Witchcraft-Related Child Abuse on the Rise in Britain
New Age Islam News Bureau
11
Oct 2014
Sabina Selimovic (left) and Samra Kesinovic
• Mother
Upset Over School Assignment about Islam
• Pregnant
Austrian Teens in ISIS: We’ve Made a Huge Mistake
• Jewish
Teen among Dozens of French Girls Joining Jihad in Syria
• Needlework
Makes Bangladesh Rural Women Self-Reliant
• Iraqi
Women Targeted For Execution by IS
• Activists
Urged Saudi Women to Defy Driving Ban
• Iran
Shuts Tehran ‘Rich Kids’ Instagram
• Disillusioned
Syrian Woman Reveals Life in ISIS
• Political
Parties, Civil Society Shower Praise on Malala
• Sindh,
Pakistan, Records 421 Cases of Violence against Women in Three Months
• New era
for Saudi women: Jumana Almuzel
• The
Difficulties of a Career in Journalism for Muslim Women
• Muslim
Women Scared To Go Outdoors In Climate of Hate in Sydney
• Campaign
for Solidarity with Muslim Women in Australia
• Reporting
Live From Gaza: Palestinian Woman Breaks the Mould
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/witchcraft-related-child-abuse-rise/d/99475
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Witchcraft-Related
Child Abuse On the Rise in Britain
11 Oct,
2014
Instances
of child abuse related to witchcraft and a belief that children are possessed
by evil spirits are on the rise in Britain, police said on Wednesday.
In the
past year there have been 27 reported allegations, a rise from 24 the previous
year. One case resulted in an arrest for rape and another in a charge for rape,
they added.
Examples
include a child who was forced to drink unknown substances, children being
dunked in a bath, a pastor swinging a child around and banging its head and
parents taking their children out of the country to attend an exorcism
ceremony, in attempts to remove "evil spirits."
"Abuse
linked to belief is a horrific crime which is condemned by people of all
cultures, communities and faiths," Detective Superintendent Terry Sharpe
from the Sexual Offenses, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command said in a
statement.
He was
speaking ahead of a planned seminar in London on aimed at identifying and
fighting faith-related child abuse.
Officers
believe this form of child abuse is rarely reported and that is a hidden crime
kept within families and faith communities.
"Often
in the perpetrators' minds, any abuse is not going to affect the victim because
he or she believes the child is effectively not there anymore and the abuse is
directed at whatever has possessed the child," Sharpe said.
The
seminar, titled the "Witchcraft and Spirit Possession Awareness
Event", was hosted by the police and the Churches' Child Protection
Advisory Service on Wednesday.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2014/10/10/Witchcraft-related-child-abuse-on-the-rise-in-Britain-police-say.html
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Mother
Upset Over School Assignment about Islam
11 Oct,
2014
A mother
in Michigan took to Facebook last week to express her outrage over a 10th-grade
school assignment that she felt promoted Islam.
In an initial
post, Jennette Hall complained about a Jenison High School assignment that
asked students to make a pamphlet about Islam. The post, which had been shared
over 5,400 times as of Tuesday morning, said students were told the pamphlet
would be used to "introduce Islam to 3rd graders."
Several
days later, Hall clarified in another post that her daughter’s assignment asked
her to create a pamphlet about Islam geared towards third-graders, but that
students were not actually expected to hand the materials out to younger
children.
“This
assignment upset me because they are presenting Allah as the same God of the
Christians and Jews. This paper, in my opinion, is promoting Islam by
describing Allah’s names as 'beautiful'. To me this is not simply factual like it
should be,” Hall wrote about the assignment.
The
school's principal, Brandon Graham, responded in his own Facebook post over the
weekend, saying he wanted to correct "inaccurate information" about
the assignment.
“While
our high schoolers do study religions, the content is NOT presented to
elementary students or used to proselytize in any way,” Graham wrote.
“Furthermore, we *do indeed* teach Christianity along with other world
religions.”
Graham
further explained the assignment in an interview with a local Fox News
affiliate.
“The
assignment was to cover the five major world religions: The religions included
Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam,” Graham said. “In our
social studies classes, we certainly study all those religions to learn how a
people, group and culture function. It helps us understand culture.”
But on
Facebook, Hall noted that she still takes issue with the assignment, even
though she has no problem with students studying the five major world
religions.
“I was
SHOCKED when my daughter showed me the pamphlet that she was required to make
promoting Islam in a way 3rd graders could comprehend,” wrote Hall in her
latest post. “As a mother who teaches her children that the One True Creator
God is the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it made me sick to my stomach to
see my daughter promoting another god (Allah) as the One True Creator on a
pamphlet!”
"In
the meeting, Dr. Brandon Graham and others in attendance carefully listened to
my concerns and are considering making some changes," Hall wrote. Dr.
Brandon Graham has asked me to remove my initial Facebook post and I have
honored his request by removing the post from my Facebook page. My intention
was not to cause negative publicity to the school district, but only to speak
up, ask questions, and stand firm for what I believe."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/07/school-assignment-islam_n_5943240.html
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Pregnant
Austrian Teens in ISIS: We’ve Made a Huge Mistake
11 Oct,
2014
Two
Austrian teens got way more than they bargained for when they abandoned their
homes and families to become “poster girls” for ISIS terrorists, and now they
desperately want to come home.
Samra
Kesinovic, 17, and friend Sabina Selimovic, 15, would love to press the undo
button on the last six months, during which they traded their comfortable
existence in Europe for a life of evil engineered by terrorists.
The
teens are believed to be married, pregnant and living in the ISIS-controlled
city of Raqqa in northern Syria, Central European News reports.
That’s a
change of heart from the April note they left behind for their parents that
read: “Don’t look for us. We will serve Allah, and we will die for him.”
For
weeks, social-media accounts believed to belong to the girls had been posting
pictures and information that seemed to suggest the young duo enjoyed living a
life of terror.
The
pictures showed the two girls smiling and wearing their new Muslim garb,
sometimes while flanked by armed fighters.
Some of
the images appeared to show the girls carrying weapons.
But
authorities in Austria say it was all an elaborate plan set up by ISIS to
persuade the world that the two wanted to be the poster girls for jihad in
Syria.
Some of
the images may have been faked, including some that were taken years earlier of
other women and re-posted on the girls social-media pages, Austrian authorities
said.
“It is
clear that whoever is operating their pages it probably is not the girls and
that they are being used for propaganda,” said one Austrian security official.
The teens
apparently were lured to ISIS by propaganda preached at their local mosque.
Clerics
told them that the only way to know true peace was to head to Syria and take
part in the holy war, officials said.
The
girls had started lecturing schoolmates about their lifestyle and were even
suspected of being behind a vandalism attack at their school calling for jihad.
Now
Kesinovic and Selimovic have had enough and are eager to return to their
families, according to CEN. The girls reportedly managed to get word to their
families they want to come home.
But
reports also said the teens don’t feel they can flee because too many people
now associate them with ISIS savagery.
“The
main problem is about people coming back to Austria,” said Austrian Interior
Ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck. “Once they leave, it is almost
impossible.”
Kesinovic
and Selimovic are among the bevy of women ISIS has recruited from around the
world. Although its strict interpretation of Islamic law limits a woman’s place
in society, women are often recruited into vital support roles through
aggressive social-media campaigns that promise devout jihadist husbands.
In May,
16-year-old British twin sisters followed their older brother to Syria so they
could marry jihadists, according to London’s Daily Mail.
Several
weeks ago, a 16-year-old was arrested at a French airport under suspicion she
was traveling to Syria to join Islamist rebels.
A
15-year-old French girl named Nora, the daughter of Moroccan immigrants, was
lured by Syria through Facebook, according to her brother Foad.
She has
said she wants to come home, and Foad traveled to Syria — but he was not
allowed to leave with her.
“As soon
as they manage to snare a girl, they do everything they can to keep her,” Foad
said.
“Girls
aren’t there for combat, just for marriage and children. A reproduction
machine.”
http://nypost.com/2014/10/10/pregnant-teen-girls-who-joined-isis-weve-made-a-huge-mistake/
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Jewish
teen among dozens of French girls joining jihad in Syria
11 Oct,
2014
Dozens
of French teenagers, including a young Jewish girl, have fled the country to
join Islamic State militants fighting in Syria and Iraq, French intelligence
has revealed.
At least
100 girls and young women from France have left to join terrorists in Syria in
recent weeks, up from just a handful 18 months ago when the trip was not even
on Europe's security radar.
The
departures are less the whims of adolescents and more the conclusions of months
of work by organised radical recruitment networks that specifically target
young people in search of an identity.
These
mostly online networks recruit girls to serve as wives, babysitters and
housekeepers for jihadists, with the aim of planting multi-generational roots
for a long-lasting Islamic caliphate.
On the
day she left for Syria, Sahra strode along the train platform with two bulky
schoolbags slung over her shoulder. In a grainy image caught on security
camera, the French teen tucks her hair into a headscarf.
ust two
months earlier and a two-hour drive away, Nora, also a teen girl, had embarked
on a similar journey in similar clothes. Her brother later learned she'd been
leaving the house every day in jeans and a pullover, then changing into a
full-body veil.
Neither
had ever set foot on an airplane. Yet both journeys were planned with the
precision of a seasoned traveler and expert in deception, from Sahra's ticket
for the March 11 Marseille-Istanbul flight, to Nora's secret Facebook account
and overnight crash pad in Paris.
The
teenagers travelling to join ISIS come from all walks of life, and although
most are first and second generation immigrants from Muslim countries, many
come from white French backgrounds.
Despite
ISIS repeatedly expressing of deep hatred of Jews, there was even a Jewish
girl, according to a security official who spoke anonymously because rules
forbid him to discuss open investigations.
Young
girls are also coming from elsewhere in Europe, including between 20 and 50
from Britain.
However,
the recruitment networks are particularly developed in France, which has long
had a troubled relationship with its Muslim community, the largest in Europe.
Distraught
families plead that their girls are kidnap victims, but a proposed French law
would treat them as terrorists who will be arrested if they return.
Sahra's
family has spoken to her three times since she left, but her mother, Severine,
thinks her communication is being scripted by the terrorists.
'They
are being held against their will,' says Severine, a French woman of European
descent. 'They are over there. They're forced to say things.'
The Ali
Mehenni family lives in a red-tiled, middle-class home in Lezignan-Corbieres, a
small town in the south of France.
Sahra,
who turns 18 on Saturday, swooned over her baby brother and shared a room with
her younger sister. But family relations turned testy when she demanded to wear
the full Islamic veil, dropped out of school for six months and closed herself
in her room with a computer.
Now she
was in a new school. And she seemed to be maturing - she asked her mother to
help her get a passport, because she wanted her paperwork as an adult in order.
On the
morning of March 11, Sahra casually told her father she was taking extra
clothing to school to teach her friends to wear the veil. Kamel stifled his anxiety
and drove her to the train station. He planned to meet her there just before
dinner, as he did every night.
At
lunchtime on March 11, she called her mother. I'm eating with friends, she
said.
Surveillance
video showed at that moment, Sahra was at the airport in Marseille, preparing
to board an Istanbul-bound flight. She made one more phone call that day, from
the plane, to a Turkish number, her mother said.
By
nightfall, she had not returned. Her worried parents went to police.
They
noticed the missing passport the next day.
'Everything
was calculated. They did everything so that she could plan to the smallest
detail,' Severine says. 'I never heard her talk about Syria, jihad. It was as
though the sky fell on us.'
Sahra
told her brother in a brief call from Syria that she had married to a
25-year-old Tunisian she had just met, and her Algerian-born father had no say
because he wasn't a real Muslim.
Her
family has spoken to her twice since then, always guardedly, and communicated a
bit on Facebook. But her parents no longer know if she's the one posting the
messages.
Sahra
told her brother she's doing the same things in Syria that she did at home -
housework, taking care of children. She says she doesn't plan to return to
France, and wants her mother to accept her religion, her choice, her new
husband.
Nora's
family knows less about her quiet path out of France, but considerably more
about the network that arranged her one-way trip to Syria.
Nora
grew up the third of six children in the El-Bahty family, the daughter of
Moroccan immigrants in the tourist city of Avignon. Her parents are practicing
Muslims, but the family does not consider itself strictly religous.
She was
recruited on Facebook. Her family does not know exactly how, but propaganda
videos making the rounds play to the ideals and fantasies of teenage girls,
showing veiled women firing machine guns and Syrian children killed in warfare.
The French-language videos also refer repeatedly to France's decision to
restrict use of veils and headscarves, a sore point among many Muslims.
Nora was
15 when she departed for school on Jan. 23 and never came back.
The next
day, Foad, her older brother, learned that she had been veiling herself on her
way to school, that she had a second phone number, that she had a second
Facebook account targeted by recruiters.
'As soon
as I saw this second Facebook account I said, `She's gone to Syria,'' Foad
says.
The
family found out through the judicial investigation about the blur of travel
that took her there. First she rode on a high-speed train to Paris. Then she
flew to Istanbul and a Turkish border town on a ticket booked by a French
travel agency, no questions asked.
A young
mother paid for everything, gave her a place to stay overnight in Paris and
promised to travel with her the next day, according to police documents. She
never did.
Nora's
destination was ultimately a 'foreigners' brigade' for the Nusra Front, an
al-Qaida branch in Syria, Foad says. The idea apparently was to marry her off.
But she objected and one of the emirs intervened on her behalf. For now at
least, she remains single, babysitting children of jihadis.
She has
said she wants to come home - and Foad traveled to Syria but was not allowed to
leave with her.
'As soon
as they manage to snare a girl, they do everything they can to keep her,' Foad
says. 'Girls aren't there for combat, just for marriage and children. A
reproduction machine.'
Two
people have been charged in Nora's case, including the young mother. Other
jihadi networks targeting girls have since been broken up, including one where
investigators found a 13-year-old girl being prepared to go to Syria, according
to a French security official.
'It is
not at random that these girls are leaving. They are being guided. She was
being commanded by remote control,' says family lawyer Guy Guenoun 'And now she
has made a trip to the pit of hell.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2787892/jewish-girl-joined-isis-french-intelligence-official-reveals-dozens-teenagers-fled-syria-iraq-france-horror-families.html#ixzz3FpFZCpXW
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Needlework
makes Bangladesh rural women self-reliant
11 Oct,
2014
Needlework
like embroidering, spangling sarees, ornamental stitching on women's wears has
turned into an effective venture for the unemployed and distressed rural women
in changing fortune in recent years.
Some
42,000 unemployed, poor and distressed rural females, including housewives,
young girls and divorcees, have attained self-reliance through working at home
or smaller enterprises in Rangpur division as the prospective venture continues
to grow faster.
According
to sources at the different government and non-government organisations,
needlework adds additional values to female clothes making those high-priced in
the country's sophisticated markets, including the capital city.
As a
result of continuous success, needlework has been getting the shape of a
growing cottage industry attracting local entrepreneurs as well as different
organisations to change the rural macro-economy and alleviate abject poverty.
Dozens
of the successful rural women have now launched their own enterprises after
getting necessary training and assistance from the different government and
non-government organisations and local traders.
With the
assistances of RDRS Bangladesh alone, more than 2,000 unemployed and distressed
women, victims of repression and violence, divorcees, widows and physically
challenged women have so far achieved self-reliance through needlework at
homes.
Entrepreneur
Abu Bakar Siddik has set up mini garment factory at Dimla upazila headquarters
under Nilphamari district to promote skill development of rural women and
established eight more production centres to enhance needlework and handloom
garment industry.
Many
trained women have been working at his production centres set up at the
villages of Dimla and Domar upazilas in Nilphamari after getting training from
his mini garment factory.
Like the
other successful women at these centres, Rasheda, 35, Lipa, 21, Rafia, 38,
Ambia, 35, and Samina, 32, said they are earning Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 every
month now to lead solvent life with their family members and children.
Entrepreneur
of spangling industry Chand Mia said he had expanded the venture generating
employment for about 350 poor families in Badarganj upazila of Rangpur through
creating expert embroidery and ornamental stitching artisans.
He
supplies simple sarees, spangles, anti-pipe, dhania puthi, tire puthi,
pet-pipe, phooljori, laljori, sadajori, dhole spangle, stitching inputs, yarns
and threads to the women to make those attractive through ornamental stitching,
embroidery and needlework.
"After
finishing needlework, each of the saree is being sold in markets of Dhaka at Tk
9,000 to Tk 30,000 while the saree made by more skillful persons is sold at
higher price of up to Tk 42,000 in the aristocrat markets in the capital
city," he said.
As the
venture continues expanding, most of the women of all ages in the village have
turned into craftspeople to decorate sarees with ornamental stitching and
embroidery to earn minimum Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 weekly.
Successful
craftswomen Mollika, 32, and Shameema, 28, said women of the village now earned
between Tk 3,000 and Tk 4,500 monthly with double incomes before the
Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja festivities.
Similarly,
over 1,000 women of all ages have changed fortune through embroidery,
ornamental stitching, 'jari', 'puthi' and spangling works on sarees,
three-pieces, scarf and other female clothes in different villages under Sadar
upazila of Thakurgaon.
http://www.thedailystar.net/city/needlework-makes-rural-women-self-reliant-44963
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Iraqi
women targeted for execution by IS
11 Oct,
2014
The
Islamic State (IS) does not make any distinction in terms of sex, sect or race
when committing its heinous crimes. IS has recently focused its terrorism on
civilian women who are active in politics, human rights, media and medicine.
On Oct.
6, IS executed a Turkmen former parliamentarian for the province of Ninevah,
Iman Mohammed Younis al-Salman, more than a month after she was abducted from
her home in the district of Tal Afar.
The
militant group refused to hand over Salman's body to her family and instead
threw it down a well. Salman was the first woman to enter the parliament for
the district of Tal Afar and became a member of the House of Representatives in
2004. She was also the first woman to preside over a civil society organization
in Tal Afar — the humanitarian organization Al-Malak — and the first woman
journalist in the history of the Tal Afar district.
Late on
the night of Oct. 8, IS militants executed eight women, shooting them in
central Mosul, without stating any reasons for their act. These women included
Dr. Maha Sabhan, a surgeon; Dr. Lamia Ismail and six other women who were
housewives. Their bodies were handed over to forensics.
Samira
Salih al-Nuaimi, a lawyer and human rights activist, was killed by IS members
in mid-September in Mosul “for criticizing IS on social networking sites by
calling it a 'Non-Islamic State.'”
Sources
in Mosul told Al-Hayat that Nuaimi, also known as Um al-Nakhwa, was executed in
a public square. During the same period, 30 other people from Mosul were
executed, including four women. A few days ago, the group issued a statement
telling their families to collect their bodies from the forensics department,
because the city morgue was full.
A report
issued by the United Nations Mission for Iraq covering the period from July 6
to Sept. 10, 2014, said that IS violations included kidnapping, rape and other
forms of sexual and physical violence against women and children.
The
report added, "Various ethnic and religious components of the Iraqi
community, be they Turkmen, Shabaks, Christians, Yazidis, Mandaeism, Feyli
Kurds, Arab Shiites and others, have been harmed in particular."
It
explained that IS-linked armed groups targeted these sectors deliberately and
systematically and committed serious violations of human rights designed to
destroy, suppress and eliminate their presence in IS-controlled areas.
This
violence against women in particular is not arbitrary, but rather a weapon used
by IS to terrorize Iraqi women to force them to abide by the Sharia provisions
that it is imposing, such as wearing the niqab. The group's practices limit
their freedoms and silences them out of fear that the circle of women opposing
its laws will expand.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/10/islamic-state-execution-women-iraq.html#ixzz3FpIuPGQk
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Activists
urged Saudi women to defy driving ban
11 Oct,
2014
RIYADH,
Oct 11 — Activists in Saudi Arabia said they are revving up a right-to-drive
campaign using social media in the world's only country that bans women from
getting behind the wheel.
An
online petition asking the Saudi government to “lift the ban on women driving”
has attracted more than 2,400 signatures ahead of its culmination on October
26.
“The
issue is not that of simply a vehicle driven by a woman, but the
acknowledgement and recognition of the humanity of half of society and the
God-given rights of women,” the petition states.
It adds
the ban is a result of tradition and custom because there is “no single Islamic
text” or judicial ruling prohibiting women from taking to the kingdom's
highways.
The
petition website, www.oct26driving.com, includes short videos of women driving
while clad in the head-to-toe black robes they are required to wear, with only
their eyes exposed.
It
features an "honour wall" naming 108 women whom it said have defied
the kingdom's driving ban.
Activists
are also encouraging women to post pictures of themselves driving using a
Twitter hashtag, #IWillDriveMyself, as well as on Instagram and YouTube.
“This
year will be bigger,” one Tweet vowed, following a similar campaign last year.
“We are
trying to do something to refresh this demand” that women be allowed to drive,
one activist, Nasima al-Sada, told AFP.
“It
doesn't stop,” she said of the national campaign.
“We are
asking the ladies to sit behind the wheel and take action” on October 26 “or
any day,” Sada said from the kingdom's Eastern Province, home to most of the
country's oil reserves.
'It's
our right'
Saudi
Arabia is OPEC's biggest oil exporter and the country's economy has been one of
the best performing in the Group of 20 leading nations, according to the
International Monetary Fund.
Several
Saudi women holding corporate CEO and other senior management positions were
included in this year's Forbes list of 200 most powerful Arab women, but they
cannot drive in their own country.
Last
year, activists also focused their demands on October 26 — which they simply
call a “symbolic” date as part of efforts to press for women's right to drive.
At least
16 were fined for taking the wheel on that day.
Sada
said that if women are afraid of such reprisals from authorities, or from the
men in their lives, activists hope they could still drive and post their
actions, even anonymously.
“We are
trying to change women's thinking,” she said.
“We
believe it's our right... and we don't want anyone to control our lives.”
Saudi
women still need permission from a male guardian to work and marry, while
restaurants are divided into “family sections” and separate areas for single
men.
The
ultra-conservative Wahhabi Islamic tradition is predominant in the kingdom,
where it applies to both religious and political life.
Last
November the kingdom's top cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh,
said the female driving prohibition protects society from “evil” and should not
be a major concern.
Hardline
clerics protested when King Abdullah, in January last year, decided to give women
a 20 per cent quota in the previously all-male Shura Council of 150 members.
The
Shura Council is appointed by the king and advises the monarch on policy, but
cannot legislate.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/drive/article/activists-urged-saudi-women-to-defy-driving-ban#sthash.BDWBONs0.dpuf
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Iran
shuts Tehran ‘rich kids’ Instagram
11 Oct,
2014
Iran
blocked access to an Instagram page devoted to the lifestyle of Tehran’s young
elite that stirred indignation and spawned a rival site on how the majority
live
“Richkidsoftehran,”
created in September on the photo-sharing service, attracted almost 90,000
followers, with its contributors saying they wanted to show another image of
Iran from the stereotypes in the West.
Its
photo gallery was filled with Ferraris, Maseratis, luxury watches, expensive
homes in upmarket northern Tehran — “all the accessories a Persian boy needs”.
It also
showed drink-fueled parties and girls in Western dress, despite the ban on
alcohol in Iran, where women are obliged to wear headscarves.
On
Thursday, the Instagram page was blocked because of its “vulgar” content,
according to weblognews.ir, a news site considered close to Islamic
conservatives in the sanctions-hit country.
“These
kinds of shows are for the people who are empty inside and now they want to
fill that emptiness by showing off,” read one negative comment on the Instagram
page.
Since
earlier this month, “richkidsoftehran” also has a page on Facebook, which like
Twitter and YouTube is inaccessible in Iran on the grounds that they undermine
Islamic values.
Hafte-Sobh
newspaper took aim at “a class of young people who stubbornly and with the
backup of their wealth, are having fun and live their own special way of life,
and the Iranian system cannot touch them.”
Taadol
newspaper poured scorn on “a class of nouveau riche who cropped up like
mushrooms” during the 2005-2013 presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Government
“stocks and corruption allowed the birth of these nouveaux riches in an
extraordinary way, especially through commerce,” it said.
The
rival site, “poorkidsoftehran”, pokes fun at their rich counterparts. Instead
of a Porsche, it features the keys of a Saipa Pride, one of the cheapest cars
on the Iranian market.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-shuts-tehran-rich-kids-instagram/#ixzz3FpJHTuLh
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Disillusioned
Syrian woman reveals life in ISIS
11 Oct,
2014
A Syrian
woman has revealed how she left her old life and moved to Raqqa, the de-facto
capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), where she joined its
all-female Al-Khansa’a brigade.
Khadija
– not her real name – told CNN that she used to patrol the streets enforcing
ISIS’s strict interpretation of Islam on women.
The
brigade, comprising 25-30 members, would lash women for not adhering to “proper
sharia clothing.”
Disillusioned
with ISIS’s brutality, Khadija, 25, fled to Turkey, leaving her family behind
in Syria.
Origins
A former
elementary school teacher, she was brought up in a “not overly conservative”
family that ensured she received an education.
When the
revolution began, Khadija joined the masses in demanding the ouster of
President Bashar al-Assad.
“We’d go
out and demonstrate. The security services would chase us. We’d write on walls,
have different outfits to change into,” she said. “Those days were great.”
However,
when peaceful protests turned violent, Khadija began to lose her “soul” and
“humanity” amid the “chaos.”
She
added: “You want to tear yourself away, to find something to run to. My problem
was I ran away to something uglier.”
Khadija
met a Tunisian ISIS fighter online who gradually convinced her to join the
group and assured her that its portrayal by the media was inaccurate.
“He’d
say, ‘We’re going to properly implement Islam. Right now we’re in a state of
war, a phase where we need to control the country, so we have to be harsh’.”
She
persuaded her family to move to Raqqa by saying it would be easier to put her
siblings back in school there.
A cousin
who was living in Raqqa with her husband, who was with ISIS, told Khadija she
could join the Al-Khansa’a brigade.
Life in
ISIS
Her job
satisfied her at first. She was paid $200 a month, received food and was
trained in cleaning and firing weapons.
“I felt
that I had authority in the streets but then I started to get scared, scared of
my situation. I even started to be afraid of myself,” said Khadija.
Her
image of ISIS changed after witnessing the treatment of women. “The foreign
fighters are very brutal with women, even the ones they marry,” she said.
“There
were cases where the wife had to be taken to the emergency ward because of the
violence, the sexual violence.”
The
breaking point for her was when her commander started pressuring her to marry
an ISIS fighter. “After this, I decided no, I have to leave.”
Khadija
left a few days before the U.S.- led coalition began its air strikes against
ISIS. She was smuggled into Turkey, where the CNN interview took place.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/profiles/2014/10/10/Disillusioned-Syrian-woman-reveals-life-in-ISIS.html
-----------
Political
parties, civil society shower praise on Malala
11 Oct,
2014
PESHAWAR/MINGORA:
Political parties and civil society organisations have paid rich tribute to
girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai on being honoured with the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Civil
society activists distributed sweets and youth danced to drumbeats at the
Peshawar Press Club on Friday to celebrate the achievement of Malala.
A
ceremony in this connection was also held at the press club and addressed among
others by ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Strengthening
Participatory Organisation’s regional chief Arshad Haroon, Tribal NGOs
consortium chairman Zar Ali Khan, Khwendo Kor chairperson Maryam Bibi, minority
community representative Asif Bhatti, Lasoona chairperson Rakhshinda Naaz and
journalist Shamim Shahid.
Mian
Iftikhar said that Pakhtuns were dubbed as terrorists in the past but now it
was proved that they were peace loving and against terrorism. He said that
Malala was a reflection of the mindset of Pakhtuns who loved education,
development and believed in the policy of live and let live.
He said
that Punjab government had announced to establish a university after Malala,
and asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to follow suit.
On the
occasion, Arshad Haroon said the award was in fact a win for Pakhtuns and a
defeat for terrorists and extremists. He said that Malala proved that Pakhtuns
believed in peace, dialogue, tolerance and development.
Youth
dance to drumbeat to celebrate Nobel Peace Prize for education activist
Maryam
Bibi said Malala was daughter of the nation and a pride for all the peace
loving people, adding that all the girls across the world should get education
and play role in spreading the light of knowledge.
Rakhshinda
Naaz said that Malala was now a symbol of peace and education and the award
deserved to be celebrated as it was a big success of the nation.
Zar Ali
Khan and Shamim Shahid said that the award proved Pakhtuns’ love for knowledge
and peace, adding that all those opposing her had faced defeat.
Similarly,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, Qaumi Watan Party
chairman Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali
Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Saleem Saifullah Khan also congratulated
Malala Yousafzai on being honoured with the Noble Peace Prize.
In his
message of felicitation, the governor said that the award was not only a
recognition of her exemplary contribution to education but also the
acknowledgement of the nation’s great sacrifices against terrorism.
Aftab
Sherpao said that the prize would encourage all those working for promotion of
education in the country. He said Pakhtuns were proud of Malala who stood
against all odds to raise voice for education.
Asfandyar
Wali said that the award was a good omen for Pakhtuns and proved that
Pakistanis were against terrorists and extremists.
Meanwhile,
the people of Swat, the native district of Malala, termed the achievement of
the education activist a great success for the entire country.
They
said that after the award, the world would know Swat, once affected by
militancy, as a place of peace and prosperity.
Ahmad
Shah, president of Global Peace Council, told Dawn that soon after the
announcement he contacted Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Malala, who said that
he and his family were very happy over the achievement their daughter.
He
quoted Mr Yousafzai as saying that the award meant that the world recognised
that the people of Swat were peace loving. Mr Yousafzai said that two days ago
he talked to Malala over phone and found that she was not very hopeful about
winning the peace prize this year compared to the last year when she had a lot
of expectations about winning it.
Malala’s
father said that she had a plan to construct an elementary college in Shangla
and five middle schools in Swat.
Fazal
Maula Zahid, president of Rotary Club Swat, said that Malala had participated
in many meetings of the club as her father was its active member. He said that
responsibilities of Malala had increased after winning the prize as she would
now have to be more focused on female education.
He said
that Malala should declare Swat as valley of education so people from across
the globe could come here for getting education and convey a message of peace
to the people of their respective countries.
Mr Zahid
also urged Malala to work for establishing an international women university in
Swat to promote girls’ education in the valley.
Fakhrul
Hassan, cousin of Malala Yousafazi, said that he and his family were too happy
over the peace prize win, adding that it was recognition of the struggle of
people of Swat for peace. “I was taking lunch with my family when my brother
came and told us about Malala’s achievement,” he added.
Farooq,
in-charge of Khushal Public School Mingora, said that students of Swat were
mostly trying to copy Malala, adding that after the achievement girls students
were now more inclined to get higher education and contribute to country’s
development.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1137289/political-parties-civil-society-shower-praise-on-malala
----------
Sindh
records 421 cases of violence against women in three months
11 Oct,
2014
KARACHI:
Khairpur — the home district of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah — tops
the list of districts in the province with the highest number of violence
incidents against women recorded during the third quarter of the year, says a
report released on Friday.
In all
421 incidents of violence against women and girls were reported and 72 of them
were recorded in Khairpur alone, according to the quarterly report titled
“Situation of Violence Against Women in Sindh (July-September 2014)”.
Prepared
by the Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working on
women-related issues, the report says the 421 incidents involved 534 women and
girls but FIRs were registered only in 66 cases.
The
report, based on figures published in newspapers over a period of three months,
says that the issue of violence against women was rooted in social norms and
economic dependence while the discriminatory practices were the result of the
patriarchal system.
Gender-based
violence helped maintain women in subordinate roles and contributed to their
low level of political participation and to their lower level of education,
skills and work opportunities, it adds. A badly-worded FIR also harms
prosecution cases obstructing women’s access to effective remedies, the report
says.
Most of
the time police are not informed about such incidents, while some of those
reported to the police are not recorded in roznamcha (police diary), the report
says. Even if a few cases are lodged, inquiries are not properly conducted and
the matter is eventually shelved, it adds.
It was
observed that urban areas were fast catching up with the rural areas as far as
far as violence against women was concerned, as out of the 421 cases, 197 were
reported in the urban areas. About the marital status of victims, the report
mentions that out of the 534 women victims, 249 (59 per cent) were married
while 67 were unmarried whereas the marital status of 218 victims remained
unknown owing to incomplete information.
The
nature of crimes in the violence against women included murder (76 women),
hunour killing (57), suicide (49), jirga (41), abducted and kidnapped (41),
injury (39), rape / gang rape (21/5), sexual assault (17), torture (17) and
attempted suicide (19).
Ninety-one
of the victims aged between 19 and 36 years, 66 were minors and 13 were over 37
years, while the age of 364 other victims of violence could not be ascertained,
the report adds.
The
district-wise number of cases during the three months were Khairpur (72),
Jacobabad (46), Larkana (45), Shikarpur (28), Sanghar (27), Sukkur (23),
Benazirabad (21), Ghotki (21), Naushahro Feroz (16), Mirpurkhas (15), Kashmore
(15), Tharparkar (14), Karachi (12), Jamshoro (12), Dadu (11), Hyderabad (9),
Badin (8), Qamber-Shahdadkot (8), Thatta (7), Matiari (4), Umerkot (4), Tando
Mohammad Khan (2) and Tando Allahyar (1).
In the
report, Aurat Foundation chief Mahnaz Rehman demanded that the government
ensure that laws against domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment and other
gender-based violence gave adequate protection to all women, and respected
their integrity and dignity and appropriate protective and support services were
provided to the victims.
Gender-sensitive
training for judicial and law-enforcement officers and other public officials
was essential for the effective implementation of the laws and international
conventions signed by the country, she said, adding that inadequate policing
and judicial practices denied proper protection and justice to female victims.
The
report stated female participation in public life was increasing with new laws
being enacted but there was still a long way for women to get the status of
equal citizens in society.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1137148/sindh-records-421-cases-of-violence-against-women-in-three-months
----------
New era
for Saudi women: Jumana Almuzel
11 Oct,
2014
In a
country where women make up a small percentage of the workforce, a female
engineer is showing her male colleagues a thing or two. Wearing a headscarf and
science goggles, Jumana Almuzel is a rare sight on the shop floor of Saudi
Arabia’s GE gas turbine facility.
Indeed,
she is the only female to work alongside her male counterparts at the energy
giant’s Eastern Province plant. “When I came to the shop floor I was working
with the men side-by-side, and they were asking me some questions,” said
Almuzel, an American-educated mechanical engineer.
“We are
helping each other, and they can see that I’m capable of understanding the
mechanics behind the components that we are working on.” It’s a radical change
for a country where gender segregation is the norm, and just one in five women
work.
But
change is afoot in the Kingdom, and it’s being driven from the very top by
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. With around 8 million
expatriate workers in the country, Saudi officials say there is an
over-reliance on foreign labor. Could local women entering the workforce be a
way of combating that?
An
all-female business processing center has now opened in Riyadh, with plans to
employ over 3,000 women. “The irony is, many of the unemployed are highly
educated females,” said Khalid Al Falih, CEO of energy giant Saudi Aramco, at
the opening of the new center.
“Over
50% of unemployed females hold a university degrees, and that’s because mixed
work environments are not available.” Meanwhile, Indian communications group
Tata has already set up an all-female call center in Saudi Arabia. Despite
these advances in women’s work life they still have a long way to go.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20141011220843
-----------
The
Difficulties of a Career in Journalism for Muslim Women
11 Oct,
2014
Despite
the massive expansion of the global media in recent years, the chances of
breaking into the industry as a professional journalist remain as difficult as
ever. Social networking sites and a multitude of blogs may have provided
opportunities for millions of enthusiastic amateurs to have a crack at writing
or broadcasting, but only a tiny minority end up building successful careers in
the industry.
As I
argued at the 5th edition of the Fujairah Media Forum last month, which focused
specifically on “Women in the Media”, Muslim women can face particular
obstacles within a highly competitive field.
There
are all kinds of barriers to advancement, especially in countries where Muslims
are viewed as outsiders. A country’s media is a reflection of society: it does
not exist in a bubble, and if someone is finding it hard to get on generally,
then they will certainly find difficulties in pursuing a high-profile career
covering the big issues of the day as journalists.
Perhaps
the greatest challenge comes when Muslim journalists are asked to work on
stories that involve negative perceptions of Islam. These might range from
women’s rights to terrorism. Even in these days of instant communication, of
wall-to-wall rolling international news, of smart phones and social media,
people still display extremely ignorant opinions, often ones based on, at most,
the odd snippet of information about what being a Muslim is really all about.
No news
is sometimes good news, and the positive aspects of a religion that is grounded
in peace and understanding between communities is seldom highlighted.
Instead
crass clichés – ones involving bushy bearded radical preachers or unfriendly
women wearing Niqabs – dominate coverage. These simple depictions of “Muslim
types” fit neatly alongside reports about suicide bombers, oppressive regimes
and dark- clothed barbarian fanatics who have usurped the name of Islam to
create murderous forces such as the self-styled “Islamic State”, as ISIL call
themselves.
A very
good example of the kind of challenge I refer to came with the reporting of
France’s so called “Burqa ban”. This was an issue laden with divisive rhetoric,
thanks to the mainstream politicians who were responsible for introducing the
ban.
The
former French president Nicolas Sarkozy described the full Islamic veil as “a
sign of enslavement and debasement”.
Immigration
minister Eric Besson called it a “walking coffin”, and the former prime
minister, François Fillon, accused wearers of “hijacking Islam” and displaying
a “dark sectarian image”.
As a
female reporter covering the story, I had to listen to such insults
continually. Those supporting the ban used particularly melodramatic language
when women were around, in the hope that it would have an emotional effect, but
there was no need for such sexist anger.
There
are only about 2,000 women in France who actually wear a niqab.
Female
Muslim journalists like myself are often assigned topics like the “burqa ban” –
these can of course be for positive reasons, in that we are considered to have
the necessary sensitivity and background knowledge. But there is sometimes the
danger that we can be placed in the “Muslim” box, with some expecting us to
write or broadcast exclusively on Islam-related subjects.
In fact,
Muslim journalists thrive in all aspects of the media, covering matters that
have absolutely nothing to do with their faith or culture. I would certainly
resent being used on certain stories simply because I am a Muslim woman. This
would especially be the case if I was being asked to work on some kind of
anti-Muslim agenda, writing scaremongering stories about Islamic extremism, for
example.
Sexist
expectations can also be a serious hurdle to the work of female journalists.
I found
this when I interviewed, and later wrote articles about Asma Al Assad, the wife
of Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad. An infamous piece in Vogue magazine had
described her as a “rose in the desert” and effused about her elegance and
style.
I tried
to get closer to the real woman – somebody who had worked very hard to support
her husband’s inhumane government, especially through her own understanding of
public relations. Mrs Al Assad studied at a London university and then worked
as a banker, so she understands how to manipulate western public opinion.
I highlighted
her remarkably sheltered life in Damascus since she married Mr Al Assad in a
secret ceremony on New Year’s Day 2001, showing how she tolerated the murders,
tortures and imprisonment that were part and parcel of her husband’s
authoritarian state. She was convinced her family would rule Syria for years to
come.
My
report was certainly a far cry from the Vogue magazine issue in which the Al
Assads were portrayed as a “wildly democratic” couple who had made Syria “the
safest country in the Middle East”.
The
article, arranged and managed by an American PR company, paid for by the Syrian
government, revealed Asma’s love of crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutin shoes
and Chanel dresses and painted her as a fragrant, caring first lady, in the
style of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
I met
Mrs Al Assad at a conference in Damascus before the start of the revolution in
Syria, and was intrigued by the way she exploited modern political discourse to
try to sound like a credible democrat. Sentences such as “You must all have a
stake in your country – a chance to make it what you want” were as common as
Mrs Al Assad’s attempt to use social media, including sites like Twitter and
Facebook, to bolster her husband’s cause.
She not
only appeared intelligent and concerned, but extremely up-to-date, especially
to the thousands of young Syrians looking for change within their antiquated
society.
My main
point here is that PR can be a real impediment to good journalism. Like so many
other negative aspects of a rapidly changing media, it needs to be approached
with huge suspicion, especially when there is clearly a vast amount of money
behind it.
But the
most important thing I told the Fujairah Media Forum was that talented and
hard-working women have every opportunity to forge their own careers within the
international media.
There
are still a mass of professional outlets, ranging from satellite broadcast
channels to internationally famous newspaper titles, who offer opportunities.
The competition is intense, but for those who have the dedication and courage,
the industry is as egalitarian as it ever was. Muslim women may well find the
challenges tougher than most, but the rewards of success will be just as
satisfying.
Nabila
Ramdani is an award-winning French-Algerian journalist who spoke at the 5th
Edition of the Fujairah Media Forum. Her talk focused on the difficulties
facing women journalists reporting on the ground
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/the-difficulties-of-a-career-in-journalism-for-muslim-women#full
-----------
Muslim Women
Scared To Go Outdoors In Climate of Hate in Sydney
11 Oct,
2014
"I'm
afraid of leaving my house with my young children because I don't know how to
protect both if them if someone attacked us." So says a friend of mine –
an otherwise confident mother of two.
"It
wasn't the physical altercation that hurt me, it was those words." That's
another friend who was physically attacked by a man in Sydney's CBD. He called
her a "f---ing terrorist!" among other expletives.
"I
just got spat on by some random freak." And that's yet another friend who
was recently abused while walking in Central Station.
These
are the experiences of Australian Muslim women who happen to wear their faith
publicly.
In the
past few weeks, visible Muslims have been the target of social media vitriol,
verbal abuse and physical assaults. Even children are not spared: an Islamic
school was targeted by a knife-wielding man.
Incidents
of Islamophobia are plainly on the rise but the authorities would tell you
otherwise.
Having
recently set up Islamophobia Register Australia to collate reports of
anti-Muslim sentiments, I have had dealings with members of the NSW Police
Force.
A number
of officers who have dealt with what the force labels "bias-motivated
crimes" have expressed to me their deep frustration and utter
dissatisfaction about the lack of funding and the lack of seriousness shown by
their superiors in relation to efforts to monitor, report and combat threats
and attacks against Australian Muslims. At present there is only one full-time
officer working on bias-motivated crimes, along with a policy officer.
This is
particularly alarming when bigoted groups such as Australian Defence League,
Southern Cross Hammer skins, Blood and Honour Australia and Combat 18, alleged
members of which were arrested for shooting at a mosque with a rifle in 2010,
are on the rise and increasingly exploiting recent anti-Islamic sentiment.
One
officer said he shared my concerns that the existing climate had the potential
to lead to another Cronulla-style race riot. He even told me that he was
worried that he might one day be summoned before a commission of inquiry to
explain why he did not act on his concerns and do more to stop such a riot.
A number
of officers have also confirmed what we in the community have been hearing
anecdotally: a significant rise in the cases of verbal and physical abuse
against Australian Muslims. These officers are genuinely trying to tackle
Islamophobia but, with scarce resources, their hands are somewhat tied.
To my
knowledge, a large proportion of Islamophobic incidents are unreported due to
an alarming level of distrust towards the police among many in the Muslim
community.
There
also seems to be a strong hesitation by the police to publicly describe attacks
against Australian Muslim for what they are: religiously motivated crimes.
While it's understandable that police don't want to fan the flames of an
already tense situation, the same caution and prudence is not shown in either
the actions or the rhetoric surrounding suspected cases of terrorism.
The
police raids played out like an episode of CSI on our TV screens. We were told
that more than 800 officers were required to carry out Operation Appleby, which
resulted in only two men being charged. Senator Scott Ludlam on the ABC's
Q&A eloquently asked us to "consider the silence around asylum seekers
and the theatre around the terrorism raids".
Let me
make it very clear that I am as concerned as any other sound-minded citizen
about an alleged plot to behead a member of the Australian public. After all, I
could just as easily fall victim to a group who appear to be attacking anyone
who does not pledge allegiance to their twisted ideology.
It's in
everyone's interests to ensure that we live in a safe and harmonious society,
but the approach and the political rhetoric must be proportionate. It's about
time that our politicians realised that they run the risk of playing directly
into the hands of those whose activities they wish to curb by perpetuating and
feeding the very isolation that feeds radicalisation.
Tony
Abbott's continual use of two or three-word slogans and analogies is an insult
to our national intelligence. To borrow his sporting analogy of "Team
Australia": when a captain of a team exhibits poor conduct out on the
field, he effectively implicitly sanctions bad behaviour by the rest of his "team".
It
doesn't take a genius to figure out that Prime Minister Abbott is deliberately
peddling xenophobic views to garner electoral support. Consider his mischievous
attempt to connect the abandoning of the s18C Racial Discrimination Act changes
to the Muslim community, his "Team Australia" rhetoric, his
indirectly labelling Australian Muslims as "migrants", (as a side
note, nearly 40 per cent of Australian Muslims were born here), his calling
Muslim leaders "foolish" and "petty" for refusing to meet
him, his responding to reports of protesters by saying that people came to this
country because "they wanted to join us, not to change us" and the
recent "burqa box" blunder.
Pulling
out the race card and engaging in chest beating about national security has
worked wonders for previous governments who have faced an uphill battle in the
polls.
This is
not to suggest that there is not a real threat, or that our authorities
shouldn't seek to take a strong stance against threats of terrorism. But the
response needs to be proportionate and cannot come at the cost of us forgoing
basic civil and human rights and demonising an entire faith group. This will
inevitably lead to the social cohesion of this nation being irreparably
damaged.
In times
of crisis, we need to remind ourselves that we are all part of "Team
Humanity".
Despite
visibly Muslim women bearing the brunt of rampant Islamophobia, the #WISH
(Women In Solidarity with Hijabis) social media campaign (which seeks to
counter these anti-Muslim sentiments by encouraging Aussie women to don a hijab
as a gesture of solidarity) has reminded us that for every Senator
Brandis-endorsed "bigot", there are countless good Samaritans who
offer us all a glimmer of hope.
Mariam
Veiszadeh is a lawyer; Welcome to Australia ambassador and founder of
Islamophobia Register Australia and the #WISH social media campaign.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/muslim-women-scared-to-go-outdoors-in-climate-of-hate-20141010-113p5j.html#ixzz3FpKBgk4k
-----------
Campaign
for solidarity with Muslim women in Australia
World
Bulletin/News Desk
11 Oct,
2014
Growing
oppression of Muslims in general, and particularly women in Australia brought a
social media campaign in its wake.
The aim
of the campaign “to encourage women to take a photo of themselves wearing a
head scarf to show support for Muslim women” and give rise to thought religious
freedom.
The
campaign, Women in Solidarity with Hijabs (WISH) , began ten days ago and has
already attracted almost 18,000 “likes” in Facebook, reported ABC, in its
website.
Mariam
Veiszadeh, a lawyer who started to campaign, says that everybody, especially
Autralian Muslim women appreciate the campaign and happy with the responses.
"It's
bringing it back to basics and saying we have a lot more in common than we have
differences." she said.
It's
also said that during the nine days of campaign about 100 images have been
shared as part of it and some known figures, including a television reporter,
are joining the compaign.
About
100 images have been shared as part of the campaign, including one by
television presenter, Jessica Rowe.
Veiszade
says that Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott's “ill-timed” statements has
broad impact on the social media campaign, Women in Solidarity with Hijabs.
"The timing of this debate is incredibly irresponsible," she said.
"For
our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to give credibility to the likes of Jacqui
Lambie and Cory Bernardi at a time when community tensions are already
heightened is incredibly irresponsible." she added.
A few
days ago Prime Minister Tony Abbott had said that he finds the garment
confronting and wished it was not worn, bu the government could not tell the
people how to dress.
This
happened just a few days after Mr Abbott had launched another oppressive
measures directed Australian Muslims, particularly Muslim men.
Ms
Veiszadeh said the social media campaign was particularly important because of
ongoing debate on Muslim women's cltohing, such as burka or niqab.
"Australian
Muslim women are already bearing the brunt of Islamaphobia and I suspect the
incidents will only increase when the debate is hotting up about the
burka," Ms Veiszadeh said.
Depending
on recent devolopments in Australia's Parliament introduced also some new
security rules, which ban women with facial coverings from sitting in public
places.
CRITICISMS
OF THE WISH CAMPAIGN
Aicha
Marhfour, a freelance journalist from Melbourne, said media attention should be
focused on Muslim women actually being attacked or threatened.”
Aicha
Marhfour, a freelance journalist says “It's all very well to wear the hijab for
a day or to stand with your Muslim friends but really what you're doing is
you're taking a nice photo ... But you're going to take off that scarf and
you're going to move back into your life, which is free from the threats and
intimidation that Muslim women regularly do face.”
Although
the campaign attracted broad attention, there has been some concern about that
“the solidarity campaign could draw attention away from the real issue.”
"One
of the key issues that I had and I think a lot of people also shared is that
they're well meaning, but I think it's more important to hear from Muslims as
opposed to people trying to feel our pain," she said.
Ms
Marhfour also thinks that the campaign is nothing but a type of cultural
tourism. "It's all very well to wear the hijab for a day or to stand with
your Muslim friends but really what you're doing is you're taking a nice photo,
you're sharing a good intention," she said.
"But
you're going to take off that scarf and you're going to move back into your
life, which is free from the threats and intimidation that Muslim women
regularly do face." she added one Australia's ABC reports.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/muslim-world/145924/campaign-for-solidarity-with-muslim-women-in-australia
---------
Reporting
Live From Gaza: Palestinian Woman Breaks the Mould
11 Oct,
2014
Being a
female field reporter in the conservative society of Gaza is not an easy job.
Hanan Masri, Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent in the Palestinian city,
has been doing it for more than 10 years.
Born in
Jordan, she was raised in Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia.
Masri
explains the repercussions of Israel’s siege and Palestinian political
divisions on Gaza, and why she refuses to leave the city, even though the
thought crosses her mind “a thousand times a day.”
Q. What
is your background?
I was
born and raised outside Gaza. When I returned in 1993, I immediately started
working with Palestinian state TV as a news presenter and show host. Most of
the programs I did were about humanitarian issues. I feel attracted to that
aspect. Maybe the Palestinian reality also provoked that in me.
Q. You
said female journalists face hardships in Palestine, especially in Gaza. Why
so, and when did you discover this?
I
discovered this after I went to Palestine, especially in Gaza with its
preserved society. Despite how sweet they are, it was difficult for them to
accept that kind of job. However, when you have a good support system from home
and those around you, you can overcome the social stigma.
Q. Do
people in Gaza still find difficulty accepting a female reporter, or did you
just get used to it?
The
situation is still the same, but I think I got used to it. It also depends on
the area. If I go to some areas in the south, the children would immediately
speak to me in English, not realizing that a Palestinian girl can go out
unveiled with a crew of men and women and cover events.
It is an
unfamiliar scene to them, and they would feel weird when I reply in Arabic and
tell them I am Palestinian. But I make it a point to help them understand so
they do not only have one image of the female role. Children need to understand
that a woman can also do it.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/inside-the-newsroom/2014/10/09/Al-Arabiya-s-Gaza-correspondent-Melancholy-bring-Palestinians-together-.html
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/witchcraft-related-child-abuse-rise/d/99475