Women’s legal literacy and the struggle against gender based violence in Pakistan
New
Age Islam News Bureau
26 February
2021
• Will
Shabnam Ali be the first Muslim woman to be hanged in India?
• In
Yemen’s man-made catastrophe, women and girls pay the price
• Dubai
Princess Latifa’s letter urges British police to investigate sister’s Cambridge
abduction case
• Over
300 schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria
• Fighting
the spread of Lebanon's silent pandemic: Domestic abuse
• Women
grow mushrooms in unused high school
• Saudi
woman racer sets sights on British F3 Championship
• Khamanei's
latest ridiculous ruling on the hijab
• Saudi
women welcome World Bank recognition of advances in empowerment
• Travel
restrictions eased for Saudis married to non-Saudis
• CIT
and physics are most preferred majors among Saudi girl students
• Somalia
women drivers dare country's Islamists, conservatives
• The
tragedy of tribal women in Pakistan
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/womens-legal-literacy-struggle-gender/d/124403
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Women’s
legal literacy and the struggle against gender based violence
By
Aisha Sarwari
February
25, 2021
When
it comes to women’s rights in Pakistan, the key component that is missing is
mass education of women on their legal rights. It is with this in mind that the
Asian Development Bank initiated the Legal Literacy for Women project in
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan
is especially interesting because it is one of the worst performers on gender
equality despite having had a woman prime minister and sizeable representation
in legislative bodies. In December 2019, the World Economic Forum ranked
Pakistan at 151 out of 153 countries and sevent in the region. It is the social
framework that have kept women out of the economic pie with only 18 percent of
Pakistan’s labour income going to women. In terms of literacy only 46 percent
of Pakistan’s women are literate as opposed to 71 percent men. It is estimated
that 94.5 years are required at the current pace to close the gender gap in
political empowerment. One of the key reasons was identified as the male
dominated legal system, which becomes a tool for patriarchy that is inherent in
Pakistan. 32 percent women in Pakistan have experienced gender-based violence
(GBV) in some form or the other, usually from their close family members and
intimate partners.
The
project took on capacity building for judges and lawyers by compiling a
compendium of case law, both in English and local languages. Training modules
were designed to implement the existing GBV laws for stakeholders. Workshops
were held on skills to respond to victims of GBV in an effective manner. A
report was prepared on best practices and mediation skills. Courses were
designed on women’s rights and laws pertaining to GBV and an innovative
outreach programme was designed and implemented. The problem that the project
identified was that women do not see any justice, even if they try to raise
their voice. Their families and society either shun them or if they finally
find courage to report the incident, they are violated all over again by the
legal and judicial systems. This project attempted on providing an alternative
way of thinking and positive awareness raising so women and other vulnerable
genders can find their footing in the society.
For
Pakistan this is a very important intervention.
As mentioned above Pakistan needs to do something drastically different
to quicken the pace with which it is closing the gender gap. Pakistan’s economy is in shambles precisely
because half its population is marginalized both socially and economically.
94.5 years is too long a time to close the gender gap when already 40 countries
in the world have achieved gender parity. This gap also has to do with the
pitiful access to justice that women face. Those countries have leapt ahead and
Pakistan has no hope of catching up unless something drastic is done. Greater
women literacy and greater awareness of their legal rights would be key to
ensuring the lag women have been forced into can end, and it will not only
rectify injustice faced by women but also lead to a just and equitable society
where economic progress can be achieved.
The patriarchal mindset needs to be challenged which keeps women
backwards and invisible in what is a conservative society. Without this
Pakistan is likely to remain in shackles of patriarchy, which in turn thwarts
its economic progress by putting numerous roadblocks in its way.
Therefore
Irum, a former private sector corporate lawyer who had made a transition as a
public sector development lawyer, led this important intervention. She
convinced the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by showing them that without women’s
inclusion in the economic and social life of a country no progress would be
possible. The ADB is largely an infrastructure bank but Irum convinced them
that without the women the infrastructure would benefit only 50 percent of the
population. To her personally this meant that she could make a difference in
lives.
This
also required substantially that the project be important because it is
addressing the causes of violence by educating legal and judicial service
providers to women. Irum says that this was achieved by emphasizing the dignity
of humans in Islam, society, law, and practice. She says that women in our
region have been suffering violence because both women and men believe that
women are sub-humans, made for men, and a source of honour. She emphasizes that
this is not just a women issue but is a human issue for without women’s
participation, there can never be any progress.
The scope of the programme was eventually widened to include transgenders
as well because that is another segment of society that is marginalized.
Finally it encompassed the rights of children who are often abused in our
society.
To
its dismay the programme team found that majority of the judges (including
women and men) said that (i) 90 percent of rape cases are false; (ii) when they
said khula law is damaging sanctity of families, (iii) when they said that past
conduct of a women and the way she dresses and speaks are relevant in deciding
a rape case.
This
mindset itself is responsible for the horrible treatment meted out to the women
in courts. Women do not see any justice, even if they to raise their voice.
Their families and society either shun them or if they finally find courage to
report the incident, they are violated all over again by the legal and judicial
systems. The Program Team asked the judges and prosecutors some pointed
questions: (i) why do they think the way they think today? (ii) They are the
product of the same society and hence, they have unconscious biases, even if
they think they don’t because they are upholding justice; (iii) they have been
influenced by gender biased upbringing, education, professional attitudes,
media, and misinterpretation of religion and because of bigoted customs.
During
these discussions the judges and prosecutors were sensitized to some key
issues. Some of the key discussions revolved around the anatomy of a woman who
has been raped and how the two-finger test is not efficacious in determining
rape, because a wife could also be raped and so could a prostitute, essentially
driving home the point that any non-consensual sex is rape. These judges and
prosecutors were introduced to an alternative way of thinking and a new
vocabulary emanating out of law, human rights and best practices that revolve
around rape and GBV.
Accordingly
300 judges and prosecutors were trained in Pakistan and working with the Lahore
High Court Chief Justice, a special model court was created in Lahore for GBV.
This was the first of its kind in Asia. Features such as a screen for the
victim, provision for e-evidence using the tech and special facilitation for
women with children, were added as mandatory part of the court structure.
Procedure was also simplified to ensure that there was no miscarriage of
justice on account of unnecessary delays. As a result convictions have gone up
in rape cases from 2 percent to 16 percent, which is a major achievement, given
the recent horrific incidents of rape in Pakistan. The cases here are fast
tracked through modern techniques in evidence collection as well the alacrity
with which such cases dealt in a fast docket. The Chief Justice of Pakistan
also took note of this and the need for such courts in over 100 such courts in
districts all around Pakistan was made part of the National Judicial Policy.
Irum
says that this could not have done without the help of the stake holders
especially the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and district officers.
Similarly
in Afghanistan over 100 prosecutors and judges were trained for capacity
building especially with respect to GBV. The outreach was in the remotest of
areas in Afghanistan despite security threats. It was an award winning
initiative. As a result, Technical Assistance team won 2018 Financial Times
Most Innovative In-House Legal Team Award and Innovation in Rule of Law and
Access to Justice Award; ADB’s 2019 Governance Award for Outstanding Knowledge
Sharing and Collaborative Initiatives; and 2017 ADB’s Vice President Award for
Exceptional Contributions to the Law and Policy Reform Work.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/02/25/womens-legal-literacy-and-the-struggle-against-gender-based-violence/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=982a160457be627d0c5c1602f476384d627de66f-1614342516-0-AUZaUK_W38xqKZf0g7JmILsfE3RBNh7wM0FYvDZpSQfNPoc0vDvEd1VYm6kAkt311xWAnCr8YUcfsJUbGKIHGB2aNlzaa982z_v0zn9hzaXIgo9j-zRD57yqy0pMHp8OwoAH8YfUPpwwrTLHCib9euGD-7egnc7jXDQ9wqd6YxZQZinVHHe-9fxSwhr1XB4ZmTwAkiswMxtf_Z5XGsnM9rCDSKOOxGaWPjZtOG4p--4mrlf6W2V4RD3mG_sVYX98NVe6kzauu_WGMYsv2FxJ6EWr66o1_wilohviZFbvoyPwu8YK2B3V6cjhPYCp6jp8kDoY_F44Ml7k2j47pmjgQPR_FAiM9FRzzFn86lvZtSL6JZ_CKeD8-NZ25FB65Q5wLcT21bVEDxKsQFLXJ5MkxsBx5T_ULZNcUDe6ZyWWeNi5
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Will
Shabnam Ali be the first Muslim woman to be hanged in India?
February
26, 2021
Shabnam
Ali, who is set to be hanged for killing seven members of her family.
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No
woman has been hanged in India by the justice system since 1955.
The
case of Shabnam Ali, a 38-year old woman on death row in India, has ignited a
debate on the efficacy of capital punishment and New Delhi’s practice of
arbitarily marking prisoners for executions.
Shabnam,
a resident of a village in Uttar Pradesh (UP) state, was convicted in the 2008
killing of seven members of her family including a 10-month old nephew.
The
gruesome murders were premeditated and stem from a forbidden love affair. She
wanted to marry a man named Saleem, a local carpenter, but her family was
against it.
Saleem
is a middle-school dropout whereas Shabnam, a school teacher, is a postgraduate
with degrees in English and geography.
On
the night of the murders, she served her family tea laced with diazepam
sedative tablets. Later, Saleem hacked to death Shabnam’s father, mother, two
brothers, a sister in law, and a cousin with an axe as they lay unconscious.
The infant was suffocated. Saleem also faces the death penalty.
The
case dragged on for years as Shabnam made multiple attempts seeking clemency.
India’s supreme court upheld the death penalty twice - in 2015 and 2020 - and
former President Pranab Mukherjee rejected her mercy plea in 2016.
She
has now exhausted all avenues of appeal including a review petition, said
SuhasChakma, director of Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a New
Delhi-based NGO.
But
Shabnam’s lawyer insists that she can’t be hanged since she still has a few
legal remedies including her right to file a curative petition before the apex
court.
If
the execution goes ahead, she would be only the second woman to be hanged in
India since 1955 when Rattan Bai Jain was executed for the murder of three
girls.
Even
though the death warrant, the final execution order, is yet to be issued, jail
authorities at the Mathura prison, where Shabnam is being held, have started
making arrangements to carry out the sentence, reports say.
Mathura
is the only prison where women prisoners can be executed. Its rusty gallows,
built 150 years ago, are being repaired because they haven’t been used since India’s
independence in 1947 . Prison officials have even ordered ropes from elsewhere
to be ready if the order comes.
PawanJallad,
the fourth generation executioner whose great grandfather pulled the lever to
hang Bhagat Singh, the famed freedom fighter, is also on the standby.
The
Modi factor?
Shabnam
is a Muslim. Her execution will come at a time when Indian Muslims are feeling
increasingly alienated under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister
NarendraModi.
Modi’s
ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has taken multiple steps including an
amendment to citizenship law that critics say specifically discriminates
against Muslims.
More
than 50 people were killed in early 2020 after communal riots broke out against
the law which fast tracks the citizenship of non-Muslim immigrants from
neighbouring countries.
Kashmir,
the only Muslim-majority state in India, faced a complete internet blackout for
months after the region’s nominal autonomy was withdrawn in 2019.
Human
rights groups say authorities are targeting minorities and using terrorim
charges to silence political opponents.
“The
Indian government has reportedly submitted the most number of content takedown
requests to social media platforms, and at least 50 people—mostly Muslims—were
arrested for social media posts in just 2017 and 2018 alone,” according to the
South Asia State of Minority Report.
India
is also using the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act to target
Dalits, a caste of Hindus who face widespread discrimination under the
country’s hierarchical caste system.
“Laws
ostensibly meant for the protection of cows continue to provide institutional
backing for similar campaigns against Muslims and Dalits,” the report said.
Changes
in the Citizenship Act that target Muslim migrants and the brutal police
reponse to subsequent protests — in which 22 people were shot dead in Utter
Pradesh state in a single day — further illustrate the worsening status of
minorities in India.
Besides
Shabnam, other (Hindu) women are on death row including SeemaGavit and
RenukeShinde, half-sisters convicted of kidnapping and killing more than a
dozen children.
A
matter of choice
But
RRAG’s Chakma said it would be wrong to consider religion as a factor in
Shabnam’s case as it had nothing to do with politics.
“Certianly
it will evoke some questions (about her being a Muslim). But I don't think
religion is playing a big part here,” he said.
Instead,
he said, the problem lies in the selective manner in which executions are
carried out in India.
For
instance, Balwant Singh, who was involved in the assasination of a provincial
chief minister in 1995, has been on death row for years.
Singh
never challenged the allegation against him and even refused to hire a lawyer,
yet the Indian government has dragged its feet in carrying out the supreme
court order to hang him, said Chakma.
“This
(Modi) government has all along said that it will take a firm stand against
terrorism. Now, if you want to send a message across that you are against
terror then why not hang Singh?
Around
400 prisoners await execution in India where capital punishment remains popular
among the masses who often prefer vigilante justice over lethargic legal
proceedings, which can take years.
“If
you ever carry out a referendum, 95 percent of the people will back the idea of
capital punishment,” said Chakma.
But
executions are still rare. Four men accused of raping a girl in New Delhi were
hanged last year. Before that, the last death sentence was the 2015 execution
of YakubMemon, who was convicted of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. AjmalKasab,
one of the men involved in the 26/11 attacks, was hanged in 2012.
“Executions
in India are rare - they happen every few years and whenever something like
this comes up the media jumps on to the story,” said Chakma.
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/will-shabnam-ali-be-the-first-muslim-woman-to-be-hanged-in-india-44517
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In
Yemen’s man-made catastrophe, women and girls pay the price
26
February 2021
Abia
– whose name we have changed for her privacy and protection – was worried, too.
“Since
I got pregnant, I had been living in constant fear”, she told workers from the
UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA. “I heard of many girls in my
village losing their lives and their babies giving birth at my age.”
Escalating
hostilities had forced her family to flee from the contested major southern
city of Taizz, to the camp. There, Abia said, “we could not afford to travel to
a hospital, and did we not know where we could find one.”
Those
concerns were well founded: When Abia went into labour, she began bleeding
profusely.
Childbirth
or death sentence?
Six
years of relentless conflict have made Yemen the site of the world’s largest
humanitarian crisis. More than 20 million people are in need of humanitarian
assistance.
The
health system hangs together by a thread; only about half of all health
facilities in Yemen are functional, and of those still operating, only 20 per
cent provide maternal and child health services. A woman dies in childbirth
every two hours, says UNFPA.
The
country’s looming famine could make things worse. Already, more than a million
pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished, a number likely to
double as food insecurity rises.
High-level
pledging conference
Yet
life-saving humanitarian aid has been chronically underfunded.
In
2020, more than 80 of the 180 UNFPA-supported health facilities closed due to
funding gaps, causing more than 1 million women to lose access to critical care
and safe childbirth. Preventable maternal deaths have been documented in
districts where these facilities have been closed.
On
1 March, the governments of Sweden and Switzerland and the United Nations are
convening a virtual high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis.
UNFPA is appealing for more than for $100 million to provide reproductive
healthcare as well as services for survivors of violence and emergency relief
through to the end of 2021.
A
stroke of luck
In
the end, Abia was lucky.
After
she began to haemorrhage during labour, her husband rushed to find Ms.
Al-Shurmani. The midwife arrived at Abia’s side around 2AM in the morning.
“She
lost consciousness many times during the delivery. I really feared for her
life,” Ms. Al-Shurmani recalled.
Fortunately,
she was able to get the bleeding under control.
Abia
survived, and she delivered a healthy baby girl. “I am very grateful to the
midwife,” she said later. “She travelled far in the middle of the night to save
my life and my baby.”
Last
year, despite the tremendous funding shortfall, UNFPA was able to reach three
million people with life-saving reproductive health and women’s protection
services.
Those
efforts were supported by Canada, the Central Emergency Response Fund, the European
Union Humanitarian, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirates and the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.
Gender-based
violence, child marriage
Those
services are only possible through the extraordinary efforts of women like Ms.
Al-Shurmani. Trained by UNFPA to identify and assist survivors of gender-based
violence, she works on an outreach team providing health services, psychosocial
care and other support.
“My
work targets the most vulnerable and poor displaced families who live in camps
and spontaneous settlements, especially as they are unable to reach health
services”, she explained.
Her
work is often gruelling. “One of the main challenges I face is going out at
night without a means of transportation, which forces me to walk with my
companions on foot.”
Emotional
toll
The
job takes an emotional toll, as well. Ms. Al-Shurani has seen the
vulnerabilities of women and girls increase dramatically. Child marriage rates
are also rising as families struggle with poverty and insecurity. A recent
UNFPA study across three governorates showed that one in five displaced girls,
aged 10 to 19, were married. Among host communities, this number was one in
eight.
Abia
was one of those girls – she was married off a little over a year ago, at age
14. Ms. Al-Shurmani’s outreach team was able to provide her with psychosocial
care, warm clothing, and referrals to emergency food and cash assistance.
Tragically,
that outreach team is the last one still in operation. Three other
UNFPA-supported outreach teams in Ibb and Taizz have stopped providing services
due to funding shortages.
Some
350,000 women lost access to gender-based violence services in 2020, following
the closure of 12 UNFPA-supported safe spaces. An estimated 6.1 million women
and girls are in need of such services.
“We
not only need funding to sustain services but we urgently need to scale up to
save the lives of women and girls,” said Nestor Owomuhangi, UNFPA’s
Representative in Yemen.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1085802
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Dubai
Princess Latifa’s letter urges British police to investigate sister’s Cambridge
abduction case
25
February 2021
Princess
SheikhaLatifa, the alleged captive daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has urged the British police in a letter to
re-investigate the alleged abduction of her older sister from a Cambridge
street more than two decades ago.
The
BBC said in a report Thursday that in a letter shared with the British
broadcaster, Latifa has said the UK police might be able to free Princess
Shamsa, who was kidnapped on the alleged orders of her father when she was
almost 19.
“Your
help and attention on her case could free her,” Princess Latifa reportedly said
in the letter, which was written in 2019 but was passed to Cambridgeshire
police on Wednesday.
In
August 2000 and about two months after fleeing her father's Longcross Estate in
Surrey and during the family’s annual UK holiday, Shamsa, who is now almost 39,
was forcibly taken from Cambridge, flown by a helicopter to France and then by
a private jet back to Dubai, and has not been seen in public since.
Princess
Latifa herself drew international attention in 2018 when she announced in a
video that she was fleeing the UAE because of mistreatment and restrictions
imposed by her family.
However,
she was forcefully returned to Dubai after being captured by commandos on a
boat in the Indian Ocean. Ever since she has remained in Dubai. Her father
claimed he was acting in Latifa’s best interests. The royal family said
previously that the princess was safe in the care of the family.
On
Sunday, the United Nations asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for proof that
Latifa was alive, days after she said in secretly recorded messages that: “I’m
a hostage. I am not free. I’m enslaved in this jail. My life is not in my
hands.”
A
year after Princess Shamsa’s abduction, Cambridgeshire police opened an
investigation into the kidnapping but “the investigation eventually hit a dead
end when officers were blocked from going to Dubai.”
The
BBC cited a statement by the police as saying that they reviewed the
investigation once in 2018 and again in 2020 and that the new letter “will be
looked at as part of the ongoing review.”
Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has denied all the charges against him, saying
his daughter Latifa was kidnapped for ransom in 2018, and she was returned to
Dubai after a successful rescue operation. He insists she is now safe and in
perfect health.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/25/646061/UAE-Latifa-Shamsa-Sheikh-Mohammed-UK-police-letter-abduction
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Over
300 schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria
Ibrahim
GarbaShuaibu
26.02.2021
KANO,
Nigeria
Over
300 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Nigeria in the wee hours of Friday,
eyewitnesses said.
Armed
men attacked a boarding school in the northwestern state of Zamfara.
Alhaji
Bello MaikusaJangebe, a father of one of the students at the school in the
TalatarMafara local government, said he was woken up by gunshots early morning.
"We
thought they had come to attack residents as they usually do, unfortunately,
this time around, they aimed at the students and abducted about 327 of them.
Later we noticed that only a few of the students were left behind," he
told Anadolu Agency by phone.
MalamSa'iduKwairo,
a guardian of one of the abducted girls, said the gunmen stormed in riding
seven vehicles and opened indiscriminate fire.
"We
could hear the helpless voices of the abducted girls screaming for help amid
sounds of gunfire," he added.
Police
have yet to comment on the issue.
No
group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-300-schoolgirls-abducted-in-nigeria/2157877
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Fighting
the spread of Lebanon's silent pandemic: Domestic abuse
BassamZaazaa
25
February ,2021
An
increase in domestic violence incidents against women, with several murders
during the Covid-19 lockdown, has triggered waves of concern and anger across
Lebanon.
The
Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced recently that cases of domestic
violence against women skyrocketed by 96% during Lebanon’s strictest lockdown.
Several
murders in recent weeks have shocked the country. The fashion model ZeinaKanjou
was found smothered to death last month, with her husband the prime suspect in
her death.
A
man was arrested for abusing and killing his uncle’s wife after she rejected
his sexual advances. Another case involved a devastating knife-attack incident,
with a mother struggling for her life in hospital now, after her husband
repeatedly stabbed her chest and lungs when a colleague accompanied her to
work.
Worrying
increase in domestic violence
The
ISF’s Public Relations Department Head, Colonel Joseph Moussallem told Al
Arabiya English that between February 2019 and 2020, the ISF’s 1745 domestic
violence complaints hotline recorded 747 calls. He revealed that during 2020 to
2021 over 1,468 calls were made.
“The
victim herself, family members and neighbors play a major role in reporting any
case of home violence,” Moussallem said.
According
to numbers provided by the ISF, 62 percent of complaints were lodged by abused
women, with 61 percent of that number made against husbands.
Describing
the hotline by a ‘rescuer and protector’ for victimized women, Moussallem said
emergency respondents who attend to victims on 1745 are well-trained, and
attend special workshops on how to deal with complainants.
“In
case a caller is under looming danger, we instantly dispatch a plain-clothed
police patrol to the location to dodge panic or embarrassment especially in the
presence of children or neighbors. The involved parties would be taken to the
police station for interrogations,” Moussallem explained. He encouraged the
public to report any suspected case of home violence and help combat these
crimes.
Under
the same roof
Hayat
Mirshad a co-director of Fe-Male, a NGO formed in 2012, said online awareness
and media campaigns have introduced women to the hotline, enabling them to
report abuse confidentially.
Mirshad,
who is also editor-in-chief of SharikaWaLaken, an online news platform that reports
on feminine issues explained that during curfew, women live with potential
abusers under the same roof, with lots having little access to protection or
support.
“Women
become potential prey to their partners or households while quarantined with
abusers for long periods while having limited access to the police. Violence
has spread among people in general, but against women in particular due to
compelling social, financial, emotional and medical factors inflicted during
lockdowns. Another cause is that we live in a male-dominated society that
permits men to dominate women, who constantly feel subdued,” she said.
She
observed that legislators and policing bodies are lenient when enforcing the
law making abusers feel “untouchable and unaccountable.”
To curtail
domestic violence, Mirshad believes that enforcing justice against perpetrators
is crucial.
In
2014, Lebanon sanctioned the Domestic Violence Law, with amendments made last
year to include addressing the need for more support, and protection for women
encountering domestic abuse.
“Though
the law remains subject for further betterment, it could be utilized to push
for, and provide tangible protection and support to abused women. The moral is
in implementing the law through swift responses by the pertinent judges,
speeding up litigation and adjudication processes, stiffening punishments and
having skilled policemen, who are aware of gender-based sensitivities when
handling cases of domestically abused women,” Mirshad said.
She
claimed that the authorities haven’t offered any financial support for the
victims’ wellbeing.
Listed
among BBC’s 100 Most Influential and Inspiring Women in 2020, Mirshad concluded
that it is the moral obligation of abused woman, fellow citizens, neighbors and
family members, to report this type of crime.
Mental
Health Support
From
a mental health perspective, the increase in incidents of domestic abuse are a
result of, but not restricted to, the long hours spent head-to-head at home,
said HibaDandachli, the Director of Communications for Embrace, a mental health
awareness organization.
Other
causes are existing tendencies for abuse, and previous frustrations aggravated
from the confinement of lockdowns, she said.
“Individuals
at home may have also experienced a severe decrease in control over aspects of
life that are related to unemployment and financial security which may create
anger, or a need for control or dominance at home,” Dandachli told Al Arabiya
English.
https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2021/02/25/Lebanon-crisis-Fighting-Lebanon-s-silent-pandemic-Domestic-abuse
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Women
grow mushrooms in unused high school
February
26 2021
Local
women in western Turkey are growing mushrooms on the grounds of an unused high
school.
A
culture house in the Bayat district of Afyonkarahisar first provided training
to 22 women on fungi culture, and then a women’s cooperative was established to
help them grow mushrooms.
Classrooms
of the school were turned into mushroom growing spaces, packaging units and
cold storage by eight members of the cooperative. The production of organic
oyster mushrooms began a month ago. “We did not use any chemicals in our
products,” said Dilek Ede, the head of the cooperative.
District
Governor ÖmerTekeş said there is a high demand for organic mushrooms. “Orders
are also coming from the U.K., but they want an analysis on the safety of the
products first. We are preparing the required reports,” he noted.
Companies
show more interest when they find out women are involved, Tekeş added.
He
said they expect 2-3 tons of production by the end of the harvesting season,
which may not be enough to meet the high demand.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/women-grow-mushrooms-in-unused-high-school-162700
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Saudi
woman racer sets sights on British F3 Championship
February
25, 2021
RIYADH:
ReemaJuffali, Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver, has confirmed that she
will join Douglas Motorsport as the team returns for a sixth consecutive season
in the BRDC British F3 Championship this year.
“I’m
looking forward to taking this next step of my career with Douglas Motorsport,”
Juffali said in statement. “I felt right at home with the team during the test
and really enjoyed driving the British F3 car. I can’t wait to get behind the
wheel again.”
The
move comes after a successful season for Juffali in the Formula 4 British
championship, with the 29-year-old
previously having taken part in the TRD 86 Cup and MRF Challenge.
The
announcement was made while Juffali was at the Diriyah circuit in Riyadh ahead
of the start of the 2020-21 Formula E season on Friday.
“It’s
going to be a big step for me driving a faster car, a better car, so that’s
really exciting,” she told Arab News. “In terms of the future, I’m open to any
opportunity that comes my way. I definitely want to race at the top level of
motorsport, whether its in a Le Mans race, Formula E — it’s all on the cards.
“In
terms of opportunity and were I see myself, I try not to plan too far ahead. I
take it one step at a time with everything that I do,” she added. “But if the
chance presents itself and I can do a good job at it, I’ll definitely do it and
I would love to represent my country and, hopefully, inspire others.”
The
BRDC British F3 Championship is the highest category of single-seater racing in
the UK, and Douglas Motorsports has been taking part in the series since 2016,
with 14 wins and over 60 podiums to its name.
“We’re
looking forward to having ReemaJuffali race with us this season,” said Team
Principal Wayne Douglas. “She showed fantastic progress across her two seasons
in British F4 and impressed us with her speed during our first British F3 test
together. We’re excited to see what she can achieve this season.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1815731/sport
--------
Khamanei's
latest ridiculous ruling on the hijab
Farzana
Hassan
Feb
25, 2021
The
hijab is a versatile piece of cloth, evoking all sorts of reactions in people.
Some appear serious. Others are downright ridiculous.
The
latest controversy involves Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa on cartoon depictions of
Muslim women. He deems cartoons of bare-headed women problematic within Iran’s
religious milieu.
He
fears such cartoons may be construed as permission for women to go hijabless in
the country. The Tasneem News Agency of Iran announced the ruling as an “important”
one. In reality, nothing could be more inane.
Just
the fact that the hijab is policed to this extent is befuddling. What women can
wear in public first became the state’s business in Iran during the Islamic
Revolution of 1979. Iranian women, who would otherwise reject the hijab, are
forced to don it, sometimes coerced into doing so through public floggings and
imprisonment.
In
his absurd ruling, Khamenei hinted that it was perhaps not mandatory for
fictional characters to be governed by the same rules as real people.
Really
Ayatollah? That’s quite a revelation!
But
he continued to argue that cartoons should nonetheless continue to observe the
strict ruling “because of the consequences of not doing so.”
Khamenei
seems consumed by the hijab when people in Iran are dying of COVID-19 and the
economy continues to shrink.
Whether
non-Muslim women in cartoons must also appear without hijabs was tackled by
Khamenei last year. He has the unique privilege of being the VilayatFaqih or
chief jurist. The spiritual leader ruled that watching non-Muslim women
“without lust” was alright if they appeared without hijabs.
Unfortunately,
the Ayatollah’s position gives him authority to deliver fatwas on any issue no
matter how ridiculous. His status among adherents of Shia Islam would be
similar to that of the Pope as the spiritual leader.
What
will the Ayatollah rule on next? Will he render an opinion on whether female
children in Iran should cover up when depicted in cartoons? Or would he rule on
the exact length of a Muslim man’s beard? Or whether little boys and girls can
be depicted in cartoons as mixing?
Such
a ruling is likely in the offing. The legal age for girls to be married in Iran
is 13. The hijab also becomes mandatory when girls hit puberty around that age.
So yes, this may very well be a related question in the warped, perverted, and
fossilized mindset of Iran’s supreme spiritual leader.
Luckily,
Iranians are smarter than their leaders. They are repudiating Iran’s punitive
brand of Islam in droves. According to the Group for Analyzing and Measuring
Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN), in its 2020 research, “results reveal dramatic
changes in Iranian religiosity, with an increase in secularization and a
diversity of faiths and beliefs.”
The
survey confirms that only 32 per cent of Iranians identified as Shia Muslims in
contrast to state-released statistics. This certainly contradicts the official
census of Iran, being 95 per cent Muslim.
People
are afraid to reveal their true feelings on Islam or matters of faith. All this
is quite understandable in light of the strictures introduced by the Iranian
government since the revolution. And now this ludicrous ruling on the hijab!
There
is bound to be rebellion when morality is policed to this extent.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/hassan-khamaneis-latest-ridiculous-ruling-on-the-hijab
--------
Saudi
women welcome World Bank recognition of advances in empowerment
LAMA
ALHAMAWI
February
25, 2021
RIYADH:
The findings of a World Bank report about recent advances in the economic
inclusion and empowerment of females in Saudi Arabia came as little surprise to
the many women in the country already thriving in a wide range of jobs.
The
Kingdom once again made significant progress compared with the previous year
and ranks favorably alongside many advanced economies.
Women
in the Kingdom who are benefiting from recent radical reforms designed to boost
their participation in the workplace warmly welcomed the recognition of the
country’s efforts by the World Bank’s annual Women, Business and the Law
report, which this year ranked Saudi Arabia in its top tier.
“Legal
reforms for women are a big part of the 2030 (Saudi) Vision and when you look
at these reforms from an economic perspective, women now are moving freely,
working freely, and they are now in fact likely to join the workforce more
easily than before,” Kholood Khaled Althekri, a public relations manager with
Pamas Group in Riyadh, told Arab News.
“These
reforms will help strengthen the Kingdom’s economy for sure.”
The
report places Saudi Arabia in the top tier of the 190 ranked nations with a
score of 80 out of 100, compared with 70.6 last year. In allocating a score,
researchers consider eight main factors: mobility, workplace, pay,
entrepreneurship, pension, marriage, parenthood and assets. The Kingdom
received full marks for the first five of these.
Empowering
women is one of the key objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reforms plan,
which aims to ensure they flourish and become active leaders and innovators who
can contribute fully to the growth of the economy.
“In
the outlined plans of Vision 2030 to develop the economy, the same vision will
provide opportunities for everyone,” Althekri said. “Saudi women are the
greatest assets to these plans, with more than half of university graduates now
females.”
WafaAlghamdi,
director of life improvements with Mukatafah advocacy group in Riyadh, told
Arab News that women in Saudi Arabia not only now have equal economic
opportunities but are increasingly playing a significant role in the financial
development of the country.
“Our
religion and culture gives women a special place,” she said. “Women in our
society are treated and considered as an asset to their households and families
— and now as an asset to our country.
“We
have something called ‘feminization,’ which is the new initiative by the
government to increase the participation of women in work and business to
encourage them and drive the force of the economy to the fullest.”
Alghamdi
said that the support of Vision 2030 has helped her make strides in her career
after she entered the hospitality industry and advanced through “hard work,
dedication and government support” to reach the position of head of department
in a relatively short time.
“I
wouldn’t have been able to make it this far without the guidance of Allah,
first, and our beloved country’s push and support to be on top,” she added.
Saudi
Arabia has not only introduced legal reforms to promote female empowerment but
also funded projects and initiatives in a number of sectors, including tourism,
investment and culture, that have created opportunities for women. Along with
these initiatives, government sectors are committed to guaranteeing and
protecting women’s rights in the workplace. The Ministry of Human Resources and
Social Development, for example, has worked to reduce gender-based
discrimination and find ways to create safe work environments that foster
growth and innovation.
Women
have also played their part in creating legislation, opening businesses, and
taking a leading role in private-sector investment. In addition, Saudi Arabia
now has its first female professional racing driver, award-winning female film
producers and female judges.
It
has been less than five years since Vision 2030 was announced, but already many
women have become leaders in the Saudi economy, own successful businesses,
manage departments in a variety of businesses, and have even attained the rank
of sergeant in the military.
The
World Bank report also noted Saudi initiatives that have eliminated barriers to
women entering industrial jobs such as “mining, construction, manufacturing and
the water sector, setting men and women on equal terms in choice of employment
opportunities.”
Maha
S. Albalawi, a legal counselor with Pamas Group told Arab News: “The year 2020
is considered one of the most important years in the history of Saudi women.
The decisions of (the Kingdom) to empower women in a number of sectors were
remarkable and very important.
“This
development of empowering Saudi women took place on several levels and fields,
including economically and in the field of entrepreneurship, so we find a
number of Saudi businesswomen whose names are (now known) locally and
internationally.”
Albalawi
said legal reforms ensure the rights of women will be protected and have
resulted in funding for legal action in marital disputes.
“Several
court rulings have also been issued in favor of Saudi women, such as the law on
protection from violence, and for Saudi women to become judges for the first
time in the history of the Kingdom,” she added.
All
of the women Arab News spoke with said they have had personal experience of how
the changes being implemented across the Kingdom have improved their lives and
career prospects.
“I
still remember when I first entered the private sector, as a coordinator, and I
was afraid that I could not be as good as my male colleagues,” said Alghamdi.
“As
time passed I discovered that I was even better — and now I am director of life
improvements, working with a group of amazing ladies who are also heads of
their departments and giving their best for our community to grow.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1815851/saudi-arabia
--------
Travel
restrictions eased for Saudis married to non-Saudis
February
24, 2021
RIYADH
— Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) announced on
Wednesday the lifting of travel restrictions for Saudi men and women who are
married to non-Saudis.
The
higher authorities have issued an order that enables Saudi women married to
non-Saudis to travel with their husbands or join their husbands who are abroad
after submitting proof of marriage to officials at the departure points
directly.
The
order also allows travel for Saudi men who are married to non-Saudi women if
the latter reside outside the Kingdom due to work or other conditions that do
not enable them to come to the Kingdom to join their husbands, the Saudi Press
Agency reported.
The
Jawazat stated that in the event that a Saudi citizen is unable to submit
documents that prove the wife’s presence outside the Kingdom and her inability
to come to the Kingdom, he can apply for a travel permit through the “Absher”
electronic platform with attaching all the required documents, in order to
facilitate the procedures for obtaining a travel permit.
The
new initiative is in implementation of the directives of the higher authorities
regarding procedures for traveling abroad and coming to the Kingdom during the
period of suspension of international flights ever since the outbreak of the
pandemic.
The
Ministry of Interior has decided to lift the temporary travel ban and resume
all international flights effective from May 17.
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/603844/SAUDI-ARABIA/Travel-restrictions-eased-for-Saudis-married-to-non-Saudis
--------
CIT
and physics are most preferred majors among Saudi girl students
February
25, 2021
RIYADH
— Communications and information technology (CIT) and physics are the most
preferred majors among Saudi girl students.
Among
girl students who pursue their university studies in the branches of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics, 34.1 percent preferred CIT while 30.7
percent preferred physics.
This
was revealed in a report titled “Saudi women are partners in success,” released
by the General Authority for Statistics on the occasion of the International
Women’s Day 2020.
The
report showed that most preferred majors for Saudi university male students are
engineering, architecture and construction, chosen by 40.5 percent of them,
while 21.9 percent preferred CIT.
The
report indicated that with regard to higher education students, there is not
much difference between the percentage of male and female students as the
number of female students makes up 45.3 percent.
The
number of girl students in the undergraduate diploma courses is much less as
compared to their male counterparts.
The
percentage of girl students who are pursuing their higher studies for doctoral
degrees is 23.6 percent while in all other phases of higher education, the
ratio between male and female students is not much wider.
There
is much difference between the number of male and female students who join the
Foreign Scholarship Program with male students accounting for 70 percent while
female students represent 30 percent, the report pointed out.
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/603864
--------
Somalia
women drivers dare country's Islamists, conservatives
February
26, 2021
At
19 years old, Asha Mohamed is divorced and drives a taxi in Somalia, defying
conventions to support her family in one of the world's most conservative and
dangerous countries.
For
the past year, the young woman has crisscrossed the capital Mogadishu in her
white taxi, with a faux fur throw covering her dashboard.
Her
career choice was driven by passion, but also necessity, after she divorced her
husband -- whom she married at age 16 - and was left to take care of her two
children and her mother.
Taxi
driving in Mogadishu is not only typically reserved for men, but is also
dangerous in a city where Al-Shabaab Islamists regularly set off car bombs at
intersections and security checkpoints.
In
a recent blast on February 13, three people were killed and eight wounded.
But
car-loving Mohamed, who enjoys playing racing video games on her phone, was not
put off.
"In
my childhood, it was my passion to be a driver one day, but I was not thinking
that I will work as a taxi driver," she told AFP.
She
said she had been given the opportunity by a relatively new company called
Rikaab taxi.
"The
number of women working as taxi drivers were small for security reasons, but...
the number of women taxi drivers is gradually growing," said
IlhamAbdullahi Ali, the female finance chief at Rikaab Taxi.
However,
only three of the company's 2,000 taxis in Mogadishu are driven by women.
Mohamed
earns up to $40 a day, allowing her to take care of her family, and hopes that
by defying tradition, she can contribute to changing the minds of her
countrymen about the role of women.
Clients
are often taken off guard when they climb into the white taxi and see Mohamed,
wearing light make-up and a colourful hijab, behind the steering wheel.
SadiqDahir,
a student at the Salaam University, admits he was surprised when he first saw
her arrive to pick him up, but that his view has changed.
"Recently
I have been using this Rikaab taxi service. Although it is male dominated work
I prefer the female taxi drivers because they drive safely and arrive on
time."
'Alarming'
gender inequality
The
Somali capital, situated on a pristine white coastline with turquoise waters,
remains dogged by violence a decade after the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab was
ousted from the city by African Union peacekeepers fighting alongside
government troops.
The
1991 overthrow of presidentSiadBarre's military regime ushered in decades of
chaos and civil war.
Thirty
years later, the internationally backed federal government has yet to gain full
control of the country or hold the first one-person, one-vote ballot since
1969, which had been promised this year.
Even
the holding of a complex indirect vote has been delayed by political
infighting, which recently led to gun battles between opposing camps in the
capital.
Women's
rights are low on the list of priorities, and the most recent data, in 2012,
showed the country among the bottom four on a United Nations gender equality
index.
The
report described gender inequality as "alarmingly high", in a country
where 98 percent of women have undergone genital mutilation.
"Women
suffer severe exclusion and inequality in all dimensions of the index --
health, employment and labour market participation," it noted.
"Somali
girls are given away in marriage very young, and violence against girls and
women is widespread."
https://www.africanews.com/2021/02/25/somalia-women-drivers-dare-country-s-islamists-conservatives/
--------
The
tragedy of tribal women in Pakistan
Kamran
Chaudhry
February
26, 2021
Pastor
Irfan James remembers losing his neighbor, a nurse, in a Taliban attack on a
government convoy in 2008.
“She
was travelling with three levies personnel [paramilitary law enforcement
officers] in an ambulance to Peshawar [capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province]
for treatment of a local critically injured by a land mine.,” James told UCA
News.
“A
policeman survived by hiding beneath one of the dead bodies. Nobody expected an
attack on the ambulance. The road remained closed until 2011 due to Taliban
attacks. The locals used to enter Peshawar through neighboring Afghanistan.”
James,
a missionary, hails from the tribal town of Kurram in the federally
administered tribal areas (FATA), which consisted of seven tribal districts
located on the Pakistan-Afghan border. FATA was previously under the direct
rule of Pakistan’s federal authorities through a set of colonial-era laws known
as the Frontier Crimes Regulation.
During
the Taliban insurgency, formal education of girls was banned in the tribal
areas from 2009 to 2012. Many females were forced to join seminaries. In 2015,
the military secured the mountainous regions in the North and South Waziristan
districts of FATA that served as the main base for local and foreign militants.
Support
Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors.
In
2018, Pakistan's parliament merged FATA, where militancy is rife, with neighboring
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. However, fear of Taliban militants has resurfaced
in North Waziristan, where four female vocational trainers were gunned down
this week in Ipi village.
The
women were from Sabawoon, a charity that provides training to women on how to
run a business from home and works to create gender rights awareness. They had
been visiting Mir Ali since December to teach handicrafts to Pashtun women in
Ipi village.
According
to police, one female aid worker survived the Feb. 22 ambush.
Many
netizens took to social media to express anger over the attack.
“A
real blow to women empowerment and visibility in the region. Taliban are back
in the region,” stated Mona, a female activist, in a Feb. 22 tweet.
She
said the vocational trainers were really poor women who would travel for three
hours to the village for a monthly income of 16,000 rupees (US$101).
The
Women’s Action Forum condemned the targeted killing in a statement issued the
same evening.
“Civil
society organizations and human rights defenders are already working under
restrictive conditions, often risking their lives to simply do their work.
Women human rights defenders face additional threats due to their gender and
the patriarchal society at large,” it stated.
“We
demand that the state take immediate action to conduct a transparent
investigation into the incident and prosecute this case to the full extent of
the law. We ask the local police and administration to avoid short-term,
protectionist measures, such as restrictions on activities of NGOs, and focus
on providing an enabling environment for civil society activities.”
Security
forces on Feb. 23 killed Hassan alias Sajna, a member of the Taliban group that
murdered the four women, during an intelligence-based operation in North
Waziristan.
Cultural
constraints
As
in other parts of Pakistan, women are a particularly vulnerable segment of
society in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because of the strong patriarchal and tribal
culture.
The
militancy-plagued province has a tradition of banning women voters through
local jirga (tribal court) laws enforcing local traditions and Sharia law. Most
women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa already practice purdah [seclusion] and wear
burqas.
“Tribal
women are already facing challenges in finding jobs. Their movement is
restricted owing to local traditions. Now we have women police officers or
female lawmakers. The cowardly attack on women activists is another blow to the
already marginalized region,” said Pastor James.
Jirgas
also sentence women to death for “dishonoring” a family or a tribe. These
traditional courts are run by tribal and community elders primarily in rural
areas, and civil society and human rights activists believe them to be
historically detrimental to women’s rights.
Last
month two universities in northern Pakistan banned T-shirts, short shirts,
heavy makeup, jewelry, sleeveless shalwarkameez (traditional tunics with
pleated trousers) and heavy handbags for females while on the campus.
The
literacy rate in the seven tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the
erstwhile federal territories, is 33 percent compared with 59 percent for the
rest of Pakistan and female literacy at 12 percent compared with 47 percent for
the rest of the country.
According
to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the highest
number of child marriages was recorded in the tribal areas in 2019.
“Ninety
nine percent of the girls are married under this traditional practice, which
continues despite the existence of the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act ([that
prohibits marriage of children under 18],” states the latest HRCP annual
report.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/the-tragedy-of-tribal-women-in-pakistan/91561#
--------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/womens-legal-literacy-struggle-gender/d/124403
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