Female Delegate at the Afghan-Taliban Peace Talk, Fatima Gailani, Wants To Make Peace with the Taliban
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 October 2020
• Shayara Bano, Muslim Woman Who Fought Against Triple Talaq, Joins BJP
• Rajasthan Women Who Dropped Out Due To Eve Teasing
Begin School Again As Police Keep Watch
• Saudi Arabia Appoints Princess, Sara Bint Musaed Bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud, to Family Affairs Council
• Saudi Education Minister Opens Two Digital Colleges
for Women
• Egypt Court Starts Sex Crimes Trial Of Student In
#MeToo Case
• Women Can Register As Presidential Candidates: Guardian
Council
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/female-delegate-afghan-taliban-peace/d/123108
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Female Delegate at the Afghan-Taliban Peace Talk, Fatima Gailani, Wants To Make Peace with the Taliban
Sandra Petersmann
09.10.2020
Fatima Gailani, one of only four women at crucial
peace talks with the Taliban,
----
Coming face to face with the enemy is still a rare
occasion. In Doha, only a few leaders from the warring parties are still
doggedly discussing the rules and procedures that will later apply to all
delegates to the Afghan peace negotiations. But for female delegate Fatima
Gailani, direct contact with the Taliban has already occurred.
"During dinner we had a long, long
conversation," says Gailani. "And when we see each other in the
corridor, we stop to ask about each other's health. And because I came from such
a serious illness, most of them stop and show their sympathy, they show their
happiness that I am well and that I have joined."
42 years of war in Afghanistan
When referring to the Taliban, Gailani does not use
the term "enemy" despite an acrimonious history. "Really, I
haven't seen any reaction that I didn't like. But when it comes to serious
talks in the future, of course, we will have our differences. But my hope is
that we will resolve these differences because we have a very ugly option in front
of this peace, and that's war."
Gailani is part of the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan's negotiating team, which was established through international
efforts following the overthrow of the Taliban regime. "For me it was like
a dream come true," Gailani told DW via a WhatsApp call from the luxury
hotel that is hosting the historic peace talks in Qatar's capital. "The
last 42 years of my life was dedicated to seeing peace one day in my
country."
Twenty-one people are representing each side at the
negotiating table in Doha, for a total of 42 delegates — one for each year of
the war.
Frontwoman in Doha
Fatima Gailani was only 24 years old when Afghanistan
sank into chaos in the late 1970s. At that time, a conflict over communist and
Islamist ideals broke out in Kabul, culminating with an invasion by the Soviet
Union in 1979. That was followed by an explosion of violence that has unfolded
across five chapters of the country's modern history and continues to this day:
— The war of the Islamic mujahedeen against the Red
Army, largely supported by the United States, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
— The fratricidal power struggles among the mujahedeen
after Soviet troops, humiliated, withdrew in spring 1989
— The rapid rise of the radical Islamic Taliban, which
established an emirate in 1996
— The overthrow of the Taliban regime by the US and
their allies following the 9/11 attacks
— The Taliban's fight against Western intervention,
through which an Islamic republic with a democratic constitution was created in
Afghanistan
Gailani is now 66 and is suffering from cancer. She
has returned from retirement, after three major operations, to be present in
Doha. She is one of only four women involved in the talks.
To the question of whether she is a feminist, the
humanitarian replies: "Well, if someone is working for women and the
future of women is important to them and the name for that is feminist, then
maybe I am. But I have equal passion for other things which are not right in my
country. So maybe I am an activist for whatever goes wrong in my country."
Gailani hails from an influential religious family
with connections to the former Afghan monarchy. She studied Persian literature,
Islamic Studies and Islamic law. She grew up in peace under the reform-minded
King Zahir Shah, Afghanistan's last monarch, who in the 1960s initiated reforms
that created opportunities for women to participate in public life.
"But we did lose it, didn't we?" asks
Gailani without expecting an answer. "Most of the young generation, they
have never seen peace — and that especially makes me want to put my steps
forward very carefully."
Every wrong word can have consequences — even on the
battlefield.
From the mujahedeen to the Red Crescent
Gailani left her homeland during the Soviet occupation
and lived in London, where she appeared at the time as the young female face of
the Afghan mujahedeen. Her father was one of the leaders of the "holy
war" against the Red Army.
In late November 2001, after the Taliban was
overthrown, she was present in Bonn, Germany, where negotiations toward a
democratic Afghanistan were held in great haste.
She then returned to her homeland after more than 20
years of exile and became a constitutional commissioner, helping to write the
new Afghan constitution, before serving as president of the Afghan Red Crescent
for 13 years until 2016.
"I saw the human tragedy happening on both sides.
The misery which happened in Afghanistan, it doesn't recognize name or
territory."
After a moment of silence, she adds: "No one was
an angel, really. So, I don't allow myself to blame one side or the
other."
Cease-fire a top priority
Gailani follows one guiding principle, and it applies
to the whole of Afghanistan, she says: the killing must stop. "Whoever is
responsible for it — it has to stop. That's why for me, a cease-fire is the
number one priority. The people of Afghanistan have put a tremendous hope in
this peace talks."
But fighting, bombings and killings continue
relentlessly in Afghanistan — even as US and NATO troops prepare to leave.
Washington wants to end its longest war as soon as possible and has
single-handedly negotiated the terms of the Western withdrawal with the
Taliban, without involving the Afghan government.
It is an approach Gailani criticizes. "This will
be wrong because it is always wrong. In Bonn, only a few people were put in the
driving seats. And to again be put in driving seats by someone else, this would
be wrong," she says.
Nineteen years ago, US officials prevented Taliban
representatives from taking part in the Afghan peace conference in Germany. But
the tide has now turned. The US still holds all the cards, as diplomatic
sources in Kabul and Doha confirm — but with the big difference that direct
contact with the Taliban is now the new norm. The US policy shift has the Afghan
government feeling threatened.
The key question: The role of Islam
Gailani warns outsiders against unilaterally taking
sides in the complicated Afghan peace process. Back in 2001, she emphasizes,
"everyone thought that [the Taliban] would vanish. But how could a part of
the country vanish?" It did not happen then with the Taliban, nor will it
happen now with the people she represents.
"We will not vanish. We are part of this country.
These young people are part of this country. These women are part of this
country. We are there. And we have our values," she says.
Indeed, values are a key question in the Doha talks.
The main focus is on the future role of Islam in the country: How modern does
Afghanistan want to be, how democratic, how equal, how gender fair, how
Islamic? Will the country remain a republic or can it only find peace as a
theocracy — for example as an Islamic emirate? And who defines the social
values that also depend on the interpretation of the Quran and Sharia law?
These key questions have remained unresolved for
decades, and not only since the rise of the Taliban.
Is the US an honest broker?
What does a possible power-sharing deal with the
Taliban look like? Peace researcher Mariam Safi is also concerned with this
question.
Safi was born in Kabul in 1983 during the Soviet
occupation. In 1988 she and her family fled first to Pakistan, then on to
Canada. The 37-year-old has been living in her home country again since 2010
and founded the Kabul-based Organization for Policy Research and Development
Studies, or Drops for short.
"Afghanistan as a whole in terms of its culture,
traditions and as a society has changed. But I don't think any of us have an
actual understanding of how we have changed," Safi says.
Women's rights are still very controversial, and not
just among the ranks of the Taliban. "These are laws that still require a
lot of work and a lot of time in terms of their cultural implementation on the
ground," she says. Two-thirds of the population live in abject poverty, and
hundreds of thousands of men earn their living as fighters.
The Taliban and their supporters consider the new
constitution to be un-Islamic, even if it prescribes that no law may contradict
Islam, says Safi: "They have reiterated consistently that Islamic Sharia
law is what will guide their decisions on the development of a new constitution
and a new political system. So, it means that their interpretation of Sharia
law is what will be returning."
Social trust in the democratic state and its
government has also eroded on the part of the Taliban's opponents due to
repeated election manipulation, corruption, appalling abuse of power along with
a general lack of security. Afghanistan has remained a favorite destination for
Islamist terrorists. Would the end of the Afghan attempt at democracy be too
high a price for peace?
The return to "the Islamic emirate does not
reflect the new Afghanistan that has emerged in the last 20 years of
international engagement," Safi believes. Moreover, "it will topple
and trample all over the struggles and the achievements that we have so far. It
might be a few. It might be limited. But there have been some achievements in
democracy, in ensuring freedom and rights," the peace researcher adds.
It will take honest and patient brokers to balance the
maximum demands on both sides of the negotiating table. Can the US play this
role if it is primarily concerned with the withdrawal of its own soldiers?
As Safi puts it: "Where the United States is
going to sway their support in this process, is going to determine how this
process is going to unfold — and whether it will represent or reflect the needs
of the people of Afghanistan, who will have to live this agreement
afterwards."
Failure 'should not be an option'
Thousands of kilometers away, at the negotiating site
in Doha, Fatima Gailani sees herself as an envoy of the Afghan people.
"For the last 19 years, I never went into the government. I chose to go
into humanitarian work because I couldn't deal with all these wheels and deals.
I could have never dealt with it," she says.
As to the question of what her personal red lines will
be in the talks with the Taliban, she says: "For me, the red line is
really the failure of this discussion. This should not happen. It should not be
an option. And when it comes to defending the values: we can defend it from the
Islamic point of view, from the humanitarian point of view."
Gailani speaks of shared responsibility for human
values and looks to Mediterranean islands such as Lesbos and Samos where many
Afghan refugees have arrived, looking for a better future in Europe.
"When I watch these reports from Greece and these
refugees, I recognize the faces of Afghans," she says. "It breaks my
heart [to know] why these young men and women will take such misery, only
because they feel their country was worse."
https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-how-fatima-gailani-wants-to-make-peace-with-the-taliban/a-55214438
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Shayara Bano, Muslim Woman Who Fought Against Triple
Talaq, Joins BJP
Dilip Rathore
October 10, 2020
Shayara Bano said that she will try to shatter
misconceptions about the BJP that it is anti-minority.
------
Shayara Bano, the Muslim woman who fought a long legal
battle against triple talaq, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She
joined the party today in Dehradun in presence of Uttarakhand BJP leaders
including state BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat.
In a tweet about her joining the party, the
Uttarakhand BJP wrote, "Shayara Bano, the brave woman who raised her voice
against triple talaq, joined the BJP and accepted its primary membership today
at the party's state headquarters in Dehradun."
In 2016, Shayara Bano knocked the doors of the Supreme
Court against the practice of triple talaq (or instant divorce), saying it was
an "unfair practice" and demanded its abolition in India. Shayara
Bano was the original petitioner in the case against triple talaq.
She said she was duped into accepting a letter that
summarily broke her home. A marriage of 15 years was dissolved in minutes
unilaterally with her husband dispatching a 'talaqnama' to her while she was at
her parent's place in Kashipur, Uttarakhand recuperating from an illness.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/shayara-bano-muslim-woman-who-fought-against-triple-talaq-joins-bjp-1730374-2020-10-10
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Rajasthan Women Who Dropped Out Due To Eve Teasing
Begin School Again As Police Keep Watch
11th October 2020
By Rajesh Asnani
Over 1,000 girls have already applied to complete
their education under this progamme | EXPRESS
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RAJASTHAN: It was a special Daughter’s Day for
17-year-old Aarshi living in the Karbala area of Jaipur. Three years back her
father, who works in a courier company, made her drop out of school due to
eve-teasing. The girl had her dreams shattered. Today, she has hope: Ramganj
police have taken charge of her education.
She filled out her 10th grade form in the police
station and was promised that she would be taken care of and that her education
expenses will be borne by the Ramganj police.
“I will be able to study from home with the help of
the police. I have two younger sisters who also dropped out and will be able to
study again,” says Aarshi. Like Aarshi, 30-year-old Parveen Bano also filled
the 10th grade form in the police station.
A mother of two children, she too had to drop out as
the school in the Idgah area had shut down. “When I heard that the police would
help many like us, I asked my husband if I could enroll in the 10th grade...I
want to move forward.”
The police’s initiative has come from Jaipur
Commissionerate (North) DCP, Rajiv Pachar. The plan is to help girls and women
in 17 police station areas to complete their education.
It has received a great response from the
Muslim-dominated old city. This drive began on Sept 25, with 300 girls from the
Ramganj area, 100 from Brahampuri, 100 from Subhash Chowk and Shastri Nagar
applying on the first day.
Besides, 500 girls have applied from women’s police
station areas. Pachar says there’s hardly any girl in Muslim- dominated Jaipur
North who is educated till 12th grade.
“After initial schooling, most of them are made to
help in household chores and take care of their younger siblings. We want such
women to resume their studies”, said Pachar.
Pachar directed his team to identify such women
needing help. Religious leaders were also taken into confidence along with beat
constables to help girls study further and make at least five other women
educated in their colony.
“The police will bear their fees in 17 police station
areas. We will also ensure that they get study material.
They can also take help of teachers in the open
school. We’ll also pay their exam fees,” says Pachar.
It was Yusuf Khan, who runs an NGO ‘Missile Man’s
Mission,’ who first hit upon the idea. During the Covid-induced lockdown, he
thought since everyone was working from home, it was an ideal time for those
girls to resume their studies through distance learning.
The State Women’s Empowerment Department runs a
‘Shiksha Setu’ programme in which the girls are taught at home for 10th and
12th grades through open schools.
The enrolment fee is only Rs 85 and the rest of the
expenses are borne by the government. Yusuf went to seek help from many police
officers.
It was Pachar who came forward to initiate the program.
“This wasn’t possible without the DCP’s help,” says Khan. Together they want to
take the initiative right up to the exams. “We’ll arrange to drop the girls to
their exam centres and bring them back to their homes,” says Khan.
An idea to help women resume their eduction
Yusuf Khan, who runs an NGO ‘Missile Man’s Mission,’
first hit upon the idea. Khan thought that the Covid lockdown was an ideal time
for girls who had to leave their studies to resume it through distance learning.
The Women’s Empowerment Department runs a ‘Shiksha
Setu’ programme where girls are taught at home through open schools. Khan
sought help from police officers and DCP Rajiv Pachar came forward to initiate
the program
https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2020/oct/11/rajasthan-women-who-dropped-out-due-to-eve-teasing-begin-school-again-as-police-keep-watch-2208634.html
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Saudi Arabia Appoints Princess, Sara Bint Musaed Bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud, to Family Affairs Council
October 8, 2020
The Saudi Council of Ministers on Tuesday appointed
Princess Sara Bint Musaed Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as a member of the specialists
in the governmental Family Affairs Council.
The Saudi cabinet said in a statement that it has also
appointed Dr. Wafa Bint Ibrahim Al-Sabeel as a member of the specialists and
those interested in childhood affairs in the same council.
According to the statement, Princess Sara has
participated in events and initiatives on women’s affairs, while Dr. Wafa is an
associate professor at Imam University in Riyadh and specialises in children’s
literature.
In 2017, Riyadh established the Family Affairs Council
which aims to address the social, cultural and economic challenges facing Saudi
families.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201008-saudi-arabia-appoints-princess-to-family-affairs-council/
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Saudi education minister opens two digital colleges
for women
September 17, 2020
RIYADH: Hamad Al-Sheikh inaugurated the first two
digital colleges for women in Riyadh and Jeddah on Wednesday.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the governor
of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), Ahmed Al-Fuhaid.
The colleges will provide specialized training
programs for about 4,000 trainees in several fields. Programs on offer include
network systems management, media technology, software, the Internet of things,
smart cities, robotics technology, artificial intelligence and machine
learning.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1735796/saudi-arabia
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Egypt court starts sex crimes trial of student in
#MeToo case
October 11, 2020
Cairo - A former Cairo university student appeared in
court on Saturday charged with blackmail and indecent assault of at least three
women in a closely-watched case prompted by social media that opened up a rare
public debate on sex crimes.
Ahmed Bassam Zaki, aged in his early 20s and a former
student at the American University in Cairo, attended a closed session with the
trial adjourned to Nov. 7, a lawyer from the defence team, Ahmed Ragheb, told
the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In September, the public prosecutor referred Zaki to
the criminal court on charges of "sexually assaulting three girls under
the age of 18 and threatening them along with a fourth girl with disclosing matters
related to their honor". Zaki, who comes from a wealthy family, could face
a life sentence or death sentence if the prosecution proved rape with evidence.
The case has attracted widespread attention from
media, religious figures and women's groups in a country where rights defenders
say sexual harassment or abuse often goes unpunished. A 2017 Thomson Reuters
Foundation poll found Cairo to be the most dangerous megacity for women and 99%
of women in Egypt interviewed by the United Nations in 2013 said they had
experienced sexual harassment.
Allegations against Zaki were posted in previous years
on a private Facebook group run by AUC students but authorities reacted this
year after the accusations surfaced on an Instagram account named
@assaultpolice. After Zaki's arrest, hundreds of women started to speak up on
social media about abuse sparking at #MeToo Movement, exposing several men and
also revealing a high-profile rape case that occurred in a Cairo hotel in 2014.
In August, the public prosecution arrested two
suspects in that case and said seven others had fled the country and it was
pursuing them. On Sept. 25, the public prosecution said Lebanon had handed over
three men accused in the case while two others had fled.
Responding to the growing public debate over women's
safety, parliament passed a law in August giving women the automatic right to
anonymity in a bid to encourage more to report sexual assaults. "Zaki's
case has been shocking as it put into debate a deeply-rooted tradition of accusing
the victim not the harasser and justifying his actions," said lawyer Reda
Eldanbouki, executive director of the Women's Center for Guidance and Legal
Awareness.
https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/egypt-court-starts-sex-crimes-trial-of-student-in-metoo-case-1.1602388108312
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Women Can Register As Presidential Candidates:
Guardian Council
October 10, 2020
In response to a question of whether the council’s
Faqihs (experts in Islamic law) have made changes to their definition of the
legal term “statesman” to include women as well, Kadkhodaei told reporters that
no changes have been made with this regard.
“In this regard, there are a series of cultural
discussions going on in our country and it is not an issue that we resolve with
merely a law,” he said, according to Mehr.
“First, this cultural issue must be resolved, and no
changes have been made in this regard,” he remarked, adding, “Nevertheless, the
registration of women in the presidential elections is permitted.”
Iran’s next presidential elections will be held on
June 18, 2021.
In remarks in August, Jamal Orf, the deputy interior
minister in charge of elections, said with the Guardian Council’s approval,
June 18 was set for holding presidential, council and midterm parliamentary and
Assembly of Experts elections.
Candidates hoping to run in the next elections are to
apply in early April for approval. The final list is to be announced by the
Guardian Council in early June.
Under Iran’s law, an incumbent president cannot run
for a third term if he has already served for two consecutive terms in office.
Rouhani was first elected in 2013 and reelected four years later.
So far, no woman has been approved by the Guardian
Council to run for president.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/453405/Women-can-register-as-presidential-candidates-Guardian-Council
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