New York Police To Stop Forcing Muslim Women To Remove Hijab During Arrest
New
Age Islam News Bureau
11
November 2020
• Dubai Residents Share Initiative Supporting Female-Led Businesses
•
Nida Allam, The First Muslim Woman Elected To Office In North Carolina Decided
To Join Politics After Her Friends Were Killed In Chapel Hill In 2015
•
Alia Zafar Appointed As Pakistan Cricket Board's First Female Director
•
Jewish, Christian And Muslim Women Come Together Around Storytelling, Community
Service
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/new-york-police-stop-forcing/d/123440
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New
York Police To Stop Forcing Muslim Women To Remove Hijab During Arrest
10
November 2020
A
woman holds up a poster during a rally to support Muslim rights outside city
hall on 10 June 2017 in New York (AFP/File photo)
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The
New York police department has agreed to stop forcing Muslim women to remove
their headscarves for arrest photos and detentions, following several costly
lawsuits over the practice.
In
an effort to settle one of the more recent suits, the police department agreed
to change its policy and allow religious people to be photographed in head
coverings as long as their faces are left visible.
The
two-year-old lawsuit was brought on by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, each of
whom experienced separate incidents of having to remove their hijabs at the
demand of the police department.
"It
was appalling that this was happening for so many years in New York and that
our city was betraying the values of religious inclusion," said Albert Fox
Cahn, a lawyer who represented the women in their suit. "But now we won’t
see any more New Yorkers subjected to this discriminatory policy."
In
Clark's original complaint, she recounted breaking down in tears, saying she
felt naked after being forced to remove her hijab for hours when she was
detained in January 2017 on a low-level charge of violating an order of
protection.
In
August of that year, Aziz was arrested on similar charges in Brooklyn. She said
police made her take off her hijab for an official arrest photo in a crowded
hallway with dozens of male prisoners watching.
Protections
for all religious groups
Under
the new settlement, authorities would not be allowed to force women to remove
their head coverings unless needed for a search, and the department has agreed
to document for the next three years any instance in which it forced someone to
remove religious headwear.
Meanwhile,
officers will be trained to "take all possible steps, when consistent with
personal safety", to allow prisoners to keep their headwear on in order to
respect their "privacy, rights and religious beliefs".
The
policy change, reached in federal district court in Manhattan, will allow other
religious groups the freedom to wear other types of head coverings as well,
such as skullcaps and wigs worn by Orthodox Jews and the turbans worn by Sikhs,
among others.
The
agreement was the latest example of the NYPD changing policy to accommodate
religious practices.
After
a similar lawsuit filed in 2016, the department approved a new policy to allow
officers to wear turbans and grow beards for religious reasons.
In
a statement on Monday, Patricia Miller, chief of the Special Federal Litigation
Division of the city law department, praised the latest policy change as
"a good reform for the N.Y.P.D.".
“It
carefully balances the department’s respect for firmly held religious beliefs
with the legitimate law enforcement need to take arrest photos, and should set
an example for other police departments in the country,” she said.
A
nationwide issue
Instances
of the forcible removal of hijabs are common and have often resulted in
litigation.
In
April, Muslim woman filed a class-action federal lawsuit against the Yonkers
police department in New York after she was also forced to remove her hijab for
a mugshot photo.
The
incident occurred on 26 August 2019 when Ihsan Malkawi and her husband were
arrested in "false allegations of abuse" made by their daughter,
which was later deemed to be "unfounded".
The
legal action said the police department's policy violated the First Amendment,
as well as federal and state laws and "must be changed".
Malkawi's
daughter had tried to run away from home a day earlier because she wanted to
return to Michigan, where the family formerly lived.
In
June, 18-year-old Alaa Massri, a Black Lives Matter activist, was arrested
after skirmishes broke out between demonstrators and police and she was forced
to remove her headscarf in Miami, Florida.
At
the time, Massri said she was left without her hijab for seven hours, while the
photos were made available to "countless media" outlets, some of
which published her photos online.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/new-york-police-agree-stop-forcing-muslim-women-remove-hijab-arrest
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Dubai
Residents Share Initiative Supporting Female-Led Businesses
November
03, 2020
Roudha
Mejren
Palestinian-American
women Anan Helwih and Mariam AlSamadi have been living in the UAE for many
years.
Image
Credit: Supplied
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DUBAI:
Supporting female-led businesses is a conscious decision many people around the
world are taking in their journey towards women empowerment. For two young UAE
residents, this was the motivating factor behind launching their initiative
‘Dxb Women’, where they shed light on businesses in the city that are founded
by women.
Mariam
AlSamadi, 26, and Anan Helwih, 23, are two Palestinian-Americans who have been
in the UAE for many years. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they
understood that many small businesses were struggling and they decided to do
their part in supporting the ones they could, by focusing mainly on female-led
enterprises.
“A
year ago, we met on a Facebook group. We both had newborns of a similar age, so
our friendship instantly blossomed,” said AlSamadi. “We knew we wanted to work
on something together and during quarantine [movement restrictions], we started
noticing how many businesses were going through a tough time. So we wanted to
contribute in our way.”
Helwih
added: “We came up with the ‘Dxb Women’ initiative where Mariam and I would
visit and promote as many female-led businesses as we could.”
Through
showcasing each businesses’ unique products or reviewing an overall service or
experience, these two women aim to create a platform where their followers can
easily come across businesses founded by women that they can support.
“Many
people want to help, but they’re unsure where to start. That’s where we come
in,” Helwih explains. “We find a lot of these businesses through groups on
social media. We wanted to make that information accessible to more people and
that’s why we chose Instagram.”
AlSamadi
said: “Usually, once a week, on social media, we have people shout out their
favourite businesses. It’s just a whole day where people can share and promote
their own businesses or their favourite ones. It allows us to raise awareness
about all the businesses out there, led by strong women that we should
support.”
Supporting
small businesses
The
appeal of smaller businesses is what inspired Helwih and AlSamadi to launch
their initiative. They share personal experience that each customer has while
dealing with a smaller homegrown business, that not only aspires to offer great
service, but often has unique products that may not be known.
Helwih
said that supporting these businesses has helped enrich her experience in many
stores. “I was purchasing some clothes at a store that had diverse sizes on
offer for different body shapes. Many people experience a lot of emotional
stress when purchasing clothes that don’t fit properly,” she explained. This
female-led business in the UAE was not only offering a variety of sizes and
products, but also provided a personalised service that Helwih said had never been
experienced elsewhere before.
Women
supporting women
These
two women have encouraged other consumers in the UAE to try and consciously
choose some smaller or female-led businesses to support. AlSamadi said: “It
doesn’t have to be one hundred per cent of your daily purchases. Just do your
research and find a product that you love that you can support in a female-led
business. They’re everywhere and they’re all accessible.”
They
also believe that supporting a business can also be through reposting on social
media, word-of-mouth publicity or even through simply offering recommendations.
The
Future of ‘Dxb Women’
“We
have a PR and marketing background,” AlSamadi said. “We aspire to help
businesses create their brand identity and grow further. We don’t want to create
an overpriced marketing agency, instead we aim to provide support and guidance
through our expertise. Collaborations and hosting workshops for small
female-led businesses is where we hope our initiative will lead to so we can
contribute to supporting women in the community,” she added.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/dubai-residents-share-initiative-supporting-female-led-businesses-1.74971361
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Nida
Allam, The First Muslim Woman Elected To Office In North Carolina Decided To
Join Politics After Her Friends Were Killed In Chapel Hill In 2015
By
Kayla Guilliams
November
11, 2020
Nida
Allam didn’t always see a place for herself in politics. But on Election Day,
she was one of five women elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners,
making her the first Muslim woman elected to public office in North Carolina.
Allam
is a graduate of N.C. State University where she studied sustainable materials
and technology, planning to get a job in sustainable supply chains after
graduating. But after her friends Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and
Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed in Chapel Hill in 2015, just months before
her graduation, she decided to make the switch to politics.
Allam
said she began looking at how the Muslim voice wasn't being heard or discussed
in a way that was representative of Muslim Americans.
“That
was also when the 2016 presidential campaigns were gearing up, and the Bernie
Sanders campaign really resonated with me," Allam said. "He talked
about Muslims as people who care about their neighbors and want to work for a
better America, rather than in the stereotypical way Muslims are often talked
about.”
Allam
worked as a political director for the Sanders presidential campaign in 2016.
In that role, she focused on reaching out to marginalized communities and
educating residents on policies and issues.
A
year later, she was elected as third vice chairperson of the N.C. Democratic
Party, making her the first Muslim elected to the Executive Council. And in
2018, she was appointed to the Durham Mayor’s Council for Women and was
unanimously elected as chairperson of the Council, which works to alleviate the
issues women face in Durham.
“Nida
is a great example of a person who is just incredibly qualified for their
role,” Brigid Godfrey, deputy communications director for the North Carolina
Democratic Party, said. “She’s had a long history of being involved with the
Durham community and above all else, that is what’s important when we elect
somebody.”
Allam
said she decided to run for the Board because of the important role local
government plays in the day-to-day lives of residents, and because it would
allow her to build a direct relationship with her constituents.
Her
campaign centered around issues that she said resonated with Durham residents
like increasing salaries for Durham Public Schools staff, increasing access to
jobs and fighting for safe and healthy communities. She said creating a
resource center for immigrants in Durham that provides language services and
other support is one of her top priorities.
“Her
campaign focused on ‘fighting for what our communities deserve’ by being a
voice for every resident living in Durham County,” Allam’s campaign said in a
press release. “While Nida is a Democrat, she vows to represent all walks of
life and beliefs, knowing that we can be a stronger voice when we work
together.”
Godfrey
said Democrats up for election across the state, including Allam, were the most
diverse slate of candidates the North Carolina Democratic Party has ever had.
Allam
said having a government that represents the community it serves is something
she’s really passionate about.
“As
a millennial, as a Muslim woman, as an immigrant, politics and government never
really had a seat for me to come to,” Allam said. “And now I can start creating
those seats for other people.”
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2020/11/city-nida-allam
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Alia
Zafar Appointed As Pakistan Cricket Board's First Female Director
November
11, 2020
The
Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed a female director for the first time.
Human
resources executive Alia Zafar has been included among four new PCB directors.
The others are finance executive Javed Kurieshi, economist Asim Wajid Jawad and
corporate executive Arif Saeed.
Zafar
and Jawad were appointed for two-year terms.
The
PCB's new constitution makes it mandatory to include at least one woman among
four independent directors on its board of governors.
“I
welcome the newly-appointed independent members, especially Ms Alia Zafar, the
first female independent member, which is a giant step forward in enhancing the
PCB's governance structure,” PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said.
The
revamped structure of the PCB has resulted in only six provincial teams --
Balochistan, Central Punjab, Southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and
Northern -- competing in premier first-class cricket tournaments.
For
more than 50 years, banks fielded teams in first-class tournaments alongside
city-based teams in Pakistan.
https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/alia-zafar-appointed-as-pakistan-cricket-board-s-first-female-director-120111100060_1.html
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Jewish,
Christian And Muslim Women Come Together Around Storytelling, Community Service
November
11, 2020
Every
month for the last eight months, seven women meet on Zoom for wide-ranging
discussions of faith, tradition, culture and womanhood. Their stories, drawn
from their experience as Jews, Christians and Muslims, are building the
foundation for a multifaith project rooted in years of collaboration among
their congregations.
“It’s
all about having conversation, building bridges of understanding, finding
common ground rather than focusing on things about our faith and practice that
might be different,” said Carol Zonis, a member of Temple Kol Ami and one
organizer of the multifaith women’s group. “Although when we have ventured into
those conversations, they’ve been marvelous.”
Zonis
and the other six women found each other through the multifaith efforts of
their respective faith leaders: Rabbi Jeremy Schneider of Temple Kol Ami,
Pastor Josh Prather of Redemption Church and Imam Didmar Faja of the United
Islamic Center of Arizona.
During
the past four years, Schneider, Prather and Faja cultivated a relationship that
included initiatives, interfaith study sessions and a trip to the United Arab
Emirates. Two years ago, they held a retreat that brought together members of
their respective congregations to start conversations and find ways for lay
leaders to work together.
That’s
where Zonis and Brittany McFadden, a member of Redemption Church, first met.
The pair hit it off and started brainstorming a multifaith storytelling project
with the help of Cheryl Stover, a member of the UICA recommended by Faja.
Finally, at the beginning of 2020, a group of seven women — two from TKA, two
from Redemption Church and three from UICA — came together with the intention
of telling stories and sharing their experiences so that each member could
learn about the other two faiths.
While
the initial game plan for the group involved sharing meals and inviting more
members for in-person meetings, that plan was disrupted by the pandemic almost
immediately. The group only met in person once before switching to Zoom and, as
they adjusted to the new online reality, they put plans to expand the project
on hold.
Part
of that decision, McFadden said, was rooted in the group’s desire to get to
know each other better before adding more members.
“We
felt like we actually needed to build relationships and have hard discussions
and learn what happens when someone brings up a topic that’s really touchy or
says something that is taken offensively. How do you work through that?”
McFadden said. “So we wanted to be our own guinea pig before we would bring
other women into that conversation.”
On
the virtual medium of Zoom, the format of the conversation also shifted, from
offering storytelling prompts to a more fluid and open discussion, where any
member can pose a question. The result is a genuine heart-to-heart on “subjects
delicate and not-so-delicate,” Zonis said.
“We
intend to talk for an hour, we usually end up talking for an hour-and-a-half.
And we stop only because we have to stop at some point,” Zonis said. “The group
of us has formed a marvelous bond.”
At
their most recent meeting, Stover recalled, the group asked her if she’d
experienced a difference working with men in Islam versus Christianity. She
hadn’t: “Men are men,” Stover said. As the women explored the relationship
between men and women in their respective faiths, they came to see that there
weren’t as many differences as they once thought. In terms of restrictions on
women, “every one of the religions has their own issues, good or bad, and it
doesn’t define the religion,” Stover added.
While
Stover found teaching about her own faith and learning other women’s stories
uplifting, she said, it isn’t as easy for the other two women from UICA. But as
the months go on, each member of the group is beginning to find her voice.
“They’re
also learning and they’re also opening up to the questions that are asked, so
it’s really good,” Stover said. “I know it’s a challenge for them sometimes,
but it’s good for everyone because we’re getting out of our box and we’re
learning to be comfortable with who we are around those who are not like us.”
While
the last few months have been an excellent chance to learn and open up to one
another, that isn’t the only goal that Zonis, McFadden and Stover have for the
group. In October, the women from the Multifaith Neighbors Network were able to
come together around another common cause: giving back to their community by
delivering meals to Family Promise, a nonprofit that provides temporary housing
to families experiencing homelessness.
“Part
of our group’s commitment is that we will serve and seek the good of the city
together,” McFadden said.
TKA
became a faith partner of Family Promise earlier this year, and it was
Schneider, Zonis said, who approached her and asked if she could work with her
Christian and Muslim peers to organize a joint week of food deliveries.
“There
wasn’t a moment of hesitation” from the other women, Zonis said. “We all
understood this was a way not just to help families who need the help, but for
us to work on something together.”
And
it was easier, she said, working with people who she already had a relationship
with — people who wouldn’t be surprised to receive more than a few emails from
her, checking in to make sure everything ran smoothly.
“They
know me, they understand my craziness,” Zonis said.
With
seven nights’ worth of food to prepare, the women divided the work: McFadden
and Stover each organized volunteers for two days and Zonis organized food for
three days. Their teams put together a menu of meals, some prepared and some
bought, with variety in mind: meatloaf, pasta with meat sauce, roasted chicken
and mashed potatoes, barbecue sandwiches and potato salad, chicken and rice,
pasta bolognese and pizza.
While
the women dropped off meals at Family Promise without meeting the families who
would receive them for safety reasons, it was a fulfilling experience and a
reminder of what can be accomplished when people of different faiths come
together, Stover said.
“Each
one of the ladies has a pure heart, and they’re willing to serve and they’re
willing to go above and beyond to help others,” Stover said. “So I don’t see
any limit in what we can do.”
The
multifaith group accomplishments at this point are only the beginning. Zonis
hopes to broaden membership to include more women, and McFadden envisions it
growing into a network of small multifaith gatherings, with the current Zoom
meetings planting the seeds for other women to host similar storytelling
sessions in their own homes when the pandemic passes.
“This
is just the start,” Stover agreed. “It’s exciting to see where God is going to
move us, and God is going to help us to accomplish things. And with the love
and the respect that we have for each other, we’re going to be able to
accomplish many things.” JN
http://www.jewishaz.com/community/jewish-christian-and-muslim-women-come-together-around-storytelling-community-service/article_674fceb6-239f-11eb-9bd0-9f16a69d16fe.html
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/new-york-police-stop-forcing/d/123440
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