Saba Sahar: Afghan Actress and Film Director Shot in Kabul
New Age Islam News Bureau
25
August 2020
•
First Saudi Cycling Championship Crowns Four Female Winners
•
Religious Courts Have a New Name for Triple Talaq and That Is Talaq-e-Ahsan
•
Training Workshop Held for KP Women Lawmakers
•
Iraqi Female Journalists In Basra Fear For Safety Following Attacks On
Activists
•
Egyptian Universities Face Pressure to Better Protect Women from Harassment
•
The First Church for Transgenders in Pakistan
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saba-sahar-afghan-actress-film/d/122715
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Saba Sahar: Afghan Actress and Film Director Shot In Kabul
August
24, 2020
Anand
Gopal/Saba Sahar is a filmmaker, but she must earn a living as one of
Afghanistan’s few female cops
----
Afghanistan's
first female film director Saba Sahar has been shot in the capital Kabul,
officials say.
The
44-year-old is currently in hospital but her condition is unknown.
She
was travelling to work on Tuesday when a gunman opened fire on her car. Her bodyguard
and driver were also hit and injured.
Sahar
is one of the country's most famous actresses and has been outspoken about
women's rights and the importance of the film industry.
She
trained as a police officer and still works for the interior ministry.
Justice
and battling corruption have been central themes in her films and television
programmes.
On
Tuesday, Amnesty International said there had been a rise in attacks on film
actors, political activists and human rights defenders, adding that this was "extremely
worrying".
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53901711
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First
Saudi Cycling Championship Crowns Four Female Winners
LOJIEN
BEN GASSEM
August
25, 2020
Photos/Supplied
-----
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia’s first female cycling championship has crowned the event’s four
fastest riders.
Ten
cyclists from throughout the Kingdom took part in the time-challenge
competition staged on Sunday in Al-Mahalla district of Abha, under the
supervision of the Saudi Cycling Federation.
Ahlam
Nasser Al-Zaid was quickest to complete the 13-km course with a time of 22
minutes and 18 seconds. Anoud Khamis Al-Majed came second covering the distance
in 25 minutes and 39 seconds, with Alaa Al-Zahrani taking third place in 26
minutes and 57 seconds, and Noura Al-Sheikh racing to fourth in 27 minutes and
4 seconds.
The
federation’s program was resumed following the approval of health protocols
related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak issued by health
authorities in cooperation with the Ministry of Sport.
Abdullah
Al-Mizyad, director of operations and technical adviser at the Saudi Cycling
Federation, told Arab News: “We have resumed our championships including the
fifth and sixth championships for youth and adults, which were held in Al-Bahah
for the first time, followed by the Kingdom’s champion event for youth, adults,
and women in Abha. This return was the conclusion of the Saudi cycling
championships for the Kingdom’s champion.
“The
participation of youth and adults and the category of males and females was
open for all to register, which was special in terms of the enthusiasm of the
women that took part.”
Al-Zahrani
said: “There were about seven female contestants in the female category who
were from my team.”
The
rider started gym training with a personal coach 7 years ago. In 2018, she met
with the captain of the Rawasi team, Sherine Abu Al-Hasan, who introduced her
to hiking. “We have hiked the Sabha and Souda mountains in Saudi Arabia and
Shams in Oman.
“In
2019, I wanted to practice a new type of sport since I love discovering new
things. I have friends who love riding bicycles as a hobby, and they encouraged
me to do the same.
“I
then met someone in 2020 who introduced me to the captain of cycling time, and
I started practicing with them professionally. We started a month ago before
the championship and we completed it (the practice) successfully,” Al-Zahrani
added.
She
said that the Saudi Cycling Federation had given female riders the chance to
achieve their dreams and goals in the sport.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724136/saudi-arabia
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Religious
Courts Have a New Name for Triple Talaq and That Is Talaq-e-Ahsan
by
Bhavi Mandalia
August
25, 2020
Author:
Naish Hasan.
On
August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court ordered the abolition of Divorce-e-Biddat
from Hindustan. There was a lot of ruckus on this order. Religion Tanjim was
referring Muslim women as faith in the Supreme Court to the minor and three
divorces, on the other hand, the pain of the government was being spared for
the Muslim women. Going through two ordinances, the law on triple talaq was
finally enacted in 2019, but there seems to be no end to Muslim women’s woes.
During
this one year of becoming a law on triple talaq, the cases of suffering did not
come down. We investigated about 50 cases that came after the law was enacted,
so two things appear in it. First, the women who went to the police station
after getting three divorces, 50 percent FIR was not written. The police
station kept avoiding FIRs, like in all cases of domestic violence, they have
become habit of survival. Secondly, religious organizations have opened a thief
door after three divorces were closed.
Now
they are giving the fatwa of Talaq-E-Ahsan, not triple talaq. In one such case,
it was found that the wife was in her maternal home in the lockdown. She got a
fatwa from Speed Post that her husband had given her a divorce. In another
case, the husband divorced her by writing a letter to the wife and since then
she is missing. In a third case, while the wife was still at home, her husband
suddenly said that he was giving her a divorce.
In
a number of divorce cases going to religious courts, one percent of women have
not dared to challenge the edicts of religious organizations, while the fatwas
of religious organizations have been rejected by the Supreme Court in a 2014
ruling. Significantly, such edicts of divorce started coming more after the
Muslim Women Marriage Protection Act 2019 law. Fugitive lovers have not
remembered the divorce-e-Ahsan. This is to avoid arrest. On the other hand, the
unfortunate situation is that the system is more loose than the law, because
the women who went to the police station during this one year almost did not
get the support of the police. This is a system failure. Husbands also took
advantage of this and got divorce with the help of religious organizations.
This instant divorce system is still shamefully continuing.
Divorce-e-Ahsan
is not mentioned in the Quran, but in the books that these religious
organizations have prepared. In Divorce-e-Ahsan, the husband addresses his wife
only once in the pure period, saying that I divorced you. After this, the wife
should observe the Iddat for three periods. Meanwhile, there should not be
sexual intercourse, the wife should remain in the same house. Divorce is
considered complete even if there is no agreement between them on completion of
three months, only time has passed. This method of divorce does not even speak
of compulsory arbitration. The result of this is that the husband is now giving
divorce-e-ahsan by not giving three divorces and the cleric is justifying it.
The
woman’s position did not change even after a long battle. Earlier she was
evicted from home by giving divorce in a second, now it is being done in three
months. He did not get security then, nor is he getting now. Sharia law or
Muslim law is a law made by humans, it can be changed. Laws have been made and
changed since the year 632 ie Prophet Mohammad. What is needed is that justice
should be the preferred family law in the light of the Constitution of India
and it should be enforceable. Otherwise, Muslim women will continue to grind
between husbands, in-laws, fatwas and maulvis.
https://pledgetimes.com/the-new-name-of-triple-talaq-is-divorce-e-ahsan/
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Training
workshop held for KP women lawmakers
August
25, 2020
PESHAWAR:
Members of the Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)
assembly attended a workshop on “Increased Leadership Skills for Effective
Policy Making and Reforms.”
Among
the participants were Mahmood Jan, Deputy Speaker & Patron-in-Chief Women
WPC, KP and women lawmakers from the KP Assembly. Rights activist Qamar Naseem
facilitated the training. Organized by a civil society organization Pakistan
Youth Change Advocates (PYCA), the one-day workshop was under the initiative
supported by the Australian High Commission, “Mainstreaming Women-centric
Policy Making in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Strengthening Provincial Parliamentary
Caucus”.
It
aimed to provide a platform for discussion on key parliamentary skills, to
impart key skills needed for effective leadership and explore how the acquired
knowledge could be used to facilitate the passage of women-centric legislation.
Talking about the intervention Areebah Shahid, Executive Director of PYCA said:
“Women parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to shape, advance and implement
pro-people laws and policies, especially those that can benefit women and
girls. This workshop is an effort to strengthen this potential.”
Lead
facilitator, Qamar Naseem said: “Well informed parliamentarians can guarantee
that the voices of citizens are heard, particularly the voices of children,
women and other vulnerable groups, in order to mobilize political will and
commitment to empowering them.”
Maliha
Ali Asghar, MPA and Chairperson of the Women Parliamentary Caucus while
commenting on the workshop stated, “We agreed upon and signed three resolutions
at the end of the workshop.
The
first resolution will pave the way for an equal number of girls’ and boys’ schools
in the province while the other two focus on greater investment in girls’
education and ensuring better nutrition for female students across the
province.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/705401-training-workshop-held-for-kp-women-lawmakers
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Iraqi
Female Journalists In Basra Fear For Safety Following Attacks On Activists
By
Azhar Al-Rubaie
25
August 2020
Female
journalists in Basra are becoming increasingly concerned for their safety,
following a recent string of attacks on female activists in the Iraqi city,
Middle East Eye has learned.
Last
week’s killing of 29-year-old Riham Yacoub, a prominent women's rights
campaigner gunned down by unknown assailants on a motorcycle, prompted both
outrage and concerns among those who dare speak out against the government and
advocate for their rights.
Journalist
Arwa Hazim al-Amiri, 26, said she decided to leave the southern city after the
death of Yacoub, who was a personal friend.
“She
[Yacoub] was a leading figure, a fun and disciplined person. Lots of Basra
women were influenced by her character, and she had a big influence on the
public opinion,” said Amiri, who had worked with Yacoub at the privately-owned
Radio Al-Rasheed.
Amiri
said she once proposed to Yacoub to flee Iraq for safety, but the latter replied:
“For whom do I leave the country, or benefit a country other than my homeland?”
But
for Amiri, leaving Basra was the right decision, especially after receiving
threats from “unknown persons via fake social media accounts” because of her
profession.
“Activists
and journalists are facing the same threats. Anyone who tries to criticise
armed groups will be an easy target for them, particularly in Basra city as it
is a hub for the Iran-backed militias,” she told MEE.
Yacoub
was an outspoken critic of the Iran-backed militias whose power and influence
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has been trying to rein in since taking
office in May.
The
attack on her was the third on activists in the southern city in a week.
Tahseen Oussama, 30, was gunned down on 14 August and four others were shot at
while together in a car last Monday.
Yacoub's
killing cast a pall over Kadhimi's recent trip to the United States. The
violence reignited anti-government protests in Basra and the US State
Department publicly urged Kadhimi to hold the militias accountable, just two
days after he sacked the Basra police and national security chiefs and formed a
special committee to investigate the attacks.
The
border crossings in the south and east of Iraq are under the complete control
of Shia factions linked to Iran. And Amiri suspects militia groups are
responsible for the assaults on activists.
“Iranian
proxies in Basra timed the assassination of Riham and other activists during
Kadhimi's first visit to Washington DC. It is just a normal reaction by the
Shia-Iran-backed militias,” she said.
Since
taking office in May, Kadhimi has pledged to hunt down assailants of activists
and keep the armed groups in check. But there have been few developments since.
Suppressing
women's voices
While
the killing of opposition figures has been taking place in Iraq for years, the
recent spike in attacks on women activists and journalists was because of the
rising prominence of female voices, said Sanar Hassan.
The
Baghdad-based journalist said the militias know that women's freedom threatens
their existence, and they killed Yacoub not because she was a civil activist
who called for freedom and security for her city, but because she was a
“successful and free woman”.
“The
militias in Basra do not want any semblance of development and freedom in this
rich city," Hassan said.
"They
work for Iran and do not want to lose out on Iraq’s economic capital and
wealth, neither do they want to lose the path (this arrangement) provides for
their own lucrative incomes".
Months
ago, Hassan translated an article for an Iraqi local news agency, which
revealed the Popular Mobilisation Forces’ involvement in the drug trade in
Basra.
Soon
afterwards, she began receiving threats from "unknown individuals with
fake accounts”. The agency’s director was also threatened not to publish any
articles that might ‘offend’ the militias.
“There
is no such thing as freedom of expression in Iraq.
“When
you work as a journalist, you have two options: either be brave and reveal the
facts that might put you and your family in danger; or keep silent and collude
with the militias, and be part of this propaganda and say what they want to
hear, not what you want to write or say,” said the 26-year-old.
Hassan
said she is still striving to achieve dreams that will make her proud, but the
fear of getting killed is very real.
“The
one thing I am afraid of is to be killed by a criminal who does not even know
why he killed me, just because his leader or his militia gave him the order,” she
said.
However,
she encouraged campaigners to continue expressing themselves freely.
“If
everyone is silent now, the situation will get worse and we will all be killed,
while these militias walk free without any trial.”
Instilling
fear
Lodia
Raymond survived an assassination attempt in the same week that Yacoub was
killed. Gunmen fired at her from a car while she was walking near her house.
Raymond
is one of the most prominent activists in the oil-rich city of Basra. She has
been taking to the streets since 2018, demanding fundamental rights that Iraqis
have been deprived of - including jobs, electricity, fresh water, healthcare
and public service.
“Thanks
to God who protected me, helped me survive, so I can continue demanding the
rights of my city’s people. For many years we’ve been fighting to get rid of
the bloody militias who killed us for no reason, just because we want a home,”
she told MEE.
Nationwide
anti-government protests erupted in October, which saw more than 500
demonstrators killed at the hands of security forces, according to an adviser
to Kadhimi.
Like
many other Basra activists, Raymond said she had received threats from unknown
individuals telling her not to attend demonstrations in Baghdad’s Tahrir
Square, the epicentre of the protest movement.
“If
you continue to attend the movement, you will be next,” Raymond was told.
For
now, following the death of her friend Yacoub, Raymond said she was staying
home to avoid being a target for Basra’s armed groups.
The
threats may have temporarily silenced some women’s voices, but one 16-year-old
activist from Basra said she would not stop protesting until the movement’s
demands were met.
“My
parents are proud (of me) for protesting against corruption and those who have
stolen the country since 2003,” said the teenager who asked to stay anonymous.
“All
we want is a home for all Iraqis regardless of their backgrounds. (The
militias) will never frighten me, and I will continue to protest. Better die
with honour than live with shame,” she said.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-basra-female-journalists-fear-safety-attacks-activists
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Egyptian
Universities Face Pressure to Better Protect Women from Harassment
Amr
EL-Tohamy
25
Aug 2020
CAIRO—Most
Egyptian universities have adopted policies to combat sexual harassment on
campus, but a number of incidents recently disclosed on social media have
revealed a clear deficit in implementing these policies.
In
early July, an Instagram account called Assault Police began publishing women’s
allegations of rape and assault against a former student of the American
University in Cairo. More than 100 women have now come forward, some of whom
were colleagues of the student at the university when they were assaulted.
Those
revelations, in turn, have prompted victims’ advocates to accuse university
administrations across the country of negligence and lack of seriousness in
dealing with the highly sensitive and dangerous issue of sexual harassment.
Sexual
harassment, whether physical or verbal, often causes female students to drop
out and stop continuing their education, in addition to having profound
physical and psychological effects on its victims.
“Generally,
harassment is an attempt to close the public space to women, and universities
are one of the most important spaces where women are present,” said Pascale
Ghazaleh, an associate professor of history at the American University in
Cairo. “This would mainly affect women’s presence and participation in
society.”
Ghazaleh
noted that universities are part of society and a reflection of the power
relations prevailing in it.
“Power
relations within academia are violent, which means that the student-professor
relationship is not democratic in most universities,” she said. Any power
relations within society, “whether class or racial, will be rediscovered on
campus,” she added.
Most
of the women who came forward in the Instagram campaign said the assaults had
occurred earlier, but they didn’t report them at the time because they were
afraid of being blackmailed or because they didn’t know how to report an
assault without being defamed.
Egypt’s
National Council for Women was one of the first institutions that supported
these women and others who have lodged similar complaints. It submitted a
report to the Attorney General’s Office urging it to investigate the
allegations. The council has also issued a statement calling on all women and
girls who fell victim to the accused former AUC student to sue him officially,
with promises to protect them from defamation and prevent publication of their
personal information.
A
new law passed by Egypt’s Parliament last week and awaiting President Abdel
Fattah El-Sisi’s approval would also strengthen protections for people who
report sexual harassment and assault.
Meanwhile,
authorities have arrested the former student and charged him with sex crimes
against at least three women. He has not commented publicly on the accusations
against him.
Changes
at the American University in Cairo
In
its initial response to the allegations, the American University in Cairo
issued a statement affirming that it “has zero tolerance for sexual harassment
and is committed to maintaining a safe environment for all members of the
university community.”
That
response was too late and too little for some advocates. The AUC Student Rights
Coalition condemned the university’s statement and said administrators had
“ignored” complaints against the accused student and erased one complaint that
a student had registered on the university platform. The coalition appealed to
fellow students to support the victims by disclosing what they were exposed to
and sharing their stories with Assault Police, the Instagram page that started
the campaign.
These
developments prompted the university to reconsider its policy on combating
harassment and take steps to address weak points. It plans to provide online
training to every member of the university community, including the president
and other high-ranking officials, with the aim of raising awareness of sexual
harassment, no later than the end of fall 2020, according to Rehab Saad, the
university’s senior director of media relations.
The
measures also include expanding the scope of the university’s Title IX office,
which has been used to receive complaints from students. (Title IX is a U.S.
law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at educational
institutions.) The office will be expanded into a new Office of Institutional
Equity, which will report directly to
the president’s office and receive complaints of sexual harassment or
discrimination from all members of the university community, including
students, staff, and faculty, according to Saad.
The
university also adopted a system for online reporting of harassment incidents
that maintains the confidentiality of the complainant, and launched a page on
Facebook called “Speak Up AUC” to provide advice to people who witness or
experience any form of harassment.
Gaps
in Egyptian Law
Neither
Egypt’s Law No. 49 of 1972, which governs university affairs, nor any
regulations pertaining to it include the term “harassment” as a violation
covered by a specific penalty. However, the Supreme Council of Universities
ruled in 2017 that all universities must establish a unit to combat harassment
and violence against women. (See a related article, “Arab Women Fight Back
Against Online Sexual Harassment.”)
Yet
these units do not seem to be effective. In recent years, Egyptian universities
witnessed an increasing number of complaints from female students of sexual
assaults and other types of harassment by university professors or
administrators, who then faced investigations, suspension or dismissal for
“breach of duty” or “violating university laws, values and traditions.”
Alaa
Khaled, a student in the Faculty of Arts at Benha University, to the east of
Cairo, confirmed that harassment had prompted some of her female colleagues to
move to other universities. She explained that public disclosure of harassment
complaints often has negative consequences for female students, as they are
seen as the cause of the harassment and not its victims. The mechanisms for
investigating complaints and punishing perpetrators are not “safe” for female
victims, she said.
“Such
mechanisms promoted by the university are neither safe nor effective,” she
said. “The professors behave as if their powers are absolute, and the
administration supports this.”
The
lack of evidence in most cases of harassment transforms the woman or girl who
complains from a victim to a convicted person who has to apologize for her
complaint, Khaled said. She added that a university professor or student who
realizes that he is exempt from punishment will keep doing it, whether it’s physical
or verbal harassment. (See a related article, “The Fight Against Sexual
Harassment on Arab Campuses.”)
The
Influence of Social Norms
Naglaa
Diab, a professor at Zagazig University’s Faculty of Education, agrees that
universities need stricter laws and more effective mechanisms for submitting
harassment complaints. She also stresses that the way to confront this crisis
should be through legislation.
It
is mandatory to determine the lines between the university professor’s powers
and the student’s rights, while protecting the reputation of the victims by not
revealing their identities, Diab said.
In
most cases at public universities, the harassment is verbal, Diab said, and she
believes that the problem is worse at public institutions than at private ones.
Reassuring the survivors she meets is difficult, she said.
The
situation also differs from one governorate to another. In Upper Egypt, for
example, conservative behavior predominates in social relations between the
sexes on university campuses that have unofficially adopted gender segregation
policies.
”Separation
between males and females took different forms on campus,” said Abdul-Majeed
Abu Al-Ela, a student at the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at
Beni-Suef University, in Upper Egypt. “This includes dividing lecture halls
between the sexes, an agreed upon method that the university administration
uses to protect against any form of harassment.”
However,
such measures do not completely prevent incidents of harassment.
“Despite
this policy, there are incidents of verbal harassment,” Abu Al-Ela said. “There
must be awareness-raising activities and announced policies that encourage
students to file complaints.”
Ghazaleh,
of the American University in Cairo, believes that the real solution should
come from society as a whole, as harassment is a societal issue and not one
that occurs exclusively on campuses.
“As
long as parents continue to accept and advocate their sons’ behavior, and only
blame their girls, university policies alone will not help,” she said.
But
Ghazaleh reiterated that educational institutions should not tolerate any forms
of harassment or assaults committed on their campuses. “Specific and clear
punishments should be imposed to deter harassers from engaging in any behavior
on campuses at least,” she said.
https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2020/08/egyptian-universities-face-pressure-to-better-protect-women-from-harassment/
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The
First Church for Transgenders in Pakistan
Kamran
Chaudhry
August
25, 2020
Every
Friday at 5pm, Nasira Gul heads to St. Jeremiah Church with her transgender
friends.
They
join parishioners sitting on a red carpet designed with white flowers and
borders. A wooden cross decorates the empty walls of the church in Mehran town
of Karachi, Pakistan’s seaport city.
Two
female pastors lead a 30-minute Bible study before conducting a service that
includes administering Holy Communion to transgenders. The community observed
the memorial service of a deceased transgender on Aug. 21.
“We
couldn’t get a chance to visit other churches to recite the Bible and worship
like other Christians. God is love. He doesn’t discriminate,” Gul told UCA
News.
“People
stare at us when we visit other places of worship. We feel we are among unknown
people. We feel guilty for confusing worshippers. Separate churches can help us
in praying easily. Everybody deserves to listen to the word of God.”
Gul
is one of 20 transgenders who have been offering weekly prayers at St. Jeremiah
Church since last month. Pastor and rights activist Ghazala Shafique initiated
the prayers for transgenders at her home. The 56-year-old, an ordained deacon
in the Church of Pakistan, has commissioned Gul and another transgender to
invite more Christian transsexuals.
She
also provides weekly dinner and a stipend of 500 rupees (US$3) to each transgender
to hire a rickshaw for visiting the “world’s first church for transgenders.”
“They
are mocked on public transport and thus prefer private vehicles. The word of
God is very clear but the attitude of people and the Church is different.
Friday service suits them due to their busy schedule of attending weekend
programs. They trust me for being a female as well,” said Shafique, who plans
to establish a Bible school for all including transgenders.
‘Normal
family members’
Shafique
said her husband has received phone calls from people asking if she would also
demand a separate graveyard and a school for transgenders.
“Pastors
question transgenders for wearing jeans in church, suggest that they should sit
like women, avoid lipstick and wear female clothes that must include dupatta
(long scarves). They are also rejected for Holy Communion for being unholy,”
she said.
“When
I accompany them to other churches, worshippers stare at me as well. Churches
should open their doors and institutes for them. Long-term planning is needed
to educate people and accept them as normal family members.”
St.
Jeremiah Church's initiative has drawn a mixed response from many Pakistanis on
Facebook.
“Congratulations
for this big step forward,” wrote Jibran Nasir, a Muslim human rights activist.
However,
Church of Pakistan Bishop Sadiq Daniel of Karachi rejected the ministry.
“The
so-called opportunist pastor has no connection with us. Her husband, a pastor,
illegally occupied one of our hostels for 15 years. We fired the couple,” he
told UCA News.
“We
reject the church for transgenders as well. Shafique is trying to manipulate
the challenges of the transgender community in the name of religion.”
Sabir
Michael, a lay Dominican, supported faith formation of transgenders but
rejected the separate church. The president of the Peace Welfare and
Development Association is planning a six-month training course for the
transgender community in consultation with Cardinal Joseph Coutts.
“Our
ultimate goal is to integrate them in general churches without discrimination.
This is crucial for social transformation,” he said.
The
challenges
Transgender
people, locally known as khwaja siras, continue to suffer human rights abuses
and growing incidents of violence. Often shunned by mainstream society,
transgender citizens find themselves vulnerable to being forced into begging,
sex work or dancing in a country where it is considered un-Islamic for a woman
to dance in front of men.
According
to the 2017 census, 12,000 transgender persons are living in Sindh province in
southern Pakistan. These include 2,000 Christian transgenders.
In
2009, Pakistan became one of the few Islamic countries in the world to
recognize transgender people legally.
In
2018, an NGO launched the first school for the transgender community at the
Alhamra Open Air Theatre at the Gaddafi Stadium of Lahore. It offers
skills-based training.
Despite
the passing of several laws and policies to protect transgender people's rights,
they continue to suffer prejudice and violence, say rights groups.
Last
week the body of a transgender was found in a flat in federal capital Islamabad
after lying there for 10 days. In April, a 15-year-old Christian transgender
was gang-raped and murdered in Faisalabad city of Punjab province.
In
2016, the Shemale Association for Fundamental Rights initiated construction of
the first LGBT-friendly mosque and madrasa in the suburbs of Islamabad.
Following opposition in the neighborhood, the local cleric took over the
building a few months later.
Muslim
transgenders complain of being insulted and mocked and stopped from entering
mosques. Transgenders are questioned about Islamic practices and proclamations,
they say.
Gul
thanks Pastor Shafique for supporting Christian transgenders. “We thank her for
leading us and offering us catechism and Bible study in our own church. Now we
can freely recite the Bible. Guidance by such church leaders could have saved
our souls. We may have lost our way but can be guided and share the grace of
God,” she said.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/the-first-church-for-transgenders-in-pakistan/89261
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saba-sahar-afghan-actress-film/d/122715