
the coronavirus pandemic ravages Iran, home to the Mideast’s worst outbreak, a
women’s group hopes to empower its members by helping them make and sell face
masks.
The
organization called “Bavar,” or “Belief” in Farsi, formed in 2016, allowing
women looking for work to make handicrafts with donated sewing machines. It
gave widows and others a way to earn cash in a country whose anemic economy
only worsened since President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s
nuclear deal with world powers.
Sara
Chartabian, the founder of Bavar, said the group tries to teach women to be
self-sufficient as unemployment and inflation remain high.
“We
teach them fishing instead of giving them a fish,” Chartabian said.
The
pandemic, however, has seen the demand for handicrafts drop. Iran has 1.2
million reported cases of the virus, with about 1 million recoveries and over
55,000 deaths — with officials acknowledging the true toll could be far higher.
Meanwhile, the women in need still had to earn money to support their families.
So,
the women at Bavar decided to begin making cloth face masks. Today, some 50
women sit with their sewing machines, creating two-ply cloth masks. A third
layer can be added with material sold in local pharmacies.
Elham
Karami, a 41-year-old woman who works five days a week to support her two sons,
said she makes around 10,000 rials (3 U.S. cents) for each face mask she sews.
Clients for Bavar include companies and others.
“I
am grateful for this (organization) because they turned me to a skilled tailor
for free,” Karami said. “They allowed me to use a sewing machine to learn how
to sew. They also provided materials for me to work on.”
Depending
on the order size, Bavar then sells the masks for as much as 250,00 rials (96
U.S. cents) apiece.
In
Iran, where the capital of Tehran has been hard-hit by the virus, authorities
have mandated mask wearing. While fines for not wearing a mask remain low and
poorly enforced, the public increasingly has been seen wearing them.
Chartabian
said Bavar’s sales help support buying materials, sewing machines and other
matters. The organization also provides women with psychological counseling and
other support. She declined to offer specific sales figures for the masks so
far, but said every bit helped support women in need.
“Maybe
the money is not so much, but we provide them services such as psychological
counseling and also equipment,” she said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/it-s-viral/empowerment-during-covid-19-members-of-iranian-women-s-group-make-and-sell-masks/story-aK4WJ3BglKTbYFQs7nBraI.html
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