‘Malaysian Comfort Women’ Joining Islamic State to Serve in Jihad al-Nikah
New Age Islam News Bureau
19
Sept 2014
• Kyrgyzstan
Struggles with Rise of Female Islamists
• Paramilitary
Group Trains 'Chastity Patrols' To Ensure Iranian Women Are Well Covered
• Counter-Terrorism
Efforts Must Focus On Roles of Women
• Women's
Groups Slam 'Discriminatory' UK Advice on Sharia Wills
• Proposal
to Curb Practice of Stopping Women from Voting In Pakistan
'• It's Now Time to Ban the Burqa', Following Terror Raids, Says Australian Senator
• Muslim
Women Challenged On Social Rejuvenation
• Methodist
Church wants Hijab banned in its school
• Apply
‘30% Club’ For Women in Politics, Social Activist Marina Tells Putrajaya
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/‘malaysian-comfort-women’-joining-islamic/d/99163
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‘Malaysian
Comfort Women’ Joining Islamic State to Serve in Jihad al-Nikah
19 Sep,
2014
School pupils with Hijabs, Photo/File
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Reports that Malaysian women, among others, were abandoning their homes and heading to the Middle East to serve in jihad al-Nikah (sexual jihad) as “comfort women” have drawn a combination of disbelief and protests from the Islamic community. The reports have come from Malaysian news sources. Police say they are investigating the reports, which “did not come from official channels.”
The idea
of Islamic women working as prostitutes is anathema to Muslim beliefs, but if
true it is hardly new. A recent template for this type of activity occurred
under the Taliban in the 1990s.
Contrary
to most reports at the time, there were brothels running during the militia’s
rule.
The male
customer, I was informed, would offer to marry the woman. She obliged and they
would spend the night together. In the morning the husband would declare “I
divorce you” three times, pay a small alimony and the pair went their separate
ways – not an uncommon practice in the Middle East.
It was a
well-kept secret in Kabul because under the Taliban’s rule such women faced
certain execution, which required the toppling of a brick wall onto the
condemned, who was subsequently run over by a tank. Death meant absolution.
Survival meant she was innocent of the charges.
Times
have changed.
According
to The Malaysian Insider, Islamic women from Malaysia and further afield in
Britain and Australia were packing their bags for the Islamic State, where they
intend to serve in a sexual jihad.
Quoting
“an intelligence official,” the report also contained nuggets of information
that dovetail neatly with other, independent sources.
It
details jihad al-Nikah – a concept initiated perhaps a year ago by the Wahhabi
sect of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden – “where Sunni women allegedly
offer themselves in sexual comfort roles to fighters for the establishment of
Islamic rule.”
It was
described by some as sexual jihad to “boost the morale of fighters battling
against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.” Now such “comforts” are being
offered by women to fighters in the so-called Islamic State, which will
probably come as no surprise to their home governments.
Islamic
State leaders, fighting in Iraq and Syria, declared jihad al-Nikah in June.
The
report told the story of Malaysian comfort women, with the numbers of British
and Australian Muslims serving in the Islamic State rising to 600 and 100
respectively once these women were included in the figures. There are also
claims that Islamic State mercenaries have been forcing young women living
under their occupation to join the sexual jihad.
It was a
timely report, published just before Indonesia announced it would follow
Malaysia’s path and establish a de-radicalization centre.
It will
be built on 6.1 hectares within the International Peace and Security Centre and
run by the National Counter-Terrorism Agency, BNPT, to curb extreme Islamic
militancy and prevent convicted terrorists from re-offending.
De-radicalization
and rehabilitation centres have had mixed success under different guises.
This
time the Indonesians are promising a more holistic attempt, which will expose
inmates to much greater psychological and spiritual counselling, in addition to
more contact with their families.
The new
centre is also spearheading efforts to curb any spread of Islamic State
militants to Indonesia, where they are banned.
Media
reports had indicated that jailed survivors of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) –
responsible for deadly attacks on Bali in 2002 and elsewhere –will be among the
first inmates at the centre, including co-founder Abu Bakar Bashir and Aman
Abdurrahman. Australian embassy bomber Iwan Darmawan, also known as Rois, will
probably join them.
Like the
women of jihad al-Nikah, all three have declared allegiance to the Islamic
State and its caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The de-radicalization centre may one
day house female inmates as well.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/09/malaysian-sources-comfort-women-joining-islamic-state/
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Kyrgyzstan
Struggles with Rise of Female Islamists
19 Sep,
2014
When
police searched Dilorom’s house and arrested her for possession of banned
religious literature in early 2012, the event shocked her small town in
southern Kyrgyzstan.
Dilorom,
a retired 57-year-old former communist functionary and mother of three, led a
quiet life and enjoyed the respect of her neighbors because she gave free
lessons on the tenets of Islam to local women and girls. Adding to the
intrigue, upon her release Dilorom (not her real name) suddenly disappeared.
Her
whereabouts are still unknown, but some neighbors believe that Dilorom, after
paying a bribe to secure her release from jail, is now in Syria with her
40-year-old son, two among hundreds of Central Asians believed to be fighting
with Islamist militants.
In
recent months, Kyrgyz security forces have arrested dozens of women on
suspicion of ties to radical groups, according to local press reports.
Officials claim the raids have led to the recovery of banned leaflets and have
disrupted extremist cells that were recruiting new female members. One group
that is often fingered is Hizb-ut Tahrir, an Islamist political organization
banned throughout Central Asia, but which has never been linked to violence and
is tolerated in the West.
Concrete
information on the workings of radical groups in Kyrgyzstan is sparse, on the
role that women play in those groups even more so. Four Hizb-ut Tahrir members
approached by EurasiaNet.org declined to comment on the number of women within
the organization's ranks. But one activist based in the southern town of
Kara-Suu acknowledged that “enlisting support from various segments of society,
including women, is one of the major parts of our strategy.”
Overall,
the Interior Ministry (which some believes exaggerates the threat to justify
repressive police tactics) estimates that women are rapidly growing as a
proportion of religious radicals. In December 2013, the Interior Ministry said
women constituted 23 percent of the 1,700 known Islamic extremists in
Kyrgyzstan, up from 1.1 percent in 2005. Later, a senior official from the
ministry said women comprise 7 percent of roughly 1,700 suspects.
Kyrgyz
police are suspicious of informal religious study groups like the one Dilorom
ran out of her home. Though the goal of these circles is ostensibly to study
the Koran, police claim they are breeding grounds for extremists. The police
also claim that such informal study circles help recruit women to fight in
Syria, or support their husbands in the fight.
“Increasing
female involvement in extremism and terrorism is a global trend. Kyrgyzstan is
also witnessing the emergence of groups of women that are propagating the ideas
of radical organizations,” Emil Jeenbekov, deputy head of the Interior Ministry
department that deals with religious extremism, told Radio Azattyk in March.
Jamal
Frontbek kyzy, leader of Mutakallim, a Bishkek-based NGO that promotes the
rights of Muslim women, told EurasiaNet.org that the majority of women who join
extremist groups are recruited by their husbands. “A portrait of a would-be
female member of an extremist group is the following: she is from a low-income
family, someone who lacks good knowledge of the tenets of Islam, and someone
who is pressured by her parents to marry early,” she said.
Extremists
take advantage of undereducated women interested in Islam, who have nowhere to
turn in mainstream Mosque culture. “Mosques have no specialists who work with
women,” Frontbek kyzy said. “Extremist groups, which have lots of money and
resources, take advantage of Muslim women’s desire to obtain religious
knowledge.”
State
repression and corruption are also often cited as causes of
radicalization. Dilorom’s younger son
who is a construction worker in southern Kyrgyzstan, said his mother and
brother left Kyrgyzstan after her release “because they could not bear the
police harassment.”
In 2010
and 2011, Dilorom’s son spent a year in jail on charges related to the ethnic
violence that struck southern Kyrgyzstan that summer. Under the terms of his
release, he must report to the police regularly. Speaking on condition of
anonymity out of fear for his safety, Dilorom’s son said local police officers
– who are predominately ethnic Kyrgyz, while he is a minority Uzbek –
frequently extort money with threats of arrest. Others describe similar
treatment. Local human rights activists regularly charge that Kyrgyz police are
more interested in shaking down members of minority groups than in protecting
their communities.
Observers
are divided on the dangers of the rising number of female radicals. One
Bishkek-based researcher who specializes in Islamic groups said that
authorities' one-size-fits-all approach is undermining their own stabilization
efforts; they are not able to distinguish between potential radicals and
members of proselytizing groups with no violent tendencies, such as Tablighi
Jamaat.
A police
officer in Osh expressed frustration with trying to “reason with” female
members of Hizb-ut Tahrir, who are “brainwashed,” but argued that “using force
will not help.”
Nevertheless,
Kyrgyz authorities increasingly rely on punitive measures to counter
radicalism, with highly publicized raids and arrests.
That
approach explains a fear of the authorities in women like Khalysa, who followed
her late husband with their children to Syria, where he was killed in battle.
Khalysa says that though she has never been involved in extremist activities,
she fears returning to Kyrgyzstan. She expects that if she returned, law
enforcement agencies would harass her and her children.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70046
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Paramilitary
Group Trains 'Chastity Patrols' To Ensure Iranian Women Are Well Covered
19 Sep,
2014
Tehran:
"Chastity patrols", created by an Iranian paramilitary group, are
patrolling the streets of Iran to force women to go "well covered" in
public.
At the
beginning of summer, trendy Iranian women started wearing lighter clothes, more
transparent veils to cover their hair and slightly shortened sleeves that still
end below the elbow.
That
tendency prompted the more conservative sectors to demand imposition of
"good hijab" in accordance with a much stricter interpretation of the
Islamic dress code.
But the
Ansar-e Hezbollah group has gone further and organised street patrols in Tehran
"to control morality in women", especially young women, who are more
relaxed about complying with the Hijab, which requires a woman to cover
everything except her face, hands and feet.
The
paramilitary group, which has the support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, claims to have trained and launched "dozens of groups to enjoin
good and forbid evil".
The
group's 3,000 women and 1,000 men patrol the streets in civilian clothes to
warn and intimidate those women who, in their view, violate the rules of
decency required by the Islamic Republic.
The
secretary general of Ansar-e Hezbollah, Abdolhamid Mohtasham says it is
necessary "to crush those who spread corruption".
This
development comes shortly after Rouhani, who won an election after promising
greater social freedom, said in a speech that behaviour cannot be imposed on people.
"Is
it possible to improve culture with vans, minibuses, police and soldiers?"
he asked, in a clear reference to the morality police, who also prowl the
streets.
"This
is a religious dictatorship," Saide, a 29-year-old resident of Tehran
said.
She wears
an ordinary veil similar to many young women, exposing much of her hair.
Her
classmate Sharshani, 26, believes that "this act shows no respect for
people".
"Each
person should be able to dress as he or she wants" is an idea that has
been taking hold in a country with a predominantly young population.
Fatima,
who works for a tourism company, points out that "in other (Muslim)
countries, such as Turkey, there are women who are veiled and some who are
not".
"But
those who are veiled do not look down at those who are not, they respect them,
but here, they look at us with hatred, just because we wear makeup or nail
polish," she said.
"In
theory, we cannot expose our hair in the street. But we all show it, but that
means we could be stopped at any time. Always walking in fear."
The
presence on the streets of some 4,000 Islamic hardliners who do not respond to
any official authority will only complicate the situation for those who have a
more tolerant view of hijab.
Iranian
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli said the patrols would need official
authorisation to operate and made it clear that such permission would be
forthcoming.
"The
interior ministry is responsible for seeing to these issues and will have an
appropriate response to the measures," he said.
http://www.firstpost.com/world/paramilitary-group-trains-chastity-patrols-ensure-iranian-women-well-covered-1720625.html
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Counter-Terrorism
Efforts Must Focus On Roles of Women
19 Sep,
2014
Seizing
the opportunity to gain new audiences and enhance support, terrorists and
extremist groups have developed a nuanced and targeted approach to recruiting
women.
For
example, as part of a social media campaign to extol to women the virtues of
jihad in Iraq and Syria, Umm Layth - thought to be a British woman in Syria
married to a fighter - tweeted: "The wives of the Shaheed ('martyrs') are
the strongest types of women I have come across. Epitome of independent
women." To oppose this trend, government and international efforts to
counter violent extremism (CVE) need to more proactively engage with women and
integrate a gender dimension into CVE policies and programmes.
The
presence of women in fighting corps should come as little surprise. Female
fighting cadres from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were reputed to be
even more ferocious in many instances than their male counterparts, and women
figured prominently in leftist militant groups like Colombia's FARC rebels and
the Red Army Faction in Germany, as well as groups like the Chechen "Black
Widows".
Yet,
women have often come as an afterthought in official efforts to prevent and
counter terrorism and violent extremism.
Terrorist
groups have unfortunately been ahead of governments, which are often more
constrained by protocol and bureaucratic silos, in engaging with target
audiences. Al- Qaeda's Inspire magazine dedicated segments specifically to
women, and the Islamic State (ISIS) has developed a media strategy that
includes Twitter campaigns such as that by Umm Layth.
It is
not immediately clear how many of these campaigns are driven by ISIS itself and
how many are independent feeds, but the medium allows them to appear to address
any potential recruits directly and discuss issues ranging from the mundane to
the profound.
For
example, one woman has recently tweeted her desire to be the first British
woman to kill a US or UK citizen. Others tweet about the joys of living in the
"Islamic State" and the camaraderie among women who await news of
their husbands' or sons' "martyrdom".
Reports
of an all-female ISIS brigade enforcing draconian interpretations of syariah
law on women have shocked audiences more accustomed to seeing the all-male
Taleban or Al-Qaeda cadres subjugating women in their homes and communities.
This is
not to indicate some kind of feminist revolution among Islamist extremists.
Many women continue to play traditional roles supporting the men involved in
combat operations. Messages like Umm Layth's even strenuously warned that
female jihadis should expect to be involved in the domestic sphere in Syria,
flatly announcing that it is "completely impossible" for women
"to participate in battle", despite important historical precedents
in Islam for women's participation in war.
The
importance of this debate lies in understanding why women choose to become
fighters or suicide bombers.
For
some, it represents a proactive choice, an opportunity to challenge societal
norms and assert equality in a way that is not available to women outside
combat roles. For others, the reasons for joining extremist groups may lie in
histories of sexual abuse or coercion by family members as a means of saving
face, restoring familial honour or avenging the death of loved ones.
Understanding
why women choose to join extremist groups, and what makes them appealing, is
critical to developing more nuanced and targeted efforts to counter violent
extremism or prevent terrorism. Further research about the impact of violent
extremism on women, and their roles in both supporting and preventing it, is
sorely needed.
The sophistication
of the media strategies developed by Al-Qaeda and its derivative groups,
including AQAP (Al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and ISIS, also challenges
governments and international organisations which are often more constrained in
the manner and content of media messaging.
While
robust measures may be needed to address immediate security concerns, a more
strategic approach to counter violent extremism requires a better understanding
of how the underlying grievances affect young people men and women - who are
often the most vulnerable to recruitment by extremists.
Analyses
of risks and threats need to integrate a gender dimension; counter-narratives
need to be carefully tailored to ensure they reach female audiences;
governments, institutions and civil society need to more proactively include
women both as participants and beneficiaries in order to address these
challenges.
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/opinion/more-opinion-stories/story/counter-terrorism-efforts-must-focus-roles-women-20140919#sthash.frhELL6s.dpuf
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Women's
Groups Slam 'Discriminatory' UK Advice on Sharia Wills
19 Sep,
2014
LONDON
(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women's rights activists have accused the
professional body representing lawyers in England and Wales of endorsing
discrimination against women by refusing to withdraw its guidance on Sharia
wills.
The Law
Society issued its guidance on ensuring that wills drawn up for Muslims comply
with Sharia in March, drawing criticism in the local press that it was effectively
enshrining Islamic law in the British legal system for the first time.
In an
open letter published on Thursday campaigners said the guidance, "a source
of immense concern," encourages legal services "to accommodate highly
gender discriminatory religious laws that are being increasingly defined by
religious fundamentalists in our society".
The
guidance informs lawyers that in general, under Sharia, male heirs inherit
twice the amount a female heir will receive and that illegitimate children are
not heirs.
The
letter said the Law Society's failure to withdraw the guidance amounted to a
"a gross derogation of duty".
"Are
we to assume that when the Law Society refers to equality, it does not include
minority women's right to equality?" the letter said.
"Are
we to assume that minority women are only to be recognised as different but not
equal, and that equality and diversity are mutually exclusive? Are we to assume
that the Law Society does not consider minority women as members of the public
whose rights and interests the Law Society must also promote through the legal
profession?"
According
to media reports, the solicitors' watchdog deleted from its website references
to professional guidance on drawing up Sharia compliant wills in July.
Law
Society officials were not immediately available for comment.
One of
the campaigners who signed the letter said many women and girls from the Middle
East, North Africa and Afghanistan - now living in Britain - had fled countries
where Sharia is practised. Sharia is based on the teachings of the Koran and
the practices of the Prophet Mohammed.
"They
too have experienced firsthand the discrimination of Sharia law. They have come
to the UK in search of safety and to live in a country where women and men are
treated as equals," said Diana Nammi, the executive director of the
Iranian & Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO), at a protest outside
the Law Society in April.
"Money
is being put before women's rights. There is a lot of money to be made by
lawyers from drafting Sharia compliant wills. We cannot allow for women's
rights to be sacrificed so that lawyers can cash in," she told protesters.
The last
census in 2011 showed that Muslims made up the second largest religious group
in Britain with 2.7 million people - compared with the 33.2 million Christians
that account for 59 percent of the population of 63.2 million.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/18/uk-foundation-britain-Sharia-idUKKBN0HD2CC20140918
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Proposal
To Curb Practice Of Stopping Women From Voting In Pakistan
19 Sep,
2014
ISLAMABAD:
The draft of new election law prepared by the Election Commission of Pakistan
(ECP) proposes to expand the scope of the offence of ‘undue influence’ to
include reaching an agreement to restrain women from contesting an election or
exercising their right to vote.
It calls
for empowering the commission to declare the poll void partly or entirely if it
finds that women were stopped from voting under an agreement or other grave
illegalities have taken place. The ECP may order filing of a complaint in a
court of competent jurisdiction against persons reaching such an agreement.
This
provision is not there in the current election law.
Capturing
polling stations may be defined as ‘corrupt practice’
An
amendment has been proposed in the law which if passed by parliament will
reduce punishment for the offence of capturing polling stations.
The
draft also seeks to widen the definition of corrupt practices to include
capturing of polling stations and tampering with ballot papers. Earlier these
were confined to bribery, impersonation, undue influence and dissemination of
false information affecting the result of an election. But the proposed law
will relax the minimum sentence of three-year imprisonment prescribed in the
existing law for the offence.
Under
Section 82 of the Representation of People Act, 1976, a person guilty of this
offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years or a
fine of up to Rs5, 000 or both. But a more stringent sentence has been prescribed
under Section 82A for capturing polling stations which specifically mentions
‘not less than three years imprisonment’ extendable to five years, and a fine
of not less than Rs50,000 and extendable to Rs100,000.
Under
the proposed amendment, seizing a polling station would be dealt with as a
corrupt practice and the guilty will be punishable with an imprisonment to the
extent of three years or a fine of up to Rs100, 000 or both.
Legal
experts are of the opinion that a law envisaging maximum sentence without
specifying the minimum will leave the matter to the discretion of the judge
concerned.
“If a
law prescribed imprisonment of up to three years, the judge can jail the
accused for a month, a day or even fraction of a day,” Advocate Asad Siddiqui
told Dawn.
The
draft law proposes to take away the president’s discretionary power of
announcing a date for general elections and makes consultation a mandatory
requirement.
A
four-fold increase has been proposed in election expenditures to Rs6 million
for a National Assembly seat and Rs4m for provincial assembly.
The
draft law proposes to eliminate ghost polling stations. Under the new
procedure, soon after the appointment of district returning officers and
returning officers the commission will provide a list of polling stations to
the returning officer concerned.
After
physical verification of polling stations, the returning officer will be
empowered to make alterations in the list as he deems necessary and publish it
for public inspection, inviting objections from the electors to be filed with
the district returning officer.
The
final list of polling stations, specifying the electoral area of voters
entitled to vote in each polling station, is required to be published in the
official gazette at least 30 days prior to the polling day.
To
discourage non-serious candidates, the security deposit is proposed to be
increased from Rs4, 000 to Rs50, 000 for a National Assembly seat and from
Rs2,000 to Rs25,000 for a provincial assembly seat. The deposit shall not be
refunded if a candidate receives less than one fourth of the total votes cast.
Under
the proposed law, secretaries of union councils will be required to submit
lists of birth and deaths to the registration officer concerned to help keep
the electoral rolls updated.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1132895/proposal-to-curb-practice-of-stopping-women-from-voting
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'It's
Now Time to Ban the Burqa', Following Terror Raids, Says Australian Senator
19 Sep,
2014
Conservative
Australian Senator Jacqui Lambie has been told to 'get a life' after she echoed
a controversial government senator's call for the Burqa to be banned.
The
Tasmanian former soldier told SBS she completely agreed with Senator Cory
Bernardi's opposition to the full-length garb worn by some Islamic women.
The
fiery Palmer United Party senator posted a meme on Thursday night featuring a
woman wearing a Burqa and holding a gun which said 'for security reasons it's
now time to ban the Burqa'.
The
broadcaster quoted Ms Lambie saying: 'I agree whole-heartedly with Senator Cory
Bernadi’s comments - and call for an immediate and complete ban on the wearing
of Burqas in public.
'People
can do want the want in the privacy of their own homes – but for the public
safety of our children and families – remove the Burqa.'
Prominent
Islamic community spokesman Keysar Trad told Daily Mail Australia Ms Lambie was
'jumping on the phobia bandwagon'.
'I think
she should get out more,' Mr Trad said. 'She really seems to me like a
misinformed person and should learn a bit more about her fellow
Australians.'
After
the largest counter-terrorism operation in the country's history on Thursday,
South Australian Liberal Senator Bernardi tweeted: 'Note Burqa wearers in some
of the houses raided this morning? This shroud of oppression and flag of
fundamentalism is not right in Aust'.
Prime
Minister Tony Abbott, who himself has said in the past he found the Burqa
'confronting', distanced himself from Mr Bernardi's remarks.
'We
shouldn't fret about people's faith. We shouldn't fret about what people wear.
We should guard against crime. We should protect ourselves against potential
terror,' he told reporters.
Opposition
Leader Bill Shorten was scathing about Mr Bernardi's Burqa comments.
'Why on
earth is this out-of-touch, out-of-line Senator on a rampage with his ignorant
and stupid comments?' he said at a press conference in Canberra.
Last
week, Senator Lambie told reporters that people who support Sharia law should
'get out' of Australia.
A
spokesman for Senator Lambie was unavailable for comment on Friday morning.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2761671/It-s-time-ban-Burqa-Jacqui-Lambie-declares-Islamic-dress-banned-security-reasons-following-terror-raids.html#ixzz3Dl2WyDdI
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Muslim
Women Challenged On Social Rejuvenation
19 Sep,
2014
TO
achieve stability in the world, Muslim women must assume their role as the
moral fibre of the society and one of the ways they can achieve this is by
acquiring spiritual and financial strength.
Alhaja
Habeebat Oladosu of the Islamic and Arabic Studies Department, University of
Ibadan, made the remark in Ibadan, Oyo State, in a lecture as part of the
celebration of the 15th annual Women Week of the Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society
(NASFAT) Worldwide.
In the
lecture entitled: “Muslimah: Making a Difference,” held at the NASFAT ground,
Samonda, Alhaja Oladosu said societies in contemporary times were in disarray
because women had neglected their role as stabilisers.
In
emphasising the duties of the Muslim woman within the family unit, and by
extension, the society, Oladosu said apart from guarding her husband’s
property, the Muslimah serves as the first teacher unto her children.
She made
reference to noble women of times past like the wife of the Prophet Muhammad,
Aisha and Prophet Isa’s mother, Maryam who, she said, left their footprints in
the sands of time.
The
lecturer challenged Muslim women to make a mark in today’s world by
particularly engaging in professions like medicine, law, teaching and
journalism or venturing into desirable businesses.
She,
however, asked them to pursue the knowledge of the Qur’an and Islamic
jurisprudence to serve as their moral compass in the discharge of their duties.
According
to Alhaja Oladosu, women have equal responsibilities to perform on earth in all
ramifications as men and as such, they could not afford to suffer from either
laxity or extremism.
Earlier,
the NASFAT women had embarked on visitations to prison inmates, FOMWAN
orphanage and rehabilitation centres and provision of free medical services at
the organisation’s clinic.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/islamic-news/item/16444-muslim-women-challenged-on-social-rejuvenation
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Methodist
Church wants Hijab banned in its school
19 Sep,
2014
The
Methodist Church has moved to court seeking orders to stop Muslim students in a
public school it sponsors from wearing the Hijab.
In its
petition, the church said making the Hijab and white trousers part of the
uniform at St Paul Kiwanjani secondary school in Isiolo is tantamount to
discriminating against Christian students.
The
church’s lawyer said Muslim and Christian students at the school have been
living harmoniously and that the school uniform issue only became contentious
during an Annual General Meeting on June 22.
During
the AGM Isiolo Deputy Governor Mohamed Guleid said that Muslim girls should be
allowed to wear the white scarf and trousers as part of the uniform.
In
another meeting over the issue, the Isiolo district education officer
reportedly said that there will be bloodshed if the Muslim students are not
allowed to wear the garments.
The
church is suing the Teacher’s Service Commission and the Isiolo district
education officer arguing that the Muslim students have been accorded special
treatment which is a form of discrimination against Christian students.
The
church has been sponsoring the school for the past seven years.
Justice
Mumbi Ngugi certified the matter as urgent and directed that the case be heard
at the High Court in Meru county.
http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-190544/methodist-church-wants-hijab-banned-its-school-argues-discrimination-against#sthash.1EEbQ8hg.dpuf
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Apply
‘30% Club’ For Women in Politics, Social Activist Marina Tells Putrajaya
19 Sep,
2014
Social
activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir today dismissed as inadequate Putrajaya's
recently announced policy to increase women's participation in high positions
to 30%, as it does not cover the critical field of politics where there are
currently only two female ministers in the Malaysian cabinet.
She said
while the federal government was already two decades behind in announcing such
a policy for women, there should still be greater participation in influential
political seats instead of just career positions in public and private sectors.
"To
me, there is almost no point in having women in 30% of decision-making
positions in business when the really important policy decisions are made in
the political arena," she told the 2014 Women's Development Forum
organised by the Penang Skills Development Centre in Bayan Lepas, Penang.
Deputy
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday said the government was
studying the possibility of creating a "30% Club" to increase women's
participation at the decision-making level.
Speaking
at the Women's Summit 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, he said the government drew up a
policy and provided incentives for the private sector to encourage more women
to join the workforce and to ensure they were capable of filling high posts.
He also
said the number of women holding high positions in the public sector was
expected to grow through the Public Service Department fast-tracking the upward
mobility of women officers.
Marina
today said Muhyiddin failed to mention that the 30% participation of women was
in compliance with the UN's Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW), signed by Malaysia in 1995.
"This
club comes almost 20 years after we signed CEDAW," she said.
She
added that CEDAW's stipulation is not just for private and public sector
workplaces, but also in the political arena.
She said
the Domestic Violence Act 1994 took at least six years before it was passed
because there were not enough women in Parliament who would understand its
urgency.
She also
pointed to the move to amend the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act
1984 in 2005 to give men greater leeway on polygamy, which was passed by
Parliament but forestalled at the Senate level after an awareness drive by
NGOs.
She said
women's rights were being chiselled away "under our very noses",
largely because such laws were not debated or discussed in public before being
passed.
The low
proportion of women at just 10% in Parliament and about 8% in state assemblies
means that these laws can be passed "stealthily behind closed doors".
She
added that there were only two ministers in Putrajaya's 33-member strong
cabinet, excluding the prime minister and his deputy.
They are
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri and Women, Family and
Community Development Minister Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim.
"If
there were more women in those positions, then they can support one another in
pushing for laws and policies for women."
If the
30% allocation were applied in the cabinet, one-eighth of the ministers would
be women, some of whom can hold posts in critical portfolios beyond just being
in charge of tourism, women's development and so on.
Marina
also made a veiled reference to religiously laced opposition by politicians
against women like PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail assuming
top government posts because of their gender.
She
criticised assertions that women could not function well because of periods.
She said
the Queen of Sheba, a historical figure, was renowned as a wise and just ruler.
"I
would like to remind the politicians who are saying today that in Islamic law
women cannot be leaders that the Queen of Sheba is cited in the Quran,"
she said.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/apply-30-club-for-women-in-politics-marina-tells-putrajaya#sthash.XmYMafGA.dpuf
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/‘malaysian-comfort-women’-joining-islamic/d/99163