'Next Afghanistan?': Bangladesh Women Beaten, Made To Do Sit-Ups For Not Wearing Hijab
New Age Islam News Bureau
14 Sep 2024
· 'Next Afghanistan?': Bangladesh Women Beaten, Made To Do Sit-Ups For Not Wearing Hijab
· Women In Iran Are Going Without Hijabs As The 2nd Anniversary Of Mahsa Amini’s Death Approaches
· Afghan Athlete Under Police Protection In France After Denouncing Taliban
· Rwanda’s Envoy Lauds Pakistani Women for their Exceptional Skills
· Global Rallies Planned To Mark Two Years Since Mahsa Amini's Killing
· UN Official, Laila Baker, Says The War In Sudan Is ‘One Of The Ugliest’ She Has Ever Seen
· Head Of NYC School Fired Long-time French Teacher After Answer About France’s Hijab Ban Made Her Daughter Cry: Suit
· Afghan Women’s Three-Day Summit in Albania Concludes: Discussions on Creating an Inclusive, Women-Led Path for Afghanistan
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghanistan-bangladesh-women-hijab-beaten/d/133200
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'Next Afghanistan?': Bangladesh Women Beaten, Made To Do Sit-Ups For Not Wearing Hijab
Alarming reports have emerged from Bangladesh’s famous Cox’s Bazar beach, where members of the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatrashibir, have been enforcing their own version of "Sharia policing" by targeting women who do not adhere to conservative Islamic dress codes.
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Sep 14, 2024,
Alarming reports have emerged from Bangladesh’s famous Cox’s Bazar beach, where members of the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, have been enforcing their own version of "Sharia policing" by targeting women who do not adhere to conservative Islamic dress codes.
Farokul Islam, identified as a cadre of Shibir, has been reportedly attacking women with a stick if found alone or not dressed in a burqa or hijab, stirring outrage across the country. In videos that have gone viral on social media platform X, several women can be seen being targeted with one woman beaten and another made to do sit-ups.
Islam, who is affiliated with ChunatiHakimiya Kamil Hons-Masters Madrasah in Chittagong, allegedly recorded the attacks and posted the footage on Facebook. The videos have sparked fears of a growing wave of extremism in Bangladesh, with many comparing the situation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Social media erupted with concern after the videos surfaced. "Disturbing reports of radical groups targeting girls at Cox's Bazar for not wearing burqas or hijabs. Are we witnessing the rise of extremism like in Afghanistan? This must be condemned and stopped immediately!" wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter).
Another remarked, "Bangladesh was destined to end up like Afghanistan. It's just the secular government that halted the process for so long."
The growing fears of radicalism have amplified concerns about women's safety and religious freedom in the country. The attack comes amid a volatile political climate in Bangladesh, where recent political changes, including the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have led to unrest and uncertainty. Hasina’s secular administration had managed to keep radical elements in check, but her departure has sparked a rise in such incidents, including attacks on minority communities.
In response to this increasing wave of extremism, thousands of Hindus marched in Dhaka and Chattogram on Friday, protesting the recent attacks on their community. They carried placards listing eight demands, including the swift punishment of attackers through a fast-track tribunal. The protests, organized under the Sanatani Odhikar Andolan, also called for the creation of a minority affairs ministry and reserved seats for minorities in parliament.
Protestors in Dhaka and Chattogram voiced their concerns about the rise in religious violence and called on the government to act swiftly. In Chattogram, demonstrators gathered in the Jamal Khan area, refusing to return home until their demands, including compensation for victims of religious violence, were met. Meanwhile, protestors in Dhaka brought traffic to a halt at Shahbag intersection, rallying against the government's failure to protect minorities and women.
The situation has drawn international attention, with Paris-based human rights organization Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) condemning the attacks. JMBF issued a statement calling the destruction of homes, businesses, and places of worship a severe violation of human rights.
As Bangladesh grapples with this surge of religious extremism, many fear the nation could be headed down a path reminiscent of Afghanistan under the Taliban, where strict enforcement of conservative Islamic codes oppresses women and minorities.
Source: asianetnews.com
https://newsable.asianetnews.com/world/next-afghanistan-bangladesh-women-beaten-made-to-do-sit-ups-for-not-wearing-hijab-sparks-outrage-watch-snt-sjsjbh
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Women In Iran Are Going Without Hijabs As The 2nd Anniversary Of Mahsa Amini’s Death Approaches
Iranian women without mandatory headscarves, walking past a military banner in Tehran. Vahid Salemi / AP
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September 14, 2024
DUBAI: On the streets of Iranian cities, it’s becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, as the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches.
There’s no government official or study acknowledging the phenomenon, which began as Iran entered its hot summer months and power cuts in its overburdened electrical system became common. But across social media, videos of people filming neighborhood streets or just talking about a normal day in their life, women and girls can be seen walking past with their long hair out over their shoulders, particularly after sunset.
This defiance comes despite what United Nations investigators describe as “expanded repressive measures and policies” by Iran’s theocracy to punish them — though there’s been no recent catalyzing event like Amini’s death to galvanize demonstrators.
The country’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to halt the harassment of women by morality police. But the country’s ultimate authority remains the 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who in the past said “unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden.”
For some observant Muslim women, the head covering is a sign of piety before God and modesty in front of men outside their families. In Iran, the hijab — and the all-encompassing black chador worn by some — has long been a political symbol as well.
“Meaningful institutional changes and accountability for gross human rights violations and crimes under international law, and crimes against humanity, remains elusive for victims and survivors, especially for women and children,” warned a UN fact-finding mission on Iran on Friday.
Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country’s morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. The protests that followed Amini’s death started first with the chant “Women, Life, Freedom.” However, the protesters’ cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against Khamenei.
A monthslong security crackdown that followed killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.
Today, passersby on the streets of Tehran, whether its tony northern suburbs for the wealthy or the working-class neighborhoods of the capital’s southern reaches, now routinely see women without the hijab. It particularly starts at dusk, though even during the daylight on weekends women can be seen with their hair uncovered at major parks.
Online videos — specifically a sub-genre showing walking tours of city streets for those in rural areas or abroad who want to see life in the bustling neighborhoods of Tehran — include women without the hijab.
Something that would have stopped a person in their tracks in the decades follwing the 1979 Islamic Revolution now goes unacknowledged.
“My quasi-courage for not wearing scarves is a legacy of Mahsa Amini and we have to protect this as an achievement,” said a 25-year-old student at Tehran Sharif University, who gave only her first name Azadeh out of fear of reprisal. “She could be at my current age if she did not pass away.”
The disobedience still comes with risk. Months after the protests halted, Iranian morality police returned to the streets.
There have been scattered videos of women and young girls being roughed up by officers in the time since. In 2023, a teenage Iranian girl was injured in a mysterious incident on Tehran’s Metro while not wearing a headscarf and later died in hospital. In July, activists say police opened fire on a woman fleeing a checkpoint in an attempt to avoid her car being impounded for her not wearing the hijab.
Meanwhile, the government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without their headscarves. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars. The government has gone as far as use aerial drones to monitor the 2024 Tehran International Book Fair and Kish Island for uncovered women, the UN said.
Yet some feel the election of Pezeshkian in July, after a helicopter crash killed Iranian hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in May, is helping ease tensions over the hijab.
“I think the current peaceful environment is part of the status after Pezeshkian took office,” said Hamid Zarrinjouei, a 38-year-old bookseller. “In some way, Pezeshkian could convince powerful people that more restrictions do not necessarily make women more faithful to the hijab.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned security forces about starting physical altercations over the hijab.
“We prosecuted violators, and we will,” Movahedi Azad said, according to Iranian media. “Nobody has right to have improper attitude even though an individual commits an offense.”
While the government isn’t directly addressing the increase in women not wearing hijabs, there are other signs of a recognition the political landscape has shifted. In August, authorities dismissed a university teacher a day after he appeared on state television and dismissively referred to Amini as having “croaked.”
Meanwhile, the pre-reform newspaper Ham Mihan reported in August on an unpublished survey conducted under the supervision of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance that found the hijab had become one of the most important issues in the country — something it hadn’t seen previously.
“This issue has been on people’s minds more than ever before,” sociologist SiminKazemi told the newspaper.
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2571334/middle-east
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Afghan athlete under police protection in France after denouncing Taliban
13/09/2024
Hamidi, 21, used to compete on the Afghan national taekwondo team but was forced to flee when the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
She told RFI she had been flooded with threatening messages since posting a video on social media at the end of August denouncing "gender apartheid" in her homeland.
Filming herself on a Paris street, Hamidi denounced the Taliban's restrictions on women's clothing, education and other basic freedoms, including doing sport.
She invited her followers to use the hashtag #LetUsExist to "be the voice for [those] who are voiceless inside Afghanistan".
Re-shared thousands of times, the post ended up attracting the attention of Afghan media.
The situation escalated when a journalist asked Hamidi her opinion of Afghanistan's popular national cricket team, she told RFI. The men's squad has continued to play with the backing of the Taliban government, while women players have been driven into exile.
Hamidi told the interviewer that she believed the male players were "normalising the Taliban" and did not represent Afghan women. "So for me, they are a terrorist cricket team, not a national cricket team," she said.
The interview appeared on YouTube a few days later and quickly drew a backlash.
"The day after, I was at my home and I received the first call," Hamidi told RFI's FrédériqueGenot.
It came from a man speaking Pashto. "He told me: 'I have your address in Paris, just be aware that I will find you.'"
No giving up
In the space of three days, Hamidi says she received calls from some 3,000 different numbers in France and other European countries, as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Malaysia and elsewhere.
She moved out of her home and contacted her lawyer, who went to the police. They have had Hamidi under special protection since early September.
"Now I'm under police protection, but I lost my freedom, I lost my safety. I don't feel safe any more in Paris," said Hamidi, who until recently used to train alongside France's national taekwondo team.
She has since changed her number but continues to receive abuse via social media, including sexually explicit images and threats of rape or other violence.
Hamidi has nonetheless kept her accounts on X and Instagram, where she still posts regularly.
"If I stay at home and cry and just be sad and afraid, they win," she told RFI.
"It's very hard. But I've been in Afghanistan, I've been fighting against the Taliban in the streets of Kabul. I'm a fighter, so I can't give up."
Solidarity from home
Among the threats have also come messages of support from Afghan women and girls, Hamidi said.
"They told me that they cannot raise their voice in Afghanistan, and they want me to be their voice."
Though the security measures have forced her to stop training and suspend her daily life, Hamidi feels lucky to have access to protection and the means to continue speaking publicly.
She said: "Imagine that millions of girls in Afghanistan, they have no protection, they are with the terrorists, and nobody can hear their voice."
Source: www.rfi.fr
https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20240913-afghan-athlete-under-police-protection-in-france-after-denouncing-taliban
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Rwanda’s Envoy Lauds Pakistani Women for their Exceptional Skills
Sep 14 2024
ISLAMABAD: Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam has said that steps would be taken to empower women in the country. She expressed these remarks while attending 6th Islamabad Expo 2024 in at Pak-China Friendship center in Islamabad. The event was organized by Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
She visited several stalls and lauded the work of the women and lauded the initiative of the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry to encourage the women to present their skills and talent.
Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Pakistan FatouHarerimana also visited the expo and lauded Pakistani women for their contribution in every sector including economy. The High Commissioner visited various stalls and witnessed the work of Pakistani women entrepreneurs. The envoy said that there is a lot of potential in Pakistan especially in women.
A woman Entrepreneur from Quetta expressed happiness to show her work in the event and lauded the efforts of Islamabad Women of Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She urged all stakeholders to facilitate them to present their handmade product at international level.
Founder President Samina Fazil, President Rizwana Saleem, and Senior Vice President Dr Sonia Saleem were also present on the occasion.
Source: wenewsenglish.pk
https://wenewsenglish.pk/rwandas-envoy-lauds-pakistani-women-for-their-exceptional-skills/
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Global rallies planned to mark two years since Mahsa Amini's killing
September 14, 2024
As global calls intensify to commemorate the second anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s state-sanctioned killing, her family remains uncertain if security forces will permit a memorial ceremony in her hometown.
In an audio message to Iran International, Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini's father, expressed his family's wish to hold a memorial service. He noted that he has received countless messages and calls from the public about organizing a commemoration for Mahsa, emphasizing that "everyone wants" to gather at her gravesite.
Meanwhile, pressure on political and civil activists is intensifying ahead of the second anniversary of the Iranian revolutionary uprising.
Mahsa Jina Amini was arrested by the so-called morality police on September 13, 2022 over the state’s mandatory hijab law. Amini was beaten while in their custody and later succumbed to her injuries three days later at Kasra Hospital in Tehran.
Following her death, protests initially erupted in Tehran and quickly spread to various other parts of Iran – quickly dubbed the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement.
It’s estimated, by several human rights organizations, that during the nationwide months-long protests, at least 551 protesters, including 68 children and 49 women, were killed by the state’s security forces.
In recent days, as the second anniversary of the Iranian uprising approaches, the Islamic Republic's security agencies have intensified their crackdown on political, labor, and civil activists. This latest wave of repression and arrests has been particularly severe in Kurdistan, Mahsa Amini's home province, more so than in other parts of Iran.
On September 13, the Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations reported that 14 labor activists from the teachers' union in Kurdistan had been summoned to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Sanandaj and other security agencies in the city.
Two years on, no changes on women’s rights
Two years since the movement began, analysts have pointed out that there have been no positive changes in the government's approach and behavior towards women and dissent.
The Islamic Republic persists in enforcing its strict policies on hijab and social conduct and, in some instances, has intensified these restrictions and pressures. The state has also moved to tighten mandatory hijab laws, increase surveillance on dissent, and more harshly crack down on those who oppose these regulations.
In a piece for Iran International’s Persian site, political activist MahdiehGolroo argues that the Mahsa Zhina movement has sparked significant change in Iranian society, greatly raising public awareness of women's rights and motivating many to challenge the status quo. People who previously paid little attention to these issues are now more engaged with human rights, indicating a shift in public consciousness that promises deeper effects over time.
Golroo points out that, over the past two years, Iranian women have persisted in their resistance through social media and civil actions. While the movement hasn't yet led to immediate changes in government policy, it has intensified societal pressure and brought the issue of discrimination to the forefront of public debate.
Strikes and rallies planned inside Iran and abroad
On the eve of the second anniversary of the nationwide uprising, the Kurdistan Committee of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran issued a call for a nationwide strike on Sunday, September 15.
In a similar vein, nine labor and civil organizations within Iran issued a joint statement on the second anniversary of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, underscoring that "the inevitable confrontation between the majority of the people and the government has been ongoing for years due to worsening living conditions." The statement went on to declare, "We know there is no choice but to continue the 'Women, Life, Freedom' revolution."
Iranians abroad are also set to gather at various locations worldwide in the coming days to honor the memory of those killed by state security forces during the Mahsa movement.
Shirin Shams, a representative of the Women’s Revolution Organization, told Iran International, "Despite employing organized repression, the Islamic Republic cannot stop the progress of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' revolution." She further highlighted that over the past two years, women, students, schoolchildren, workers, teachers, nurses, retirees, LGBTQ+ individuals, and the broader public in Iran have united in their continued struggle against the Islamic Republic.
On September 11, Amnesty International released a report on the second anniversary of the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising, emphasizing that officials of the Islamic Republic and those responsible for crimes against the people have systematically escaped punishment.
Diana Eltahawy, a senior official at Amnesty International, called for other countries to launch criminal investigations into the Iranian government's actions during the 2022 protests.
In March 2024, the UN Fact-Finding Committee, in its first report on the Mahsa movement, concluded that the violent crackdown on these protests and the widespread, systemic discrimination against women and girls had led to severe human rights violations in Iran, with many acts of repression constituting "crimes against humanity."
Source: iranintl.com
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202409134316
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UN Official, Laila Baker, Says The War In Sudan Is ‘One Of The Ugliest’ She Has Ever Seen
EPHREM KOSSAIFY
September 14, 2024
NEW YORK CITY: A UN official on Friday described the situation in war-torn Sudan as “one of the ugliest” she has ever witnessed, with more than 26 million people facing acute hunger and millions of displaced women and girls deprived of their most essential needs.
Speaking after a visit to the country, Laila Baker, the Arab States regional director at the UN Population Fund, said: “We all know that war is ugly but this is one of the ugliest situations that I have ever witnessed in my entire life, certainly in my professional one.”
After 500 “devastating days” of conflict, Baker painted a dire picture of thousands of displaced women packed into a crowded shelter.
“They have no clean water, no hygiene, not enough food for their next meal, no medical care,” she said.
The UN said in August famine conditions were officially confirmed in the Zamzam camp for displaced persons, located close to El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where one child is dying every two hours from malnutrition. Famine is probably also present in several other camps for displaced people in and around the city, the organization said.
War has been raging in the country for more than a year between rival factions of its military government: the Sudanese Armed Forces, under Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti.
More than 19,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023. The war has also created the worst displacement crisis in the world, as more than 10 million have fled their homes to other parts of the country or neighboring nations.
Baker choked back tears as she recounted the “horrendous” story of a 20-year old woman named Sana who was raped and has been suffering in silence for 15 months, when “she should be at the prime of her vibrancy and life.”
Speaking from Amman in Jordan, Baker said the UN is attempting to help deal with needs in Sudan that are “far greater than what the international community can cope with.”
She added: “But what pains me the most is that in a country that once was the breadbasket of the entire continent, producing wheat that they could distribute across Africa, half of the population — slightly over half of the population, 26 million people strong — are now facing famine.
“Of the 600,000 pregnant women, 18,000 are likely to die as a result of that famine. They don’t know where their next meal is going to come from.
“Let me be clear: This is a war on all of the civilians. It’s not just the women and girls but if you take the complications of conflict — loss, both material and human; the devastation of being displaced; losing your loved ones; and where there is widespread sexual violence — you can understand that we are very concerned at (the Population Fund) about the consequences, both immediate and long-term, on the women and girls of Sudan.”
Aid workers continue to face harassment, attacks and even death, aid convoys delivering food, medicine and fuel have been looted, and humanitarian access continues to be obstructed. A recent escalation of fighting in Sennar has caused further blocking of the southern route that was the main cross-lines option for UN deliveries of humanitarian aid from Port Sudan to Kordofan and Darfur.
The UN has been calling for speedy approvals and security assurances so that its workers can deliver life-saving supplies, including essential medicines, nutritional aid, water-purification tablets and soap, from Port Sudan to Zamzam and other areas in need.
Baker again emphasized the urgent need for unimpeded humanitarian access in a country where only one-in-four medical facilities are still functioning, 80 percent of the healthcare system has been damaged or destroyed, and where large areas of the country, especially in the west, are completely unsafe for humanitarian work.
Asked by Arab News what message she would send to the leaders of the warring factions, Baker said: “I would say to the generals, and everyone else who's involved in this conflict and who can bring hostilities to a halt: the sooner, the better for everyone involved. Let peace flourish. Let it have a chance.
“The conflict is driving a stake into the heart of Sudan. No one prospers under this situation, least of all the women and girls.”
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2571311/middle-east
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Head Of NYC School Fired Longtime French Teacher After Answer About France’s Hijab Ban Made Her Daughter Cry: Suit
By Peter Senzamici
Sep. 13, 2024,
A longtime French teacher claims the Upper East Side’s elite, all-girls Spence School fired her for giving a straightforward answer about France’s controversial hijab law — which triggered the principal’s daughter so much she cried in class.
Her comments were accused of being sympathetic to the ban and Islamophobic by the school, which allegedly denied her any due process, despite years of praise for her advanced language classes, a new lawsuit claims.
“It’s Orwellian,” Anne Protopappas, a celebrated educator who had taught at the prestigious $65,000 a year school since 1999, told The Post.
Now, at 62, she’s been unable to find a new job after being sacked by the storied 132-year-old school, which boasts prestigious alumni such as Madeleine Astor, Gwyneth Paltrow, along with the children of figures such as Henry Clay Frick, Mick Jagger and Michael Bloomberg.
“So you teach the daughter of the head of the school, and then you can’t teach anymore?” Protopappas said. “You don’t just destroy people — like now, I have nothing. No livelihood, nothing.”
Protopappas says that she was viewed by students and parents — many of whom attended her special “Salon” classes open to the public — as a “quintessential Spence teacher” who valued “truth” and students, believing the school’s motto of “not for school but for life we learn.”
“You can’t have a faculty that is terrorized if you really want to teach those skills to the young minds,” she said. “And we almost switched from a culture of humility to a culture of insecurity.”
The incident took place in May 2023, when the daughter of the new Head of School, Felicia Wilks, asked a question about France’s so-called “hijab law,” according to court papers.
Wilks was brought in as head of school just a year earlier, as the Spence School grappled with a number of racial dust-ups, including an earlier lawsuit over the administration’s alleged defamation of a student in 2018 and another controversy involving the previous head of school.
After thanking the young Wilks for her curiosity, “I responded and connected it to the curriculum,” Protopappas said, highlighting how the law came to be from a French perspective.
But the thorough explanation was met with an “intensely personal and emotional reaction that was hard for her to really control,” including about a West Coast friend who started wearing a hijab recently.
“She was in a lot of pain,” Protopappas said.
The longtime teacher even congratulated her West Coast friend on her decision to wear a hijab.
“She was furious, and kept talking about her friend,” Protopappas said. “I was shaken, I had never seen anything like that in my 40 years of teaching.”
France has long had restrictions on wearing religious symbols deemed “ostentatious” in school, including Christian crosses and yarmulkes, in addition to Muslim head wear.
In 2022, they also banned women from wearing a hijab while competing in sports, a law that they relaxed for athletes at last month’s Paris Olympics. Last year, the nation specifically banned robe-like abayas in schools. Both moves were met with strong opposition in the European nation and internationally.
French supporters of the bans say that wearing showy religious articles in school goes against the Republic’s tradition of secularism, or “laicite,” in public spaces. Critics, such as Amnesty International, have said that secularism is no excuse to bar people from religious expression.
The next day — the last day of school for seniors — the young Wilks “expressed even more anger, as if she had been inflamed,” the lawsuit states, and tried to get her classmates to “join in her outrage,” a move that left her “isolated in anger,” and left the rest of the class “embarrassed and confused.”
Protopappas said she tried to check in with Wilks’ daughter the next day, but instead found herself suddenly labeled as “harmful to students.”
Wilks’ assistant head of school claimed that several students had complained of her presenting a “pro-France approach” and Islamophobic comments — claims she denies — and was warned by administrators that her class would be placed under strict scrutiny that fall, her suit states.
Protopappas told The Post that she attempted to schedule meetings with administrators and with Wilks, but was denied.
The administrators, she said, never produced detailed allegations from students besides Wilks’ daughter, nor had any student advisors or evaluation reflected the supposed “harm” in her classroom.
“I’m very humble,” Protopapas said. “I’m ready to self-examine, but I can’t be blamed for things that, really, are beyond my control.”
Once school started, Protopappas had course proposals blocked by Wilks, who “justified her decision” by labeling her a “problematic teacher,” the suit reads.
After several classroom visits — “clearly a discriminatory act of retaliation,” the court filing claims — Protopapas was fired.
“I was told via email, by the way,” Protopapas said. “After 25 years, [and] you’ve given everything to a place.”
Her attorney, Sean Dweck, said they sent a letter asking for her to be reinstated last June, as a way to avoid the discrimination suit. The school declined.
But it’s not just her job she wants back — she wants the school to return to valuing teachers.
The decision had been made,” Protopapas said, despite the lack of facts and evidence presented. “You just have to construct the narrative.”
“I signed up for the Spence School, not the Russian consulate,” she said.
In response to an email with a list of detailed questions, the Spence School said that they do not comment “on personnel matters or active litigation.”
Source: nypost.com
https://nypost.com/2024/09/13/us-news/longtime-teacher-at-elite-school-fired-after-top-daughter-cries/
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Afghan Women’s Three-Day Summit in Albania Concludes: Discussions on Creating an Inclusive, Women-Led Path for Afghanistan
Sep 14, 2024,
Amin Kawa
A three-day summit with the participation of Afghan women concluded in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Around 120 Afghan women from various countries gathered to discuss the violation of women’s rights and the Taliban’s misogynistic policies. The U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women was also present at this event. The summit sparked significant reactions and controversies, with some protesting women describing it as a platform for engaging with the Taliban. However, the participants firmly rejected any interaction with the Taliban and called for the complete overthrow of the regime. The summit aimed to empower Afghan women to restore their voice in international discussions about Afghanistan’s future and the fight for women’s rights.
Approximately 120 Afghan women from around the world came together in Albania to discuss women’s empowerment and restoring their voice in international dialogues concerning Afghanistan’s future. Among the attendees were several protesting women, former members of parliament, government officials, and women’s rights activists.
Some participants told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that they discussed gender apartheid, presented political solutions, and discussed the methods of providing global economic and humanitarian aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, as well as improving women’s economic empowerment. This sparked diverse reactions within the sessions, with some attendees opposing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule.
The summit (All Women Summit, Tirana), held from September 10 to 14, focused on creating an inclusive, women-centric path for Afghanistan. The participants examined mechanisms for drafting a charter for Afghanistan’s future, centered around women’s perspectives. Women discussed their role in shaping the narrative for a women-centric process and practical actions to achieve it, alongside identifying international and regional stakeholders, male allies, and non-allies.
The summit also tackled mechanisms of accountability and gender apartheid. The participants explored key operational priorities set by women to promote and protect human rights, particularly those of Afghan women and girls, as well as pursue justice and accountability.
The women discussed strategies and principles for uniting Afghan women. The participants debated key principles for collective action among women that should be included in Afghanistan’s future charter. They also focused on identifying critical areas for advocacy both inside and outside Afghanistan and agreed on areas of proposed cooperation and advocacy with identified stakeholders.
IgliHasani, Albania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed the respect for Afghan women’s resistance, tweeting: “We are proud to have inaugurated the first Afghan Women’s Summit in Tirana. We respect the incredible resistance of Afghan women and reaffirm our collective commitment to supporting their struggle for the rights taken from them by the Taliban regime. As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Albania remains steadfast in defending the rights of every woman and girl in Afghanistan and beyond.”
Some Afghan women and girls within Afghanistan also attended the summit. The Guardian reported that some of these women traveled through dangerous and complicated routes to reach the event, risking their lives. According to The Guardian, there is no guarantee of a safe return for those who attended from Afghanistan. The report also mentioned that several women who were supposed to attend were either stopped at the borders or missed flights from Pakistan.
In The Guardian report, one of the women from Afghanistan said that the Taliban prevented her from boarding a flight, but she ultimately made it to the event. She told The Guardian: “Every day when I leave home, I must consider whether it’s safe. Is it worth the risk? Even though I don’t know if I will be arrested when I return, I had to come here. Otherwise, what hope is there for things to change?”
The summit also had its controversies. Some protesting women chanted anti-Taliban slogans, criticizing lobbyists among the women at the event and calling on them to stop supporting the Taliban for personal gain.
This summit took place two weeks after the Taliban enacted the “Law for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.” This law has faced widespread domestic and international backlash. In it, the Taliban described women’s voices as “awrah” (something to be hidden) and have completely barred their participation in public life.
Over the past three years, the Taliban have banned women and girls from all public spheres, including education beyond the sixth grade and universities. Currently, in addition to labeling women’s voices as “awrah,” they are denied access to the judiciary and are subjected to severe harassment.
It is worth noting that last year, Afghan women launched a campaign to have the Taliban’s treatment of women recognized as “gender apartheid” and as a crime against humanity under international law, with efforts aimed at holding the group accountable.
Source: 8am.media
https://8am.media/eng/afghan-womens-three-day-summit-in-albania-concludes-discussions-on-creating-an-inclusive-women-led-path-for-afghanistan/
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghanistan-bangladesh-women-hijab-beaten/d/133200