Ruwa Romman Makes History As First Known Muslim And Palestinian Woman Elected To Georgia House
13
November 2022
• Ruwa Romman Makes History As First Known Muslim And
Palestinian Woman Elected To Georgia House
• Iran Archer Ghasemi's Response On Viral Video: Hijab
Fell Off Owing To ‘Wind, Stress'
• 'Lack Of Muslim Women In Sports Due To Social And
Religious Constraints' In India
• Afghanistan Woman Attempts To Sell Child Amid
Economic Crisis: Report
• Saudi Women Creatives Launch Model Scouting Start-up
To Bridge Client And Talent Gap
• Decision To Ban Afghan Women From Public Parks Must
Be Reversed, Says Rights Group
• Afghanistan Agree 'In Principle' To Support Women's
Cricket
• Communal Solidarity: Muslim Youth Help Cremate Hindu
Woman In Mysuru
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ruwa-romman-palestinian-georgia/d/128389
-----
Ruwa Romman Makes History As First Known Muslim And
Palestinian Woman Elected To Georgia House
Ruwa Romman has been elected
into the Georgia House of Representatives, District 97.
-----
By Alaa Elassar
November 13th 2022
Ruwa Romman remembers the sadness she felt as an
8-year-old girl sitting in the back of a school bus watching classmates point
to her house and erupt in vicious laughter.
On Tuesday, the same girl -- now a 29-year-old
community organizer -- made history as the first known Muslim woman elected to
the Georgia House of Representatives, and the first Palestinian American
elected to any office in the state.
After 10 months of relentless campaigning, the
Democrat said she is eager to begin representing the people of District 97,
which includes Berkeley Lake, and parts of Duluth, Norcross, and Peachtree
Corners in Gwinnett County.
As an immigrant, the granddaughter of Palestinian
refugees, and a Muslim woman who wears the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, the
road to political office hasn't been easy, especially in the very Christian and
conservative South.
"I could write chapters about what I have gone
through," Romman told CNN, listing the many ways she's faced bigotry or
discrimination.
"Who I am has really taught me to look for the
most marginalized because they are the ones who don't have resources or time to
spend in the halls of political institutions to ask for the help they
need," she emphasized.
Romman began in 2015 working with the Georgia Muslim
Voter Project to increase voter turnout among local Muslim Americans. She also
helped establish the state chapter for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
Soon after, Romman began working with the wider
community. Her website boasts: "Ruwa has volunteered in every election
cycle since 2014 to help flip Georgia blue."
She stressed her main focus is "putting public
service back into politics," which she intends to do by helping expand
access to health care, bridging the economic opportunity gap, protecting the
right to vote, and making sure people have access to lifesaving care like
abortion.
"I think a lot of people overlook state
legislators because they think they're local and don't have a lot of impact,
not realizing that state legislatures have the most direct impact on
them," Romman remarked. "Every law that made us mad or happy started in
the state legislature somewhere."
The decision to run for office came after attending a
Georgia Muslim Voter Project training session for women from historically
marginalized communities, where a journalist covering the event asked if she
wanted to run for office.
"I told her no, I don't think so, and she ended
up writing a beautiful piece about Muslim women in Georgia, but she started it
with 'Ruwa Romman is contemplating a run for office,' and I wasn't,"
Romman recalled. "But when it came out, the community saw it and the
response was so overwhelmingly positive and everyone kept telling me to do
it."
She was surrounded by family, friends and community
members who were rooting for her success. Together, they knocked on 15,000
doors, sent 75,000 texts, and made 8,000 phone calls.
"My opponent had used anti-Muslim rhetoric
against me, saying I had ties to terrorism, at one point flat-out supporting an
ad that called me a terrorist plant," she explained.
It was the same type of bullying Romman faced as a schoolgirl,
she noted. Only this time, she wasn't alone. Thousands of people had her back.
"What was incredible is that people in my
district sent his messaging to me and said 'This is unacceptable. How can we
help? How can we get involved? How can we support you?' and that was such an
incredible moment for me," she acknowledged.
It was also ironic, Romman added, because her passion
for her community and social justice is rooted in her faith: "Justice is a
central tenant of Islam," she said. "It inspires me to be good to
others, care for my neighbors, and protect the marginalized."
It's also rooted in her family's experience as
Palestinian refugees, who she noted were banished from their homeland by Israel
in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
"My Palestinian identify has instilled in me a
focus on justice and care for others," Romman pointed out. "Everyone
deserves to live with dignity. I hope that Palestinians everywhere see this as
proof that consistently showing up and working hard can be history
making."
"I may not have much power on foreign policy, but
I sincerely hope that I can at least remind people that Palestinians are not
the nuisance, or the terrorists, or any other terrible aspersion that society
has put on us," she added. "We are real people with real
dreams."
Romman joins three other Muslim Americans elected to
state and local office in Georgia this election cycle, according to the Georgia
Muslim Voter Project, but her win is particularly groundbreaking.
"We've had Muslim representation at the state
level in Georgia, but these wins take representation for Georgia Muslims
further than ever before because now we have more gender and ethnic
representation for Muslims," the group's executive director Shafina
Khabani told CNN. "Not only will we have a representation that looks like
us and aligns with our values, but we will have an opportunity to advocate and
influence policies that impact our communities directly."
"Having diversity in political representation
means better laws, more accepting leadership, and welcoming policies for all of
Georgia," she emphasized.
"I think this proves that people have learned
that Muslims are part of this community and that tide of Islamophobia is
hopefully starting to recede," Romman added.
Looking back at her childhood, Romman wishes she could
tell her younger self things would get better with time, and one day she would
not only be making history, but hopefully a real difference in this world.
Sourse: Erie News Now
-----
Iran Archer Ghasemi's Response On Viral Video: Hijab
Fell Off Owing To ‘Wind, Stress'
Iranian archer Parmida
Ghasemi
-----
Nov 12, 2022
An Iranian archer has said she did not notice her
hijab falling from her head during an awards ceremony in Tehran, after a video
appeared to show her allowing the headscarf to drop in what was widely assumed
to be a show of support for nationwide protests.
"This led to reactions which caused some
misunderstandings. My family and I have not, nor have ever had, any problem
with the hijab. I wanted to apologise to the people, officials and my
teammates,” she said, wearing a headscarf in the video.
Iran has been by swept protests since 22-year-old
Mahsa Amini died in the custody of morality police nearly two months ago after
being detained for "inappropriate attire".
Women have waved and burned headscarves - mandatory
under Iran's conservative dress codes - during the demonstrations that mark one
of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
Videos posted on social media purportedly showed
Iran's national basketball team refraining from singing the national anthem
during a match with China in Tehran on Friday, after social media videos
earlier this week showed the national water polo team also failing to sing it
at a competition in Thailand.
In the video of the ceremony at the archery
competition shared on social media this week, Ghasemi, standing alongside
others on a podium, lets her headscarf fall as unseen people in the audience
clap and shout "Bravo". The athlete standing next to her tries to
pull up her scarf, but she moves away her head.
Last month, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi caused
controversy by competing in an international competition without a headscarf,
later saying she had done so unintentionally and apologising.
Iran's deputy sports minister, Maryam Kazemipour, said
on Wednesday some Iranian female athletes have acted against Islamic norms and
then apologised for their actions.
Last week, national beach soccer team players refused
to sing Iran's anthem at the beginning of a match against the United Arab
Emirates in Dubai, according to a widely followed activist Twitter account
known as 1500tasvir.
Then on Sunday, the players did not cheer or celebrate
after defeating Brazil to win the championship, the account said.
Sourse: Hindustan Times
-----
'Lack Of Muslim Women In Sports Due To Social And
Religious Constraints' In India
By IFP Bureau
13 NOV 2022
Few Muslim women play sports and are unable to realise
their full potential because of social and religious restrictions, Md
Raheijuddin Sheikh, principal of Lilong Haoreibi College said on Saturday.
Addressing the one-day national seminar on the ‘Role
of women in sports’ on Saturday at Lilong Haoreibi College, the principal said
the negligible participation of Muslim women in sports is not due to lack of
talents but because of social issue and called for timely intervention. It is
the right time to discuss the issue as an important agenda, he asserted.
The seminar was organised by Lilong Haoreibi College
with the support of National Commission for Women, New Delhi, to provide a
platform to transact the ideas and share knowledge towards dealing with the
issue before it is too late, the principal said.
Principal Raheijuddin said Manipur is known to the
rest of the world as a powerhouse of sports. But the participation of Muslim
women in sports is less. They are equally smart or even smarter than others in
sports, yet they cannot expose their potential because of societal factors and
religious constraints, the principal added.
However, during the last five years some girls of the
community have come up in various fields of sports even in martial arts, the
principal said, adding that Muslim women have been actively participating in
most of the economic activities. This is a unique culture which is not seen in
the rest of the world, he said.
Chairperson of Manipur State Commission for Women,
Salam Ulka Devi expressed concerns over less participation of Muslim women in
sports due to certain factors and suggested vast awareness in sections of
society.
“We have an innate quality of sports and this quality,
potential needs encouragement and support from every section of society,” Salam
Ulka said, adding that it is a field of learning moral, discipline and
integrity.
"More number of sportspersons are from rural than
urban, those sportspersons from rural face hardship of financial support as
well as lack of encouragement. Every parent, including family members should
understand their child before discouraging what she or he likes," she
said.
Director of University and Higher Education,
government of Manipur, Rangitabali Waikhom spoke on ‘Bleed with pride’ and said
that in India, out of the 383 million women/girls menstruating, 70 per cent of
the girls have no knowledge of menstruation before their menarche (the first
occurrence of menstruation).
A normal body function leaves them with feelings of
confusion, shame, and despair during their first period. Eighty per cent cannot
afford sanitary products and a quarter of girls drop out of school when they
hit puberty. Still socio-economic- cultural barriers are faced by girls,
Rangitabali said.
She also shared her experience during her initiative
tenure as a deputy commissioner of Imphal East district to spread awareness of
‘bleed with pride’ and distributed sanitary pads to school girls. She said she
learnt of many girls unable to afford sanitary pads and advised that girls
should give priority to initiate steps to stay healthy.
During technical session, principal of DM College of
Arts, Ch Sheelaramani Devi chaired as a moderator and assistant professor of DM
College of Arts, Syed Ahmed spoke on ‘Muslim women in sports: past, present,
future’.
Assistant professor, Ashalata Meisnam of Lilong
Haoreibi College spoke on ‘empowering women through sports. Cultural activist
and Manipuri writers, SM Sheikh spoke on sports in Manipuri Muslim society.
In the second session, former principal of Lilong
Haoreibi College, K Kunjarani Devi chaired as moderator and assistant professor
Feroja Syed of Modern College spoke on educational status of Manipuri Muslim
women and participation in sports. Assistant professor of Lilong Haoreibi
College, N Bino Devi spoke on Manipuri women in sports: challenges and
prospects.
Assistant professor of Moreh College, Khullakpam
Sapana spoke on from pomelos to the football: a pioneer of Manipuri Muslim
women in football. Assistant professor of Lilong Haoreibi College, Ng Sapana
Devi spoke on schedule caste women in sports with special reference to Kakching
district.
During the inaugural session of the seminar, Muslim
women with outstanding contributions in the fields of education, sports,
culture and media were felicitated.
Sourse: Ifp.Co.In
https://www.ifp.co.in/manipur/lack-of-muslim-women-in-sports-due-to-social-and-religious-constraints
-----
Afghanistan Woman Attempts To Sell Child Amid Economic
Crisis: Report
November 12, 2022
Kabul: A family in the Balkh province of Afghanistan
attempted to sell their child due to extreme poverty, Tolo news reported on
Saturday.
The two-year-old child was saved from getting sold
after some locals in the province assisted the family with food and other aid
to better their economic situation.
"We held a meeting with the Red Cross for a few
days; we will make members of these institutions aware of how to assist
us," said Noorul Hadi Abu Idris, the deputy governor of Balkh.
"I'm in a really difficult situation; I have
nothing to eat or use for fuel; I haven't made any preparations for the winter.
I have to sell my daughter and get some items for the winter," said
Nasrin, the mother of the child as she lamented to officials regarding the
situation of province and residents living there under severely poor
conditions.
Nasrin said that neither the local government nor
humanitarian agencies had offered her any assistance in more than a year's
time.
"I myself went to the authorities two or three
times and begged them to put my name on the list in case assistance is offered.
They replied that we have put down your name, but so far I have not received
any support," Nasrin said.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the
people in the country have reportedly received no basic amenities and allege a
severe humanitarian crisis.
In the wake of an excessive surge in food insecurity
in Afghanistan, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has
provided aid to 38 per cent of Afghans to help them avoid the impact of the
ongoing crisis.
Sourse: Ndtv
-----
Saudi women creatives launch model scouting startup to
bridge client and talent gap
JASMINE BAGER
November 12, 2022
DHAHRAN: On an ordinary November night in 2020, Lina
Malaika and Farah Hammad had a conversation that changed their lives.
In the midst of the global pandemic, the pair decided
to embark on a business partnership that they hoped would elevate their
communities and carve out a new path for them in the business world.
Both women are established in their own right: Malaika
has been in the creative industry for over a decade as a filmmaker, designer
and entrepreneur; and Hammad is a fashion designer with an acute eye for color
and texture and a repertoire that spans several continents.
It was Malaika’s brainchild. She got her start at
Destination Jeddah magazine about a decade ago and then as a creative director
at TheLoftMe, a creative studio based in her hometown in the Kingdom’s coastal
city.
For each of those roles, she needed models for
photoshoots and found it quite cumbersome and daunting to constantly curate a
database for locally-based models.
It was nonexistent at the time, she said, because many
women still needed approval from their families to be photographed, and to have
their images in the media was still taboo in many ways.
Malaika then decided to study film in New York and
fashion in London before settling back home. She found that she was constantly
faced with the same task of finding models for each of her roles and decided to
take matters into her own hands. She had a Rolodex of models but wanted it to
be more streamlined.
Raised in multiple countries, splitting her time
between Jeddah, Europe and the US, the globe-trotter has a calm steadiness to
her. Her attentiveness and empathy toward those around her makes it seem like
she collects thoughts and weaves them into the world with an invisible string.
She is a doer.
“We’re on the same page, we more or less share the
same kind of mentality. So we really understood each other. I don’t remember
exactly the conversation, but I was telling her I have this idea to turn this
database into a modeling agency.
“And I told her ‘if you don’t do it with me, it’s
never gonna happen because I’ve built so many ideas in my head and they never,
never come to life.’ I have like a shelf of unfinished ideas. We complete each
other in that sense. She started instantly (and) it came to life. She built the
website by the next morning. No joke,” Malaika said.
“I was honestly scared and then a bit skeptical
because, for me, when I launched my business, my connections — it took years.
So when she approached me regarding this, I was like, I’ll get back to you but
I think it’s a yes. Then, I was like you know what, I think this is going to be
a great opportunity,” Hammad told Arab News.
“This was during COVID, remember? At the time, there
was this uncertainty in life and there was also like, a lot of ‘we are gonna
die.’ And aside from it being a business, it was great for me, and I would say
for Farah, too, as a coping tool because we were dealing with parallel personal
transitions, and that helped us. It was kind of escapism,” Malaika said.
The name “Clay” was the first one that came to
Malaika. She wanted a “short, playful and versatile” name that was flexible
like a block of clay that one is able to shape. It is a word that could
describe makeup, hair, clothing — or modeling.
“We had (a) lawyer that helped us with the contracts.
We wanted the contract to be very flexible, just so it’s fair for everyone and
not to stand in the way of the model’s project and life. It was very important
for us so the model feels that they can trust us because we’re not there to
dominate, we want that relationship with our models and to maintain it, and
with our clients, as well,” Malaika told Arab News.
One of them, Abdullah Ali, was raised in Riyadh and
joined Clay after being on the scene independently. His versatile look and aura
of confidence allows him to pull off urban and traditional looks flawlessly.
“As a self-established model, one of the obstacles
that I faced in my early career was the linking point between the talent and
the client. Luckily, Clay stepped up and became one of the leading modeling
agencies in Saudi Arabia. Even though I had my client base, working with Clay
was an advantage to elevating the local industry standards collectively,” Ali
told Arab News.
It was important for Clay to offer clients options and
to not box any model into any category. Their website has a section for Saudi
Arabia, international and male models, with all their specifications. They do
not represent anyone under 21.
“Keep in mind, prior to the new Saudi vision, most
brands — all luxury brands — would shoot products dedicated to us in the GCC
using foreign models. Shots in foreign locations that do not represent us, it
does not appeal to us. And slowly, the brands started noticing, like, we need
to speak to our clients.
“A lot of them started going to Dubai; it wasn’t
acceptable to have models shooting in Saudi Arabia. Brands finally started
wanting to use local models in Saudi Arabia, so again, I want to highlight that
was very important for us to start this here — it was nonexistent,” Malaika
said.
While models are notorious for being divas, they have
only encountered one model who misbehaved and disrespected the client by being
tardy and having an attitude on set.
They have zero tolerance for unprofessional behavior
and they issued a refund to the client with an apology and the model was
swiftly fired after giving her a second chance, which she also abused. The
brand did return as a customer and it is a testament to their commitment to
taking care of the relationship.
Although the Clay founders still consider their
business to be a startup, their stellar reputation in Jeddah and the digital
MENA space is evident.
As of now, Clay exists mostly in the cloud, literally.
Both women have studios, so it is possible to meet in a physical space, but
most of the interactions are over the phone.
“We want to expand and we want to find more talents.
(If we) can find more we can find investors to grow … like the sky’s the
limit,” Malaika said.
For anyone hoping to land a coveted spot at Clay,
professionalism is a must but also an online presence is key. In the digital
and social media saturated world, every aspiring model has the ability to open
up an Instagram account and share photos.
“It’s very important to have a portfolio. With
stylists, designers, photographers — see how they look behind the camera. They
might not be photogenic. They should do some research, look at YouTube videos
of models, how they pose. To some, it’s just a hobby and they don’t really take
it seriously,” Hammad said.
While they do the bulk of the work for quality-control
assurance, they have a few freelance agents who help when necessary. So far,
they have the same instincts when deciding to let a model join the Clay family
and have not yet disagreed on who to sign up.
“Other agencies take a percentage from the model’s
rate, we don’t do that, we add our percentage to the model’s rate. The model
pays us to do the dirty work — like we’re their agents. We make life easier for
the client because everything is done, they don’t have to deal with anything.
All they do is book ... So everyone is happy. It’s a win-win situation for the
models, and for us and for the client. It’s like a perfect recipe,” Malaika
said.
Sourse: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2198581/saudi-arabia
-----
Decision to ban Afghan women from public parks must be
reversed, says rights group
13 November, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], November 13 (ANI): London-based
Amnesty International called on the Taliban to reverse its recent decision to
stop women from visiting public parks in Kabul.
“Afghanistan: The Taliban banning women from public
parks in Kabul according to media reports is yet another blow to women’s rights
in the country. Any such decision by the Taliban must be reversed immediately
as women’s rights under the Taliban have been systematically under attack,”
Amnesty said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Since the return of the Taliban to Kabul in August
2021, the Taliban’s systematic attacks on the rights of women and girls and the
use of violence, including torture and enforced disappearances, have created a
culture of fear in Afghan society.
In its latest order, the Taliban’s notorious Ministry
of Virtue and Vice stopped women from attending parks in Kabul, TOLO news
reported.
With the Taliban back in power, women have been barred
from exercising their basic rights such as freedom of movement, right to
education and political participation.
In the statement, Amnesty continued saying that the
Taliban also decimated institutions designed to address cases of domestic
violence against women under the former government. “The Taliban have
unlawfully arrested, detained & tortured women peaceful posters including
several women activists arrested just days previously.”
Furthermore, the group asked the International
Community to not turn a blind to the systematic suffering of women and their
rights under Taliban rule.
This latest report comes in the backdrop of the UN
warning that two-thirds of Afghans are going hungry, with girls’ education
subject to “random edicts” of the Taliban, while crime and terrorism are
thriving once more buoyed by a large spike in opium production.
On Thursday, UN General Assembly President Csaba
Korosi painted a near-apocalyptic picture of ordinary life in the Taliban-ruled
nation that has endured almost five decades of “relentless conflict”, urging
the international community to make up the USD 2.3 billion shortfall in the UN
humanitarian appeal for USD 4.4 billion.
Delivering a speech in New York, he said that there
was “a moral and also a practical imperative for the international community to
support an inclusive and sustainable peace in Afghanistan.”
Sourse: The Print
-----
Afghanistan agree 'in principle' to support women's
cricket
Shashank Kishore
13-11-2022
The ICC's Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) has conveyed
to the governing body's board that the country's government has reiterated its
commitment to "fully respect and comply" with the ICC constitution,
including agreeing "in principle" to support the development of
women's cricket.
The focus was to ensure "diversity and
inclusivity, and for the Afghanistan Cricket Board to operate independent from
government interference," an ICC statement following meetings in Melbourne
over the weekend said.
"The meeting was positive and respectful, and the
[Afghanistan] government representative was clear in his support for the ICC
constitution including in principle for women's cricket in Afghanistan,"
Imran Khwaja, the AWG chair, was quoted as saying. "There are obviously
challenges for it to resume but we will continue to work with the ACB to take
this forward. The Working Group will closely monitor the commitment undertaken
by the Afghanistan government and will continue to report back to the ICC
Board."
As things stand, Afghanistan is the only Full Member
to have received that status without having an operational women's team in
place. Last year, the ACB had announced its first contracts for women in their
quest to build a team, but those efforts were put on the back-burner following
the Taliban's takeover of the administrative affairs of the country in
September 2021.
At the time, ACB chief executive Hamid Shinwari
admitted that the women's game was "in peril", even as then acting
chairman Azizullah Fazli said women would be allowed to play as long as the
players adhered to Islamic rules. Soon after, Afghanistan's Test in Australia -
their first in the country - was called off. Australian sports minister Richard
Colbeck said at the time that Afghan athletes would "remain welcome in
Australia, but not under the flag of the Taliban".
Sri Lanka will host the men's Under-19 World Cup in
2024, while Zimbabwe and Namibia will stage the 2026 edition together. And, as
part of the ICC's attempts to spread the game, Malaysia and Thailand have been
named joint hosts of the women's Under-19 T20 World Cup in 2025, while
Bangladesh and Nepal will jointly host the 2027 edition of the same tournament.
The Under-19 World Cup for women is finally set to
take off after a pandemic-enforced delay, with South Africa hosting the
inaugural edition in January 2023.
The ICC has also formulated a qualification pathway
for the women's 2024 T20 World Cup - the ten-team event will have eight
automatic qualifiers - the top-three teams from each of the two groups at the
2023 women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, hosts Bangladesh (if they fail to
make the cut in 2023), and the next-highest-ranked teams in the ICC rankings when
the 2023 edition concludes. The remaining two teams will be identified through
the ten-team global qualifying event.
The men's ODI World Cup in 2027 will be a 14-team
event, as compared to ten in 2023 in India. South Africa and Zimbabwe will
qualify as hosts, along with the next eight teams in the rankings on a date
that is yet to be announced. Four others will join these ten via a global
qualifier.
Sourse: Espncricinfo
-----
Communal Solidarity: Muslim Youth Help Cremate Hindu
Woman In Mysuru
13th November 2022
By Express News Service
MYSURU : In a show of communal solidarity, youths from
Muslim community from Mandi Mohalla in the city carried a Hindu woman’s pyre to
the crematorium and performed the rituals as per the Hindu tradition as
directed by the priests.
Around 60-year-old Shivamma passed away at around 7.30
pm on Friday. As she had no family or relatives, the youths including Abdul
Zameer, Abdul Saleem, Wajid, Saddam, Shamilu and Aijaz from Islamia Naujawan
Committee tried to find the relatives in Kailasapuram and Gandhinagar to
perform the last rites.
MCC former corporator Suhail Baig said that when
youths could not find any relatives, they cremated the body as per the Hindu
rituals. More than 60 Muslim youths participated in the funeral and procession.
Sourse:
-----
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ruwa-romman-palestinian-georgia/d/128389