Hadiqa Bashir, Swat Rights Activist, Selected by UN for SDGs Wants End to Child Marriages
New Age Islam News Bureau
29 September 2020
• Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad Denounces Lack of Will to End Sexual Violence as a War Tactic
• ‘Women Face Similar Issues in America and In
Pakistan’ – Anila and Faryal Multi-Faith Activist
• 2 Women in Dubai Arrested For Posting Video of
On-Duty Policeman
• Turkey's Government Steps Up Measures to Protect
Women from Domestic Violence
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Hadiqa Bashir, Swat Rights Activist, Selected by UN for SDGs Wants End to Child Marriages
Fazal Khaliq
29 Sep 2020
Hadiqa Bashir
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SWAT: Hadiqa Bashir, the 18-year old women rights
activist who has recently been selected along with 16 young leaders by the
United Nations for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said that she would
not only work for achieving the SDGs but would also carry on her mission of
ending child marriages.
She was talking to this scribe about her selection by
the United Nations in the latest class of 17 young leaders for SDGs.
“About 7,000 young leaders from 172 countries applied
for the 2020 class. Luckily, I have been selected from Pakistan by the UN with
16 other young leaders from across the world,” she said. She added that it was
not only an honour for her but also for the entire country.
Ms Bashir said that every young leader selected for
SDGs was given four of the 17 goals to catalyse their achievement. “Of the 17
SDGs, I will work to ensure quality education, end poverty, achieve gender
equality and empower all women and girls, and end gender-based violence,” she
said.
Hadiqa Bashir is among 17 young leaders selected by UN
for SDGs
The rights activist said that she would actively work
to engage young people in achieving the SDGs. She said that she had been
working to end child marriages in Malakand division since she was 13-year-old.
“My mission of ending child marriages in my region
will continue with my new responsibility as young leader,” she added.
She said that women education was indispensable for
the progress and development of a nation but unfortunately girls in rural areas
were deprived of education.
“An educated woman can do a respectable job and earn
money. This way she will not be dependent upon her husband for her own needs,”
she added.
Ms Bashir also received Mohammad Ali Humanitarian
Award in 2015, Asian Girls Human Rights Ambassador Award in 2016 and other
national and international recognitions.
The United Nations announced the names of 17 young
leaders for SGDs on September 18 including AY Young from United States, Hadiqa
Bashir from Pakistan, Layda Eskitaçolu from Turkey, Jichen Liu from China,
Lester Philipp Vargas Angeles from Peru, Loay Radwan from Egypt, Mariama
DjambonyBadji from Senegal, Martin Karadzhov from Bulgaria, Oluwaseun Ayodeji
Osowobi from Nigeria, Ralf Toenjes from Brazil, Satta Sheriff from Liberia,
Siena Castellon from Ireland, Tania Rosas from Colombia, Tim Lo Surdo from
Australia, Udit Singhal from India, VanessaNakate from Uganda and ZahinRazeen
from Bangladesh.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1582231/swat-rights-activist-wants-end-to-child-marriages
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Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad Denounces Lack of Will to
End Sexual Violence as a War Tactic
28 September 2020
Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad
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“We have the ability to provide resources to
communities destroyed by violence, Ms. Murad, who also serves as a UN Goodwill
Ambassador, said. “We simply lack
collective political will to do so.”
Speaking during an online event titled #EndSGBV,
hosted by the United Arab Emirates, Norway and Somalia on the margins of
General Assembly general debate, Ms. Murad – jointly awarded the 2018 Nobel
peace prize with Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege for their efforts to end
the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war - took stock of progress over the
last year.
“We must critically look at what we did well, where we
can be really proud because we have made a true difference”, she said, “but
also, be honest and transparent on where we missed opportunities to stop
gender-based violence and truly be there for victims.”
Survivor-centred approach
She described the launch of the Global Survivors Fund
as “a major achievement”, along with the Murad Code, a protocol she launched
with the United Kingdom for those collecting information from survivors on
conflict-related sexual violence.
In a post-conflict region like Iraq, she said
survivors must play an active role in the peacebuilding process. “Survivors
know best what they need to heal and recover.”
Efforts to engage them at every level of their recovery will empower
them.
Perhaps nowhere is the international unwillingness to
engage more stark, than in the experience of the Yazidis, she said, most of
whom live in northern Iraq and who in 2014 became victims of genocide by
ISIL/Da’esh terrorists, in the group’s pernicious campaign to wipe out
non-Islamic influence.
Stressing that their situation remains “virtually
unchanged,” she said it pains her greatly that once again she must convey to
the world the seriousness of their plight.
Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis are internally displaced in camps,
where conditions are dangerous – especially in light of COVID-19.
Their destroyed homeland of Sinjar, lacks critical
infrastructure to support their needs.
It is ignored, lacking any dedicated effort to build a stable local
government and security force committed to equal protection for all
citizens. Thus, Yazidis cannot return
safely.
Most importantly, she said thousands of Yazidis still
face sexual violence daily at the hands of ISIL/Da’esh, with more than 2,800
women and children still missing and in captivity. They have been subjected to sexual violence
and slavery for over six years.
“It is incredibly disheartening to understand no
collective search and rescue efforts have been made by the Iraqi Government or
the United Nations to find these women and children”, she said. “Make no
mistake, the global community has abandoned over 2,800 human beings.”
‘Moral imperative’
To be sure, it is the responsibility of Iraq, the
United Nations and the international community to take immediate steps to
rescue these women and children, she said.
“Anything less is unacceptable.”
Yazidi families cannot rebuild their lives without knowing the fate of
their loved ones. “Let us be clear: It
is a moral imperative to respond to the vast needs of fellow human beings”.
She called for a collaborative grass roots approach,
with international organizations, the United Nations and Governments working
closely with local non-governmental groups to develop contextually specific
approaches. Development can only be
sustained if local communities are part of every decision that impacts
them. “It is vital that we listen to the
communities we serve,” she assured.
Call to rebuild Sinjar
Drawing attention to Nadia’s Initiative, which seeks
to empower Yazidis to rebuild their lives and advocates for investments that
will provide survivors of sexual and gender-based violence with comprehensive
support, she said non-governmental organizations cannot rebuild post-conflict
communities on their own.
In Iraq, she pressed the Government to rebuild Sinjar,
provide survivors with reparations and stabilize local governments. While investigations have begun, evidence has
been collected and survivors have recorded their testimonies, justice has yet
to be served.
It is up to Iraq and the international community to
try ISIL/Da’esh perpetrators for crimes against humanity, war crimes and
genocide, she stressed. Yazidis and
other communities destroyed by violence deserve international support.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/09/1074092
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‘Women Face Similar Issues in America and In Pakistan’
– Anila and Faryal Multi-Faith Activist
By Sheher Bano
29 Sep 2020
Anila Ali, founder and president of the largest Muslim
& multifaith women's organisation in America, American-Muslim Multifaith
Women Empowerment Council (AMWEC), is Pakistani-born educator and women rights
activist. She has pioneered the path for Pakistani and Muslim women in America.
She was the first Muslim-Pakistani to run for political office in 2014 and
2016. She also made history when she got elected thrice as a Delegate for Obama
and then Hillary Clinton. She was recorded as the first Muslim Democrat since
Suffrage in California by the Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public
History at the Cal State Fullerton. Currently, she is the National Co-Chair of
the Finance Committee for the U.S. presidential candidate, Joe Biden. Known for
her work in countering extremism, she has been awarded by federal government
agencies for her work in empowering women. President Obama conferred on her the
congressional award 'Whitehouse Volunteer of the Year Award' for her work. She
runs a charity in Pakistan, Calpak Education Services, which adopts government
schools and educates and empowers girls.
Faryal Khan is Vice President of Business Development
at American Harvest, Inc. Born and raised in the England, she graduated from
the American College of Applied Arts in London before moving to the US in 1990.
With two decades of expertise in sales leadership, Khan has served the hotel
industry in America for many years. She has worked tirelessly to soften the
image of Pakistan abroad. As the founding member of AMWEC, her work has been
applauded by local government, federal agencies and interfaith communities.
These days Anila and Faryal are in Pakistan on a short
visit. You! got an opportunity to talk to them and share their experience with
our readers...
You! What is AMWEC, why it was started and what issues
it has taken up so far?
Anila: After 9/11, American Muslims were facing
problems in the community. I was raised by parents dedicated to building
communities, so I decided that Pakistani women needed a platform to voice their
opinions. I wanted to dispel notions about Pakistanis being terrorists, so I
founded AMWEC with a dozen other Pakistani women. Initially, we faced a lot of
push back, mostly from Arab-centric organisations whose patriarchal structure
did not allow women, especially Pakistani women to lead unless they bowed in
obedience. I recall when a journalist covering religion from New York Times
came to Los Angeles to cover a story, women were told to stay in the ‘kitchen’.
I realised that I would have to fill in the leadership gaps by elevating the
Pakistani voice.
Amongst AMWEC’s successes have been youth mentorship
and training programmes, Muslim Women in Law Enforcement Programs, youth
political and civic leadership programmes, minority business women's programmes
to financially empower Muslim women through federal government partnerships,
and advocacy against domestic violence, work place discrimination. AMWEC’s most
successful events are the outreach programmes to faith-based communities. AMWEC
has received several Congressional awards and is recognised for its work in
fighting extremism by all the federal government agencies and The White House.
Recently, AMWEC started the first halal food for Muslim seniors, Government
Meals on Wheels programme during COVID-19 to keep Muslim seniors at home and
safe.
You! I saw a video on YouTube in which you shared your
experience after being racially profiled? Tell us something about that.
Anila: After 9/11 my family was racially profiled at
the border just because of being a Pakistani and Muslim. My date of birth
matched that of a terrorist. Growing up in London in the ’70s and ’80s, racism
was not new to me. But I knew America was better than England. I was not going
to sit and do nothing about it. I used the might of my pen and wrote blogs
about my profiling.
I contacted the Asian American Law Caucus who put me
in touch with New York University Center of Human Rights and Global Justice.
They made a documentary about my story. The film and the activism around it
pushed the Department of Homeland Security to develop the Trip Program which
allowed frequent travellers like me to get a redress number attached to their
flight reservations to avoid false match screenings. With my persistence and
faith in my American Dream I helped changed policy and get almost 6 million
Muslims out of the list.
You! What are the issues Pakistani community
especially women are facing in the USA?
Anila & Faryal: Women face similar issues in
America and in Pakistan, except that the laws are stricter and enforced in the
U.S. and there is much support for women victims. Many of the issues we deal with
are about domestic violence, gender bias, bullying and adult abuse. The
American society embraces victims of abuses instead of ostracising them. So we
also need to change the mindset of women and families back home that such men
should be exposed who abandon their wives like this.
When women from Pakistan arrive in America and are
deserted by their husbands, it is very hard to settle them and empower them. A
good education is what changes lives and fortunes Pakistani communities.
You! What do you want to do in Pakistan?
Anila: As a Pakistani leader in America, I want to
meet and connect with Pakistani women leaders and form a coalition to raise our
voices at global level to stop violence against women and children. Together we
will be stronger.
You! What challenges did you face as a
Pakistani-Muslim leader while contesting election in the USA?
Anila: Many male-dominated organisations, mostly
Arab-centric organisations, were not in favour of accepting of our leadership.
Bogus candidates, hateful robo-calls and text messages were sent by our own
people to discourage us. However, their misogyny and bias did not deter us from
our path. I am a Pakistani, American, Muslim, and a woman and all these
identities define who I am today. America embraces us and so it is up to us to
change perceptions.
You! Do women really possess weak decision power or it
is just a notion?
Faryal: Decisions of a strong woman are like a bitter
pill to swallow by men. A woman has to reach a status where her voice is heard
and validated. A patriarchal society like ours tends to hold women back.
Through education and courage, they can break the chains which society has put
around them.
Anila: Women have a unique ability to bring people
together. Women naturally handle stress well and make excellent leaders. The
problem is that a woman is expected to be a superwoman whereas a man can just
be a man. But I am happy to say that women like me, are learning to make their
own decisions.
You! How can women move on?
Faryal: Our political leaders need to do out-of-box
thinking and harsh decisions making. The laid-back attitude and cover ups which
our political leadership adopts needs to be shunned. The women will have to put
up a constant fight to get their rights. The same fight is going on in the U.S.
and Pakistani women are way behind and it will take decades to come anywhere
closer.
–– Sheher Bano is the Editor Supplements.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/magazine/you/721540-women-face-similar-issues-in-america-and-in-pakistan-anila-faryal
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2 women in Dubai arrested for posting video of on-duty
policeman
September 29, 2020
The women could face imprisonment for not less than
six months or a fine of not less than Dh150,000, or both these penalties.
Two women have been arrested for taking a video of a
policeman while he was doing his duty, and posting it on social media.
The video showed the on-duty cop questioning a man for
an alleged assault and arresting him, even as he tried to resist him.
Taking a video of someone without his/her consent and posting
it on social media is illegal, according to cybercrime laws.
The two women violated the law by invading the privacy
of the police officer while doing his job, pointed out Brigadier Jamal Salem Al
Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigations at Dubai
Police. He added that the authorities have initiated legal procedures against
the duo.
According to Article 21 of the law, the women could
face imprisonment of not less than six months or a fine of not less than
Dh150,000, or both these penalties.
Al Jallaf urged all individuals to respect the privacy
of others by not sharing or posting their videos or photos on social media, as
well as avoid taking photos or recording videos of cops while they conduct an
operation.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/crime-and-courts/man-in-dubai-nearly-killed-over-parking-spot-
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Turkey's government steps up measures to protect women
from domestic violence
SEP 27, 2020
The brutal killings of women at the hands of their
spouses in Turkey, which raised a public outcry in recent years, prompted the
government to boost measures to stop domestic violence. The Sabah newspaper
reported on Saturday that women will be provided police protection even if they
do not press criminal charges against their assailants for fear of reprisal.
The Interior Ministry sent a circular to the
governorates of 81 provinces, citing that the ministry worked with other
ministries to prevent violence targeting women.
Under the ministry’s instructions, security forces
will handle each case more carefully and will analyze the past criminal records
of the perpetrators of violence. They are ordered not to allow perpetrators
with a history of violence to get close to their victims and protection will be
immediately implemented for women in ongoing cases of domestic violence. In
some cases, families of the slain victims had claimed that culprits have gone
unpunished and women were not provided protection in earlier instances of
domestic violence. If the victim is in a situation where her life is in direct
threat, police will assign a security detail, regardless if she requests it or
not.
The government will also streamline procedures against
domestic violence perpetrators who are released or who escaped from prison.
Relevant agencies will be required to immediately notify security forces in
such cases to implement protection for their victims. Hospitals and clinics
will be required to notify local prosecutors and violence prevention centers
run by the government if any patient admitted are found to be victims of
domestic violence. Perpetrators of domestic violence will not be issued gun
permits, and domestic violence cases will be exempt from the mediation process
that allows plaintiffs to settle any case without a trial.
Violence against women makes headlines on a regular
basis. There was a 34% decline in the rate of femicides in Turkey in the first
six months of 2020, according to the Interior Ministry. While 173 women were
killed in femicides from January through June in 2019, this number dropped to
115 in the same period in 2020.
Last year, the government unveiled a comprehensive
action plan to fight domestic violence. The plan is the joint work of
ministries, including the ministries of justice, interior, national education
and health ministries, along with the Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB).
Among the measures includes the assigning of specialized courts for the
implementation of Law No. 6284, which came into force in 2012 to give women
more legal options and protection against domestic violence.
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/turkeys-government-steps-up-measures-to-protect-women-from-domestic-violence/news
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