Iraqi Women Reject Patriarchy By Joining Police Forces
New
Age Islam News Bureau
15
April 2022
•
First-Ever All-Women Media Team Launches In Somalia
•
Pakistani Women Hit Taboos For Six In Ramadan Night Tournament
•
Muslim Student Requests Karnataka CM to Allow Them to Appear for Exams Wearing
Hijab
•
Women Employees At Saudi Islamic Ministry Accomplish 100% Performance Results
•
Iran Underlines Afghan Women’s Right to Educate, Work
•
‘Change The Vision’: Iran Women Push To Break Football Barriers Amid Fan Ban
•
Nadia Murad Advocates Action On Sexual Violence In War
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iraqi-patriarchy-police-forces/d/126798
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Iraqi
Women Reject Patriarchy By Joining Police Forces
Saja
al-Abayji , Iraq Police
-----
15TH
APR, 2022
Saja
al-Abayji was apprehensive about the rigorous military-like exercises and
concerned about society’s opinion of women in the police force as she began her
training at the police academy.
She
was one of just two female officers in her 2011 graduating class, which
included hundreds of male officers, all aspiring to serve in Iraq’s Ministry of
Interior (MOI), which would be responsible for the country’s police and border
control.
But
a decade later, the 34-year-old Iraqi traffic cop is now a senior traffic
officer in Baghdad, where he has worked for years at the General Traffic
Directorate. Al-Abayji is one of hundreds of female officers in Iraq’s police
and border control who are not part of a limited group of women in the
country’s internal security services.
According
to al-Abayji, as the number of female police officers on Iraq’s streets
increased, society gradually began to accept women’s position in law
enforcement.
Some
felt women couldn’t thrive in the police force because they thought it wasn’t
their place to be there. ” Al-Abayji said that many people saw female police as
“intruders” on the field because of this.
Societies
started to perceive things differently as time went on, though.
The
Iraqi MOI’s agencies – the police, highway patrol, traffic department, and
border enforcement, to mention a few – had no female officers until roughly a
decade ago, despite the fact that Iraqi women have been worldwide pioneers in
many fields of life, including medicine, engineering, and the arts.
A
difficult path
As
Al-Abayji pointed out, several of her female classmates left the Higher
Institute for Security and Administrative Development during their time in
training at the police academy due to their families’ lack of support for a
career in law enforcement.
When
it came to women’s roles at the time, “this represented where society was,”
said al-Abaiji, who was fortunate enough to have the utmost support from her
family and fiancé.
“My
family and now spouse pushed me to apply to the institution after I earned my
degree in computer science,” said al-Abayji. Without them, I would not have
been able to deal with all the negativity in my environment.
There
were several hurdles on the path to become a police officer for al-Abayji.
“At
first, I didn’t tell anybody I’d recently met about what I was doing. In
addition to not wearing my police uniform to and from work, I did it because I
wanted to remain anonymous, she said. “I didn’t want to be judged, that’s all.
What
made me wonder was why society was so appreciative of males who did the same
work as me.” Al Jazeera quoted her as saying, “I realised I had to open myself
out in order to influence people’s perceptions.
Al-second
Abayji’s major issue was adapting to her new job and responsibilities.
First,
al-Abayji said, she struggled with the thought of putting on a male outfit and
holding a weapon.
According
to al-Abayji, “I wore a lot of gorgeous skirts and heels while I was in
college.” Later, I found myself participating in military training and honing
my target shooting skills. As a result, I was in a state of shock.”
Despite
the difficulties, al-“keenness Abayji’s to succeed flowered” as her physical
capability and confidence improved, and she became enthusiastic about rising up
the ranks.
Progress
Major-General
Saad Maan, the interior ministry’s spokesperson, said from his office in
downtown Baghdad that the ministry began encouraging women to join the internal
security forces in 2010 in order to highlight the significance of growing
women’s public role in Iraq.
“Women’s
participation has been useful and vital and represents the ministry’s growth
and success,” he said.
Female
police officers continue to be held back by the patriarchal culture of society,
which also prevails in the Ministry, Maan remarked.
“Men
in the police force struggle because the patriarchy instilled in them,” stated
Maan, to address female officers using their assigned titles.
However,
Maan claims that there has been a lot of growth overall. “At first, we pleaded
with women to join the force. Every year, we get tens of thousands of
applications.”
Looking
forward
In
the past, women in the police force were restricted to administrative
positions, but this is no longer the case, according to Esraa al-Saadi, 32, a
media and public relations officer for the interior ministry.
In
the past, “guys were the ones who did everything,” said al-Saadi, referring to
male officials who made arrests, interrogated suspects, and conducted
investigations and searches.
“Iraqi
culture is growing more open and tolerant of the police as a place for women,
too,” said Al-Saadi, who has worked as a police officer for the last five
years.
Al-Abayji
acknowledged that society has gone a long way, but she opined that women in law
enforcement still have a long way to go before they can hold positions of
leadership.
“We
have junior and senior female police officers, but no women majors, lieutenants
or brigadier generals,” al-Abayji added. As a female Iraqi police officer, I
want to one day see my female colleagues rise to the top ranks of the force.
We’re getting closer, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Nonetheless,
al-Abayji continued: “Now, I stroll the streets of Baghdad in my uniform and
people applaud and take pleasure in what I do.”
Source:
Bol News
https://www.bolnews.com/latest/2022/04/iraqi-women-reject-patriarchy-by-joining-police-forces/
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First-Ever
All-Women Media Team Launches In Somalia
Image
Credit: Wikimedia
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April
13, 2022
LONDON:
Somalia launched its first-ever all-women media unit on Monday, aiming to
promote decision-making authority and a harassment-free workplace for women
journalists.
Called
Bilan, or “bright and clear” in Somali, the unit is funded by the UN
Development Program, and will be stationed inside Dalsan Media Group’s offices
in Mogadishu.
Led
by one of the few female senior news producers in the country, the team of six
will produce content for TV, radio and online media on issues such as
gender-based violence, women in politics and female entrepreneurs.
“For
too long, Somali women journalists have been treated as second-class citizens
and Somali news has ignored the stories and voices of half the population; now
we are in charge of the boardroom and the narrative,” said Nasrin Mohamed
Ibraham, Bilan’s chief editor.
“Some
people might not like the fact that I play football and lead a media team. But
nobody will ever change my mind.”
Bilan
Deputy Editor Fathi Mohamed Ahmed said: “As a women-only media house we are
going to be able to bring taboo subjects into the open. Our sisters, mothers
and grandmothers will talk to us about issues they never dare speak about with
men.”
The
project is a year-long pilot, but UNDP’s resident representative in Mogadishu,
Jocelyn Mason, is confident that it will become a permanent project and
potentially extend into Somalia’s regions.
“We
hope this will be a game-changer for the Somali media scene, opening up new
opportunities for women journalists and shining a light on new subjects that
have been ignored, particularly those that are important for women,” said
Mason.
Women
journalists in Somalia have reported being harassed not only on the streets,
but even inside their own offices. They are often denied training opportunities
and promotions, and when a woman does reach a position of authority, she is
often ignored while junior male figures call the shots.
UNDP
will also provide a long-term program of training and mentoring, bringing in
some of the biggest names in Somali and international journalism, as well as
creating opportunities to engage with women journalists working in similarly
challenging environments around the world.
“I
believe Bilan will be a game-changer for me and for women in Somalia. I hope it
will give us the freedom and safety to do a different kind of journalism beyond
the usual diet of politics and conflict,” said Bilan journalist Naciima Saed
Salah.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2062711/media
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Pakistani
Women Hit Taboos For Six In Ramadan Night Tournament
Naimat
Khan
April
15, 2022
KARACHI:
The batter swung the bat with all her might, sending the ball flying out of
Karachi’s Kokan Park, hitting for six the taboo that only men can venture out
into the night during Ramadan to play cricket.
The
scene was from the final match of Khelo Khavateen, meaning “Play Women,” a
night cricket tournament for women in the Pakistani megapolis that culminated
this week.
In
the teeming port city each Ramadan, while the devout fast by day, at night they
come out on the streets to play cricket. For years, however, the street matches
and tournaments have been dominated by men.
Karachi-based
journalist Hadeel Obaid wanted to change this trend and in 2015 came up with
the idea of a platform where women could also safely play cricket late at night
during Ramadan. Khelo Kricket (Play Cricket) was thus born, an online startup
that promotes sports among Pakistani women.
A
year later, Obaid started the Khelo Khavateen night tournament, which has since
seen hundreds of girls registering to play night cricket in Ramadan. A few
participants have even gone on to play for the national women’s team.
“No
one experimented with the idea that women too are interested in coming out to
play cricket at night,” Obaid told Arab News after the final of the Ramadan
tournament, which was held this year after a two-year-long COVID-19 hiatus. “We
wanted to create a safe space for girls to play cricket.”
But
launching a successful women’s cricket tournament in Pakistan was not easy,
said Obaid, who had to face criticism, as the idea of women playing cricket
late at night — and that too in the holy month of Ramadan — did not go down well
with many people.
“When
you first start anything, it is always hard because change is something that
nobody likes,” she said.
“When
nothing has been happening for so many years, and then all of a sudden somebody
wants to try and do something new, you’re always faced with a little backlash,”
she said.
But
Obaid brushed aside the negativity and as time progressed, she experienced
firsthand how families and communities embraced the initiative, which has
become a launching pad for professional players.
Last
week, Pakistani cricketer Fatima Sana was awarded the International Cricket
Council’s Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2021 award, becoming the first
Pakistani to bag the honor. Sana launched her career at the Khelo Khavateen
tournament in 2016, the first edition of the series.
“She
was 12 or 13 years old when she played our very first tournament,” Obaid
recalled. “At that point, she was an incredible talent. We had never seen a
bowler like that.”
Urooj
Mumtaz, a renowned Pakistani cricket commentator, television host and former
cricketer, described the Khelo Kricket initiative as “wonderful.”
“We
all like to play cricket during Ramadan,” she said. “It’s not just restricted
to men. It’s also now (getting bigger) with girls … It’s more about recreation
and attracting more girls to the sport.”
Obaid
said she had planned to take the tournament to other cities in Pakistan, but
the COVID-19 pandemic had thrown a spanner in the works. Now, however, with an
improving disease situation, she hopes to revive her plans.
“We
have a lot of people from Rawalpindi writing and telling us that they would
like for the tournament to be played in the city. We got a lot of girls from
Lahore writing,” Obaid said. “And so, we do want to take this there, maybe not
in Ramadan, but maybe some point in the year.
“We’re
hoping that in 2023 and 2024 we can keep the momentum up and actually grow it.”
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2063566/world
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Muslim
Student Requests Karnataka CM to Allow Them to Appear for Exams Wearing Hijab
APRIL
14, 2022
A
Muslim girl student, who approached the Karnataka High Court to revoke the ban
on hijabs inside classrooms in the state, on Thursday appealed to Chief
Minister Basavaraj Bommai to allow a section of students to appear for second
pre-university examinations beginning on April 22, wearing headscarves.
In
a tweet to the CM, she said, "You still have a chance to stop our future
from getting ruined. You can make a decision to allow us to write exams wearing
hijab. Please consider this. We are the future of this country."
Following
the High Court order last month upholding the state government's decision not
to allow hijabs in classrooms, Aliya Assadi, who was one of the six petitioners
who started the protest, had said that she would write examinations only if
they were allowed to wear headscarves. If we are allowed to write exams, they
need to allow us with hijab. Otherwise, we will not attend classes. We will not
go to college without hijab, she had said.
The
Karnataka HC had stated in its order that wearing a hijab is not an essential
religious practice of Islam and that uniform rule should be followed in
educational institutions, while dismissing the petitions.
While
many Muslim girl students attended educational institutions and appeared for
examinations without wearing hijabs, 40 girls from the Udupi had abstained from
the first pre-university exam.
The
petitioners had also challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court, but
their plea for an urgent hearing before the examinations was rejected by the
Apex court.
Source:
News18
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Women
Employees At Saudi Islamic Ministry Accomplish 100% Performance Results
April
15, 2022
RIYADH
— The women employees at the Department of Beneficiary Services under the
Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance have accomplished 100 percent
performance results in handling the communications received during the period
from the beginning of Shaban till Ramadan 10 (March 4-April 11).
During
this period, they received 6,875 communications and telephone and online
contacts, and these were pertaining to mosque services, propagation affairs,
and the Holy Qur’an memorization societies.
According
to a statistical report released by the ministry, these included 4,324 reports
related to mosque services, nine pertaining to propagation affairs, four
concerned with the Holy Qur’an memorization societies, and 71 related to other
ministry services.
The
number of complaints received against mosque employees reached 1150, while
complaints against mosque employees’ services stood at 796, whereas complaints
related to loudspeakers and mosque maintenance stood at 726 and 918
respectively.
The
report indicated that the department received 1,326 communications in the
Riyadh region, 974 in the Makkah region, 401 in the Eastern Province, 418 in
Asir, 247 in Madinah, 265 in Qassim, 203 in Jazan, and 197 in Hail. There were
107 communications in the Tabuk region, 126 in Al-Jouf, 62 in Al-Baha, 52 in
Najran, and 35 in the Northern Border Region.
In
its report, the ministry emphasized the role of citizens in reporting any
violations or observations related to the ministry’s various services. It also
underscored the importance of their joint role with the ministry so as to
redouble efforts to avoid any shortcomings, and deal with all communications
received as soon as possible by contacting the number 1933 of the Unified
Communications Service Center.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
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Iran
Underlines Afghan Women’s Right to Educate, Work
2022-April-14
The
situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have recently taken over state
affairs, is gravely affecting women’s rights, Ershadi said on Wednesday,
addressing the high-level open debate on the theme “conflict-related sexual
violence: accountability as prevention — ending cycles of sexual violence in
conflict” organized by the Security Council.
Citing
a UN report, the Iranian official said Afghan women and girls are the target of
widespread systematic violence as part of a campaign to impose restrictions on
their social and political lives.
Afghan
women’s right to educate, work and political inclusion must be recognized by
Taliban, Ershadi said.
She
also referred to the situation of Palestinian women, whose land has been under
Israeli occupation for decades, and women in Afghanistan, which has been
ravaged by two decades of militancy and foreign invasion.
Ershadi
described occupation, terrorism and foreign invasions as the main threats to
the security of women in the troubled Middle East, saying women will continue
to be the target of abuse unless such menaces are uprooted.
The
primary threats to the security of women in the Middle East, including foreign
occupation, invasion and terrorism, totally disregard the rights and lives of
women, she said.
The
senior Iranian diplomat said the “heinous crime” of sexual violence is commonly
used as a tactic in military conflicts and acts of terrorism, which mainly
targets women, girls, and other vulnerable groups.
Armed
conflicts also involve risks of human trafficking, which similarly target women
and children either forcefully displaced or fleeing their countries.
Ershadi
said the four Geneva Conventions and their two Additional Protocols explicitly
and implicitly condemn different forms of sexual violence as serious violations
of humanitarian law, with all States and non-State parties to the conflict
being duty-bound to comply with the relevant obligations.
Despite
all the existing laws, she added, preventing and combating that inhumane
practice requires a collective effort and will not be successful until its root
causes — namely the circumstances surrounding the occurrence of an armed
conflict — are addressed.
“Unfortunately,
as long as terrorism, violent extremism, foreign occupation and foreign
interference persist, such a solution will remain elusive,” she said.
Ershadi
reiterated that Iran’s position on the debate's topic, saying issues concerning
women and girls should be dealt with by the General Assembly and other UN
bodies, and that the Security Council should only address those issues if they
are directly related to international peace and security.
In
Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), conflict-related sexual violence was
first established as a self-standing security issue over a decade ago.
According
to the world body, despite the robust resolutions, conventions and treaties
that have followed, sexual violence continues to occur in many conflicts across
the world, with almost total impunity.
Source:
Fars News Agency
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010125000410/Iran-Underlines-Afghan-Wmen%E2%80%99s-Righ-Edcae-Wrk
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‘Change the vision’: Iran Women push to break football barriers amid fan ban
John
Duerden
14
Apr 2022
Female
fans not being allowed inside stadiums has long been the overriding
international image when it comes to women and football in Iran and
unsurprisingly so. Just over two weeks ago a number of Iranian women tried to
get into the Imam Reza Stadium in the north-eastern city of Mashhad to watch
the men play their final 2022 World Cup qualifier against Lebanon.
They
could not see the game – the ban has largely been in place since not long after
the 1979 revolution – and then, according to some reports, they were treated to
pepper spray by security guards. Despite requests from Fifa, criticism from
around the world and calls from the players, authorities have yet to budge.
Now,
though, Iranian women are competing around the world and aiming to change minds
in Tehran. In January, the national team played at the Women’s Asian Cup, their
first international tournament. The opening game produced a creditable 0-0 draw
with India in Mumbai. A Covid outbreak meant the hosts withdrew from the
competition and their results were voided. For Iran, it meant that only their
7-0 and 5-0 losses at the hands of the eventual winners, China, and Taiwan
respectively will go down in the record books. There was more to it than mere
scorelines however.
The
coach, Maryam Irandoost, is confident the more the women play competitively
around Asia, and one day the world, the greater the push will be to introduce
equality in the stands back home, where the regime has made the occasional
gesture in allowing women inside only to backtrack soon after. “I have tried
for years to change this,” she says. “Our girls qualifying for and playing in
the Asian Cup has changed the beliefs of a lot of people in Iran and I think
this barrier will disappear in the near future.
“Going
into stadiums is not only about watching the matches and not only about
increasing the number of fans. It will also change the vision of women’s
football in Iran.”
Irandoost,
born at the height of the revolution, days after Ayatollah Khomeini returned
from exile in Paris to take power, was delighted with the performances in
India. “I am not disappointed with the tournament at all,” she says. “Our girls
have good potential technically. We have areas in which we have to work on but
if there is the same kind of investment and infrastructure as there has been
over the past year then we will be at the same level with the best teams in
Asia in five or six years.”
Given
Iran are ranked 70 in the world, behind Fiji and Haiti, to match Japan, the
2011 World Cup winners, Australia and China by the end of the decade would be
quite an achievement for a team only just getting going. “There is a gap of 50
years behind the best teams in the world,” Irandoost says, “but families here
are very interested in football and this encourages girls to play.”
Irandoost,
whose father, Nosrat, was a professional player and now coaches the second-tier
men’s club Malavan FC, estimates there are about 2,500 female players in the
top league and local clubs. “There has never been money in female football but
the grassroots game is becoming more and more professional. We have a good
infrastructure. The interest in the last three or four years has increased
significantly. In the past nine months, the federation has had a good plan and
that helps us qualify for the Asian Cup.”
She
says the reasons for the federation’s recent investment and support are
complicated. Footballing wise it makes sense because Iran wants to host
international tournaments. Recent investment from Saudi Arabia in women’s
football – its national team recently played its first international fixtures
–has been noted and there is a feeling Iran has the talent to compete on the world
and not just the Asian stage.
The
men do just that and are preparing for a third successive World Cup and a group
containing England and the United States in Qatar. “It is hard to say which
team will advance but our men’s national team have always shown that they can
face bigger teams and get good results.” Irandoost says. “If federation support
continues then we can also play England and the USA at the World Cup in 10
years.”
At
the moment, Irandoost just wants to build on the progress from the Asian Cup.
“That was very important. Before, many thought that it is OK for girls just to
play football but after the Asian Cup people are saying that we could be in big
tournaments and even win. Our goals have become much bigger in many ways.”
Source:
The Guardian
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Nadia
Murad advocates action on sexual violence in war
14/04/2022
UNITED
NATIONS—
In
Ukraine, allegations of sexual violence mount against women by Russian
soldiers. In northern Ethiopia, a woman taken to an Eritrean Defence Forces
camp was raped by 27 soldiers and contracted AIDS. In the Central African
Republic, the bodies of a woman and two girls were found days after their
kidnapping and rape by armed fighters. And in Iraq, 2,800 Yazidi women and
children have been captives of the Islamic State extremist group for eight
years, many subjected to sexual violence.
These
are some of the examples raised at a UN Security Council meeting Wednesday on
accountability for such acts in conflicts by Pramila Patten, the UN special
representative on sexual violence in conflict and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Nadia Murad, a member of Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority forced into sexual
slavery in 2014 who escaped her Islamic State captors.
Patten’s
opening words were aimed squarely at the UN’s most powerful body, which has
approved five resolutions that focus on preventing and addressing
conflict-related sexual violence. What do those resolutions mean right now, she
asked, for a woman in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Myanmar or Ethiopia’s northern Tigray
region?
At
this time of “great global turbulence marked by multiple crises,” she said, the
world has seen “increased militarisation, including an epidemic of coups, which
have turned back the clock on women’s rights.” And every new war has seen human
tragedies “including new waves of war’s oldest, most silences, and
least-condemned crime”, sexual violence and rape in those countries and others
whose victims “cry out for justice and redress.”
Patten
said the gap between commitments by the Security Council and compliance and
reality is evident. The latest UN report covering conflicts in 18 countries
documents 3,293 UN-verified cases of sexual violence committed in 2021, a
significant increase of 800 cases compared to 2020. Again, she said, the
highest number,1,016, was recorded in Congo.
Patten
also cited examples in other conflict areas: two women from the Rohingya
minority in Myanmar’s Chin state were gang-raped by government soldiers
resulting in unwanted pregnancies; a woman allegedly raped at gunpoint by a
Puntland police officer in Somalia where she said “abduction, rape and forced
marriage are rampant;” documented cases in Colombia of sexual violence against
women ex-combatants and their familie and the torture and killing of a female
police officer who was eight months pregnant in Afghanistan’s Ghor province.
‘Cry
out for justice and redress’
The
UN special representative said the few cases of courts convicting perpetrators
“are still the exception that proves the rule of justice denied.” Justice must
be delivered in communities as well as courtrooms and victims must receive
reparations to rebuild their shattered lives, she said, stressing that
“justice, peace and security are inextricably linked.”
Murad
said at moments of global instability, like today's world shaped by the
COVID-19 pandemic, a climate crisis and war, issues like conflict-related
sexual violence “tend to be pushed aside as though they are somehow secondary
to the real issues.” But she said, “the truth is these are precisely the moment
when protecting, supporting and investing in women and girls should be urgent
priorities.”
History
shows that when conflict erupts, brutality comes to the fore and “we are seeing
this in Ukraine as we speak, with reports of sexual violence that should alarm
us.” Later, she told reporters, “my heart is with the people of Ukraine,
especially the women and girls out there that are facing this brutality.”
“Sexual
violence is not a side effect of conflict,” Murad said. “It is a tactic of war
as old as time.”
Last
year, a German court convicted an Islamic State member of genocide in a Yazidi
girl's death in a historic verdict, she said. But despite reams of evidence
documenting atrocities ISIS committed against women and girls, she said the
extremist perpetrators have faced few, if any, consequences.
Murad
said survivors need “more than moral outrage” and urged the Security Council to
vote to refer the Islamic State extremist group to the International Criminal
Court to be tried for genocide and sexual violence, against Yazidis. In the
meantime, she urged other countries to follow Germany’s example and use the
principle of universal jurisdiction to try alleged perpetrators for war crimes.
“If
you want to establish deterrence, if you want to assure Yazidi women and
survivors everywhere that you stand with us, do not delay justice anymore,” she
said.
Britain’s
Minister of State Lord Tariq Ahmad, who chaired the meeting, joined her in
launching “The Murad Code” which aims to tell investigators, journalists and
others in the international community how to support survivors of sexual
violence by reducing the burden on them and ensuring that their experiences are
recorded safely and strengthen the pursuit of justice.
“The
pathway to justice must have obstacles removed,” he said. “So ultimately, it’s
all about survivors, that they know what their options are. ... They have to be
the center of our response.”
Source:
The Arab Weekly
https://thearabweekly.com/nadia-murad-advocates-action-sexual-violence-war
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iraqi-patriarchy-police-forces/d/126798