Saudi Arabia Has Outpaced India in Bridging the Gender Gap
New
Age Islam News Bureau
16
July 2022
• Women’s
Entry in Salarzai, Bajaur Picnic Spots Banned by Jirga Held under the
Supervision of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl
• Women
In Tunisia: Has A Female Prime Minister Changed Tunisia?
• Women
in North Syria Collect Wild Plants, Medicinal Herbs To Sell
• Comedy
Club Woman ‘Will Face Double Jeopardy’ With Shariah Charge
• Why
No Action on Those Insulting Other Faiths, Says Sisters in Islam
• Indian
Woman Arrives In Pakistan to Visit Ancestral Home After 75 Years
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saudi-arabia-india-gender-gap/d/127498
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Saudi
Arabia Has Outpaced India in Bridging the Gender Gap
Representational
image of women in Saudi Arabia | Commons
----
Nikhil
Rampal
16
July, 2022
New
Delhi: Saudi Arabia has outpaced India in bridging the gender gap, the latest
Global Gender Gap Index 2022 released by the Switzerland-based World Economic
Forum (WEF) shows.
Released
earlier this week, the index for 2022 has ranked Saudi Arabia 127th among 146
countries — eight places ahead of India’s 135th.
Saudi
scored 0.636 against India’s 0.629, the index shows.
The
WEF defines gender gap as the difference between women and men as reflected in
social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or
attitudes.
The
index, as described in the methodology section of the Global Gender Gap Index
2022, measures such gaps on four broad parameters (also called sub-indices) —
economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, health and
survival, and political empowerment. These are further based on 14 indicators,
each of which carries different weight.
The
index scores countries from 0-1 for gender parity — 1 being the highest and
zero being the lowest.
Interpreted
in terms of percentage, Saudi Arabia’s score means that the country has bridged
63.6 per cent of its gender gap, against India’s 62.9 per cent.
Iceland
(0.908), Finland (0.860), and Norway (0.845) scored the highest in the index
for 2022, while Afghanistan (0.435), Pakistan (0.564) and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (0.575) featured at the bottom of the list.
This
is the first time that Saudi Arabia — one of the world’s most gender-segregated
countries — has outpaced India in the index. The last few years have seen a
slew of social reforms for women in the Arab nation, with women granted some
rights that were previously prohibited under its strict enforcement of the
Islamic law.
India,
meanwhile, scored poorly on three of four parameters: last (146) for health and
survival, 143 in economic participation and opportunities (just above Iran,
Pakistan and Afghanistan), and at 106 (score: 0.967) for educational
attainment.
However,
it was ranked 48 in political empowerment of women.
Reached
for comment about India ranking last on the health and survival parameter, the
WEF said the low score was driven primarily “by a lower sex ratio at birth than
is biologically the norm, and a healthy life expected ratio of men to women
which suggests women are living shorter healthy lives than can be typically
expected”.
“With
a score of 0.937 on a 0 to 1 scale, India ranks 146th out of 146 economies on
the health and survival pillar. This pillar is one which sees a higher
concentration of scores, all close to parity,” they said. “There are 28
economies which rank joint 1st at the top end of the scale… This singular
measure captures a wide range of possible causes — from disease to higher
mortality rates due to other causes”.
How
Saudi outpaced India
In
2006 — the first time the index was released — Saudi (rank 114) had an overall
score of 0.52 (meaning that the country was said to have closed 52 per cent of
its gender gap) against India’s 0.6, placing it just above its neighbour Yemen
(0.45, rank 115).
According
to the WEF index, the country has also shown some progress in women’s
participation in the labour force. It scored 0.524 in economic participation
and opportunities for women in 2022 — almost twice its score of 0.24 in 2006.
The
WEF said bucking the trend of declining women’s participation in the workforce
in 2022 was the major reason why Saudi Arabia performed so well.
“In
2022, 129 countries reported a reduction of women’s labour-force participation
relative to men’s, which negatively impacted their scores. Three countries saw
no changes (Burundi, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone) and 14 reported increased parity
in workforce participation — the highest of which was Saudi Arabia, with a
0.097 increase in its gender parity score,” the report said.
Female
labour force participation (FLFP) is the percentage of women currently employed
or unemployed actively looking for work.
The
rise in the women’s work participation in Saudi Arabia has been well-documented:
A 2021 study by US-based think tank Brookings says there has been a substantial
rise in women’s participation in the Saudi workforce after 2018. The study
cited several progressive factors, such as allowing women to drive, change in
male guardianship laws, and other laws that restricted women’s mobility, for
this increase.
According
to the World Bank’s database, Saudi Arabia’s FLFP was 31 per cent in 2021, in
contrast to India’s 19 per cent.
India’s
gender gap in workplace and economic opportunities hasn’t changed much in the
last 16 years, the WEF notes — going from 0.39 in 2006 to 0.35 in 2022.
Source:
The Print
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Women’s
Entry in Salarzai, Bajaur Picnic Spots Banned by Jirga Held under the
Supervision of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl
File
Photo/ Express Tribune
----
Hanifullah
July
16, 2022
BAJAUR:
A
Jirga of local elders of ultra-conservative Salarzai, Bajaur tribal district,
banned the entry of women or couples in the picnic spots, terming it against
the local traditions.
The
Jirga was held under the supervision of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and
was addressed by JUI-F district Amir for Bajaur Maulana Abdur Rashid.
Maulana
Rashid announced the decision agreed upon including ban on the entry of women
in the hill stations calling it vulgar.
“We
ask the authorities to end this practice as we will not take law into our own
hand,” he said, adding that the decision has been made by all clans of Salarzai.
“Taking
women to picnic spots could not be allowed under the cover of tourism,” he
added, saying that if government failed to take any action in this regard then
the Jirga would ban it.
The
Jirga also demanded that local residents should be recruited in the various
departments in the district and non-locals will not be accepted.
It
may be mentioned here that despite merger of tribal districts with
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), local elders often try to impose their own decisions
which are considered against the constitution and law.
In
February 2021, local elders of Tehsil Mamond in Bajaur banned the visit of
womenfolk to the Citizen Facilitation Center (CFC) as well as their phone calls
to local FM Radio stations.
It
was announced that violators would be punished with Rs10,000 fine.
A
grand Jirga of all the clans was held in Sewai Dam Johar of Mamond attended by
the elders of Barozai, Orozai and Baramkazai clans in which several resolutions
were passed.
The
jirga banned visit of women to CFC Khalozai which is locally known as
Sadai-e-Aman Program.
It
is a one-window facility for computerized CNICs, birth certificates as well as
registration of pregnant women and mothers who are then paid Rs2,500 stipend
per month.
“If
any woman went there to receive aid money her family will have to pay Rs10,000
fine,” a local elder warned.
All
the women of the tehsil had also been banned from calling any FM Radio station
program and a Rs10,000 fine had also been announced for the violators.
By
the same token, local vendors (banjary) who travel from one place to other and
sell goods had also been banned completely and the jirga also announced that an
armed tribal militia will be raised by the elders if anyone was found involved
in selling drugs in the tehsil.
Drug
peddlers were given one week to end their business.
Source:
Tribune Pakistan
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2366174/womens-entry-in-bajaur-picnic-spots-banned
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Women
in Tunisia: Has a female prime minister changed Tunisia?
Tunisia
has seen a marked shift in attitudes towards women political leaders since
Najla Bouden became the first female prime minister in the Arab world. However,
this doesn't mean that life has dramatically improved for Tunisia's women,
writes BBC News Arabic's Jessie Williams.
Bochra
Belhaj Hmida has spent her whole life fighting for both gender equality and
democracy in Tunisia - "one of which cannot be achieved without the
other," she says.
After
the revolution in 2011 - which saw her take part in the mass demonstrations
that led to autocrat President Ben Ali being ousted - Tunisia passed a gender
parity law. It requires political parties to have an equal number of men and
women on their list of candidates to serve in parliament after elections.
It
was around this time that Ms Belhaj Hmida joined a political party, Nidaa
Tounes.
But
being a woman in politics in Tunisia - and a woman fighting for equal rights -
is not easy.
"I
have experienced harassment, smear campaigns, defamation, death threats and
calls for my assassination," she says, adding that she has been under
state protection since 2012.
But
Tunisia is now undergoing a significant shift in attitudes towards women in
positions of power, more than in other parts of the Arab world.
A
new survey, carried out by Arab Barometer on behalf of BBC News Arabic, found
that Tunisia has seen the largest decline in the number of people saying men
are better political leaders than women.
Since
2018 there has been a drop of 16 percentage points - from 56% to 40% - in those
agreeing with the statement that "in general, men are better at political
leadership than women".
The
survey was conducted around the time Tunisia got its first female prime
minister - geologist Najla Bouden, who was appointed to the post by President
Kais Saied in October 2021.
This
shows the role model effect, says Amaney Jamal, the co-founder of Arab
Barometer and Dean of the US-based Princeton School of Public and International
Affairs.
"We
didn't see a drastic shift in public opinion on women's rights, prior to this
appointment," she says, adding that it "allowed people to say: 'Guess
what, women can be just as effective as political leaders as their male
counterparts'."
But
Ms Belhaj Hmida describes Ms Bouden's appointment as being a "double-edged
sword".
It
was symbolically important to end "male privilege", but the
"total absence of her commitment to women's rights and equality could be
seen as the failure of women in public affairs", she says.
Kenza
Ben Azouz, a researcher with global campaign group Human Rights Watch, says the
Tunisian women's rights activists she has spoken to do not believe that Ms
Bouden's appointment has led to any "concrete achievement".
"There
has been absolutely no addition in terms of rights secured for women," she
says.
The
Tunisian government has not responded to a BBC request for comment.
Mr
Saied has a record 10 women, including Ms Bouden, in his 24-member cabinet.
Women's
rights activists are concerned the president is merely using the façade of
female empowerment to soften the blow of his authoritarian actions, including
dissolving parliament and ruling by decree.
Mr
Saied is known for his conservative views on women's rights - he continues to
oppose gender equality in inheritance, and Tunisian men are still legally
recognised as the head of the household. Inheritance in Tunisia is based on
Islamic Sharia law, which stipulates that a surviving son is generally entitled
to twice the share of a surviving daughter.
Mr
Saied caused outrage last month when he sacked 57 judges after accusing them of
a wide range of offences, including "financial and moral corruption".
They
included a female judge who had details about her private life leaked online -
including allegations that she had committed adultery, which is a crime in
Tunisia, and was forced by police to take a virginity test.
Condemning
the smear campaign, the honorary president of the Association of Tunisian
Judges, Rawda al-Qarafi, was quoted as saying: "Who will rehabilitate this
lady if the highest level of the state has impinged on her dignity?"
The
survey also found that Tunisia had the highest percentage of people - 61% - who
believe that violence against women increased in the last year despite
legislation adopted in 2017 to combat it.
In
a sign of how dangerous it can be for women, the outspoken leader of the
Al-Dustur al-Hurr party, Abir Moussi, was slapped and kicked in the middle of a
parliamentary session last year by two male lawmakers. They were both barred
from taking the floor in parliament for three consecutive sittings.
Ms
Ben Azouz sees the survey's finding as "quite a positive sign",
indicating widespread awareness of violence against women, which, she believes,
is partly down to the #EnaZeda movement in 2019 - Tunisia's #MeToo.
The
movement sprung up in response to now-jailed MP Zouhair Makhlouf being caught
masturbating in his car in front of a high school student.
Tunisian
women's rights and anti-racism activist Khawla Ksiksi took part in the
demonstrations and became a moderator on the #EnaZeda Facebook page, which, she
says, received more than 20 testimonies of sexual violence a day.
Tunisia's
now-dissolved parliament adopted legislation in 2017 to combat violence against
women. Known as Law 58, it was lauded as historic at the time, putting Tunisia
ahead of many of its neighbours.
Although
there have been some successes - including the setting up of specialised police
units to tackle violence against women - people have argued that there are
major weaknesses in the law's implementation.
They
point to the case of 26-year-old Refka Cherni, who was allegedly killed by her
husband, an officer in the National Guard, in May 2021, just two days after she
had gone to the police to report him for domestic abuse. He was arrested but
has not yet gone on trial and has not commented.
Her
case is notorious, as it reflects the "failure of the complete
system": from the police who conducted mediation between Cherni and her
husband despite this being banned - he allegedly used this opportunity to
threaten her and Cherni withdrew her complaint the next day - to the
prosecutor, who failed to order any measures to protect her, to the hospital,
which issued a medical certificate to prove she had been abused.
"If
she had received her medical certificate earlier, perhaps she could have gone
forth with her complaint and she wouldn't have died," says Ms Ben Azouz.
The
survey showed an 11 percentage point decline - from 54% to 43% - since 2018 in
citizens saying men should have the final say in family decisions.
But,
as men remain the heads of their households under Tunisian law, social
assistance goes to them and survivors of domestic abuse cannot access financial
support.
"The
economic power stays in the hands of the husband," says Ms Ben Azouz.
The
stigma around going to a domestic abuse shelter, combined with the lack of them
- only five exist in Tunisia, four of which are located in the capital, Tunis -
means many survivors, particularly those who are poor, are forced to stay with
their abusers.
Despite
the worrying picture, Ms Ben Azouz says she is "very hopeful",
particularly because of the work of women's rights groups and their
"upsurge in creativity".
As
for Ms Belhaj Hmida, she says the campaign to make Tunisia more "liveable,
free, and liberating" must continue, and it must be waged "not by one
person, but by all those who believe that this country deserves better".
Source:
BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62053997
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Women
in north Syria collect wild plants, medicinal herbs to sell
Jalal
Suleiman
July
7, 2022
Residents
of northern Syria have been suffering for years amid growing poverty rates and
lack of services. The situation is worsened by the harsh weather conditions
every year. Meanwhile, little to no assistance is provided to those living in
tents in the camps for internally displaced persons (IDP), whose numbers are
constantly increasing.
Most
recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has cast a shadow over northern
Syria. This was evident in the significant increase in the prices of some basic
food commodities, especially those imported from Russia and Ukraine.
All
of these conditions have urged the people of northern Syria to adopt new
tactics to secure their livelihood amid the lack of job opportunities. Many
have started going around landfills digging for materials that can be sold,
such as plastic, copper and iron, while others have started collecting
medicinal herbs and edible wild plants from the plains and mountains in the
area.
Samira,
a mother of four who did not give her last name, lost her husband in a bombing
in Homs countryside prior to her displacement. She told Al-Monitor, “We have
lived in an IDP camp in the Deir Hassan area in Idlib countryside for years. At
first, the aid provided to us was enough. But with the increase in the number
of displaced people, things changed and I had to find something to do to secure
sufficient food for my children. As a rural person with experience in the
different types of wild edible plants, I started collecting them from the
plains and the edges of the mountains.”
She
noted, “The cyclamen, for instance, is used in cooking, like grape leaves, and
also has medicinal benefits. The cheeseweed is a plant that is eaten cooked or
as an appetizer in salads and is very famous in the Levant. Radicchio has a
high nutritional and medicinal value, and has been described as being friendly
to the stomach and liver.”
Samira
said, “The Borage leaf is a wild plant that grows in late winter through the
end of summer, and has a long, dark green leaf with a rough texture. It is
eaten stuffed and cooked like grape leaves and is useful in treating throat,
chest and lung aches. Hedge mustard is a wild spring plant that grows a lot in
mountainous areas. It is used as an appetizer and is not eaten alone, but is
cut like parsley with yogurt.”
She
explained, “Asparagus is very rich in antioxidants, folic acid and potassium,
and contains vitamins and sulfur. Purslane grows rapidly in the spring and
summer. It contains more beta-carotene than spinach, in addition to high levels
of magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A and C.”
Samira
added, “Akkoub is eaten cooked after it is cleaned of its thorn. It is very
beneficial for slimming the human body and useful for those who suffer from
high cholesterol, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation. As for
Eryngos, its nonsticky stinging leaves collected at the beginning of the winter
season are used to make salads. Chard grows in February and March in
mountainous areas, especially in olive groves. We also collect wild thyme, elm
and wild cress.”
She
noted, “This type of work becomes popular among women in the spring and summer,
when these plants abound in nature. But we are forced daily to go to areas
relatively far from our place of residence in order to collect sufficient
quantities to feed our families and sell the rest in the markets in neighboring
cities. The price of 1 kilogram [2.2 pounds] of these plants ranges from 2,500
to 5,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram," the equivalent to less than a few
dollars.
Collecting
edible wild plants as a source of livelihood requires working long hours every
day in remote areas. Perhaps this is why some IDPs collect medicinal herbs,
which are sold for higher prices. However, collecting them requires experience
to select these specific herbs and to know exactly where to find them.
Amina
Maarouf, resident of Jisr al-Shughur city in Idlib countryside, told Al-Monitor
that after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham executed her husband three years ago on charges
of working for the Syrian government, she was forced to look for a source of
livelihood.
She
learned all kinds of medicinal herbs from her father and grandfather, but she
had never collected and sold them because her financial conditions were good
before the revolution, and even at the beginning of the war.
“I
needed to go back to work, even if it was only seasonal. I couldn't find other
opportunities,” she said.
Maarouf
noted, “I collect certain types of violets, hawthorns, lion's foot, hyssop,
chamomile, wild wormwood, rosemary and many more, all of which are spread in
the mountains surrounding the city of Jisr al-Shughur and the surrounding
villages.”
She
added that some of the villagers sell the herbs as soon as they pick them,
while others put them in bags after weighing and sorting each type of herb
separately, and sell them to traders who export them outside Syria.
“The
most difficult aspect of this work is the long hours of careful searching in
the woods and mountains. It is a relatively dangerous job, especially for women
who may encounter wild animals or even bandits. In addition, this work is
seasonal and not permanent, but it is good money, although I am sure traders
export them for much higher prices,” Maarouf pointed out.
Mohammed
al-Rajab, owner of a shop selling medicinal herbs in Idlib, told Al-Monitor,
“We buy good medicinal herbs from residents who collect them from the
wilderness in the spring and summer at reasonable prices. We know that those
who collect these herbs complain about the profits when they see the prices of
these herbs on the internet in other countries such as Palestine, Lebanon and
other Mediterranean countries. When we sell these herbs — whether in the local
market or to traders in Turkey — we also sell them at different prices from
those of other countries.”
He
said, “We have people who work in cleaning, sorting, packing and preparing these
herbs, and all of that is paid labor. Also, we can’t buy everything that people
collect; there are unusable plants that people mistakenly pick.”
Source:
Al Monitor
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Comedy
Club Woman ‘Will Face Double Jeopardy’ With Shariah Charge
July
15, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: The woman at the centre of a controversial stand-up comedy performance
could face double jeopardy if she is charged in the Shariah court, says the
women’s rights group Sisters in Islam.
The
group said Siti Nuramira Abdullah had already been charged in the sessions
court for insulting Islam.
“It
would be untenable if she is charged for a similar offence in another court
using the same facts, as it “may be tantamount to double jeopardy” which is
against the Constitution.
“Sisters
in Islam urges the federal territories religious department and, by extension,
the government to cease any plans to charge Siti Nuramira in the shariah
court,” the group said.
It
was responding to a statement by deputy religious affairs minister Ahmad Marzuk
Shaary that Siti Nuramira would be charged in the shariah court for insulting
Islam.
SIS
said the decision to charge her in the shariah court would be a waste of
taxpayers’ money. “It is our tax dollars that are paying for this show of
force,” the group said.
The
cost of investigation, calling for witnesses and trial proceedings would
require more funds to be incurred for this repetitive action, it said.
Plea
for donations to post RM40,000 bail
Siti
Nuramira and her partner Alexander Navin Vijayachandran have been charged
separately in the sessions court over the performance. Bail was set at a total
of RM40,000 for the pair.
They
have appealed for public donations to raise bail, and their lawyer R Sivaraj
said the Lawyers for Liberty group has agreed to accept donations via the
group’s CIMB bank account No 8003397725, according to the Vibes website.
He
said the purpose of bail is not to punish the accused but to ensure their
attendance at subsequent court hearings.
Siti
Nuramira has pleaded not guilty to causing disharmony among the Muslim
community with her performance at the Crackhouse Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr
Ismail on June 4.
She
sparked controversy after discarding her headscarf and baju kurung to reveal a
halter-top blouse and miniskirt, after proclaiming she was a Muslim who had
memorised 15 chapters of the Quran.
Navin
was charged with posting insensitive materials online.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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Why
No Action on Those Insulting Other Faiths, Says Sisters in Islam
Hakimie
Amrie Hisamudin
July
16, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: A women’s rights group has questioned the apparent double standard in
cases of religious insults, particularly the lack of action against a preacher
who disparaged the faith of non-Muslims.
Sisters
in Islam (SiS) questioned the use of the Attorney-General’s discretion to
declare “no further action” in the case.
The
group pointed to the double standard in a woman being hauled to court for
allegedly insulting Islam, while a Muslim preacher had no action taken against
him for disparaging the faith of non-Muslims.
The
Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had said it decided not to charge Syakir
Nasoha on the ground that the video about him was taken out of context and did
not touch on religious sensitivity in the country.
SiS
executive director Rozana Isa said the Federal Constitution stated that
everyone should be treated equally.
“In
both cases, the people have come out strongly in their reactions and responses
and yet, the government regarded one to be more offensive than the other, given
their subsequent actions on these cases,” she told FMT.
Rozana
said more than 3,000 police reports were lodged against the preacher and
religious minority communities might perceive a bias in the enforcement of
laws.
Meanwhile,
Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy shared a similar sentiment in a
statement, asking: “Why are the slightest infringements against Islam or
Muslims taken so seriously whereas the repeated insults and disparagement
against non-Muslims are ignored?”
“Are
insults against Islam and Muslims considered more serious than insults against
non-Muslim religions and non-Muslims?”
He
also questioned the attorney-general’s refusal to prosecute such preachers
despite the many repeated cases of them condemning the beliefs of non-Muslims.
The
founder of Komuniti Muslim Universal, Aizat Shamsuddin, said the authorities
must not be so quick to come down hard on those who are accused of insulting
religions.
“Such
cases should be properly studied. It would be better for people convicted of
delivering such hate speech to receive counselling,” he said.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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Indian
woman arrives in Pakistan to visit ancestral home after 75 years
Asif
Mehmood
July
16, 2022
LAHORE:
The
Pakistani High Commission as part of a goodwill gesture issued a three-month
visa to a 92-year-old Indian woman, Reena Chhibar, who reached Pakistan on
Saturday.
As
she made her way through the Wagah-Attari border to see her ancestral home,
Prem Niwas, in Rawalpindi, she urged the governments of both the countries to
“work together” to ease visa restrictions to make “coming and going easy for
us”.
Reena
reminisced of a multi-cultural diverse community that was thriving in Pindi
before the partition as she was driven from the border to Rawalpindi. “My
siblings had friends who would come over to our house from various communities,
including Muslims,” she said, remembering that “our house-help was also a
diverse mix of people”.
In
1947, after the partition, her family moved to India. She was 15 years old at
the time, and though nearly 75 years have passed since then she said she “could
not remove her ancestral home, her neighborhood and the streets from her
heart”.
Reena
had applied for visa in 1965 to visit Pakistan, but she says she could not
acquire permission amid high tensions due to the war between the two neighbors.
She still managed to visit Lahore to watch a match between Pakistan and England
as Pakistan had issues visas to Indians to watch the match.
Reena
claims that she had expressed the desire to visit her ancestral home on social
media in 2021, upon which a Pakistani citizen named Sajjad Haider contacted her
and sent her images of the house. In a video on social media, she claimed that
she had applied for a visa to visit the place in 2021 which was rejected.
The
92 year-old then turned to social media and expressed her desire to visit
Pakistan. She also tagged the now Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina
Rabbani Khar in her post.
According
to Reena, the minister immediately directed the Pakistani High Commission to
issue her a visa and soon after, she was contacted by the high commission in
New Dehli. After meeting with the commission’s Aftab Hassan Khan, she was
issued a visa for 90 days.
Reena
Chhibar arrived in Pakistan via Wagah border on Saturday morning, her eyes
became moist as she crossed the Pak-India border, from Wagah border, Reena left
for Rawalpindi where she will visit her ancestral home Prem Niwas and her
childhood friends from the neighborhood.
It
should be noted that Pakistan and India had signed an agreement to grant visas
to citizens over 60 years of age at the border, which is not being implemented.
Source:
Tribune Pakistan
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/saudi-arabia-india-gender-gap/d/127498