Jewish and Muslim Women March Together For Gender Equality
New Age Islam News Bureau
7
March 2018
Parhiz strains during a deadlift exercise as teammate Sadya Ayubi looks on at a training session. (Photo: AFP/Wakil Kohsar)
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• 'Woman Convert to Islam Can Claim Hindu Dad's Property'
• Afghan Women Power-Lifters Flex Their Muscles
• Kolkata: Thousands of Muslim Women Take to Streets Demanding Withdrawal of Triple Talaq Bill
• Saudi Arabia To Leapfrog The Region As Champion Of Women In The Workforce
• Turkish Woman Blazing A Trail In ‘Men’s Firefighting Job
• Saudi Women Will Drive But Face Bumpy Road to Empowerment
• Women Should Have Freedom to Work, Says Yeo Bee Yin
• Aga Khan Dean’s Wife Brutalises Female Passenger on PIA Flight
• More Than 60 Female Palestinian Prisoners Held In Israeli Jails
• Bus Convoy of 2,000 Women Heads to Syria for Women’s Rights March
• Chevrolet launches a hashtag moment for Saudi women
• 300 Female Workers Treated To a Special Night
• Turkish Girl Delighted With European Fencing Title
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Jewish and Muslim women march together for gender equality
March 6, 2018
Jewish women have marched alongside their Muslim and Christian peers in a show of force in central London, calling for greater equality 100 years after women were finally given the vote.
Women of faith marched under the Nisa-Nashim banner, the Muslim-Jewish women’s network having only recently won the Interfaith Award at the Jewish News-LABS ‘Night of Heroes’ event at Grosvenor Square.
“Jewish women have always been activists,” said Mitzvah Day founder Laura Marks, who co-chairs Nisa-Nashim. “We were part of the suffragette movement. It’s our turn now to carry on that work, recognising that our sisters from other faith backgrounds have similar challenges and that together will can be stronger.”
Nisa-Nashim’s other co-founder Julie Siddiqi said: “It was great to see a better representation of women from diverse backgrounds. It is so important that all voices are heard and that we work in this important area together.”
Catriona Robertson of the Christian Muslim Forum said that marching alongside women of different faiths “defied lazy assumptions”.
http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/interfaith-march-women/
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'Woman convert to Islam can claim Hindu dad's property'
Shibu Thomas
Mar 7, 2018
MUMBAI: A Hindu woman who has converted to Islam is entitled to claim a share in her father's property if he dies without leaving a will, the Bombay high court has ruled. Justice Mridula Bhatkar refused to overturn an order of a trial court that had restrained a 68-year-old Mumbai resident from selling off or creating third-party rights in his deceased father's flat in Matunga, following a claim by his 54-year-old sister who lives in Andheri.
The man claimed his sister had converted to Islam in 1954 and was therefore disqualified from inheriting the property of their father, who was a practising Hindu.
The judge said while the personal law of a person who has converted to Islam, Christianity and other religions will apply in matters of marriage and guardianship, while deciding inheritance the religion at the time of birth has to be taken into account. "The right to inheritance is not a choice but it is by birth and in some cases it is acquired by marriage. Therefore, renouncing a particular religion and to get converted is a matter of choice and cannot cease relationships which are established and exist by birth. A Hindu convert is entitled to his/her father's property, if father died intestate," said Justice Bhatkar. The court pointed to Section 26 of the Hindu Succession Act, which says the law does not apply to children of converts. But it is silent on the converts themselves, and thus they are not disqualified from staking claim to their deceased father's property.
The judge cited the fundamental right to religion guaranteed by the Constitution and added "in our secular country, any person is free to embrace and follow any religion as his/her conscious choice." The woman had filed a suit in 2010.
, after her father's death, seeking her share in the flat.
shall not come in the way of devolution of property of her husband," the HC said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/woman-convert-to-islam-can-claim-hindu-dads-property/articleshow/63193920.cms
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Afghan women power-lifters flex their muscles
7 March 2018
KABUL: Inside the Afghanistan Powerlifting Federation’s cramped gym, Rasheda Parhiz lies on a bench wearing a tunic over sweatpants and holding a 70-kilogram (150-pound) weighted bar above her scarf-covered head.
The 40-year-old began powerlifting several years ago to help lose weight — she used to weigh 120kg and hid her ample frame under a burqa.
Now a fitter 82kg, Parhiz’s ability to lift 100kg has brought the mother of three trophies and medals in local and regional competitions, which she keeps in a plastic shopping bag in her mud-brick home.
“We are too lazy to dust them,” says her 22-year-old daughter Lema, explaining why they are not displayed in the living room window next to tea sets and thermos.
“Who’s interested?” Parhiz asks modestly.
Several times a week Afghanistan’s female powerlifting team squeezes into a small carpeted room in Kabul where they strip off their body-covering abayas and pump iron.
Lifting weights heavier than themselves, the women are also flexing their muscles in a deeply conservative and patriarchal country where sport has long been the domain of men.
The Afghan Olympic Committee started the federation seven years ago but it has struggled to attract women, who are often discouraged from playing sport on the grounds of protecting their virtue.
Powerlifting is a branch of weightlifting using the squat, bench press and deadlift techniques but without any moves which lift the weight vertically overhead.
There are 20 women on the national team compared with more than 100 in the men’s squad, which also receives more official support, says Totakhail Shahpor, who has been the women’s coach for the past three years after his predecessor absconded during a competition in Canada.
The 52-year-old former soldier considers it his duty to encourage and protect his female charges.
“I treat them like my daughters,” Shahpor says. “If I imposed discipline like the army, the next day I would have no one left.”
Motivated
To keep them motivated Shahpor pushes the women to take part in competitions even though each of them only receive 1,000 afghanis (less than $15) a month — barely enough to cover transport costs.
“Look at their shirts and trousers, they do not even have shoes,” he says pointing to Sadia Ahmadi’s grey and yellow tracksuit that has a large patch on the thigh.
Ahmadi, 25, is the most successful member of the women’s team, winning four gold medals at competitions in Uzbekistan, India and Kazakhstan, Shahpor says proudly.
Despite the taboos around female sport, the women claim they enjoy the backing, even encouragement, of their fathers or husbands to do powerlifting.
“My husband is happy... he is proud of me and pushing me,” says Parhiz.
But there are limits to his support, and he would probably balk if powerliftin ever became an Olympic sport.
Lema says her father does not approve of his daughters attending public gyms, because sporty girls are considered “bad.”
“He wouldn’t like to see me at the Olympics,” Parhiz says.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1260986/offbeat
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Kolkata: Thousands of Muslim Women Take to Streets Demanding Withdrawal of Triple Talaq Bill
March 7, 2018
Kolkata, Mar 7: More than 30,000 burkha-clad women took to the streets on Tuesday protesting against the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, which criminalises instant triple talaq. They first held a demonstration against triple talaq bill at the Muslim Institute Hall off Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road in central Kolkata and later walked to Rani Rashmoni Avenue in Esplanade area.
During the protest, Muslim women leaders talked about how the triple talaq bill was an intervention into Shariya or Islamic law. The agitating women submitted a deputation to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. “The content of the Bill is against the constitution of India, it is anti-women and anti-children. The Bill is anti-social as the civil contract is penalised, converting civil matter into criminal offence,” protesting women were quoted as saying.
Suboohi Aziz, secretary, All Bengal Muslim Women’s Association, said that they would want the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to be more vocal against the triple talaq bill. “We are hopeful that Mamata Banerjee will support us and she should suggest that Islamic analysts should analyse the Bill before accepting or rejecting it,” she reportedly said.
She further said that all Muslim women did not want any change in Shariya. Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said, “The Prime Minister seems to be very concerned with the welfare of Muslim women and also has the support of some renegade Muslim women. What he doesn’t tell others that it is the only religion where women, too, can divorce their husbands if they felt suppressed and were subject to cruelty.”
The ‘Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill’ proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife through talaq-e-biddat (instant triple talaq). After the Cabinet’s nod, the bill has been passed by Lok Sabha. However, the bill yet to be passed by Rajya Sabha to become a law. The Supreme Court has set aside instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat as a “manifestly arbitrary” practice.
http://www.india.com/news/india/triple-talaq-thousands-of-muslim-women-take-to-streets-demanding-withdrawal-of-muslim-women-protection-of-rights-on-marriage-bill-2930676/
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Saudi Arabia to leapfrog the region as champion of women in the workforce
Mar 7, 2018
WHILE the ambition of Vision 2030 to open new paths for more women to enter the workforce can contribute significantly to Saudi Arabia’s economic development and diversification agenda, the nation has a unique opportunity to take its strategy a step further and ultimately leapfrog others in the region and around the world as a true champion of women in the workplace.
Vision 2030 has a specific objective to increase female participation in the workforce from 22% today to 30% in all sectors by 2030. While that number is below the global average of 49% reported by The World Bank, great progress is being made every day.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Development recently reported updated numbers of 600,000 Saudi women working for the private sector, with 30,000 new entries last September and October alone. The government is opening new doors for women to enter the private sector workforce seemingly every day. For the first time, women can now take on positions at border crossings, work as prosecutors, join the military and open their own businesses without consent of a guardian or male relative.
Bold moves, indeed. The question, though: is that reaching high enough, particularly for a government with such ambitious economic development plans (see Neom as a prime example)? The fundamental goal should be to enable more women to get into the C-suite and diversify their functional areas of expertise, expanding beyond the already strong female talent pool of heads of marketing, communications and human resources roles. The ambition should be to enable female to become future business unit CEOs.
There are two realities we must address as we build the KSA workforce to prepare for the economy of the future. Preparing women not just to enter the workforce, but creating a pathway for them to reach the upper echelon of boardrooms, can help address both.
Firstly, women can and are already participating in decision making at the C-suite. Saudi Arabia’s Lubna Olayan, who runs Saudi conglomerate the Olayan Group, tops the Forbes Middle East Most Powerful Arab Business Women 2017 list. Saudi Arabia also took the lead in high-level appoints of women in the banking sector, with senior female executives making the list from organizations such as Samba Financial Group, which has the first women heading a commercial bank in the Kingdom, Arab National Bank and NCB Capital, whose CEO, Sarah Al Suhaimi, was appointed as chair of Tadawul, the national stock market.
The fact is there is plenty of research that shows female-led businesses deliver greater shareholder value than those led by men. But there remains a long-held societal imbalance that is well past its time and unnecessarily limits the impact some of our greatest potential leaders can have on economic growth. The fact that in 2017 only 6% of Fortune 500 companies had women in the top job is evidence of that imbalance.
Secondly, there’s a major talent gap on the horizon, according to soon-to-be-released research from Korn Ferry on the Future of Work that projects talent needs and shortfalls in markets around the world up to 2030. Saudi Arabia doesn’t have enough people with the right skills to sustain its ambition and economic growth. The development of complete new industries such as defense manufacturing and the proliferation of advanced technology, coupled with the drive behind the National Digitation Unit to make the Kingdom the new tech hub of the modern Arab world, is game changing for both the level of talent and skill sets needed today as well as how to prepare the next generation of leaders.
Tackling this talent gap will require continued changes in the national education system that are currently underway with an increased focus on STEM education. In the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS), a global ranking taking place every four years, Saudi students ranked in the lowest 10th percentile in both mathematics and science.
That presents a real challenge for sustained economic diversification in a country where half the population will be under 25 by 2030. While KAUST has achieved global recognition for science and engineering leadership, new reports are that the Kingdom is open to the idea of foreign branch campuses entering the country. Coupling a greater focus on STEM education with those new market entries and encouraging women to enter STEM studies could help set a path for a new generation of female executives.
Korn Ferry found a direct correlation of STEM education and the success of women in business, with a specific link to women rising up to the CEO level. In a new research report on women who have already succeeded at becoming CEOs, “Women CEOs Speak: Strategies for the Next Generation of Female Executives and How Companies Can Pave the Road”, Korn Ferry found that more than 40% started out with college degrees in science, engineering, or math—twice as many as those with a background in the arts and humanities or business and finance.
Entering the business world with a background and expertise in STEM-related areas also creates a better pathway to the CEO seat. The road to the top requires experience running a business unit and managing a P&L besides functional expertise.
We have an opportunity to use International Women’s Day to send a powerful message to young professionals that the C-Suite in Saudi Arabia is open to all. May the best talent win. That’s an important message to send. Another interesting finding from “Women CEOs Speak” was that the majority of female CEOs studied gave no thought to being CEO until someone explicitly told them they had it in them. Only 5 CEOs studied actually identified becoming CEO as a personal goal.
The government should be applauded for encouraging and inspiring young female professionals to set their sights high from the start. The private sector needs to continue to step up to open more doors for women to take on leadership roles and give them the mentorship at every stop along the way to enable them to reach their full potential. Then we can truly achieve the ambitions of Vision 2030 and help ensure we have a strong, growing and diversified economy that supports the nation’s people for generations to come.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/529910/BUSINESS/Saudi-Arabia-to-leapfrog-the-region-as-champion-of-women-in-the-workforce
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Turkish woman blazing a trail in ‘men’s firefighting job
March 07 2018
A Turkish woman from the Aegean province of İzmir has become a firefighter, which is generally considered to be men’s job in the country. Devrim Özdemir, who became one of the first women to put on a firefighter’s uniform in Turkey, told her story to AFP for a news series for International Women’s Day on March 8. A Turkish woman from the Aegean province of İzmir has become a firefighter, which is generally considered to be men’s job in the country. Devrim Özdemir, who became one of the first women to put on a firefighter’s uniform in Turkey, told her story to AFP for a news series for International Women’s Day on March 8.
“In the beginning, my family told me: ‘Stop, you won’t succeed, this is a job for men’,” said Özdemir, who did not heed the advice.
In 2008, she entered the job.
“Today, everyone supports me, they have confidence in me,” says the 37-year-old.
Assigned to a fire and rescue brigade in the western city of Izmir, she has started a trend. Now there are 51 women firefighters, though they are still a small portion of the 1,200-strong force.
“Today I am a firefighter who stands beside people in their difficult times,” she says, of her motivation.
And sometimes the firefighting itself can be physically tough.
“It has been difficult at times, for example on interventions that require physical strength. I also faced challenges in carrying all our equipment, but apart from that, I never had any trouble.”
Özdemir encourages young women to persevere in the male-dominated profession and points out that there is pay equality.
“For me it is important, we could have received less money for the same job, but no, we have the same salary.”
Her enthusiasm, determination and pride in her profession also inspires youngsters, like her six-year-old son -- instead of reading him bedtime stories she tells him about her work.
“I’m a heroine to my son, it’s an incredible feeling,” she says, smiling, and adding proudly: “He, too, wants to become a firefighter.”
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-woman-blazing-a-trail-in-mens-firefighting-job-128365
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Saudi women will drive but face bumpy road to empowerment
MARCH 07, 2018
Mervat Bukhari, a force of nature draped head-to-toe in Islamic niqab, braved insults and taunts to become the first Saudi woman to work at a gas station, something unimaginable not long ago.
The kingdom, where conservatives once bridled at even limited freedoms for women, is in the midst of reforms that mark the biggest cultural shake-up in its modern history.
Kickstarted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the reforms include the historic decision allowing women to drive from June, attend soccer games and take on jobs that once fell outside the narrow confines of traditional gender roles.
But the backlash faced by women like Bukhari illustrates how newfound empowerment is a potential social lightning rod in a country unaccustomed to such visibility for women.
When Ms. Bukhari, 43 and a mother of four, was promoted as supervisor of a gas station in eastern Khobar city last October, insults began pouring in on social media with the hashtag “Saudi women don’t work at gas stations”.
Ms. Bukhari, previously employed in a junior role by the same parent company, was forced to go on the defensive, telling critics she was in a managerial position and not physically handling fuel nozzles.
“I am a supervisor. I don’t fill gas myself,” she reasoned, seeking to win a modicum of respectability for a job that class-conscious Saudi men disdain.
2030 reform plan
“Women today have the right to do any work.”
Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 reform plan for a post-oil era seeks to elevate women to nearly one-third of the workforce, up from about 22 percent now.
Government statistics also put more than one million Saudi women as currently looking to enter the workforce.
The reforms have seen the Saudi labour market slowly open up to women, introducing them to jobs that were once firmly the preserve of men.
The social change, catalysed in large measure by what experts characterise as economic pain owing to a protracted oil slump, has introduced a series of firsts.
Saudi media has championed in recent months the first woman restaurant chef, first woman veterinarian and even the first woman tour guide.
But women face sobering realities -- despite often being better qualified than men.
“Saudi women are better educated, but less mobile, less employed and vastly underpaid,” Karen Young, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said.
Average monthly salaries in the private sector are close to 8,000 Saudi riyals ($2,134, 1,748 euros) for men, and only 5,000 riyals for women, according to research firm Jadwa. Saudi Arabia ranked a low of 138 out of 144 countries in the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum on gender parity.
But Riyadh is seeking to change that through what appears to be social engineering.
The decision to allow women to drive after a decades-long ban could give women the much-needed mobility to join the workforce.
For the first time, women are seen alongside men in jazz music concerts and in mixed-gender restaurants, as the influence of the once-feared religious police -- notorious for enforcing gender segregation -- appears to be waning.
“The well-known expression: ‘You are a woman, cover your face’ seems to be disappearing from our society,” human rights lawyer Abdulrahman al-Lahim wrote recently in the pro-government Okaz newspaper.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/saudi-women-will-drive-but-face-bumpy-road-to-empowerment/article22954751.ece
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Women Should Have Freedom To Work, Says Yeo Bee Yin
March 7, 2018
PETALING JAYA: Damansara Utama assembly woman Yeo Bee Yin has called for greater participation by women in the workforce ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow.
Yeo, who is DAP national assistant publicity secretary, said Malaysia’s female labour force participation rate was only 54%, one of the lowest in Southeast Asia.
She said this was despite women becoming better educated, with more women than men enrolling for tertiary education in 2015.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, Yeo said, increasing the female labour force participation rate in Malaysia to 70% would boost the country’s gross domestic product by 2.9%.
“In addition, a study of US Fortune 500 companies by Catalyst has shown that having three or more women as members of the board of directors correlates strongly with above-average returns on shareholder equity, sales and invested capital.
“All in all, increasing women’s participation in the workforce is not counter-intuitive but good for businesses and the economy,” she said in a statement.
Yeo said she was not suggesting that women who chose to be housewives could not do so.
“However, the freedom to work must be made available to women in Malaysia.”
For starters, she said, affordable and quality childcare should be made available either at the workplace or near homes.
She also suggested that the government incentivise companies to offer flexible working hours, an effective women’s returning programme and a working environment that is friendly to pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers.
Women employees should also be protected by non-discriminatory sexual harassment laws, she said.
“With a more supportive system, more women will be able to choose to fulfil their potential in the workplace. This is the freedom to work that every Malaysian woman deserves.”
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/03/07/women-should-have-freedom-to-work-says-yeo/
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Aga Khan dean’s wife brutalises female passenger on PIA flight
MARCH 7, 2018
DUBAI: A passenger aboard Pakistan International Airlines (PK 302) on Saturday morning was attacked brutally by a woman who has been identified as Sharmeen Abbas Naqvi, the wife of the Aga Khan University Hospital’s dean, Dr Farhat Abbas. According to eyewitnesses, Sharmeen Abbas Naqvi began attacking the 20-something girl, tore out the girl’s clothes and physically assaulted the young woman. This attack was unprovoked and the girl was left traumatized and had to leave the plane because her clothes were in tatters and she needed medical attention.
Eyewitnesses reported on social media how the attack unfolded. Sharmeen Abbas Naqvi began attacking the girl from the back and left her black and blue. The Airport Security Force (ASF) had to intervene to stop the attack from continuing and Dr. Farhat did not intervene or stop the attack from happening and continued to see this unprecedented assault though he was urged to do so by the cabin crew and bystanders.
ASF sources claim that the victim is related to the attacker and the pilot – however, Daily Times spoke to the victim’s family and has confirmed that the victim is related neither to the pilot nor the attacker. It has also been confirmed that prior the attack, the victim had never met her assaulter before.
The captain onboard who ended up being one of the people who saved the victim, stated “It was like warfare. The assaulter was out of control and behaved worse than a savage animal. The incident took us all by surprise because this woman seemed dangerous and it was violence of unimaginable degree. The victim couldn’t defend herself at all and got injured in the process. Once I and my staff secured the battered victim into the cockpit, I called security immediately because the assaulter was still in a rage and terrifying the other passengers with her outburst”.
Another eyewitness who was seated a little further back in the economy class also provided a statement: “I rushed to the front part of the plane after I heard wailing and crying. Upon approaching, I saw the assaulter dragging and beating the victim and she was half naked and crying and asking for help in terror. We were just petrified. The cabin crew was helping but this woman was violent and couldn’t be restrained. I saw her husband, clad in red. I knew it was her husband because some people and crew were frantically asking for his help in holding back the assaulter but he just stood there and had no answers and didn’t even touch or yell at his wife to stop.”
Many news sources have falsely reported that the victim was related to the perpetrator or the flight crew but this is not the case as DT spoke to the victim’s family. ASF was given a statement and the assaulter and her husband were held at the airport. It is reported that the assaulter is still at large and has not been brought under the purview of the law. It was erroneously reported that the victim was offloaded but as the family has given a statement that the victim left the plane due to needing medical attention and her clothes being torn apart as a result of the violent attack. Some reports made rounds that it was a ‘scuffle’ whereas the captain and multiple witnesses have confirmed otherwise. “It was pure unprovoked assault,” the captain confirmed.
PIA, responding to a question on Twitter, said that the assaulter was handed over to Airport Security Force. “Security of all parked aircraft is the responsibility of the Airport Security Force. Mid-Air the Captain holds temporary magisterial powers but will hand over PAX as soon as the aircraft lands. In this case the assaulter was handed over to ASF by PIA”
While Pakistan International Airlines tweeted that action had been taken, there has been no response from Aga Khan University Hospital’s management whose dean’s wife was the attacker and the dean himself was present there and did not stop his wife from attacking another person.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/211486/aga-khan-deans-wife-brutalises-female-passenger-pia-flight/
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More than 60 female Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails
Mar 6, 2018
A prominent non-governmental organization says 62 female Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli jails.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said at least six of the 62 female Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are under the age of 18.
The NGO also called on international human rights groups to shed light on the issue.
Some 7,000 Palestinians are currently behind bars in 17 Israeli prisons and detention centers, according to reports.
More than 400 Palestinians are being held without trial under so-called administrative detention, which is a policy according to which Palestinian inmates are kept in Israeli detention facilities without trial or charge. Some Palestinian prisoners have been held in administrative detention for up to 11 years.
Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes to voice their outrage at the administrative detention.
Palestinian prisoners complain that they have been subjected to assault and torture at Israeli prisons.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/03/06/554593/female-Palestinian-prisoners-Israeli-jails
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Bus convoy of 2,000 women heads to Syria for women’s rights march
6 March 2018
ISTANBUL: An international group of 2,000 women set off from Istanbul on Tuesday for Turkey’s border with Syria, part of a “conscience convoy” to raise awareness of the plight of Syrian women after seven years of civil war.
The convoy of buses is expected to reach the southern Turkish province of Hatay on Thursday, International Women’s Day.
The multi-sided conflict in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions from their homes, and the group of activists, from 55 countries, aims to highlight the plight of women in prison in particular.
“We need the world to take the best and quickest measures for the protection of women in all wars, not just those in Syrian prisons,” said Nour, a Syrian activist, who declined to give her full name. She said she was unjustly imprisoned for a month by the government of President Bashar Assad for her humanitarian work.
“Women have been exposed to war, suffering, asylum, and forced displacement in all countries subjected to war. We call on the entire world to protect women,” she said.
Organizers of the convoy say that 6,736 women, including 417 girls, are currently being held in prisons in Syria. Thousands of women have also been identified as having been subjected to torture, rape or other inhumane treatment in Syrian prisons since the war began, they said.
Assad’s government has denied allegations of systemic torture, as well as allegations of widespread war crimes by government-backed forces and Syria’s security services.
Massive displacement, both inside Syria and across its borders, has left millions of women and girls vulnerable to sexual violence and trafficking, the United Nations says. The collapse of the economy and health care system is also seen disproportionately affecting women.
“No matter what religion, race or ethnicity, women from the world are coming together today to start a journey of humanity,” said Yvonne Ridley, a Scottish activist. “We are setting off on this journey to be among those, to help those who are in Syrian prisons.”
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1260631/middle-east
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Chevrolet launches a hashtag moment for Saudi women
March 6, 2018
Dubai: Chevrolet is very much in the moment with its latest marketing hashtag. The General Motors’ owned brand has gone live with “#UpToMe”, a campaign that “pays tribute to the women of Saudi Arabia”.
And the context to this? The lifting of the ban on women being allowed to drive in the kingdom. The timing of the new campaign comes just ahead of the International Women’s Day.
In a statement, the automotive brand said: “Chevrolet recognises that the real milestone is that women can now decide to either get behind the wheel or not.”
“Ingrained in the Saudi community for over 90 years now, Chevrolet has been a constant companion providing dependable means of transport to both men and women in the kingdom,” said Molly Peck, chief marketing officer at General Motors M.E..
“With #UpToMe, Chevrolet recognises Saudi women’s newfound possibility to decide, and it emphasises that from this June onwards, it’s up to them.”
A short video features real Saudi women answering one question: “Will you drive come June 2018?” The campaign is now live on the Chevrolet Arabia Facebook and YouTube pages.
http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/media/chevrolet-launches-a-hashtag-moment-for-saudi-women-1.2183407
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300 female workers treated to a special night
March 6, 2018
Dubai: Some 300 female workers staying at a women’s labour accommodation in Al Quoz were treated to a special night of fun and games by Dar Al Ber Society in honour of their personal sacrifices for their families on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
Dar Al Ber Society organised a special night for the female labourers who received gifts, including shoes, bags, umbrellas, mugs, among others. They were also served dinner which included biryani, fruits, laban, water, and cookies.
Hesham Al Zahrani, deputy director of Social Sector, Dar Al Ber Society, said, “We, at Dar Al Ber Society, care for the happiness of women labourers, and we always provide support to them as they are away from their homes and families. These women are our sisters and that’s why Dar Al Ber Society gave them gifts and dinner to make them feel special and cared for.”
Juhi Yasmeen Khan, CSR and charity initiative expert at Dar Al Ber Society, said she was blessed to see the ladies “so happy”.
“It was a fun-filled evening designed for these labourers as our aim is to make them feel special and happy on Women’s Day. We had a session where women labourers shared jokes and funny incidents. Later, we all played the tug of war. It was so heart-warming to see these ladies enjoying thoroughly and laughing out loud,” she said.
Special gifts were given to some of the women, including a gas stove for a lady named Susama for being the kindest person in the camp, according to her fellow labourers. Another lady, Mounisha, a Bangladeshi national, won a leather bag after she was voted the “funniest woman” in the camp.
“As Dubai is aiming to be the happiest city in the world, Dar Al Ber Society will keep doing its bit in the effort by organising such events and activities in the future also,” Al Zahrani said.
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/300-female-workers-treated-to-a-special-night-1.2183492
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Turkish girl delighted with European fencing title
March 06 2018
A 17-year-old girl from the Aegean province of İzmir is very happy to have become Turkey’s first woman fencer to win a European title.
Deniz Selin Ünlüdağ won the title at the Junior and Cadet European Fencing Championships held over the weekend in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Ünlüdağ, an athlete of the İzmir Municipality club, beat Darya Drozd of the host country 15-9 in the semifinal of the Cadet Women’s Saber event, before beating Bulgarian Yoana Ilieva 15-11 in the final to clinch the gold medal and claim Turkey’s second European title in its 95-year fencing history and first in the women’s category.
“This is truly an unbelievable feeling,” Ünlüdağ said.
“It was a major test for me after dealing with a mid-season injury, and I believe that I have achieved a major success. I want to thank those who have always supported me, my family, my coaches, the Turkish Fencing Federation and the Youth and Sports Ministry,” she added.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-girl-delighted-with-european-fencing-title-128298
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