‘Dying Every Two Hours’: Afghan Women Risk Life To Give Birth
New
Age Islam News Bureau
22 December 2023
l ‘Dying Every Two Hours’: Afghan Women Risk Life To
Give Birth
l London Housing Block Named After British Indian Spy
Noor Inayat Khan
l In Sudan's Wad Madani, Women Fear Sexual Violence As
Rapid Support Forces Takes Control
l US Representatives for Afghanistan React to 1 Year
Passing Since Women Banned From Universities
l Respect Court’s Decision Abolishing Law On Enticement
Of Married Women, Says Islamic Affairs Minister
l Indian Organization Honours Afghan Journalists For
Gender Equality Efforts In Media
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghan-risk-birth-woman/d/131361
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‘Dying Every Two Hours’: Afghan
Women Risk Life To Give Birth
Afghan women sit beside
their newborns at the Doctors Without Borders (MSF)-run maternity hospital in
Khost. — AFP
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December 22, 2023
KHOST: Zubaida travelled
from the rural outskirts of Khost in eastern Afghanistan to give birth at a
maternity hospital specialising in complicated cases, fearing a fate all too
common among pregnant Afghan women — her death or her child’s.
She lay dazed, surrounded by
the unfamiliar bustle of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF)-run hospital,
exhausted from delivery the day before, but relieved. Her still-weak newborn
slept nearby in an iron crib with peeling paint, the child’s eyes lined with
khol to ward off evil.
“If I had given birth at
home, there could have been complications for the baby and for me,” said the
woman, who doesn’t know her age. Not all of the women who make it to the
hospital are so lucky.
“Sometimes we receive
patients who come too late to save their lives” after delivering at home, said
Therese Tuyisabingere, the head of midwifery at MSF in Khost, capital of Khost
province.
The facility delivers 20,000
babies a year, nearly half those born in the province, and it only takes on
high-risk and complicated pregnancies, many involving mothers who haven’t had
any check-ups. “This is a big challenge for us to save lives,” said
Tuyisabingere. She and the some 100 midwives at the clinic are on the front
lines of a battle to reduce the maternal mortality rate in Afghanistan, where
having many children is a source of pride, but where every birth carries heavy
risks — with odds against women mounting.
Afghanistan is among the
worst countries in the world for deaths in childbirth, “with one woman dying
every two hours”, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said earlier this month. The
Afghan health ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comment on this
story.
According to the latest
World Health Organisation figures, from 2017, 638 women die in Afghanistan for
every 100,000 viable births, compared with 19 in the United States. That
figure, moreover, conceals the huge disparities between rural and urban areas.
Terje Watterdal, country
director for the non-profit Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC), said they
saw 5,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in remote parts of Afghanistan.
“Men carry the women over their shoulders, and the women die over the mountain
trying to reach a hospital,” he said.
‘Brain drain’
Before the return to power
of the Taliban in August 2021 and the end of their insurgency, women would
sometimes have to brave the frontlines to reach help, but now there are new
challenges — including a “brain drain” of expertise. “A lot of gynaecologists
have left the country,” Watterdal said.
Moreover, Taliban
authorities want to get rid of the mobile medical teams visiting women because
“they cannot control the health messages they were giving”, he said.
Under the Taliban
government, women have been squeezed from public life and had access to
education restricted, threatening the future of the female medical field in a
country where many families avoid sending women to male doctors.
“Access to antenatal and
postnatal care for a woman was (always) extremely complicated. It’s even more
complicated today,” said
Source:dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1799835/dying-every-two-hours-afghan-women-risk-life-to-give-birth
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London Housing Block Named
After British Indian Spy Noor Inayat Khan
Noor Inayat Khan, the
indomitable Indian princess who was executed by the Nazis for being one heck of
a spy.
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22nd December 2023
LONDON: A council housing
block in north London has been named after British Indian spy and descendant of
Tipu Sultan, Noor Inayat Khan, following a ballot of local residents to choose
from a shortlist of the area's historic inhabitants.
Camden Council unveiled the
"Noor Inayat Khan House" at a ceremony on Wednesday attended by local
Labour Party MP and Opposition leader Keir Starmer, Khan's biographer Shrabani
Basu and Camden Council leaders and residents.
Camden was the borough where
young Noor lived with her family before she left for Nazi-occupied France in
1943 after being recruited as an undercover radio operator for Britain's
Special Operations Executive (SOE), becoming the first woman to be dropped
behind enemy lines during the Second World War.
"It is wonderful that
the residents of Camden voted to name the housing block after Noor Inayat Khan;
the people of Camden have truly taken Noor to heart, and she is known and loved
in the borough," said Basu, the London-based author of 'Spy Princess: The
Life of Noor Inayat Khan'.
In her speech at the
unveiling, she noted: "Today we remember Noor Inayat Khan as a heroine of
the war, a young woman of Indian origin, who unhesitatingly gave her life in
the fight against Fascism. But it is not just her bravery and loyalty that we
remember. At a time when conflict is rife in the world, and countries and
communities are divided by gunfire and walls, it is important to remember the
values that Noor stood for. She was a Sufi, she believed in religious
tolerance, she believed in non-violence and peace between nations. Today, let
us take away her message for peace and harmony."
In 2020, the English
Heritage charity unveiled a Blue Plaque at 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury to
commemorate Khan's home in Camden, following a memorial installed nearby at
Gordon Square by the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust in 2012.
The new housing block in the
name of the war heroine shot dead aged just 30 at Dachau concentration camp in
1944 forms part of a social housing project to deliver more affordable homes in
London.
"This isn't just about
some bricks and some windows and a roof; this is about life chances, aspiration
and equal opportunity for everyone. When I was growing up we didn't have a lot
of money, but we did have a house. And that gave me the security to go on and
do some of the things that I've done in my life. I want every child to have
that chance," said Starmer, member of Parliament for Holborn and
St.Pancras in Camden.
Each of the three new
residential buildings at the Maitland Park redevelopment has been named after
prominent local figures as part of Camden Council's strategy for diversity in
the public spaces.
Besides Noor Inayat Khan, a
second block commemorates Mary Prince - the first black woman to have an
autobiography published in Britain and a third is named after Antony Grey - an
LGBTQ+ activist whose work led to decriminalisation of homosexuality for men.
"Residents have shaped
the legacy of where they live by helping to choose three remarkable figures
from our local community to name their new buildings after," said
Councillor Danny Beales, Camden Council Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs, and
Community Investment.
The council said the
redevelopment at the Maitland Park Estate in Haverstock is the latest social
housing project to reach completion in Camden since the council announced the
expansion of its house-building programme by committing an extra GBP 1.3
billion investment towards building new homes for residents.
Source:newindianexpress.com
https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2023/dec/22/london-housing-block-named-after-british-indian-spy-noor-inayat-khan-2643965.html
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In Sudan's Wad Madani, Women
Fear Sexual Violence As Rapid Support Forces Takes Control
21 December, 2023
In Sudan, as Rapid Support
Forces (RSF) captured Wad Madani, Sudan's second largest city, women in the
area reportedly started immediately seeking contraceptive and abortion pills,
fearing the paramilitary's horrific history of sexual violence and using rape
as revenge.
"We are not afraid of
death. (...) we are afraid of rape," Khaira, a 24-year-old woman in Wad
Madani whose name was changed for safety reasons, said to The New Arab.
On 18 December, Khaira woke
up to the sounds of celebratory gunfire as RSF seized Wad Madani, which also
hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from the country's capital, Khartoum.
The fall of Wad Madani is
forcing many Sudanese to search for safety in a North African state in which
nowhere is safe anymore.
After four days of intense
clashes, the Sudanese army withdrew from the city, leaving 700,000 people under
the control of its rival armed force, RSF.
The paramilitary's triumph
in the city poses various risks. However, residents of Wad Madani say they are
mainly terrified of one type of danger: sexual violence.
When RSF captured Darfur, a
western city, earlier this year, the members of the paramilitary raped several
dozen women and girls, according to UNHCR.
The Sudanese Organisation
for Research and Development (SORD) said the recorded cases are likely less
than 3% of actual figures.
Women and girls were
reportedly being kept by their abusers for days following the assault so that
they could not access medical care and were forced to carry pregnancies.
The assaults targeted mainly
non-Arab women "to change the non-Arab portion within the Sudanese
blood," according to survivors.
Now, in Wad Madani,
residents are fearing a similar scenario. Several women in the city took to
social media asking for abortion and contraceptive pills to prepare for an
"unavoidable fate."
"We know who they are.
If they find a woman, they will assault her," said Khaira. "They do
it to take revenge on men, to break them," added Khaira, who said rumours
of reported assault cases in the city have already started circulating.
Sudanese activist Wini Omer
told TNA that most women's groups could not verify the information from Wad
Madani amid the current situation, especially due to networking issues in the
captured city.
In a country where abortion
is illegal, the options for survivors are limited. In many cases, the social
stigma has driven survivors to struggle with the trauma, leading to depression
and worse silently.
Throughout history, military
forces have employed sexual assault as a tool of warfare, often targeting local
women. In some cases, it served as a deliberate strategy to instil fear and
humiliation, while at other times, it emerged as a consequence of security
breakdowns exploited by men. Frequently, it involved a combination of both
factors.
The RSF has said it has zero
tolerance for sexual and gender-based violence, but rape cases are still
reported from cities under their control.
The resistance committee in
Wad Madani are reportedly buying fuel on the black market to help evacuate
women, children and men, as many families have already evacuated once or twice
in the past months to arrive in Wad Madani, and they cannot afford a third
relocation. So far, 300,000 people fled the city to nearby towns.
However, escaping RSF's
terror became riskier as the paramilitary forces were reportedly robbing money
and cars from civilians and stopping them from leaving the city.
Sudan has been ravaged by
clashes between the army and the RSF since mid-April.
Nearly 9,000 civilians have
been killed, and more than 5.7 million people have been forcibly displaced in
the last seven months, according to the UN.
Source:newarab.com
https://www.newarab.com/news/sudan-women-fear-sexual-violence-wad-madani-falls-rsf
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US Representatives for
Afghanistan React to 1 Year Passing Since Women Banned From Universities
21.12.2023
Coinciding with the one-year
ban on girls from universities, the US representatives for Afghanistan on their
X pages have emphasized the need for girls' access to education, saying that
Afghanistan needs an educated generation.
The US special envoy for Afghanistan
Thomas West, said: “One year ago today the Taliban announced an indefensible
ban on women’s attendance in universities. Afghans I speak to fully understand
that the country needs a generation of future female doctors, engineers,
business leaders, educators to grow & prosper & stand on its own feet.”
US Special Envoy Rina Amiri,
said: “One year ago, the Taliban prohibited Afghan women from attending
university, stripping half the country's population of their dreams & the
entire country of economic stability & the prospect of the next generation
moving towards a hopeful future.”
Nadya, who was a medical
student in Kabul university, is now teaching in an educational center.
She said that education is
the basic right of girls and the world should not be quiet in this regard.
"All the hard work I
did was wasted. We want the international community and the caretaker
government to never forget us," said Nadya, a student.
Meanwhile, a number of
families of the students once again called on the caretaker government to
reopen the doors of universities to their girls.
“We want the Islamic Emirate
to reopen the doors of all universities to girls, so our country improves. Our
country needs doctors and engineers,” said Faizullah, a Kabul resident.
"My request to the
government of the Islamic Emirate and the international community is to pay
serious attention to this issue as soon as possible and open the gates of
schools and universities for girls," said Hudais Shamal, a women’s rights
activist.
However, the Islamic Emirate
has not said anything about the reopening of universities for girls in the
country recently, it had previously said that efforts are underway to reopen
universities for girls in the country.
Source:tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186601
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Respect court’s decision
abolishing law on enticement of married women, says Islamic affairs minister
22 Dec 2023
PUTRAJAYA, Dec 22 — All
parties have been urged to respect the Federal Court’s ruling, that Section 498
of the Penal Code, which makes it a crime for a man to entice a married woman,
is unconstitutional.
Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, said that
his department was aware of and respected the decision, which was made based on
the knowledge, experience and wisdom of the judge, guided by the provisions of
the Federal Constitution and the law, in finding the best solution.
“However, if viewed from the
aspect of Islamic law, Islam places great importance on household harmony and the
marriage bond between husband and wife. Islam forbids the act of seducing
someone’s wife or any attempt to destroy a family,” he said in a statement,
today.
He said that under the
shariah law, the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 (Act
559) has stipulated the act of disturbing domestic harmony as an offence.
“It is as provided under
Section 36, regarding the offence of seducing a married woman to elope; Section
37 on the offence of preventing a married couple from living as husband and
wife and Section 38 on inciting a husband or wife to divorce or neglect their
obligations,” he said.
Mohd Na’im said these
provisions can indirectly safeguard marital harmony, in accordance with the
requirements of shariah.
He said that the repeal does
not affect the role of the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) and
related agencies, such as the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia
(Jakim), the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) and the
Islamic Dakwah Foundation Malaysia (YADIM), to continue implementing family
institution strengthening programmes which appreciate the values of sakinah,
mawaddah and rahmah.
He also called on Muslims,
especially married couples, to join hands to fulfil their respective
obligations and mutually strengthen the family institution, for the sake of the
children and Al-Falah generation, in addition to improving each other’s morals
in their daily interactions to always be in line with Islamic teachings.
“Religious agencies,
together with Islamic organisations and mosque management, are urged to
intensify education programmes, for the community to appreciate the importance
of the integrity of a family for the sake of a prosperous life,” said Mohd
Na’im.
The Federal Court, on Dec
15, has repealed Section 498 of the Penal Code as it is unconstitutional.
Chief Justice, Tun Tengku
Maimun Tuan Mat, in a unanimous decision, said that the panel held the section
as unconstitutional as it unlawfully discriminates only on the grounds of
gender, which is violative of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution. —
Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/12/22/respect-courts-decision-abolishing-law-on-enticement-of-married-women-says-islamic-affairs-minister/108777
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Indian Organization Honours
Afghan Journalists For Gender Equality Efforts In Media
Fidel Rahmati
December 22, 2023
The Indian organization
Population First has announced that Fatana Bayat, a documentary filmmaker, and
Mina Habib, a journalist from Afghanistan, have won the Laadli Gender
Sensitivity Award for their work in highlighting the situation of women.
Mina Habib, a journalist
from Afghanistan, in a conversation with Khaama Press, says that the most
vulnerable group in Afghanistan are women, especially female journalists.
According to her, while many journalists have left the country, there are still
women who have shown courage and continue to work in information dissemination.
Ms. Habib adds that in the
current situation where freedom of speech and media are restricted, and
journalists face many challenges in their work, she too has been threatened
several times due to her investigative reports.
According to Ms. Habib, the
profession of journalism is full of dangers and threats, and she urges other
journalists to maintain their courage, fight for justice, and uphold the values
of freedom of expression.
She points out that
currently, most women are afraid to leave their homes, but she has endeavoured
to reflect the situation of women, even at the risk of being threatened, and
she says, ‘We have always been threatened for publishing investigative reports,
even threatened with death.’
Having worked in various
media outlets as a journalist, she emphasizes that since 2006 she has prepared
investigative reports on the situation of women in Afghanistan and has tried to
stand against the challenges female journalists face with the establishment of
the Roydad News newspaper.
Fatana Bayat, an Afghan
documentary filmmaker, has been recognized for her work in the past two years
depicting the situation of women and has been well received.
Ms Bayat, in a published
message, has stressed that ‘this award is a great honor for me. I dedicate this
award to all the women of Afghanistan who are fighting for equality.’
The Laadli Media Awards,
organized by Population First, a Mumbai-based social impact organization
supported by the UNFPA, aim to promote gender sensitivity in media across India
and have been active for over two decades. Population First is a non-profit
Indian organization that annually acknowledges individuals and organizations
active in gender awareness in the media in South Asian countries.
Sourcekhaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/indian-organization-honors-afghan-journalists-for-gender-equality-efforts-in-media/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghan-risk-birth-woman/d/131361