Zainab Azim Set To Be First Hijab-Wearing Space Tourist
New Age Islam News Bureau
15
February 2022
•
Karachi Women Race across Windy Desert Tracks alongside Men
•
Alicia Keys, Princess Reema Push Message of Hope in Alula
•
Saudi Pavilion at Expo 2020 Celebrates International Day of Women And Girls In
Science
•
Over 330 Women Victims of Femicide in Turkey in 2021 – Report
•
European Bank Invests In Rideshare App to Keep Egyptian Women Safe
•
In 2012, Kendriya Vidyalayas Introduced New Scarf Pattern for Muslim Girls
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hijab-wearing-space-tourist-zainab/d/126375
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Zainab
Azim Set To Be First Hijab-Wearing Space Tourist
Zainab
Azim is on the way to becoming the first hijab-wearing space tourist.
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Sarwat
Nasir
Feb
14, 2022
It
was a birthday gift that most children could only dream of — a trip to outer
space.
Zainab
Azim’s parents bought her a seat on a Virgin Galactic suborbital flight when
she turned 11, and now she is on the way to becoming the first hijab-wearing
space tourist.
Now
19, the Pakistani-Canadian student is of legal age and eligible to fly on a
spacecraft using her $250,000 ticket.
Ms
Azim visited Dubai on February 11 to speak on a panel at the International Day
for Women and Girls in Science at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Before
that, she spoke to The National about her expected journey to space and the
need to create more opportunities for women in Stem — science, tech,
engineering and maths — fields.
“The
ticket was a gift from my parents because I always had an interest in space,”
Ms Azim said, who is co-founder of the non-profit Global Initiative and Vision
for Education organisation.
More
than 600 Virgin Galactic ticket holders around the world are also waiting for a
turn on the spaceplane, which flies above 80 kilometres but does not pass the
Karman line — the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and the beginning of
space.
The
first passenger flight, which carried Virgin owner Richard Branson himself, was
completed last summer.
But,
shortly after, authorities grounded the spaceplane for deviating from its
flight path. Virgin Galactic announced that operations would resume at the end
of this year.
So
it could be a few years until Ms Azim gets her ride to space, but she remains
“excited”.
“I
am excited, but I know my mum is already scared and we don’t even have a date
for it yet,” Ms Azim said, who is currently a university student in Toronto,
pursuing a double major in neuroscience and public policy and a minor in
psychology and astrophysics.
“I’m
her only daughter and I have two brothers younger than me, so I do understand
her fear. My dad is also excited, but not more excited than me.”
Ms
Azim would be the first hijab-wearing space tourist, but not the first female
Muslim to go to space.
In
2006, Iranian-American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari went to the International
Space Station on a self-funded mission for which she paid about $20 million.
Also,
Emirati engineer Nora Al Matrooshi is the first Arab female to be selected as
an astronaut. She is in line to become the first hijab-wearing astronaut on the
space station if she gets a chance to go there before the floating laboratory
is retired in 2031.
Apart
from feeling enthusiastic about the suborbital flight experience, Ms Azim said
she also “feels uncomfortable” about spending such a hefty amount on the
ticket.
She
hopes that space tourism companies will create programmes that give easier
access to those who could not such sums.
“I
am excited about it, but ‘I want to go to space’ is not enough for me to spend
$250,000 on a ticket,” she said.
“There
needs to be a bigger reason and a bigger goal. It has to create an impact for
other people. I don't feel comfortable doing that for myself.”
Over
the past few years, Ms Azim has participated in many conferences and workshops
around the world as a speaker and mentor to encourage young people to pursue
their passions in stem.
Last
year, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs selected her as a
mentor for the Space4Women Network, which runs initiatives to promote gender
equality in space fields.
Discrimination
against women was rife at Nasa in the 1960s when the space exploration began.
While
that gender gap has somewhat narrowed, the space sector continues to be male
dominated in some parts of the world.
More
than 600 people have flown to space so far, but only 10 per cent of them were
women.
Source:
The National News
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Karachi Women Race across Windy Desert Tracks alongside Men
February
15, 2022
Thar
saw something new in its Desert Jeep Rally 2022 that happened the previous
month, after almost a decade since Mithi heard the roaring engines pitted
against one another to claim the podium.
This
new happening was Karachi women, young and old, competed in it alongside the
men and finished clean. Dina Patel, the 18-year-old prodigy and the daughter of
Patel family with a history on tracks, followed in the footsteps of her parents
to claim first podium in the stock category. She beat Nida Wasti.
However,
Dina’s race was a day ahead of her mother fielding her prepared beast of a car
and beat Mahum Shiraz Qureshi by a clear margin.
However,
all the contestants conceded one thing: the podium was of symbolic value to
them compared the achievement they were able to vie on these male-dominated
tracks to begin with.
The
fact that more women are showing up every year, and in fact almost every race,
is the proof things are headed in the right direction, they concurred.
The
report is the representation of how Pakistani women are breaking glass ceilings
by leaps and bounds, however, this in no way suggests things have started already
looking up for there is still a long way to go before women and other genders
have things rightly their way, as the racers put it.
Source:
Pak Observer
https://pakobserver.net/karachi-women-race-across-windy-desert-tracks-alongside-men/
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Alicia
Keys, Princess Reema push message of hope in AlUla
February
12, 2022
ALULA:
Fresh off her sold-out concert on Friday at The Maraya Concert Hall in AlUla, singer-songwriter
Alicia Keys joined Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud, the first female Saudi
ambassador to the US, and a group of other creative Saudi women in an intimate
conversation under the theme “Women to Women.”
The
off-the-record dialogue, hosted by Good Intentions, a newly launched
Saudi-based creative consultancy, was held in a town hall style, where audience
members asked questions, made comments and interacted with the panel. It felt
like an extension of Friday’s super-hit show.
Acknowledging
the forum’s location at Madrasat Addeera, AlUla’s first art and design center,
Keys told the attendees how excited she was to learn from the Saudi women at
the table — and those beyond in the audience.
“I’m
here to learn and I would love for you to teach me and continue to be allies
together. We are all very special and very important in this room and nobody is
more important than anybody else. We are all at the same level,” Keys told the
audience.
Princess
Reema said: “Many of the women that you see, whether they are on the stage or
perhaps seated to your right or left, are women of a generation that were born
of women of a generation that were told ‘no.’
“Those
of us that insisted on a ‘no’ being a ‘yes’ filled in cracks, filled in
corners, filled in holes and we stuffed ourselves anywhere that we couldn’t
find somebody else to stuff themselves into. So we look like we have crazy CVs.
We look like we’ve had erratic career paths — but it’s not erratic. The
singular unifier of all of us is the fact that we needed another woman to
support us and fill the space — but we couldn’t find her.”
Saudi
women from all different backgrounds spoke up, expressed their opinions, asked
questions and shared knowledge.
“If
you were not inspired, be the one that inspires. If you did not have a mentor,
be the mentor. If you didn’t have the resources but have access to them, give
them. Because your generosity and your kindness of spirit is what is going to
make the community we all deserve. And that is how women to women transfer of
power happens and that is how men recognize that when they create a space for
us, magic happens,” Princess Reema said.
Keys’
husband, Grammy award-winning producer Kasseem Daoud Dean, known professionally
as Swizz Beatz, said: “We feel confident that Saudi Arabia is exactly the right
place for the headquarters of our new creative consultancy. We’re ready to go
full force with Good Intentions and collaborate with the powerful creative
talent in the region,” he told Arab News exclusively.
The
AlUla concert was presented by Good Intentions, co-founded by Dean.
The
agency aims to amplify the voices of women across the Kingdom, with the AlUla
town hall being just the first step in that direction.
Perhaps
the most simple yet thoughtful solution came from Saudi actress Fatima
Al-Banawi, who said: “Never, never give up. And always support one another with
no hidden agenda.”
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2023516/saudi-arabia
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Saudi
pavilion at Expo 2020 celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in
Science
February
13, 2022
DUBAI
— The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s pavilion, at the Dubai Expo 2020, participated
in the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" activities,
which was held at the "Nexus" pavilion.
The
event was held in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced
Technology, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
(UNOOSA), in the presence of the pioneering biotechnology and UNESCO Goodwill
Ambassador for Science Dr. Hayat Sindi.
In
a session titled "Bridging the Gender Gap in Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation", Sindi shared her experience with
the audience since joining the field of technology, until she attained the
position of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Science. — SPA
Source:
Saudi Gazette
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/617066
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Over
330 women victims of femicide in Turkey in 2021 – report
Feb
14 2022
At
least 339 women have been killed by men in Turkey last year, according to news
website Bianet’s Male Violence Monitoring Report.
The
data for 2021, in which Turkey withdrew from international Istanbul Convention
on violence against women, marks the highest number of female deaths by men in
Bianet’s annual monitoring reports, accounted for since 2010.
Men
also killed at least 34 children and raped 96 women in the country last year,
Bianet said on Monday.
Violence
against women and femicide remain serious problems in Turkey, where citizens
are putting increased pressure on the government to tackle the issues.
Compiling
data from local and national newspapers, Bianet has recorded male violence
against women in the country since 2010 on a regular basis.
According
to the reports, at least 3,175 women have lost their due to violence inflicted
by men between 2010 and 2021. 2021 marks a record number of female deaths by
men. In 2020, 284 were killed, while in 2019, the deaths totalled 328.
Last
year, at least 793 women were subjected to male violence, according to the
report. At least 208 children were abused and 772 women were forced to be a sex
worker, the report also showed.
As
of July, Turkey formally withdrew from the Council of Europe Convention on
Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better
known as the Istanbul Convention, after the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
pulled the country out of the accord on March 19, via an executive order.
The
move came after a months-long debate over whether Turkey should withdraw, with
pro-government conservative and Islamist groups arguing against the convention,
saying that it undermines Turkish family values and promoted homosexuality.
Erdoğan’s
move led thousands to protests and the Council of State received legal appeals
to suspend the withdrawal from groups including the main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP), bar associations and women’s organisations. The court
rejected those appeals.
Ankara’s
withdrawal also triggered heavy criticism from the international community,
including the United States and the European Union.
Source:
Ahval News
https://ahvalnews.com/gender-based-violence/over-330-women-victims-femicide-turkey-2021-report
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European
bank invests in rideshare app to keep Egyptian women safe
February
11, 2022
A
European bank has announced an investment in a ride-sharing company with the
aim of making transportation in Egypt safer for women.
The
European Bank of Reconstruction and Development signed an agreement to invest
$10 million in the ride-sharing company Swvl. The London-based bank said the
investment aims to "advance safety for women on buses in Egypt” in a press
release yesterday.
Swvl
allows users to book rides on minibuses that the company operates. Users hail
the rides via a mobile phone application. Swvl was founded in Cairo in 2017,
but is currently based in Dubai. It operates in Egypt, the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and Kenya.
Safety
for women is a priority for the company, as sexual harassment is a particularly
dangerous threat to women in Egypt. Swvl aims to offer affordable rides people
can take instead of public buses. Swvl also offers private bus bookings in
Egypt. Last year, the company began offering women-only rides in Pakistan.
The
European Bank of Reconstruction and Development said it expects Swvl to become
the first privately owned startup from the Middle East to be listed on the
Nasdaq stock exchange in New York. Middle East infrastructure director Sue
Barrett told the exchange earlier this month that the bank is “delighted to
support SWVL at this key moment in its remarkable journey from a startup to
becoming a company listed on the NASDAQ.”
This
is not the first time Swvl has attracted foreign capital. Last July, Swvl and
Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital announced a merger with the purpose of making
Swvl a publicly traded stock. The women-led firm valued Swvl at $1.5 billion at
the time. Queen’s Gambit is a special purpose acquisition company that aims to
take other companies public. It is based in New York.
Source:
Al Monitor
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In
2012, Kendriya Vidyalayas Introduced New Scarf Pattern For Muslim Girls
By
Sourav Roy Barman
February
15, 2022
THE
MINISTRY of Human Resource Development had on July 4, 2012, announced the
adoption of a “new uniform pattern” by the Kendriya Vidyalayas across the
country.
For
the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, an autonomous body under the HRD Ministry,
now known as Ministry of Education, the change in dress code for its students
was a first since its inception in 1963.
Among
the changes were new patterns for scarf and turban. “Scarf with red hemming for
Muslim girls matching with the lower,” was among the changes approved by the
KVS Board of Governors in its 92nd meeting on May 18, 2012.
In
a statement issued through the Press Information Bureau, the HRD Ministry had
described the new design as an attempt to add a contemporary touch to the
uniform along with “a unique identity to its students, keeping in mind the
comfort and the cost factors”.
Checks
were introduced for both boys and girls. For girls in classes IX-XII, trousers
were introduced, phasing out shalwars.
The
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the Union Ministry of
Textiles helped create the new uniform.
There
are 14.35 lakh students – 6.55 lakh girls and 7.79 lakh boys – enrolled with
the 1,248 Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country.
While
latest category wise enrolment figures are not available, in 2015, out of 12.09
lakh students then enrolled in the Kendriya Vidyalayas, 56,719 were Muslims,
including 23,621 girls.
Responding
to a Lok Sabha question on the new dress code on August 8, 2012, the HRD
Ministry had said that the “government has no role to play in the prescription
of uniform for the students of Kendriya Vidyalayas”.
“This
is done by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) themselves which is an autonomous
body. However, KVS has informed that they have introduced a new uniform for its
students so as to give a distinct identity. The dress code has been changed for
the first time after 1963.”
Source:
Indian Express
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hijab-wearing-space-tourist-zainab/d/126375