US Congress Passes 'Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act' For Pakistani Women to Receive Higher Education
New
Age Islam News Bureau
04
January 2021
• Australian Women’s Rights Activist, Zara Kay, Faces Charges In Tanzania
•
Qatar- Women's Beach Basketball Takes Centre Stage At Qatar Olympic Committee
Beach Games
•
MPA Sumaira Kamal Seeks Ban On Women Visiting Badshahi Mosque In ‘Immodest’
Dress
•
Denied Citizenship for a Decade, ‘Stateless’ Pak-origin Women in J&K Ask to
be Deported
•
Iran's Cabinet OKs Bill to Protect Women from Violence That Critics Say Falls
Short
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/us-congress-passes-malala-yousafzai/d/123975
--------
US
Congress Passes 'Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act' For Pakistani Women To
Receive Higher Education
Jan
4, 2021
Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by Pakistani
Taliban on her way home from school in 2012.
-----
WASHINGTON:
The US Congress has passed the 'Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act' which will
expand the number of scholarships available to Pakistani women to receive
higher education under a merit and needs-based programme.
Passed
by the House of Representatives in March 2020, the bill was passed by the
United States Senate by a voice vote on January 1. The bill now heads to the
White House for US President Donald Trump to sign into law.
The
bill requires the US Agency for International Development to award at least 50
per cent of scholarships under a Pakistan-based higher education scholarship
programme to Pakistani women, from 2020 to 2022, across a range of academic
disciplines and in accordance with existing eligibility criteria.
The
bill also requires USAID to consult with and leverage investments by the
Pakistani private sector and Pakistani diaspora in the United States to improve
and expand access to education programmes in Pakistan.
Among
other thing, it requires USAID to brief Congress annually on the number of
scholarships awarded under the programme, including breakdowns by gender,
discipline, and degree type; the percentage of recipients who were
involuntarily pushed out of the programme for failure to meet programme
requirements; and the percentage of recipients who dropped out of school,
including due to retaliation for seeking education.
On
October 10, 2014, Malala shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian children's
rights activist Kailash Satyarthi for her "struggle against the
suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to
education".
In
October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Pakistani Taliban on her way home
from school. In late 2008, she began making the case for access to education
for women and girls despite objections from the Pakistani Taliban.
Since
2010, the USAID has awarded more than 6,000 scholarships for young women to
receive higher education in Pakistan. The bill expands this programme.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/us-congress-passes-malala-yousafzai-scholarship-act-for-pakistani-women/articleshow/80090010.cms
--------
Australian
Women’s Rights Activist, Zara Kay, Faces Charges In Tanzania
Daniel
Hurst
3
Jan 2021
Zara Kay was reportedly held in custody for 32
hours after she went to the police station.(Twitter: @Zarakayk)
------
An
Australian ex-Muslim women’s rights activist faces “politically motivated”
charges in Tanzania, including for a tweet allegedly critical of the country’s
president, according to her supporters.
The
Australian government is providing consular assistance to Zara Kay, 28, the
founder of Faithless Hijabi, a group set up two years ago to support women who
are ostracised or face violence if they leave or question Islam.
Kay
tweeted on 28 December she was “going into the police station because someone
reported me in for blasphemy” and a few days later told her supporters she was
out on bail but “still quite traumatised from everything”.
“Please
don’t stop fighting for me,” she wrote. “They can try shaking me, but they
won’t break me.”
The
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Sunday it was
“providing consular assistance to an Australian in Tanzania”. But a
spokesperson said Dfat would not provide further comment “owing to our privacy
obligations”.
The
case was first reported by the ABC on Sunday.
The
International Coalition of Ex-Muslims issued a statement saying Kay had been
held in police custody for 32 hours from 28 December “without an initial clear
indication of charges” and had her passport confiscated.
It
said she would be required to return the police station in Dar es Salaam, the
administrative capital, on Tuesday.
According
to the statement, the charges relate to three issues, including “a social media
post deemed to be critical of the president of Tanzania” over the handling of
Covid-19 in the east African country.
The
International Coalition of Ex-Muslims said Kay was also accused of not
returning her Tanzanian passport after gaining Australian citizenship, but
added that “she never returned her Tanzanian passport as she misplaced and
never used it after gaining Australian citizenship”.
The
coalition said the final issue was the use of a mobile sim card registered in a
family member’s name rather than her own name, under legislation that the group
said “has been used to persecute other high-profile cases”.
“We
believe these charges are politically motivated,” the coalition said.
“The
International Coalition of Ex-Muslims reiterates its call on the Tanzanian
government to immediately drop all the charges against Zara Kay and allow her
to leave the country … We also call on the Australian authorities to intervene
and get Zara home to safety.”
Kay,
who was raised a Shia Muslim in Tanzania, told the Australian newspaper in 2019
that she had been forced to wear the hijab from the age of eight but took it
off when she moved to Australia to study in her late teens.
She
has renounced Islam and campaigns to help people who struggle when they
similarly leave the faith. Kay has held speaking events in Australia on the
topic: “Losing your religion can be hard, and for some, it can be fatal”.
Christians
comprise about 61% of Tanzania’s population of 59 million people, while Muslims
represent about 35%, according to past estimates, and it does not have
blasphemy laws. The Australian newspaper reports that Kay faces sedition
charges.
It
is understood the types of assistance provided by Australian consular staff can
include visiting prisons to monitor welfare, checking with local authorities
about the Australian’s wellbeing, and providing contact details for local
lawyers.
But
consular staff typically notify Australians in trouble overseas that they
cannot provide direct legal advice, intervene in legal cases or get Australians
out of prison.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/03/australian-womens-rights-activist-faces-charges-in-tanzania
--------
Qatar-
Women's Beach Basketball Takes Centre Stage At Qatar Olympic Committee Beach
Games
12/28/2020
The
women's beach basketball 3X3 was the major highlights of Day 8 of the ongoing
maiden edition of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Beach Games being held at
the Aspire Park in Doha until January 3. Six exciting matches involving eight
teams in Group A and B were held in the event. In the first match of the day,
the Doha team, comprising some of the national team players, showed their
superior class over the Fighters, trouncing those 16-0. Up next was Doha A
versus Pro Sport which ended 15-0 in favour of the former.
While
the first two games were almost no-contest matches, the third game of the day
between Black Mambas and Hustlers, meanwhile, was closely-contested with the
Black Mambas narrowly winning by two points (14-12).
Other
event results are Qatar B versus Sport Lab (Qatar B won 8-7) and Hustlers
against Fighters, which ended 14-7 in Hustlers favour while the last match involving
Qatar B and Pro Sport also ended 12-5 with Qatar B triumphing.
In
the men's beach football event, Al Ennabi, which walloped Al Wukair 7-0 on
Thursday, continued their excellent form at the tournament with a 4-1 defeat of
Madinat Khalifa to top Group A. Al Wukair, on the other hand, bounced back from
their first-day loss as they post a 5-2 victory over Al Ettihad.
In
Group B, Al Shahaniya defeated Al Raheeb 3-2 while Al Doha trounced Al Jasrah
3-0.
Today,
the men's beach volleyball and handball events will take centre-stage. Four
matches are on the card in the handball Al Nosour will take on Al Fohoud in the
first match while Al Edaid versus Al Soqour will come next. The last two games
will be between Al Ruwais and Al Khafji, and Al Hazm versus Al Nomour B. In
volleyball, the two matches will be between Al Adaam and Nawakhza, and Lusail
versus Al Nojoum. Over 500 male and female athletes are participating in the
maiden QOC Beach Games, a legacy event of the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games Doha,
which is being held over two weeks until January 2, 2021.
https://menafn.com/1101353304/Qatar-Womens-beach-basketball-3X3-takes-centre-stage-at-QOC-Beach-Games
--------
MPA
Sumaira Kamal Seeks Ban On Women Visiting Badshahi Mosque In ‘Immodest’ Dress
January
4, 2021
Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Sumaira Kamal has demanded women wearing
‘immodest’ dress be barred from visiting the Badshahi Mosque.
In
the resolution presented to the Punjab Assembly, the MPA stated that many women
who visit the mosque or go their for Friday rituals often come wearing
inappropriate dresses. She further stated that it is regrettable and
disappointing that women go to the mosque in dresses that are not deemed
appropriate according to religious norms. Concluding her resolution she demanded
an imposition of a strict dress code for women when they visit mosques.
https://nayadaur.tv/2021/01/mpa-seeks-ban-on-women-visiting-badshahi-mosque-in-immodest-dress/
--------
Denied
Citizenship for a Decade, ‘Stateless’ Pak-origin Women in J&K Ask to be
Deported
Anees
Zargar
04
Jan 2021
Srinagar:
A group of Pakistani-origin women who are married to Kashmiris on Monday said
the government should charge them as “illegal migrants” and deport them to
their native country as they have lost the hope of being granted citizenship
rights after spending over a decade in the region.
More
than 350 women, many of whom belong to Pakistan administered Kashmir, have been
living as ‘stateless’ citizens of Jammu and Kashmir since the Omar Abdullah-led
government of the erstwhile state announced in 2010 a policy to rehabilitate
former militants, who had crossed over the Line of Control (LoC) as young men
with an intention to train as militants. The youth travelled back with families
including children with the hope to be rehabilitate, but that never happened.
Saira
Javed, who lives in North Kashmir’s Kupwara town with her Kashmiri husband and
four children, told NewsClick that her children are being punished by the
authorities for her marrying a Kashmiri, which she referred to as a ‘mistake.’
“We
do not want to live here anymore. I was brought by my husband after he saw hope
in the government’s rehabilitation policy. He insisted on coming back for his
family, friends and relatives but it turned out to be a nightmare,” Saira said.
Saira
was accompanied by several other women who are living in different parts of the
valley and they spoke to the media about their plight in Kashmir. They claimed
their lives have been made difficult by administrative sanctions and they do
not feel safe there.
Taibah
Ajaz, who lives in Pattan, said since the government has not given them the
rights of citizens for over a decade after coming to Kashmir, they should be
then treated as “illegal immigrants.” “Ours is a humanitarian issue and if the
government is not willing to accept us, they should then deport us or treat us
as per immigration laws,” she said.
According
to the group, many of such women have died, and at least one of them, Saira
Begum committed suicide in 2014. Many of these women have been divorced and at
least two widows are working for Saira Javed, who owns a boutique in Kupwara.
“There is no life for these sisters here as they have been abandoned by their
in-laws. Many more are on the brink of committing suicide, which is why we are
requesting the government to intervene,” Saira said.
Saira
is heart-broken as she could not see her father who died two months back. She
has not been able to travel back since she arrived. “I am devastated as I could
not see my father for the last time; now I miss everyone back home,” she said.
Notably,
two of the women—Somiya Sadaf and Shazia Aslam–had recently contested in the
District Development Council (DDC) polls from North Kashmir’s Drugmulla area of
Kupwara and Hajin area of Bandipora respectively. But, as the elections
concluded, the results in both of these constituencies were put on hold because
of the two candidates’ citizenship issue.
https://www.newsclick.in/Denied-Citizenship-Decade-Stateless-Pak-origin-Women-J%26K-Ask-Deported
--------
Iran's
Cabinet OKs Bill To Protect Women From Violence That Critics Say Falls Short
January
04, 2021
The
Iranian government has passed a bill that criminalizes violence against women,
including action or behavior that causes “physical or mental harm” to women.
The
bill was passed by the cabinet on January 3, Massoumeh Ebtekar, Iran’s vice
president for women’s and family affairs, announced on Twitter, saying the bill
was the result of "hundreds of hours of expertise."
The
bill, which has been under review since September 2019, will have to be adopted
by parliament to become law.
The
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in early December
that the draft bill falls short of international standards, despite having “a
number of positive provisions.”
“While
the draft law defines violence against women broadly and criminalizes various
forms of violence, it does not criminalize some forms of gender-based violence,
such as marital rape and child marriage,” HRW said in a December 2020 report.
"The
draft law also does not tackle a number of discriminatory laws including
personal-status laws that lawyers said leave women more vulnerable to domestic
violence," the report added.
Media
reported that the bill specifies punitive action, including legal punishments,
civil redress, and prison sentences for those threatening the physical and
mental safety of women.
According
to the bill, the judiciary will be tasked with setting up and sponsoring
offices that provide support for women who suffer some type of violence or who
are susceptible to violence. The bill also requires the establishment of
special police units to ensure the safety of women.
An
Iran researcher for Human Rights Watch, Tara Sepehrifar, said on Twitter on
January 3 that the Iranian parliament "should waste no time in addressing
the remaining gaps and pass the draft into law."
The
bill follows several cases of violence against women that have caused public
outrage, including last May's beheading of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi by her
father, in an apparent “honor killing."
Days
after the gruesome killing, Iran passed a law aimed at protecting children from
violence.
Iran
is one of four countries that have not ratified the United Nations Convention
on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-approves-bill-protect-women-from-violence/31032852.html
--------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/us-congress-passes-malala-yousafzai/d/123975
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism