New
Age Islam News Bureau
18
October 2021
• 'No
Woman Safe In Pakistan': Thirty-Five Percent Of Pakistanis Say In Survey
• Qatar
Emir Appoints Two Women To Advisory Council After Men Sweep Polls
• ‘Honour
Killing’: Pakistan Man Kills Wife, 2 Daughters Over Suspected Theft
• Iranian
Regime’s Misconduct - Iran Security
Forces Cover Up Shooting Of Young Women On Bikes
• Activists
Call Tunisia's First Female Prime Minister Mere Distraction
• 'Never
Give Up': UAE's Female Astronaut Tells Of Setbacks In Her Journey To Space
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ansam-manuel-iskandar-iraqi-woman/d/125602
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Ansam
Manuel Iskandar Dead Iraqi Woman Wins Parliamentary Elections, Social Media
Goes Berserk
By
Sakina Fatima
15th
October 2021
Ansam
Manuel Iskandar
------
Baghdad:
An Iraqi woman who passed away two months ago has won the country’s
parliamentary election that took place on Sunday, October 10, the local media
reported.
The
independent candidate Ansam Manuel Iskandar’s name appeared amongst the list of
winners in the elections this week. She obtained 2,397 votes and won one of the
five seats reserved for the country’s Christian community under the quota
system.
However,
as per the media reports, Iskandar’s victory sparked astonishment and
controversy among Iraqis on social media platforms as they expressed their
anger over a dead woman contesting for a seat.
However,
her family clarified in a Facebook post that she had announced to contest the
elections before. The family said that she died on August 24, 2021 after being
infected with the COVID-19.
The
family said that some voters did not know of her death and voted for her. “She
was elected because she had a rewarding career in her field of work and was a
decent humanitarian,” her family said.
Legally
speaking, she will now be will be replaced by the candidate who came second in
terms of number of votes.
In
the Iraqi elections held on October 10 which had a record low voter turnout of
41 per cent, Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr led the vote and won most of the
parliamentary seats. Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi came in second
place and the State of Law bloc led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
came in third place.
It
should be noted that according to the announcement of the cabinet secretariat,
97 women have won in the parliamentary elections all over Iraq.
Source:
Siasat Daily
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'No
Woman Safe In Pakistan': Thirty-Five Percent Of Pakistanis Say In Survey
Oct
17 2021
As
much as 35% of Pakistanis believe that no woman is safe in Pakistan, 43%
believe that the women are safe to some extent, while only 20% believe that the
women are safe in the country, a survey conducted by Pulse Consultant has
revealed.
At least
18,000 Pakistanis shared their views in the survey conducted by a Karachi-based
market researcher, Pulse Consultant.
Most
of the Pakistanis who view women as completely unsafe in the country were from
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 40% of the survey respondents vouched for women to be
unsafe.
The
survey showed that 35% of citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa consider women safe to
some extent in Pakistan, while only 19% consider them completely safe.
Similarly,
35% of people in Punjab saw women as unsafe in Pakistan, 41% saw them safe to
some extent, and 21% saw them completely safe.
The
rate of people who consider women unsafe in Pakistan from Sindh was 26% in the
survey, while the rate of those who consider them safe to some extent was 49%.
Meanwhile, 24% of the survey respondents considered them to be completely safe
in the country.
The
survey showed that most Pakistanis who see women safe to some extent in
Pakistan are from Balochistan, where 74% of people vouched for it.
Whereas,
19% of citizens of Balochistan saw women as unsafe in Pakistan. Only 7% of the
respondents from the province saw them as completely safe.
The
statistics compiled in the survey based on social status suggested that 45% of
people from the lower class believe that women are not safe in Pakistan.
The
rate of people who saw women as unsafe from the lower middle class was 35%, 30%
from the middle class, 29% from the upper-middle class, while 34% from the
upper class.
Meanwhile,
statistics based on gender showed the women were more positive than men when it
came to their safety in Pakistan.
As
many as 29% of women believe that they are safe outside the home, while only
22% of men vouched for it.
Source:
Geo Tv
https://www.geo.tv/latest/376458-no-woman-safe-in-pakistan-35-pakistanis-say-in-survey
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Qatar
emir appoints two women to advisory council after men sweep polls
October
14, 2021
DOHA,
Oct 14 (Reuters) - Qatar's emir named two women among his new appointments to
the Gulf state's advisory Shura Council on Thursday, after partial elections
held for the first time earlier this month saw not one of the more than 20
women candidates secure a seat.
In
what was Qatar's first legislative election, candidates competed for 30 of the
45 seats on the council. The emir continues to appoint the remaining 15 members
of the body, which has limited sway over policies in the monarchy, which bans
political parties.
Dashing
hopes for a stronger voice for women in the Gulf monarchy, voters elected an
all-male line-up for the council which has included a small number of women in
the past. read more
A
statement by the office of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani listed two
women -- Sheikha bint Yousef Al-Jufairi and Hamda bint Hassan al-Sulaiti --
among the newly appointed members.
Neither
woman ran in the elections.
While
Qatar has introduced reforms to women's rights in recent years, including
allowing women to independently get a driving license, it has been criticised
by rights groups for issues like the guardianship system, where a woman needs
male permission to marry, travel and access reproductive healthcare.
Kuwait
has been the only Gulf monarchy to give substantial powers to an elected
parliament, although ultimate decision-making rests with its ruler, as in
neighbouring states.
Source:
Reuters
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‘Honour
killing’: Pakistan man kills wife, 2 daughters over suspected theft
Oct
17, 2021
A
50-year-old Pakistani man allegedly shot dead his wife and two daughters on
Sunday suspecting them of thievery, in the latest incident of 'honour killing'
in the country, police said.
The
shooting occurred under the jurisdiction of Kalu Khan Police Station in Swabi
district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.
Jan
Bahadur suspected his wife and daughters of stealing a newborn from the Mardan
Medical Complex, a related FIR was also filed.
Bahadur,
along with his nephew Tayyab Jan, allegedly gunned down the three women, whose
names and other details have been withheld.
The
women died on the spot, while the accused manage to flee the scene.
The
police have registered a case and investigation is underway. The police raided
hideouts in the area in connection to killings.
Such
killings in the family are common in tribal parts of the country. Over 1,000
women and nearly 600 to 800 men are killed in Pakistan in the name of 'honour
killing' every year.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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Iranian
Regime’s Misconduct - Iran Security
Forces Cover Up Shooting Of Young Women On Bikes
OCTOBER
16, 2021
The
security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran aided a man in his release who
reportedly shot three young women in the back, in the city of Isfahan while
they were riding bicycles in August.
Persian
language media outside of Iran reported on Wednesday about the alleged Iranian
regime’s misconduct.
The
US government outlet Radio Farda reported, “According to the mother of one of
the shot girls, the officers first asked them not to leak the news so that they
could find out which person or group did that. In less than 48 hours, the
accused is identified and arrested; a 35-year-old man, according to the
victims. However, according to the family of one of the victims, the security
officials advised not to sue him, and at the hospital when they settled the
bill, they said that if you want the hospital to pay the cost of the hospital,
you have to consent.’
Al
Arabiya Farsi wrote the alleged suspect “was arrested with the help of security
forces in 48 hours, but was released on bail in less than a month. Shargh
newspaper wrote in a report that a man shot several women and at least one man
in Isfahan on August 19. Three young women were shot at the street and all
three said they were shot in the back with a rifle, apparently a hunting
shotgun, so that they had to go to medical facilities.”
Al
Arabiya added, “While attending the hospital, one of the families found out
that at least five people had been hospitalized for this reason. The report
states that the bad behavior of the shooter’s family on the one hand, and the
history of such violence in Isfahan on the other, led several families to seek
legal attention to the incident” in the media.
Sheina
Vojoudi, an Iranian dissident who fled to Germany to escape persecution, said
the “Basij attack civilians on the streets, especially women, if according to
them the women don’t have a proper hijab.”
The
Basij is a paramilitary force of young and fanatically pro-Iranian regime men.
Vojoudi
continued, “No one in Iran can do something like that and be released on bail
except when they are allowed by [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei to fire at will,
or Basij or somehow related to one of the Islamic Republic’s organs. When there
is a private complainant, it is impossible to be released without their
consent. Only someone related to the regime can commit a crime like this and
then force the complainants to consent.”
Vojoudi
added, “In a speech on June 7, 2017 Khamenei gave full power to his supporters
to act ‘independently like they are in a battle field, fire at will.”’
She
noted that Khamenei said, “Sometimes key think tanks and cultural and political
institutions fall into disarray and stagnation, and when that happens,
commanders of the soft war should recognize their duty, make decisions and act
in a fire at will manner.”
Radio
Farda reported, “In recent years, many women have been arrested by the police
or attacked by other groups for failing to comply with the law on compulsory
hijab in Iran, the most famous case being the acid attack on women in Isfahan.
In September of 2014, after some religious figures in the city of Isfahan
called for confronting the ‘unveiled,’ several motorcyclists in the city
sprayed acid on the faces of girls and women. Since then until a few years
later, judicial and security officials repeatedly spoke of pursuing the case
and trying to arrest the accused. But in July 2018, the lawyer for the victims
of the Isfahan acid attacks announced that the case would be closed without
finding the accused or defendants. The victims of this incident have been paid
from the fund of the Beit al-Mal by court order.”
Beit
al Mal is an Arabic phrase and means “house of wealth,” which provided
compensation for the injuries to the women who suffered acid attacks.
In
2014, a European Union Parliament lawmaker statement noted, “Acid attacks
against women have occurred again in Iran; this time at least 12 young girls
have been attacked in the city of Isfahan. The attackers’ motives are supposed
violations of the female dress code in Iran, which requires women to cover
their hair in public with a veil. All of the victims were young women who were
driving with their veil down. One of them has lost an eye and has very serious
burns all over her body.”
Separately,
an Iranian opposition Telegram news channel reported that Iranian Vice
President Mohsen Rezaee warned that Iran will take actions against “the 10,000
Jews living in Iran” if Israel “makes a mistake.” The Middle East Media
Research Institute on Tuesday posted a
translation of the threat targeting Iranian Jews.
Source:
The Jerusalem Post
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Activists
call Tunisia's first female prime minister mere distraction
Elizia
Volkmann
October
18, 2021
When
Najla Bouden was pronounced Tunisia’s first female prime minister in a decree
by President Kais Saied on Sept. 29, her appointment was initially heralded as
a milestone in Arab politics.
Bouden
is the first female prime minister not only in Tunisia but in the wider Arabic
world. Until now, she will be joined by nine more female ministers in the
25-member cabinet. However, she will not have the executive control that
previous heads of government wielded. Executive, legislative and judicial
powers lie firmly in the hands of Saied under another decree made Sept. 22.
In a
country famed for its strong feminist movements and progressive pro-women
legislation, the appointment seems on the surface another milestone for
Tunisian women.
The
United States has welcomed the development. US State Department spokesperson
Ned Price expressed the caveat that there should be “a rapid return to
constitutional order.”
However,
leading feminists, female politicians and civil society members have mixed
feelings and some have gone so far as to accuse Saied of “pinkwashing” his
politics to curry favor among foreign donor states such as Germany and the
United States to secure much-needed funding.
Oumaima
Jabnouni, a member of the steering committee of the Tunisian League for Human
Rights who has held several meetings with the presidency over recent human
rights infractions, told Al-Monitor, “It is not a perfect parity, but it is the
first time there have been so many women in the cabinet.”
She
stressed that Saied needs to take human rights and women’s rights seriously as
well as relations with the international community, saying that Western donor
states “have invested into the democratic transition and made a great
investment into civil society, elections, security and reforms of system
justice.”
Sayida
Ounissi, a member of the still-frozen parliament representing Tunisians living
in France for the Ennahda party, is sharply critical. She told Al-Monitor, “She
is legitimizing the coup." Saied, she said, is "trying to convince us
it is progressive. Why is he enforcing this perception of women being like decorations,
something pink and fluffy? Is he trying to pinkwash?”
Many
secular feminists welcomed Saied’s July 25 seizure of power that put an end to
what they saw as Ennahda’s control.
Saloua
Guiga of Femwise, an African Union committee working on women, peace and
security, said that she is conflicted about Saied’s regime. “I’m both for and
against,” she said. “Political Islam poses the biggest danger for the
country.''
Guiga
sees Bouden’s appointment as positive but said it's necessary to apply the constitution,
which prescribes equality between men and women, something she personally
fought for in 2012, when Ennahda proposed a constitutional article that spoke
about women as "complements" to men (as opposed to equals).
Historically
Saied is not known to be a feminist ally but rather a religious conservative
who opposes fundamental feminist issues, going so far to lecture a state
ceremony on the occasion of International Women’s Day in 2020 that under
Islamic law, inheritance issues do not treat men and women as equals.
Guiga
supports some aspects of Saied’s actions but warns, “If we Tunisian women do
not agree with something we go into the street and demand our rights. We are a
force and we fight.”
Guiga
says the constitution still stands and Saied must not go back on his promises:
“When he takes a decision he cannot go back; if he says he is with women then
he cannot go back.”
The
founder of the feminist organization Aswaat Nisaa, Ikrem ben Said, took a
different view in her opinion piece titled, “Having a seat at the table doesn’t
mean you have a voice.” Ben Saied illuminates the feminist elephant in the
room: that idea that criticizing the new prime minister makes one a bad
feminist. “For me, this ‘historic, symbolic’ Sept. 29 nomination sounds like throwing
Tunisian women under the bus! I asked myself, 'What makes a woman accept such a
responsibility knowing that according to the same Decree 117 she could not even
choose her ministers?’”
Leading
feminist thinker and economist Sameh Krichah takes a more moderate line. “I
cannot make assumptions about her as we have not seen what she is capable of,”
she said. “I wish her to be independent and free and to do what is best for the
country and have the courage to negotiate with the president.”
Saied’s
anti-corruption narrative is already being undermined by fears of incompetence.
Like many of the ministerial nominees, Bouden is an former academic: both as a
geologist and as a professor of engineering. Her previous bureaucratic position
in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research involved managing a
higher education development project funded by the World Bank.
However,
according to a 2019 investigation by Tunisian journalist Khaola Bou Karim for
the Tunisian news website Daraj, the project came under scrutiny by both the
Ministry of Finance and the World Bank for failing to advance the project and
spend the funds appropriately.
Bouden
scarcely spoke publicly after her appointment. Her speech announcing the new
government was brief. “She focused more on values, the same values insisted on
by Saied,” said Krichah, adding, “She only took two weeks to put her government
in place, so it is unrealistic that she has a plan.”
Bouden
may not have said much but Ounissi told Al-Monitor that her body language spoke
volumes. “Her nomination will make us lose more time in terms of convincing us
that we as women have our place in these spheres. All she does is sit in front
of her professor and just nods.”
Despite
Saied’s effort to author a clean government, he has not eliminated questions
about talent, competence and favoritism. With the presence of so many
longstanding bureaucrats, it cannot be called revolutionary.
Bouden
may well take some of the heat off Saied in terms of international pressure,
but she is responsible for rolling out Saied’s coffee shop politics to be
tested in the real world. The general labor union UGTT has already spoken with
Bouden, outlining the catalogue of changes required to alleviate entrenched
poverty and unemployment as well as pull Tunisia’s economy out of its current
tailspin.
Jabnouni
said the government should be aware that civil society “will continue our
monitoring over Decree117. We still are concerned that this decree could still
allow a transition into an authoritarian system.”
She
went on, "This government will be scrutinized and tested after raising
public expectations so high between Saied and Bouden, who will garner the
plaudits for successes and who will shoulder the blame of failures."
Source:
Al Monitor
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'Never
give up': UAE's female astronaut tells of setbacks in her journey to space
Sarwat
Nasir
Oct
18, 2021
Nora
Al Matrooshi, the Arab world’s first female astronaut, has encouraged young
people to "never give up", after revealing she was rejected by the
nation’s space programme in 2018.
The
28-year-old was speaking on the first day of the Space Week at Expo 2020 Dubai.
American and Japanese astronauts were also in attendance.
Ms Al
Matrooshi, who has a background in mechanical engineering, became part of the
nation’s astronaut corps earlier this year, along with Dubai Police helicopter
pilot Mohammed Al Mulla.
“I
actually did apply to the first batch, but unfortunately I didn’t make it. The
second batch was my second chance. It was my opportunity to achieve the dream
that I wanted since I was a child,” she said.
“I’m
sure you know how powerful the imagination of a child is and that power
inspired me to want to become an astronaut. As I grew up, that dream started to
build and I started to think how I can do it.
“I
did some research and what I needed to do. At that time in the UAE, there was
no astronaut programme, but children tend not to look at boundaries, they
believe all is achievable.
"So,
on December 6, 2019, it was announced that the UAE was looking for the second
batch of astronauts.”
Hazza
Al Mansouri became the first Emirati in space in 2019, after flying to the
International Space Station on a Russian rocket for an eight-day trip. Sultan
Al Neyadi was his backup.
Both
of them have completed their year-long training at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre
in Houston this month.
Ms Al
Matrooshi and Mr Al Mulla will begin their training in Houston in January,
including learning the Russian language, learning how to perform spacewalks and
mastering the systems of the space station.
Ms Al
Matrooshi also revealed some of the challenges she faced during the selection
process.
“First,
there were the online interviews. I think I got a bit unlucky on that part
because the cameras were not working for the people interviewing me, so it was
a bit awkward talking to a blank screen,” she said.
The
second part involved general and advanced medical tests, where the candidates
underwent colour blindness examinations and scans where Ms Al Matrooshi said
she could hear blood pumping through her jugular vein.
“That
was really interesting and very weird to hear at the same time,” she said.
The
final interviews were her “favourite part” because she met Emirati and Nasa
astronauts.
She
said she was unaware that Maj Al Mansouri, Dr Al Neyadi, and US astronauts
Jessica Meir and Anne McClain would interview her.
“I
was star struck at that point because I really wanted to become like the
astronauts in front of me," Ms Al Matrooshi said.
"I
never thought that I'd actually get to meet them that soon.
"I
couldn’t stop smiling throughout the interview."
After
the interviews and fitness examinations, the two newest members of the UAE’s
astronaut corps were finally selected.
“I
was ecstatic. This was a dream I had since I was 5 or 6-years-old," Ms Al
Matrooshi said.
"The
team grew from two to four and all of us come from different backgrounds and
all of us had different journeys, but we all managed to reach this point in our
careers."
It is
unclear when Ms Al Matrooshi will fly to space, but after she and Mr Mulla complete
their 30-month training at Nasa, they would qualify for future missions.
If
selected, the astronaut would have to complete mission-specific training, which
could stretch up to a year.
Source:
The National News
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