‘Girls’ Education Is a Climate Solution’: Malala Joins Climate Protest
New Age Islam News Bureau
16 June 2022
• Gender Diversity on the Rise in the UAE As More
Women Take Top Board Positions
• UN Decries Taliban Over ‘Systematic Oppression’ Of
Women
• Saudi Authorities Seize Rainbow Toys for Promoting Homosexuality
• Dubai Women's Group Organise Fun-Filled Day for
Cancer Patients and Survivors
• 115 Pakistani Women Entrepreneurs Selected For AWE
2022
• Houthis Order Female Aid Workers Not To Travel
without Male Escort, Says UN
• Turkey’s Top Business Body Vows Support To Boost
Female Entrepreneurs
• Nagaland's First Woman MP In RS To Attend IPU Global
Conference In Egypt
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/girl-education-climate-malala/d/127260
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‘Girls’ Education Is A Climate Solution’: Malala Joins
Climate Protest
Nobel peace prize winner
Malala Yousafzai attends a "Fridays For Future" protest in Stockholm,
Sweden, June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Philip O'Connor
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June 15, 2022
STOCKHOLM: The fight against climate change is also a
fight for the right to education of girls, millions of whom lose access to
schools due to climate-related events, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala
Yousafzai told Reuters.
Yousafzai was speaking outside the Swedish parliament
where she joined environmental campaigners Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate at
one of the climate protests which have been held there every week since 2018
and sparked a global movement.
In 2012, the now 24-year-old survived being shot in
the head by an Afghanistan-based proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
gunman after she was targeted for her campaign against the Taliban’s efforts to
deny women education.
She subsequently became the youngest recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize for her education advocacy.
“Due to climate-related events, millions of girls lose
their access to schools. Events like droughts and floods impact schools
directly, displacements are caused due to some of these events,” Yousafzai said
in an interview.
“Because of that, girls are impacted the most: they
are the first ones to drop out of schools and the last ones to return.”
During the demonstration, Yousafzai recounted a story
of how her own education was interrupted by climate change as her school and
many others in the locality were flooded.
Yousafzai, Nakate and Thunberg all stressed how women,
especially those in developing countries, were disproportionately affected by
the climate crisis and can be part of the solution if they are empowered by
education.
“When girls and women are educated, it helps reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, it helps build resilience and it also helps reduce
the existing inequalities that so many women and girls face in different parts
of the world,” said Nakate, a 25-year-old activist from Uganda.
Yousafzai, who tough her Malala Fund has also become a
global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of repression, took
selfies with passing locals and tourists, and talked at length to the Fridays
For Future activists who have protested outside the parliament building since
2018, becoming a global movement in the process.
Activists unveiled banners and placards expressing
support for the right of Afghan girls to education and linking the climate crisis
and future solutions to it to the educational opportunities of women around the
world.
“Any girl can change the world if provided with the
right tools to do so,” said Thunberg, 19.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Gender Diversity on the Rise in the UAE As More Women
Take Top Board Positions
Fatema Al Nuaimi - ADNOC
LNG CEO. Craig Strydom craigstrydom.net
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16 June, 2022
The UAE’s continued efforts to improve gender
diversity in the boardroom have led to more women holding board positions this
year (8.9 percent), up from 3.5 percent in 2020, according to research
undertaken by Aurora50, a social enterprise working towards gender parity in
GCC boardrooms, and Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG).
The report, ‘Non-executive Board Careers in the UAE: A
Path to Gender Balance,’ which was sponsored by the Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company (ADNOC), reveals that 77 of the 868 board seats from the 115 listed
companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial
Market (DFM), are now held by women.
This represents 8.9 percent representation of women in
UAE boardrooms, up from 3.5 percent in 2020, according to the research findings
by Aurora50 in its report which was released on Thursday.
The boost to women on boards in the UAE follows the
Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) setting a quota last year mandating
all listed companies in the UAE to appoint at least one woman to their boards.
In a first-of-its-kind study undertaken in the GCC,
the report interviewed 16 women with independent board directorships to
understand key steps that aspiring women board directors can proactively take
throughout their careers to reach non-executive board roles.
The UAE-based Aurora50 was co-founded by Sheikha
Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and Diana Wilde in 2020.
Aurora50’s first -- successful -- initiative is to increase
the number of women on boards in the UAE through the Pathway20 accelerator
program. They have now expanded their focus to support listed corporations,
large private organizations and high-growth businesses alike with all their
diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives.
Wilde, co-founder of Aurora50, said, “It is excellent
to see such progress being made in boardrooms across the UAE, but we know there
is a lot more that can be done to accelerate the pace of change. We hope this
report will help women in the region to confidently make their way to the top.
As one of the existing women board directors who was interviewed for this
report said, ‘Women need to strategically plan the career they wish to have.’
If an aspiring woman does this, using our five-step plan, her timeline to
become a non-executive board director, or NED, is just 10-15 years. While this
is encouraging news for women, it is imperative for them to plan a board career
early, to plan it well and with careful thought.”
“It is vital now that boards embracing greater
diversity must also ensure they do so through inclusive leadership to reap the
rewards of higher performance and profitability,” Wilde added.
Fatema Al Nuaimi, Chief Executive Officer for ADNOC
LNG said, “ADNOC is committed to supporting gender balance and helping women
develop, grow and excel in their careers, which is why we are proud to have
collaborated with Aurora50. This important research provides us with better
insight and actionable recommendations to further accelerate gender diversity
on boards in support of the national gender balance agenda.”
Al Nuaimi is one of ADNOC Group’s three female chief
executives and the energy company has committed to ensuring at least one woman
sits on the board of every ADNOC Group company by the end of 2022. Currently,
16 women sit on its 18 boards. ADNOC has its own gender balance committee and
women’s leadership development program and was Aurora50’s first corporate
client.
Dr. Maryam Buti Alsuwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of
UAE Capital Markets regulatory authority, the Securities and Commodities
Authority (SCA), said, “I am delighted by the news that over two years, the
market has seen a growth in the number of board seats held by women, now 59.1
percent of listed companies having at least one woman board member and 8.9
percent of all board members of listed companies being women.”
“The regulatory requirement of having at least one
woman board member on each listed company’s board that SCA mandated a year ago
has clearly had the desired positive impact, as it has in other countries that
have set similar mandates. Norway and France, the world leaders in having women
on corporate boards, both had set 40 percent quotas and have been successful in
surpassing that target in the past two decades.”
“Gender diversity on boards positively impacts a
company’s future success and profits by creating diversity of thought, while
such inclusive leadership encourages more women to join, thrive, and succeed in
listed companies at all levels.”
Five steps to the top
To ensure UAE companies continue to find talented
women board directors, the report sets out five steps to ensure aspiring women
are appointed to their first non-executive board director in 10-15 years or
less:
Plan: Women should take the opportunity to plan their
career to the board very early on, then hone their technical competencies,
industry expertise and independent thinking to develop the governing skills
vital to board directors.
Build: In this phase of their career, women should aim
to develop soft skills and networks as well as learn their craft to gain
experiences valuable to the boardroom.
Brand: Next, women should focus on their personal
brand to raise awareness about who they are and to make it widely known that
they are ready for a board role, rather than waiting for good performance to
shine through.
Sustain: This phase of the career is about balance.
Women need to develop and maintain a strong support system in life as they add
ongoing board director duties to their role in an executive day job.
Give: Lastly, having reached the board pinnacle, women
can help other women climb up the ladder and give back by mentoring and
nominating other talented women, sharing their experiences, and helping to
change mindsets.
Source: Al Arabiya
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UN decries Taliban over ‘systematic oppression’ of
women
June 16, 2022
GENEVA: The UN rights chief on Wednesday slammed the
Taliban’s “institutionalised systematic oppression” of women and girls in
Afghanistan, warning they face a “critical” situation.
Since the Taliban returned to power last August,
Afghanis have been “experiencing some of the darkest moments of a generation”,
Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
She decried especially the “scourge of gender
inequality” since the Taliban takeover, despite promises they would pursue a
softer version of the harsh Islamist rule that characterised their first stint
in power from 1996 to 2001. But many restrictions have already been imposed.
Tens of thousands of girls have been shut out of
secondary schools, while women have been barred from returning to many
government jobs. Women have also been banned from travelling alone and can only
visit public gardens and parks in Kabul on days separate from men.
Last month, supreme leader and Taliban chief
Hibatullah Akhundzada said women should generally stay at home. They were
ordered to conceal themselves completely, including their faces, should they
need to go out in public.
Bachelet, who visited Afghanistan in March, described
meeting women continuing to demand their rights despite “unimaginable
challenges”. “Their situation is critical,” she said.
“Let me be clear: what we are witnessing today in
Afghanistan is the institutionalised systematic oppression of women.” The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed the severe limits imposed on
women’s freedom of movement “negatively impacts almost all aspects of their
lives, including the ability of women and their children to access and to participate
in health services, livelihood and humanitarian aid.”
Source: Dawn
https://www.dawn.com/news/1695082/un-decries-taliban-over-systematic-oppression-of-women
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Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys for promoting
homosexuality
By David Gritten
June 15, 2022
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have been seizing
rainbow-coloured toys and children's clothing, which they claim encourage
homosexuality, state TV says.
An Al-Ekhbariya report showed commerce ministry
officials removing a range of items from shops in the capital Riyadh.
They included hair clips, pop-its, t-shirts, hats and
pencil cases.
One official said the items "contradict the
Islamic faith and public morals, and promote homosexual colours targeting the
younger generation".
The commerce ministry tweeted separately that its
teams were confiscating "products that contain symbols and signs calling
for deviation and contradicting common sense".
Shops found to be selling them would face legal
penalties, it added.
In December, authorities in neighbouring Qatar
announced that they had confiscated rainbow-coloured pop-its and other toys
from shops for "bearing slogans that go against Islamic values".
Although Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia has no laws
regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, sexual relations outside
marriage, including homosexual sex, are strictly prohibited.
Under the country's interpretation of Islamic law,
consensual same-sex sexual conduct is punishable by death or flogging,
depending on the perceived seriousness of the case.
It is also illegal for men to "behave like
women" or to wear women's clothes, and vice versa, and for anyone to carry
out online activity impinging on "public order, religious values, public
morals, and privacy".
In April, cinemas in the kingdom did not screen the
film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after Disney refused a request
from Saudi authorities to cut what they called "LGBTQ references".
A source close to Disney told AFP news agency on
Tuesday that its new animated film Lightyear, which features a same-sex kiss,
had also been banned in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi officials have not yet confirmed such a move,
but the kingdom's two main cinema chains are not advertising screenings.
The United Arab Emirates culture ministry said it had
banned Lightyear on Monday "due to its violation of the country's media
content standards".
Source: BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61813390
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Dubai women's group organise fun-filled day for cancer
patients and survivors
By SM Ayaz Zakir
15 Jun 2022
While medical intervention is vital for cancer
patients, mental wellbeing also plays a major role in their recovery journey.
And to facilitate this, a cultural event was held for cancer survivors and
patients by the Indian Women in Dubai (IWD) group in collaboration with Al
Jalila Foundation, at Majlis Al Amal, a ‘cancer drop-in centre’ dedicated for
female patients and their wellbeing.
The event saw a huge participation from patients who
sang and danced to Bollywood tunes, as they dressed up in ethnic attire.
As many as 80 volunteers were involved in the hosting
of the event that showcased the culture, heritage, and cuisine of India.
Besides the dances performances, members also enjoyed yoga, meditation sessions
and food prepared by IWD members.
Reema Mahajan, founder of IWD, said she lost her
mother to cancer in March 2021 and this event was her way to honour her. “With
this CSR initiative, we want to give back to society. We want to drive hope and
bring smiles to the brave women warriors fighting the disease,” she said.
Bharti Rao, 43 , a cancer survivor, who started her
fight against the disease in 2018, and endured 12 chemo sessions, a mastectomy,
35 radiotherapy sessions and hysterectomy, said that life is still beautiful
for her. “I now live each day , celebrate little things and feel thankful for
all that I behold,” she said.
“The performers have put smiles on faces of brave
souls and we are all taking back wonderful memories of the day,” added Rao.
Majlis Al Amal is a unique ‘cancer drop-in centre’ dedicated
to female cancer patients and their wellbeing. The Centre aims to keep the
message of hope alive and improve the wellbeing of thousands of women who will
now have a haven to drop-in at any time for the emotional support they need.
Source: Khaleej Times
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115 Pakistani women entrepreneurs selected for AWE
2022
June 13, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The US embassy in Islamabad has selected 115 women to
participate in their program to foster and support women entrepreneurs.
US Embassy Islamabad’s Counsellor for Commercial
Affairs John Coronado congratulated more than 115 Pakistani women entrepreneurs
on their selection to the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) 2022 in a
virtual launch event on June 11.
This US training programme supports women worldwide in
building their own businesses. Its launch in Pakistan is part of the
75th-anniversary celebrations of US-Pakistan bilateral relations and an ongoing
effort to empower Pakistani women to realise their economic potential and
increase prosperity for all Pakistanis.
During his remarks, Mr Coronado spoke about the need
to support women entrepreneurs: “When women are economically empowered, they
reinvest in their families and communities, strengthening the social fabric and
improving education and skill levels of the workforce. This multiplier effect
spurs economic growth and enhances stability.”
With mentoring and guidance from established Pakistani
entrepreneurs, the AWE participants will undertake a three-month, rigorous
online training programme developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird
School of Global Management and American natural resource company Freeport
McMoran.
Through AWE, participants learn core business skills
and will meet weekly to discuss the material with experienced local mentors and
US experts. AWE is designed to cultivate entrepreneurial know-how, help women
entrepreneurs connect with funding opportunities, enhance opportunities for
business expansion, and increase the likelihood of entrepreneurial success.
Four of the US Mission to Pakistan’s Lincoln Corners
in Multan, Muzaffarabad, Khairpur, and Peshawar will lead AWE Pakistan 2022,
with support from the Pakistan American Cultural Centre and the DOVE
Foundation. Lincoln Corners in Peshawar, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Larkana took
part in AWE Pakistan 2021.
Toward the end of their AWE journey, participants will
have the opportunity to compete for seed funding from the US Mission to
Pakistan to further grow or establish their enterprises. Upon completion, the
participants will join the global AWE network, which offers further growth
opportunities, as well as the community of US exchange programme alumni.
Source: Tribune Pakistan
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2361280/115-pakistani-women-entrepreneurs-selected-for-awe-2022
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Houthis order female aid workers not to travel without
male escort, says UN
June 15, 2022
AL-MUKALLA: The UN has said that the Iran-backed
Houthis banned female aid workers with its Yemen-based organizations from
traveling without a male escort or mahram, a move that has significantly
hindered the distribution of aid in the war-torn country.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs said in its monthly bulletin on the humanitarian situation in Yemen
released this week that the Houthis ordered women who work with international
organizations not to travel without being escorted by a male relative.
The Houthi’s strict rule has impeded the distribution
of aid to needy Yemenis and other humanitarian operations inside the
Houthi-controlled areas.
“Significantly, requirements for mahrams — male
guardians accompanying female aid workers when traveling on missions — have
reportedly increased in Ansar Allah-controlled areas, significantly affecting
field mission and the implementation of activities,” the organization said
using the official name of the Houthis, adding that insecurity in the
government-controlled areas also led to temporary suspending humanitarian
assistance in Yemen.
During the past two years, the Houthis have imposed
tough religious rules targeting women, activists, artists and singers in their
territory.
The Houthis banned women from mingling with men in
public places, cafes, universities and restaurants, banned singers from singing
at weddings, rounded up women for dress code infringements and ordered women
not to travel or work without a male guardian.
In March, the Yemeni organization Mwatana for Human
Rights said that Houthi-manned checkpoints at the entrances of
Houthi-controlled cities harass and question unaccompanied women and demand men
who travel with women to prove they are siblings.
The latest Houthi laws have irked Yemeni activists who
warned that many women in the Houthi-controlled areas would be thrown out of
work.
Zafaran Zaid, a Yemeni human rights activist and
lawyer who was sentenced to death in absentia by a Houthi-run court, told Arab
News on Wednesday that the Houthis, who refuse to pay public servants or
provide people with jobs, would aggravate the humanitarian crisis and the
suffering of Yemenis by depriving thousands of women of getting good jobs with international
organizations.
“The Iran-backed Houthi militia increases the
suffering of women, especially with regard to opportunities to improve
livelihoods and job opportunities in the public and private sectors,” she said,
adding that the Houthis punished bus and taxi drivers in Sanaa for ferrying
unescorted women.
In April, residents in the Houthi heartland city of
Saada said that all-female morality police officers detained dozens of women
for shopping without male companions or shopping in male-only places.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2104196/middle-east
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Turkey’s top business body vows support to boost
female entrepreneurs
JUN 15, 2022
One of Turkey’s top business associations has been
increasing support for female entrepreneurs and says it is an endeavor to help
expand the number of women-led enterprises and ensure their greater
participation in the workforce.
Looking to shed light on the matter, the Independent
Industrialists and Businesspersons Association (MÜSIAD) Women organized the
International Awareness Summit 2022 (IAS’22) in Istanbul, which addressed the
effect of women in all segments of social and business life.
The event also addressed the matter of environment and
health, entrepreneurship and digitalization.
Addressing the summit, held under the theme
“Transformation Begins with Us,” MÜSIAD Women’s President Meryem Ilbahar
stressed the association’s efforts and awareness-raising activities.
“As the business women’s community, we believe that
increasing the number of female employers in the business world, developing and
strengthening this potential will undoubtedly contribute positively to both
employment and the country’s economy,” Ilbahar said.
Studies have long stressed that increasing support for
female entrepreneurs could boost the global economy by trillions of dollars,
but they have also found that women who start businesses face more challenges
than men.
“The participation of women in the workforce is also
very important for the sustainability of economic and social life,” Ilbahar
said. “We say ‘sustainability’ because the development and dissemination of
practices that maintain the balance of work and private life will bring about
an increase in productivity and motivation.”
At the same time, she said digital entrepreneurship
has an important place in terms of contributing to both economic growth,
employment opportunities and innovation.
“It is important for women in business life. One of
our areas of work is to support women’s entrepreneurship and strengthen
existing initiatives. In this sense, we are committed to providing training and
mentoring infrastructure to entrepreneurial activities, facilitating access to
the network and acting as a bridge. We are aware of our responsibility,” she
noted.
The event also addressed migration through a panel
during which Ilbahar underlined that “no one voluntarily migrated in crisis
regions.”
“Migration is a test for those who emigrate, but it is
also a test for those of us who open our doors to them” she noted. “Our
civilization is full of examples where people from different geographies,
different races and languages can coexist. We must strive to restore these
colors, to highlight the good, the beautiful and the virtuous.”
Also speaking at the event, MÜSIAD President Mahmut
Asmalı pointed out to the intense efforts that he said are being made to
increase the number of employer women.
“Women’s participation in working life to a large
extent in recent years and their involvement in entrepreneurship activities by
taking a more active role has a strategic importance for developing economies,”
Asmalı noted.
“The way to activate the unused potential in both
production and employment and to create new business fields is to encourage
women’s entrepreneurship and employment.”
Asmalı stressed the association is supporting the
policies and projects that will ensure greater engagement of women in economic
life.
Source: Daily Sabah
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Nagaland's first woman MP in RS to attend IPU Global
conference in Egypt
15th June 2022
By Rajesh Kumar Thakur
NEW DELHI: Nagaland's first woman elected as Member of
Parliament (MP) to Rajya Sabha and chief of Nagaland BJP Mahila Morcha- S.
Phangon Konyak will be representing India at the two-day 8th IPU Global
Conference of 'Young Parliamentarians' in Egypt. She, along with two other
young Lok Sabha MPs from India, will be sharing her thoughts on the 'Young MPs
for Climate Actions'.
The two-day eight Global Inter-Parliamentary Union
(IPU) conferences of Young Parliamentarians is slated to start from June 15 to
16 with a good number of young MPs participating from various countries.
She was elected unopposed from Nagaland on March 24
this year becoming the first woman elected to RS from Nagaland.
After her post-graduation in English literature from
DU, Konyak entered the parliamentary politics as a BJP MP in Rajya Sabha and
had also taken the oath of secrecy of the House wearing the traditional attire
of Nagaland.
"I shall be in Egypt for the next two days as
part of the Indian delegation to participate in the Eight IPU Global Conference
of Young Parliamentarians, at Sharm el- Sheikh, where I will also get to share
my thoughts", she tweeted.
According to her, the Northeast has come a long way
under PM Narendra Modi, becoming an important and indispensable part of the
country's progress.
"We are on the right track with much potential to
be unlocked", she quipped in a tweet prior to leaving for Egypt.
The 8th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians is
jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Egyptian House
of Representatives annually to provide a platform to young MPs from across the
world to exchange learn and define common and innovative strategies to advance
the youth empowerment.
This year in Egypt, around 200 young MPs, including
the MPs from India, from 60 countries are participating to discuss strategies
to mitigate the impact of climate change and ensure that global warming does
not exceed 1.5'c in line with the Paris Agreement.
As per the letter, written to the participating young
MPs by the hosts, the eighth edition of the Global Conference of the Young
Parliamentarians will pursue the efforts reflecting on what may be the most
pressing and existential issue requiring strong international responses to
fight to mitigate and adapt to
climate change.
According to official information shared by IPU, there
are 35,177 parliamentary seats globally but just 2.66% of these are held by young
MPs.
Source: New Indian Express
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/girl-education-climate-malala/d/127260