Rare Occasion for Bangladesh at UNGA: When 3 Bangladeshi Women Took Centre-Stage
New Age
Islam News Bureau
25
September 2021
• Muslim Women Struggle with Germany’s ‘Hijab Ban’ In Workplaces
• Number
of Women Employed in Saudi Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque Increases to 600
• In
First, Three Women to Lead Major Morocco Cities
• Pak Must
Ensure Women's Rights Protected In Afghanistan: Malala Yousafzai
• Ofsted
Good Rating For Bolton Islamic Girls School
• Thriving
Bahraini Clubs Welcome Saudi Neighbours for Women’s Football Festival
• The
Missing Yazidis Women and Children Must Be Located and Rescued
• HR
Ministry: Indonesian Woman Rescued From Forced Labour in Perak
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bangladesh-unga-women/d/125437
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Rare Occasion for Bangladesh at UNGA: When 3 Bangladeshi Women Took Centre-Stage
UNB, Dhaka
Sep 25,
2021
Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina delivers speech at the UNGA in Bangla on September 24,
2021. Photo: PID
------
The 76th
Session of the United Nations General Assembly has brought a rare occasion for
Bangladesh, an instance of the growing presence of women in positions of
leadership.
When Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's turn came to deliver her speech for the 17th time at
the UNGA in Bangla, it was Ambassador Rabab Fatima, permanent representative of
Bangladesh to the UN, who was chairing the session. Hence, the PM was
introduced and invited on to the podium by Rabab Fatima.
And
Mosammat Shahanara Monica, a foreign ministry official, currently Counsellor at
Bangladesh Permanent Mission at UN, was the third woman, conveying the message
of PM Sheikh Hasina to the English-speaking world.
Earlier,
Bangladesh, a flag bearer of multilateralism, was elected as a vice president
of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from the
Asia-Pacific Region for a one-year term starting September this year.
In her
speech, Sheikh Hasina placed a six-point proposal highlighting vaccine equity,
sustainable recovery from COVID-19 pandemic, addressing climate challenges and
a renewed call for a solution to the Rohingya crisis.
Foreign
Minister AK Abdul Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriai Alam
were present at the General Assembly Hall.
Source:
The Daily Star
------
Muslim
women struggle with Germany’s ‘hijab ban’ in workplaces
By Clare
Roth
24 Sep
2021
When
24-year-old Shilan Ahmad arrived to start work at a nursery in Erfurt, Germany,
she was immediately turned away.
She had
applied for the job with her resume and a photo. When she received approval by
phone from the nursery’s director, she was excited.
But as she
met Ahmad in person last December, the director took one look at her and turned
to the colleague who had organised the meeting.
“How can
it be that you’ve allowed this woman to come speak with me?” she said.
Ahmad, who
is from Syria, was wearing a headscarf.
She did
not think this would be a problem, because she assumed the hiring team had seen
the photo of her, with the hijab, before bringing her in.
“When I
got home, I told my mother, I’m taking my headscarf off,” she said. “I said, I
can’t anymore. I was rejected [from the job], and I can’t anymore.”
European
Court of Justice ruling
In theory,
situations like Ahmad’s are illegal – workers are protected by German
constitutional law from outright religion-based discrimination, and should be
given an equal chance at jobs in almost all sectors.
But the
definition of workplace discrimination with respect to religious expression in
Germany is complicated.
In July,
the European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld a 2017 ruling allowing employers to
adopt neutrality policies banning religious garb in the workplace. But the
decision added conditions.
Now,
employers are required to prove that the neutrality policy they have adopted is
essential for business.
Before the
2017 decision, banning religious symbols for any reason other than safety was
not allowed.
The ECJ
case was brought forward by two German female workers, a daycare centre teacher
and a cashier, who were asked by their employers not to wear the Muslim
headscarf at work.
The
teacher had worked at the centre for two years before opting to wear the
headscarf in early 2016. She wore the scarf to work until mid-October, when she
went on maternity leave until May 2018.
Two months
before she arrived back at work, the centre adopted a new neutrality policy for
its employees, barring them from wearing “any signs of their political,
philosophical or religious beliefs that are visible to parents, children and
third parties in the workplace”.
When she
returned, she decided to keep the scarf on. After refusing to remove it, she
was suspended. Around the same time, another colleague was asked to remove her
cross necklace, according to the ruling.
The second
case was similar. When a Muslim cashier at a German chain pharmacy refused to
remove her scarf, she was sent home.
The top EU
court ruled the actions against the veiled employees were acceptable because
the neutrality policies were implemented in a “general and undifferentiated
way” and therefore could not be considered direct discrimination.
The court
added that such policies can only be enforced if they meet a genuine need
proven by the employer.
July’s ECJ
ruling requires workplaces to prove more concretely that religious symbols in
the workplace could cause palpable financial or interpersonal harm, according
to Hamburg civil rights lawyer Tugba Uyanik.
She said
the way the media handled the story may have had an impact.
“The
European Court of Justice ruling was sold as very negative,” Uyanik said.
“Like, ‘Headscarf Ban in the Workplace is Legal.’ I think because employers
heard this [headline] without understanding the conditions, it could be that
some said, ‘Yeah, we have a neutrality policy now, too,’ without actually
reading through or understanding the judgement.”
No Nazi
tattoos, no headscarves
Another
similar neutrality law banning religious symbols for German federal police
officers went into action in early July.
The law
was introduced in response to a 2017 incident involving a police officer who
had tattooed the notes of the Nazi Party anthem across his chest.
Although
his superiors wanted to fire him, they discovered there was no way to legally
dismiss someone based merely on his tattoos.
In May
2021, the German government passed the “Law Regulating the Appearance of Civil
Servants” in response to the case.
But
instead of sticking only to banning Nazi tattoos, the law also includes a
section allowing bans on “religious and ideological connotations” – like hijabs
or Jewish kippas, for example – “if they are objectively capable of impairing
trust in the civil servant’s neutral conduct of office.”
Uyanik
said the law is confusing and unnecessary.
Each
German state can adopt its own neutrality rules. Some have laws banning public
lawyers from wearing the headscarf, for example. Berlin, for many years, had
its own law banning public school teachers from wearing the headscarf.
“The
institution of yet another neutrality law at the federal level sends the wrong
signal to [veiled] women, because they think, why are you so preoccupied with
me?” Uyanik said. “I am not doing anything. It’s enough to have to fight the
laws in my own state. Why are you doing this?”
Lack of
clarity
The
real-life implications of the various laws are not yet easy to measure.
With most
jobs requiring CVs including headshots, it is likely most women do not even end
up knowing whether their rejection was based on their headscarf or something
else, said Uyanik.
Many
hijab-wearing women have good experiences in the German workplace.
It is not
uncommon to see cashiers, pharmacists or saleswomen wearing headscarves. Still,
the weight of uncertainty is heavy.
Zehra
Eres, a biotechnology student at the Technical University of Berlin, said her
dream is to teach.
But she is
based in the capital.
Eres sees
the hijab as part of her identity, so she knew she could not give it up. It is
the only reason she did not study education to teach, she said.
Although
Berlin’s law banning teachers from wearing the scarf was ruled unconstitutional
last year, it is unclear when that decision will be fully implemented.
All
teachers in Germany’s public schools were banned from wearing the scarf until
2015, when the federal law was overturned.
For women
looking for jobs or internships, like Ahmad, the lack of clarity surrounding
rejections can be maddening.
Siba Biri,
a 28-year-old Syrian in Erfurt, searched for months for an internship at a
pharmacy, which she needed to complete her pharmacy technician programme.
After
sending dozens of resumes, calling several pharmacies and walking in herself to
ask about available spots, she still could not find anything.
“My
question is: why were all my German classmates able to find a spot?” she said.
“Just me and my friend, who also comes from Syria and wears a headscarf,
haven’t found one.”
For most
German politicians campaigning ahead of Sunday’s election, the neutrality laws
are insignificant and have not featured on their agendas.
The only
parties that mention the headscarf are the country’s Left party, which
positions itself against workplace bans, and the far-right Alternative for
Germany party, which is against the headscarf in schools and public sector
jobs, like in France.
In the
end, Ahmad decided to keep her headscarf on.
The
experience compelled her to start fighting for broader acceptance of the
headscarf. After her rejection, she wrote an article about her hijab for an
online magazine and joined Germany’s Green Party.
She wants
to become an activist or journalist focusing on women’s rights issues.
The
headscarf, she says, should be a personal choice. If she ever has to deal with
women fleeing oppressive governments, families or relationships where they have
been forced to veil, she said, she will support them in removing their scarf if
that is what they want to do.
Source: Al
Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/24/muslim-women-struggle-with-germanys-hijab-ban-in-workplaces
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Number of
women employed in Saudi Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque increases to 600
September
25, 2021
Tawfiq
Nasrallah
Dubai: The
number of women working in the Saudi General Presidency for the Affairs of the
Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has increased to more than 600, local
media reported.
The
Assistant General President for Women’s Development Affairs, Dr. Al Anoud bint
Khalid Al Aboud, leads the Women’s Development Affairs Agency.
There are
several agencies working under its umbrella of this entity and hiring women
cadres including the Assistant Agency for Technical Affairs, Digital
Transformations, and Artificial Intelligence for Women, the Assistant Agency
for Public Relations and Media Affairs.
In the
Assistance Agency for Languages And Women’s Translation there are nearly 100
female employees, while there are 210 employees in the Assistant Agency for
Women’s Services and Field Affairs.
Meanwhile,
the Vice Presidency for Scientific, Intellectual and Guiding Affairs for Women
is led by Dr. Noura bint Hillel Al Dhuwaibi. Under this entity, a number of
departments are operating including Assistant Agency for Women’s Scientific,
Intellectual and Cultural Affairs and the Assistant Agency for Women’s Guidance
and Guidance Affairs, with nearly 200 women employees.
The Vice
Presidency for Women’s Administrative and Development Affairs, led by Dr.
Camelia bint Mohammad Al Daadi includes the Assistant Agency for Women’s
Administrative Affairs and the Assistant Agency for Strategic Planning,
Initiatives and Realization of the Women’s Vision, and they have approximately
30 employees.
In 2019,
Saudi Arabia introduced significant women’s rights reforms, under Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative, to advance in various fields,
including lifting travel restrictions and allowing Saudi women to drive,
register their children’s birth, and providing new protections against
employment discrimination and sexual harassment.
Source:
Gulf News
------
In first,
three women to lead major Morocco cities
24
September ,2021
Morocco’s
capital Rabat elected a woman as mayor for the first time on Friday, meaning
three of the kingdom’s main cities are led by women following elections earlier
this month.
“It’s a
historical day for the city of lights,” Asmaa Rhlalou, 52, said after Rabat’s
municipal council chose her as mayor of the city of 550,000 people.
The vote
follows nationwide parliamentary, regional and municipal polls on September 8.
Rhlalou’s
party, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), thrashed long-ruling Islamists
nationally to put its leader, businessman Aziz Akhannouch, in line to lead a
new government.
On Monday,
Nabila Rmili – another RNI member – was elected as mayor of Casablanca,
Morocco’s commercial capital and biggest city with 3.5 million residents.
And in
tourist hotspot Marrakech, Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) candidate
Fatima Zahra Mansouri returned at the age of 45 to the mayor’s office which she
had occupied from 2009 to 2015.
The PAM
came second in this month’s parliamentary elections and third in regional
polls. The party was founded by Fouad Ali El Himma, now an adviser to King
Mohammed VI.
Prime
minister-designate Akhannouch was also elected Friday as mayor of seaside town
Agadir, his stronghold where he was the only candidate.
Source: Al
Arabiya
--------
Pak Must
Ensure Women's Rights Protected In Afghanistan: Malala Yousafzai
Written by
Sukirti Dwivedi
September
24, 2021
New Delhi:
Nobel laureate and Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai today asked
Pakistan to show "bold and strong commitment" to protect women's
rights in Afghanistan. Ms Yousafzai, who is also the UN Messenger of Peace,
made the remarks during a virtual session on "Supporting a future for
girls' education in Afghanistan" as part of the UN General Assembly.
On being
asked at the session about whether Pakistan could put pressure on the Taliban
about girls' right to continue education, Ms Yousafzai said, "Pakistan is
the neighbouring country of Afghanistan and we know that terrorism and
extremism in Afghanistan reaches to the border of Pakistan as well and it
impacts girls and women and communities in Pakistan and women's rights there as
well."
"Pakistan
should see the situation in Afghanistan not just has an issue of peace and
security there alone, but as a peace and security issue for the whole region
including Pakistan, peace in Afghanistan means peace in Pakistan," she
said.
In 2012,
Ms Yousafzai was shot at by Taliban terrorists in Pakistan in an assassination
attempt, in retaliation for her activism on girls' right to education. Nine
months after being shot, on her 16th birthday, she delivered a speech at the UN
headquarters on women's right to education.
"So
far we have heard some statements from the Prime Minister of Pakistan that
women's rights must be protected and girls' education must be protected, but I
hope that Pakistan can show a bold and strong commitment towards the protection
of human rights in Afghanistan because we know that such ideologies can harm
the whole region," Ms Yousafzai said.
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She
expressed hope that the Prime Minister of Pakistan will open the borders to the
"people of Afghanistan who need to seek safety for their protection and
for their families".
"So
far Pakistan has welcomed thousands of people but we need to be more open to
welcoming people who are under risk. Pakistan needs to ensure that it gets into
a conversation and negotiation with Taliban to ensure protection of human
rights," she said.
Source: ND
TV
------
Ofsted
good rating for Bolton Islamic Girls School
By Saiqa
Chaudhari
A SCHOOL
where pupils "feel happy and safe" has been judged to be good by the
Government’s education watchdog.
Bolton
Islamic Girls School in Great Lever has been lifted out of the requires
improvement category following an inspection by Ofsted.
Inspectors
reported: “Pupils feel happy and safe at Bolton Islamic Girls School.
“Pupils
know that leaders expect the best from them in all that they do. Pupils make
every effort to realise leaders' ambitions for them to become proud, British,
Muslim young women. They work hard, developing confidence and self assurance.”
Teaching
is said to have improved, with staff having ‘strong’ subject knowledge with
some having high-level qualifications in their subjects.
“As a
result, pupils build their knowledge effectively and achieve well,” stated
inspectors.
Pupils
were described as having positive attitudes to their work, and their good
behaviour means they learn well.
Inspectors
said: “Pupils have high attendance, considering the effects of the pandemic.”
And they
found that the students were well placed to move to the next stage of their
education.
Leaders
were found to support staff effectively and manage their workloads.
Headteacher
Dr Zakia Maqbool said: “Amongst all the other pressures this year due to Covid,
this is an amazing achievement for our school. Especially, given we got a
requires improvement in November, 2019.
“Since
then staff and governors have worked tirelessly to ensure our school is a
school that continues to be able to facilitate the needs of our learners.
“The
community have again supported our school and this is an outstanding
achievement for us.”
She added:
“Our school suffered deeply with Covid, whereby students and staff – four out
of 12 – had to deal with the loss of close family members due to Covid.”
But Dr
Maqbool said they stayed dedicated to the teaching of young people.
The
headteacher said the improvements were also thanks to the community, staff,
governors and the learners.
Source: The
Bolton News
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19600772.ofsted-good-rating-bolton-islamic-girls-school/
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Thriving
Bahraini clubs welcome Saudi neighbours for women’s football festival
DANIEL
ROBINSON
September
25, 2021
MANAMA:
It’s Wednesday evening, and Ravens - a Bahraini women’s football team known as
the Teal Army - are in training for a pre-season tournament being held on
Saturday at Al-Najma Stadium, close to Bahrain’s lively Juffair district.
Kicking
off in the early evening and hosted by Super Soccer Academy, who will also
field a team, the event sees two Saudi Arabian women’s squads - Qatif and
Eagles - crossing the border in what could be the beginning of an ongoing partnership
with the nascent Saudi Women’s League.
Leading
the way is Ravens captain Rama Salem, who along with her team mates and other
teams in Bahrain, not to mention the visitors from the Kingdom, are part of a
generation that is changing the way women’s football is being perceived in the
Gulf and the Middle East.
Raven's
team captain Rama Salem. (Abdullah Aboody)
The recent
establishment of the women’s game in Saudi Arabia has seen a predictably huge
upsurge in participation, even for an already football crazy country.
And with
their championship entering its second season after its Covid-delayed 2020
beginnings, Saudi women’s teams may look to emulate the achievements of their
Bahraini neighbours, especially in nurturing young talent for the future.
In Bahrain,
youth football standards have been boosted by the arrival of academies linked
to top-tier clubs, such as Juventus, allowing local women’s teams access to
elite-level coaching. In tandem with a growing league, this guidance has led to
rapid development for teams like Ravens.
The
success of Ravens hasn’t been about winning titles. Instead it’s their pedigree
in developing players, many of whom go on to bigger things abroad, that catches
the eye.
The team
will be without two of their best players this season, not because of injury or
suspension, but because both have recently jetted off on football scholarships
in two of the powerhouse nations of women’s football: America and Germany.
Salem
attributes this developmental success to Ravens’ club mentality.
“We’re a
team of inclusivity. Everyone gets a chance to play, no matter what their
ability is, where they come from, their age,” she said.
“We want
to give these girls a platform and a stage that was never really made available
to me at their age.”
Charlotte
Pilgrim, an 18-year-old from Middlesbrough in the UK, is one of Raven’s success
stories. After playing for the club for nearly four years, she is now on a full
football scholarship at Rio Grande College in the US.
Charlotte
Pilgrim taking part in a Ravens raining session. (Sameer Alsaeed)
Charlotte’s
family moved to Bahrain from England when she was four, but initially finding a
football team was difficult.
“I always
played with boys,” says Charlotte.
“I was in
what was supposed to be a mixed team, but I was the only girl. I held a lot
back because of that, stayed quiet. When I started playing in women’s teams I
became a lot more confident and vocal.”
Charlotte
played for some of the other local women’s teams, but never quite found what
she was looking for until trying out for Ravens.
“Straight
away I could see the atmosphere was so happy and supportive, like a family,”
explains Charlotte.
“The older
players and coach were always encouraging us. In fact, it was because of Rama
that I ended up going to a trial and getting noticed.”
Charlotte’s
successful trial in Bahrain led to her being selected for a training camp at
the England national team’s training facility, St. George’s Park.
She was
the only player not based in the UK to be invited.
Videos of
her playing at England’s training ground were seen by her American college and
she was offered a place starting this year.
Charlotte
feels her experience in the Middle East has enabled her to quickly settle in
her new team.
“I think
the Bahraini style of play has helped me,” she says. “It’s more about
possession rather than speed and power, and I tend to keep the ball better.”
Charlotte
isn’t the only recent success for the Teal Army. The 13-year-old
Jordanian-Bulgarian prodigy Yasmeen Al-Zurikat has recently headed off to
Germany, where she will play at VfR Warbeyen's influential Kämpferherzen
academy.
A great
future is expected for 13-year-old prodigy Yasmeen Al-Zurikat. (Abdullah
Aboody)
Raven’s
captain believes she has a bright future ahead of her. “She’s a phenomenal
player,” she says. “Even at 13, she’s the most composed player on the pitch.”
Salem is
relishing the opportunity to play against teams from Saudi Arabia tonight, but
it also excited about the wider implications of events like this.
“It’s
great for the country and the region, and especially great to see a lot of Arab
woman getting involved with the sport and breaking old stigmas.”
The event
starts at 5pm and entry (to vaccinated individuals only) is free.
Organizers
predict a carnival atmosphere as the tournament has been planned to coincide
with the Saudi National Day celebration.
A 4-team
round robin tournament with 30 minute matches will be the highlight, but
there’ll also be tennis football, mini-matches and penalty competitions, in
addition to food stalls on the beach nearby.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1935256/sport
------
The
Missing Yazidis Women And Children Must Be Located And Rescued
Dr.
Ewelina U. Ochab
On September
14, 2021, and as the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly was opening,
close to a hundred organizations and experts, in a joint letter, called upon
several world leaders to ensure the missing Yazidi women and children are
located and reunited with their families. It has been more than seven years and
their fate remains unknown.
In August
2014, Daesh (also known as ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State) unleashed a genocidal
campaign against Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq.
Among the atrocities, they abducted and enslaved thousands of women and
children, including for sex trafficking and sex slavery. Daesh further
committed murder, enslavement, deportation and forcible transfer of population,
imprisonment, torture, exploitation, abuse, forced marriage and much more. The
atrocities have been recognized by a few governments and several parliaments as
crimes against humanity, war crimes and even genocide, the crime of crimes.
Seven
years after Daesh abducted them from Sinjar, Iraq, 2,763 Yazidi women and
children are still missing. Despite this significant lapse of time, no real
effort has been made to locate them, and if alive, ensure that they are rescued
and reunited with their families.
The recent
joint letter calls upon world leaders to work with partners to conduct an
official search to identify the whereabouts of the missing women and children,
including in the Al-Hol camp in Syria where many are believed to be held; work
with local partners to free all Yazidi women and children who are alive and
ensure that the remains of those killed are returned to their families and
given a dignified and honorable burial. Seven years after the atrocities, these
actions are long overdue but urgently needed.
Knox
Thames, former U.S. Special Advisor for Religious Minorities at the State
Department, and co-author of the letter said: “Seven years have passed, but the
international community still has not organized a search for the 2,763 missing
Yazidi women and children. Without action, words of support for the kidnapped
Yazidis ring hollow. It's time the international community got serious about
locating the missing Yazidi women and children kidnapped by Daesh.” Pari
Ibrahim, Founder and Executive Director of the Free Yezidi Foundation, and
co-author of the letter, said: “Nothing is more agonizing and frustrating to
the Yezidi community than waiting and wondering about the missing. We are
realistic, and we know that not every missing Yezidi is still alive. But for
those who are still suffering slavery and abuse every day, the international
community must make a serious, coordinated rescue effort. We are calling for an
‘Amber Alert’ for our missing Yezidis.” Abid Shamdeen, Executive Director of
Nadia's Initiative, co-author of the letter, commented: “The Yazidi community
has been calling for the search and rescue of nearly 3,000 women and children
who are still missing and in captivity. Their calls have been met with silence
from the governments of Baghdad and Erbil and the international community for over
seven years. The longer we wait to create a joint task force to search for
those missing, the more we signal to these Yazidi women and children that their
wellbeing does not matter.”
Seven
years after the abductions and enforced disappearances, it is time to act and
bring back the women and children. We cannot ensure justice for the Yazidis
without finding the missing women and children. If alive, they continue to be
subjected to horrific atrocities that need to be put to an end. The world may
have moved on from the Daesh atrocities but these women and children continue
to live them every day. This Daesh genocide will continue until the women and
children are located and rescued. If they were killed, their families deserve
to know what happened to them. They will not be able to move on with their
lives if they continue waiting for their return that is not coming. Locating
and rescuing the missing Yazidi women and children is not only a crucial step
in the response to the Daesh atrocities; it is a humane response.
Source: Forbes
------
HR
Ministry: Indonesian woman rescued from forced labour in Perak
Saturday,
25 Sep 2021
PUTRAJAYA,
Sept 25 — An Indonesian woman, believed to be a victim of forced labour by her
employer, was rescued in an operation in Ayer Tawar, Perak on Thursday.
According
to the Human Resources Ministry, an integrated rescue operation by the Labour
Department (JTK), the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and
Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (MAPO) task force and the police was carried out
following complaints and information from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur on Monday (September 20).
The Human
Resources Ministry said the employer was believed to have exploited the victim
by threatening that she was not a legal employee and often scolded the victim
if she wanted to return to her country of origin.
“The
victim was physically abused, namely, being kicked in the face when she asked
for the balance of her salary,” the ministry said in a statement today.
The Human
Resources Ministry said the woman entered Malaysia legally with a work permit
as a maid in June 2003 through an agent she knew.
After
securing the job, a sum of RM350 a month was deducted from the victim’s salary
for four months as payment to the agent.
“The
victim did not have any knowledge on this matter because she handed everything
over to the agent and no written contract was made regarding the employment
process, including payment to the agent,” the statement read.
The Human
Resources Ministry said the initial investigation found that there were
indicators of forced labour against the victim, whose permit expired in June
2020, including unpaid salaries for a period of three years from 2018 to 2021,
totalling about RM25,000.
Indicators
also showed that the employer had committed an offence under the
Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007,
the Human Resources Ministry said.
The
ministry added that the victim, who was still traumatised, was placed at the Central
Zone Shelter in Damansara after she was given an Interim Protection Order (IPO)
by the Sri Manjung Magistrate’s Court on the same day she was rescued.
The IPO is
for a period of 21 days until October 13 to complete an investigation paper
under the ATIPSOM Act 2007 conducted by JTK, and the investigation paper will
be submitted to the deputy public prosecutor for review and decision.
“This
(operation) clearly shows that the country will never compromise on the issue
of forced labour regardless of the nationality of workers involved,” the Human
Resources Ministry said. — Bernama
Source:
Malay Mail
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bangladesh-unga-women/d/125437