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Islam, Women and Feminism ( 9 Aug 2014, NewAgeIslam.Com)
Women Stoned To Death in Syria for Adultery
Indian Women Bangle Workers Demand Facilities
Saudi Women Turn To YouTube to Showcase Acting Talent
Fatwa in Indonesia Unlikely To Make Women Throw Away
Their Jeans
Islamic Militants Hold Hundreds of Women Captive in
Iraq, Official Says
Muslim Conservatives Boo 'Jilboobs' In Indonesia
Indian Women Bangle Workers Gen Secy Zehra Khan Demand
Facilities
Aussie Muslim Woman Receives Rights Award
Study on Larger National Role for Qatari Women
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Women Stoned To Death in Syria for Adultery
Aug 10, 2014,
BEIRUT: A cleric read the verdict before the truck
came and dumped a large pile of stones near the municipal garden. Jihadi
fighters then brought in the woman, clad head to toe in black, and put her in a
small hole in the ground. When residents gathered, the fighters told them to
carry out the sentence: Stoning to death for the alleged adulteress.
None in the crowd stepped forward, said a witness to
the event in a northern Syrian city. So the Jihadi fighters, mostly foreign
extremists, did it themselves, pelting Faddah Ahmad with stones until her body
was dragged away.
"Even when she was hit with stones she did not
scream or move," said an opposition activist who said he witnessed the
stoning near the football stadium and the Bajaa garden in the city of Raqqa,
the main Syrian stronghold of the Islamic State group.
The July 18 stoning was the second in a span of 24
hours. A day earlier, 26-year-old Shamseh Abdullah was killed in a similar way
in the nearby town of Tabqa by Islamic State fighters. Both were accused of
having sex outside marriage.
The killings were the first of their kind in
rebel-held northern Syria, where jihadis from the Islamic State group have
seized large swaths of territory, terrorizing residents with their strict
interpretation of Islamic law, including beheadings and cutting off the hands
of thieves. The jihadis recently tied a 14-year-old boy to a cross-like
structure and left him for several hours in the scorching summer sun before
bringing him down - punishment for not fasting during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan.
The group has also brutalized Shia Muslims and others
whom it views as apostates. In neighbouring Iraq, Islamic State militants have
driven members of the Yazidi religious minority out of a string of towns and
villages. Thousands of the fleeing Yazidis have been stranded on a mountaintop
for days, a humanitarian crisis that prompted the US to airlift aid to them
this week.
On Friday, Kamil Amin, the spokesman for Iraq's human
rights ministry, said hundreds of Yazidi women under the age of 35 are being
held by the Islamic State group in schools in Iraq's second largest city Mosul,
which the militants captured in June.
The stonings in Syria last month were not widely
publicized at the time, but in the following days three photographs appeared
online which appeared to document the grisly spectacle and were consistent with
other AP reporting.
The pictures posted on a newly-created Twitter account
showed dozens of people gathered in a square, a cleric reading a verdict through
a loudspeaker and several bearded men with automatic rifles either carrying or
collecting stones.
"A married woman being stoned in the presence of
some believers," read the caption of the photographs on the Twitter
account, which has since been suspended.
Abu Ibrahim Raqqawi, the activist who witnessed
Ahmad's stoning, said locals where angry to see foreign fighters impose their
will on the community.
"People were shocked and couldn't understand what
was going on. Many were disturbed by the idea that Saudis and Tunisians were
issuing (such) orders," he said in an interview via Skype. Ahmad, he said,
appeared unconscious, and he had overheard that she was earlier taken to a
hospital where she was given anesthesia.
The stoning took place after dark, he said, at about
11pm. He could not see blood on the body because of the black clothes she was
wearing. Ahmad did not scream or shake, and died silently. "They then took
the dead body in one of their cars and left," he said.
The two cases were first reported by the Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information through a
network of activists around the country. Bassam Al-Ahmad, a spokesman for the
Violations Documentation Center, a Syrian group that tracks human rights
violations, also confirmed the stoning.
An activist based in the northern province of Idlib,
who collects information from other activists in northern Syria, said Ahmad was
a widow. A man who asked to be identified as Asad for fear of repercussions,
said that in the other stoning, in Tabqa, residents also refused to take part,
and that the act was carried out by Islamic State members.
The US Embassy in Syria, in a statement posted on its
Twitter account, condemned the "barbaric stoning" of a woman in
Tabqa.
International human rights groups did not report the
stoning, and Human Rights Watch said it had no independent confirmation.
"It is a very worrying trend if true," said
Human Rights Watch researcher Lama Fakih.
The Islamic State group has "imposed incredibly
restrictive rules on the civilian population which have served to make women
and girls particularly vulnerable and to quite clearly discriminate against them,"
she said, adding that the reports of the stoning were the first the group had
received out of Syria.
"This is just a more sort of extreme
manifestation of those restrictive rules which are all in violation of
international" human rights law, she said.
Such acts have alarmed members of mainstream Syrian
opposition groups fighting to remove President Bashar Assad from power since
2011.
"These behaviours have nothing to do with the
nature and mentality of Syrian society," said Abdelbaset Sieda, a senior
member of the main western-backed Syrian National Coalition. He said the group
had no official confirmation of the stoning cases although he did not rule it
out. "We expect such acts to be carried out by the Islamic State," he
said.
The Hazm Movement, another rebel group active in
northern Syria, said the stonings did take place. It added that such acts
"contradict the principals of the revolution" and encourage the world
to refrain from giving any support to the rebels.
"The world should know that every day they delay
real support to active moderate groups is direct support to extremist
factions," the group said in response to written questions from Associated
Press.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Women-stoned-to-death-in-Syria-for-adultery/articleshow/39963325.cms
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Saudi Women Turn To YouTube to Showcase Acting Talent
10 August 2014
Many local women have taken to YouTube to showcase their
acting talents, breaking new ground in hitherto untapped terrain.
The advent of social media has helped many of these
women find a platform to make their voices heard.
Twenty-two-year-old Ghadeer Abdullah, a Jeddah
resident, said that she always wanted to be an actress and that many doors have
opened up for young women such as herself with rising number of local video
channels and theatre productions in the city.
“We are all residents of different nationalities who
live and work here who now have a chance at empowerment with recent media and
societal changes,” she said.
Ghadeer works with the “Bambi” program on YouTube,
which sheds light on community issues, and takes part in various stage plays
and comedy clubs in Jeddah.
Nasreen Tabara, another YouTube actress, echoed her
views.
“Plenty of female roles have popped up with the
explosion of programs on YouTube. People have responded favourably to the
concept of these programs and to the idea of cause-driven programs.”
“Growing support within society has helped us to
depict Saudi culture and traditions to the world in a positive light,” she
said.
With the growing number of programs, plenty of
talented actors who used to take up acting as a hobby have since been able to
make a living from this line of work.
With no restrictions online, digital media has brought
in a new wave of youngsters to create short videos and make their opinions
heard, said Mohammed Sohail, digital media officer.
Their videos and direct interaction with millions of
viewers has helped many transform into production houses, he said.
“Similarly, several companies promote their brands
using their popularity, helping them rake in more income. This industry is
slowly being built from the ground up. Saudis and expats are ready to be
socially interactive and share their views more freely,” said Sohail.
Dareen S., a writer and producer, said that such
support from the community gave them the best chance to develop and create work
that reflects a diverse and colorful society.
“By showcasing their talents, girls have opened up new
horizons for themselves,” she said.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/saudi-arabia/614106
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Fatwa in Indonesia Unlikely To Make Women Throw Away
Their Jeans
10 08 2014
Could it be that the “Jilboob,” a slangy term used by
some to describe Indonesian women who pair their modest Muslim headscarves with
tight jeans and sexy blouses, could be on her way out? If the Indonesian
Council of Ulema (MUI), has its way, that will be the case.
The Jilboob, or sometimes “Jilbabe,” gets her name
because in Indonesia the full-body Burqa seen in Afghanistan or the Abaya in
Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, is rarely adopted. Rather than using a black tent
to hide a woman from society’s prying eyes, observant Indonesian Muslims prefer
the Jilbab – or Hijab in Malaysia. The scarf usually covers the hair and neck
but leaves the rest of the wearer’s wardrobe up for grabs.
The devout might combine the Jilbab with modest long
dresses and blouses, but many women use the “Jilbab and jeans” look to maintain
their sex appeal while giving in to whatever pressure or devotion motivates
them to cover their hair – often family insistence or to please husbands who
want a religious spouse.
Some websites in Jakarta call the sexy Jilbab look, the
“Jilboob,” because it often consists of make-up, jeans a tight shirt and high
heels. There is a Facebook page devoted to discussing the pros and cons of the
Jilboob look and plenty of web sites and twitter feeds – #jilbabseksi is one — that show off selfies
of young women in their Jilbabs, some of which leave little to the imagination.
Many stores and boutiques cater to making the “Muslim look” sexy. Women are
even seen wearing the head covering with a miniskirt on occasion.
The clerics, who have little real power despite
nominally being Islam’s ruling body in Indonesia, have had enough. MUI issued a
fatwa, or religious ruling, on Thursday and said there will be no more Jilbabes
and Jilboobs henceforth. It is unlikely to be taken seriously; the MUI has
previous banned all manner of things, from gyrating dangdut dancers to western
movies, only to be blithely ignored.
The trend combining the Jilbab, or Muslim headscarf,
and tight-fitting clothes that accentuate women's assets has drawn the ire of
conservatives and a religious edict from the country’s highest authority on
Islam.
http://news.anyblog.net/go.php?keyword=jilboobs
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Islamic militants hold hundreds of women captive in
Iraq, official says
August 08, 2014
BAGHDAD –
Hundreds of women from the Yazidi religious minority have been taken
captive by Sunni militants with "vicious plans," an Iraqi official
said Friday, further underscoring the dire plight of Iraq's minorities at the
hands of the Islamic State group.
Kamil Amin, the spokesman for Iraq's Human Rights
Ministry, said hundreds of Yazidi women below the age of 35 are being held in
schools in Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. He said the ministry learned of
the captives from their families.
"We think that the terrorists by now consider
them slaves and they have vicious plans for them," Amin told The
Associated Press. "We think that these women are going to be used in
demeaning ways by those terrorists to satisfy their animalistic urges in a way
that contradicts all the human and Islamic values."
The U.S. has confirmed that the Islamic State group
has kidnapped and imprisoned Yazidi women so that they can be sold or married
off to extremist fighters, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the information came from classified intelligence reports.
There was no solid estimate of the number of women victimized, the official
said.
Tens of thousands of Yazidis fled when the Islamic
State group earlier this month captured the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, near
the Syrian border. The Yazidis practice an ancient religion that the Sunni
Muslim radicals consider heretical.
The extremist group's capture of a string of towns and
villages in the north has sent minority communities fleeing for their lives.
The Islamic state views Yazidis and Shiite Muslims as apostates, and has
demanded Christians either convert to Islam or pay a special tax.
About 50,000 Yazidis — half of them children,
according to U.N. figures — fled to the mountains outside Sinjar where many of
them remain, trapped and running out of food and water. Late Thursday, the U.S.
military cargo jets dropped humanitarian aid to the mountains.
Amin's comments were the first Iraqi government
confirmation that some women were being held by the group. On Tuesday, Yazidi
lawmaker Vian Dakheel made an emotional plea in parliament to the Iraqi
government to save the Yazidi people, saying the "women have been sold in
a slavery market."
President Obama said the humanitarian airdrops were
made at the request of the Iraqi government as the Islamic State militant group
tightened its grip on northern Iraq. In his remarks late Thursday, he mentioned
"chilling reports" of fighters with the group "rounding up
families, conducting mass executions, and enslaving Yazidi women."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/08/islamic-militants-hold-hundreds-women-captive-in-iraq-official-says/
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Muslim conservatives boo 'jilboobs' in Indonesia
Aug 10th, 2014
JAKARTA, Indonesia - In Muslim-majority but secular
Indonesia, the government does not regulate clothing for Muslim women the same
way Islamic countries do. You can find Muslim women either fully covered from
head to toe, dressed in a revealing tank top and miniskirt, or somewhere in
between.
But a trend combining the conservative and the
revealing dubbed “jilboobs” has drawn the ire of conservatives and a fatwa, or
religious edict, from the country’s highest authority on Islam.
Drawn from the words jilbab, or the Muslim headscarf
in Indonesia, and, well, boobs, the word refers to a Muslim woman who wears a
headscarf and a tight-fitting shirt or dress that emphasizes their assets.
'Jilboobs community'
While Muslim women in Indonesia have been dressing
this way for years, a Facebook account called Jilboobs Community created in
January 2014 put a spotlight on the trend, triggering heated discussions online
and offline. The account, which a user named Michael Brain claims to have
created to showcase the influence of Western culture on Indonesia’s morals,
features 26 photos of women in the so-called jilboobs fashion.
A user named Mita Maharani Bahriah commented that the
phenomenon showed moral decadence. "The jilbab is meant to cover, to wrap,
to protect the body, not to expose it. What you are doing here is dressing but
(looking) naked," she said.
Another user, Nadiya Ahyati, responded and encouraged
people not to judge others by what they wear.
She quoted Mufti Ismail Musa Menk, an Islamic scholar,
as saying: "When you see a female dressed in a manner that is unacceptable
in Islam, do not for a moment think that she is lower than you spiritually. If
you do that, you are lower than her ... She might have a heart that is tons
better than yours. She might have one weakness that is outward, and you may
have 50 weaknesses that are hidden.”
Indonesia has a young population, with around half
below 30 years of age and 37% below 20 years old, according to 2010 figures.
This young generation is growing up in an increasingly cosmopolitan Indonesia,
where major international clothing companies like Zara, Forever21 and H&M
are popular.
Religious edict
The issue went mainstream on Thursday, Aug. 7, when
the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country’s highest authority on
Islam, waded into the issue and issued a fatwa against jilboobs.
"There is already a MUI fatwa on pornography.
This means you cannot show the shape of your body, wearing a jilbab but with
tight clothing. MUI strictly forbids it," MUI vice chairman Ma’ruf Amin
said, as quoted by the Globe Journal.
A fatwa, however, is not legally binding. In
Indonesia, only the province of Aceh imposes the Islamic Sharia law, and there
women whose attire are deemed improper – like tight jeans – can be punished by
up to 6 lashes if caught by the morality police.
But Hidayat Nur Wahid, a politician from biggest
Islamic party, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said people should not react so
negatively to the jilboobs phenomenon.
The fact that people, especially young teenagers, are
willing to wear a hijab is a small step that should be appreciated, he said
according to Detik.com, adding that it was understandable that they still want
to look trendy.
“Wearing a jilbab in Indonesia is also a part of
fashion,” Hidayat said. "However, they should have a commitment to fully
cover the body, to gradually dress with the hijab better, as it is originally
meant to be.” – Rappler.com
http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/65619-muslim-conservatives-jilboobs-indonesia
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Indian Women Bangle Workers Gen Secy Zehra Khan Demand
Facilities
Aug 10th, 2014
HYDERABAD: The Home-Based Women Bangle Workers Union
held a demonstration outside the local press club here on Saturday to press the
government for acceptance of their demands.
They carried banners and chanted slogans in favour of
their demands.
Leading the protest, Home-Based Women Workers
Federation general secretary Zehra Khan and union’s Hyderabad chapter general
secretary Jamila Abdul Latif appealed to the government to increase wages of
workers, register them with the social security department, provide facilities
of health and education to their children, remove hurdles in the issuance of
computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of women workers, ensure proper
supply of power, water and gas to their localities and revamp the sewerage.
Know more: ‘95pc of home-based women workers without
legal protection’
They said that around 600,000 women workers of the
glass bangles industry were suffering from diseases including cancer,
blindness, TB, rheumatism and skin problems because of poisonous chemical used
in bangle-making. They said thumb impressions of a number of workers had
disappeared due to the chemical and they were facing problems to get their
CNICs.
They appealed to the government to raise their wages
and save their families from starvation. They said glass bangles home-based
industry produced profit of millions of rupees annually, but their workers were
deprived of basic facilities and they were eking out a miserable existence
owing to financial problems.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1124353/women-bangle-workers-demand-facilities
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Aussie Muslim Woman Receives Rights Award
10 08 2014
“The award gives special recognition to a person who
has made lasting and meaningful contributions to the advancement of human
rights in NSW,” Dominello said during the event to honor Maha Krayem Abdo OAM,
a post on his Facebook page read on Thursday, August 7.
“Krayem Abdo is a most deserving winner of this award.
The judging panel found her to be a standout among a field of high-caliber
candidates, commending her as a champion of multiculturalism and advocate for
the elimination of racial and gender discrimination.”
Krayem Abdo, Executive Officer of the Muslim Women’s
Association, was honored as the winner of this year’s NSW Human Rights Award
during a ceremony at State Parliament.
During the ceremony Dominello presented Ms Krayem Abdo
with a specially-struck medal and a $5,000 cash prize.
He has also praised her work over quarter a century to
empower young women and promote harmony.
“She is a renowned Muslim leader and mentor and has
worked tirelessly over the past 25 years to empower young women and promote
harmony between multicultural communities,” the minister said.
“She has taken a leading role in working with
religious leaders from other communities in NSW to support inter-faith
initiatives which foster greater understanding and tolerance.
“In recent years Krayem Abdo has been a highly
effective community advocate on a number of complex issues including facial
identification, female genital mutilation, human trafficking and underage
forced marriage.
Integration
After decades in Australia, Krayem Abdo proved to be a
successful example for Muslim integration in the community.
“Krayem Abdo, who migrated to Australia from Lebanon
during the 1960s, established the Muslim Women’s Support Centre, a refuge for
women escaping family and domestic violence,” minister Dominello said.
“In 2008 she was awarded an Order of Australia medal
for her work in this field.
“She will serve as Human Rights Ambassador for 12
months and through the Community Relations Commission, the NSW Government is
proud to support her work to promote human rights issues at events, schools and
conferences,” Dominello added.
Attendees included Federal Race Discrimination
Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane, 2013 winner and Australian Indigenous
Education Foundation CEO Andrew Penfold AM, State MPs and Consuls General.
This year’s judging panel consisted of Mick Gooda,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Vic
Alhadeff, CEO, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and Ainslie van Onselen, Chief of
Staff, Australian Financial Services, Westpac Banking Corporation.
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200
years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
Islam is the country's second largest religion after
Christianity.
Source: On Islam
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Study on larger national role for Qatari women
10 August 2014
A research team from Northwestern University in Qatar
(NU-Q) is conducting a study, “Qatari Women: Engagement and Empowerment”,
seeking to uncover ways in which Qatari women empower themselves.
Through a survey, which involves 1,000 Qatari women,
and in-depth ethnographic research, the investigative team from NU-Q expects to
shed light on how national women may take on larger roles in the rapid
development of their nation, guided by Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 and the
Qatar National Development Strategy.
The team comprises 15 female students, 11 of whom are
Qatari, overseen by three faculty members.
“Although Qatari women outnumber men in terms of
higher education graduate figures, they still do not make up 50% of the
national workforce,” said Mitchell Jocelyn Sage, primary investigator and
assistant professor in liberal arts.
This imbalance is one of the reasons why the team is
seeking to investigate the factors that could affect highly educated national
women actively in contributing to the development of their nation.
“We see a lot of hindrances to full female
participation and involvement within the Qatari community; so, we began the
research by asking what the reasons behind the social and economic obstacles
are and subsequently, what helps Qatari women become more involved in their
society and economy,” explained Mitchell.
Joining Mitchell on the research team is Christina
Paschyn, lecturer in journalism, and Kirsten Pike, assistant professor in
communications. Besides, there are faculty mentors Tanya Kane, adjunct
anthropology lecturer at Texas A&M University at Qatar and Virginia
Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar); Justin Gengler, senior researcher
at the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute of Qatar University; and
Sadia Mir, assistant professor of English at VCUQatar.
Comprising a survey and ethnographic research, the
results of which could assist the government in future policy-making, the “Qatari
Women: Engagement and Empowerment” study was recently awarded a one-year grant
through the Undergraduate Research Experience Programme from the Qatar National
Research Fund, established by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and
Community Development in 2006.
The survey follows the ethnographic research conducted
earlier this year that saw student researchers engage Qatari women in typical
majlis (the Arabic word for an informal gathering) settings.
“The majlis is known to be a male social activity but
there are also majalis for females, and these gatherings are an important but
understudied and overlooked area of female engagement,” said Mitchell. “Through
the majlis, we are able to explore not only the issues discussed during these
gatherings but also the ways in which the women empower each other.”
Mitchell and her team sought to investigate what role
the majlis plays in the life of a Qatari woman. “Is it an area where women are
able to learn skills that would enable them to participate more in their social
and economic choices? Is it a place where they are sharing information and
creating awareness by discussing common issues? A place where the women
encourage each other to solve a problem?”
“Through the observation of the majlis setting, we are
exposed to social and behavioural attitudes of Qatari women, which we believe
has a connection to their greater engagement within the wider community.”
Tied to the Human Development goals of QNV 2030, the
study seeks to support the government in understanding the obstacles and
drivers of national women’s engagement in society.
With 50% of the local population being female, ways in
which to engage women become essential to national development, stressed
Mitchell.
“The female labour force participation rate is not a
dire situation as increasing numbers of the younger generation of women are
getting more involved,” she said. “However, about 66% of the Qatari workforce
is male, and ideally that should be an even split. So, through studies such as
ours, we are able to contribute to the continued improvements of this situation
by letting Qatari women’s voices be heard.”
Through the combination of the survey and ethnographic
research, set to be presented not only through academic papers but multimedia
as well, Mitchell and her team believe that the insights gained through the
study could pinpoint specific issues currently hindering national women’s
engagement in society.
“Our study could reveal social indicators that we can
highlight to the government. It might also lead to friendlier working hours or
workplace childcare that would enable Qatari women to contribute more to the
development of their nation,” she said.
Mitchell also believes that the diverse methods
through which the team will present the research, via museum installations and
a documentary, for example, will attract a wider audience in Qatar and abroad.
“In the wider world, there is a stereotypical
perspective that Gulf women are silent, oppressed and passive members of
society. However, people who live in this region are well aware that this is
not true because Qatari women, for example, are very vocal, passionate and
active in their societies when they want to be,” she said.
“Therefore, combating a misunderstanding such as this
is inherently interesting to the outside world.”
http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/403660/study-on-larger-national-role-for-qatari-women
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