Australian Hijab-Wearing Boxer Tina Rahimi an Inspiration for Muslim Women Worldwide
New
Age Islam News Bureau
21
March 2023
• Canada’s
New Anti-Islamophobia Representative, Amira Elghawaby, Begins Community Visits
• UAE
President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikha Fatima Praise Women Worldwide On Mother's Day
• BRI
Bearing Fruit As Women in Gwadar Start Getting Jobs
• Women
in Herat Create Online Education for Female Students
• In
Egypt's Nile Delta, Women's Field Hockey Team Upholds Ancient Mantle
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/australian-hijab-boxer-tina-rahimi/d/129368
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Australian
Hijab-Wearing Boxer Tina Rahimi an Inspiration for Muslim Women Worldwide
First
Muslim Hijabi Female Boxer, Tina Rahimi
------
By
Namit Kumar
March
21, 2023
2022
was a year of many firsts for Tina Rahimi. She became the first female Muslim
boxer to represent Australia at a multi-sport event when she participated in
the Commonwealth Games. It was also the first time a boxer was wearing a hijab
at the CWG.
Rahimi
won the bronze medal in the 57kg category in Birmingham and instantly left a
trailblazing path for young Muslim women across the world. Since then, a flurry
of questions have come her way regarding her religious choices, and she says
that made her a bit more conscious than usual.
“I
do get asked about the hijab a lot. I don’t mind when it comes from a place of
curiosity. I understand I don’t look like a regular boxer,” Rahimi told The
Indian Express. “But some doubts do tend to creep in that people might judge me
just on how I look. They might not like me because of how I dress. Sometimes,
I’m afraid some judges might not like me because of how I look, and decisions
might not go my way because of that.”
Despite
the doubts, Rahimi does believe that there has never been any reason for her to
think that anyone treated her differently due to her wearing a hijab. The
Sydney-based boxer grew up in an Iranian family, and her father was a wrestler
in Australia. Pursuing sports, then, was always encouraged at home, but few
would have guessed she would take up boxing.
Rahimi
was a make-up artist before picking up boxing recreationally in 2017, and it
went from being a hobby to a passion the following year, when she had her first
amateur fight. She qualified for last year’s World Championship, and later rose
to fame in Australia with her CWG medal.
Expectations
and self-doubts
She
says self-belief never came naturally to her, so rather than the pushback from
the outside world, it was harder dealing with her own self-doubts. “I had a lot
more nerves when I was just starting out, lots of different kinds of thoughts
coming into my head about how people perceive me. The bigger struggle was
getting out of my comfort zone when I was boxing in the hijab,” she said.
Rahimi
considers herself lucky that she is supported back home, but admits that
dealing with the scrutiny and being in the public eye has not been easy. “There
was never any negative reaction when I started. But I do feel that there are
more eyes on me. Positively or negatively. I do feel it when I lose; that those
who are supporting my decision want so badly for me to do well, and I’m letting
them down a little.”
The
scrutiny may have intensified, but so has the sense of pride. Rahimi hopes that
when young Muslim women see her fighting, they would feel that they too can do
whatever it takes to follow their dreams in the hijab.
“I’m
proud of representing my country and community. That people watch me fight and
can see that I’m a Muslim woman, that I can do what I love and continue to
dress the way I want, for my religion,” she said.
At
the 2023 Women’s World Championships in Delhi, Rahimi was knocked out of the
tournament by home favourite Manisha Moun on Saturday. The bigger fight – to
change the public perception of Muslim and hijab-wearing women – continues.
Source:
Indian Express
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Canada’s
New Anti-Islamophobia Representative, Amira Elghawaby, Begins Community Visits
Amira
Elghawaby
-----
Barry
Ellsworth
21.03.2023
TRENTON,
Canada
Canada’s
anti-Islamophobia official said Monday she chose London, Ontario to begin her
first cross-Canada tour because a Muslim family was killed there in a
hate-motivated crime.
"The
call for the creation of a special office to combat Islamophobia came from
Muslim communities across Canada but most strongly from London Muslim
communities," Amira Elghawaby said in an interview with CBC Radio. "I
knew that I had to come to London."
London,
a city of a 404,000 southwest of Toronto, was the scene of a horrific crime on
June 6, 2021, when a man driving a pickup truck deliberately ran down a Muslim
family out for a Sunday evening stroll. Four people were killed and another was
wounded.
Elghawaby,
who was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January, said she will
call out Islamophobic laws and discrimination wherever she finds them.
She
got off to a rocky start when it became known that she co-authored a newspaper
opinion piece taking issue with Quebec’s Bill 21, which banned most public
servants from wearing religious symbols on the job. That controversial bill
effectively bans hijabs, or Islamic headscarves.
She
wrote that Bill 21 showed Quebecers were “swayed” by “anti-Muslim sentiment.”
She
apologized, but Quebec politicians called for her removal just days after her
appointment. Trudeau refused, and she remained.
On
Monday, she clarified her position on the Quebec legislation.
"Bill
21 does discriminate against people who wear visible religious symbols, and
there is a disproportionate impact on Muslim women who wear the
headscarf," she said. "As I've said and I will continue to say, that
does discriminate; it does discriminate against certain members of Quebec
society."
During
her London stop, Elghawaby said Muslim women talked of their fear after the
2021 killings, where the pickup truck left the road and went onto the sidewalk
to cut down the family.
"I
met Muslim women who say that if there's a loud sound as they're walking in the
streets that they feel frightened," she said.
Elghawaby
said she will visit communities across Canada over the next few months.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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UAE
President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikha Fatima praise women worldwide on Mother's Day
21
March ,2023
The
United Arab Emirates’ President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has paid tribute to
women worldwide, calling them an “unwavering source of love” on Mother's Day.
Sheikh
Mohamed’s comments were made on Tuesday on Twitter as he praised his own
mother, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, also known as the Mother of the Nation.
Sheikh
Mohamed took the opportunity to extend his wishes to all mothers, describing
them as a vital source of inspiration, strength and love.
His
message read: “To my beloved mother, and mothers everywhere, you remain an
unwavering source of love, strength and inspiration. You are celebrated and
cherished today and every day, and we pray for your continued health and
happiness. I wish you a very happy Mother’s Day.”
Mother’s
Day is marked on March 21 in the UAE.
Sheikha
Fatima also paid tribute to Emirati mothers and all mothers around the world on
the occasion.
In
a speech shared by state news agency WAM, Sheikha Fatima said that mothers in
the UAE and the world are a truly inspiring symbol of love, devotion and sincerity.
Sheikha
Fatima added that mothers play a fundamental role in raising children and
building the family, which is the basis for creating social cohesion, according
to WAM.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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BRI
bearing fruit as women in Gwadar start getting jobs
March
20, 2023
Gwadar:
As an important development in social sector, women in Gwadar get jobs in local
Garment Factory for having a respectable life in the society. Gwadar Women
Factory also known as Gwadar Women’s Development Employment Center is in
operation since 2020 in collaboration with Chinese Consulate Karachi and
managed by of Gwadar Women Development Organization of China Overseas Port
Holding Company.
According
to Gwadar Pro, “It came into being under deep insightfulness of China’s Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI) to instill a significant impact on the gender equality
and women empowerment in receiving countries.
“Such
initiative like Gwadar Garment Factory for women is in line with China’s
obligations to promote women mainstreaming and women empowerment within the BRI
framework under international law,” Chinese official at Gwadar port said.
Equipped
with relevant sewing apparatus, airy and lighted ambience, management room and
store, Gwadar Women Garment Factory has become a talk of town as it is not only
a new window of opportunity to train unskilled women but also letting
semi-skilled female tailers to hone their stitching acumen as per modern
demands.
“If
I had not been earning money reasonably and respectfully in Gwadar Garment
Factory located in Gwadar Port, neither I would have managed to send my kids in
schools nor I would have contributed in home budget to overcome mounting
challenges of daily price hike,” said Balqis Iqbal, a senior worker in Gwadar
Garment Factory.
“Such
awesome financial autonomy has boosted my family status as now I am not billed
as a burden, rather a self-supporting producer who can share the burden of
family expenses. The honor I feel in the eyes of my husband and my family
members is a cause of unending pleasure to me and let me say that all credit
goes to Gwadar Women Garment Factory that is first of its kind in Gwadar,” she
told Gwadar Pro.
Gwadar
Garment Factory is also being supervised by local woman Zaitoon Abdullah, who
is also a social worker in Gwadar. In exclusive interview to Gwadar Pro, she
said that Gwadar Garment Factory is a true success story for creating spiral
ripples in women empowerment.
All
women working here are given pick and drop services free of cost and that is
why their families are quite satisfied for their commutation. “As we have
complete confidence in Chinese and Gwadar Port Operator, so sense always
prevails that our women are safe in their workplace,” Rahim Baloch, a social
worker in Gwadar said.
Gwadar
Garment Factory Assistant Manager Zaitoon Abdullah noted that Gwadar
Manufacturing jobs like tailoring is a rewarding career choice for creative
women professionals in Gwadar who like working with fabrics.
With
their skills and knowledge to create garments that meet clients’ expectations,
all women working in Gwadar Garment Factory have a bright professional path on
various upscale garment industry in Pakistan, she added.
She
said that over the last two years Gwadar Garment Factory has become at least so
efficient that it has been stitching almost all uniforms of workers of Chinese
companies in Gwadar Port.
“Our
women tailers are also stitching Pakistan traditional male clothes as souvenirs
for Chinese high-ups facilitating them to wear them on Pakistan special days,”
she added. As these women are so talented, so constant energy is being devoted
to making embroidery work to scale up revenue, she added.
“Women
in Gwadar are very talented, but previously, they did not have any platform to
show their skills. There are several vocational training institutes to teach
basic stitching skills to women, but the center is the first of the kind to
provide an opportunity to skilled women to generate income in an organized
way,” she said.
Most
of the women at the center are not much educated, while having big dreams to do
something for themselves and their families, so they joined the center and work
hard to see their dreams coming true, she said.
COPHC
chairman Yu Bo said the Gwadar Garment Factory is also a starting point to help
women to be financially independent, giving them an opportunity to play their
pivotal role to improve their standards of living and fight against poverty.
Information
in this article comes from third party providers. This website does not provide
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losses directly or indirectly caused by using such information.
Source:
Pakistan Today
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/03/20/bri-bearing-fruit-as-women-in-gwadar-start-getting-jobs/
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Women
in Herat Create Online Education for Female Students
By
Sabria Abdal
A
group of women in Herat have created an online educational program called
Maktab to provide access to study subjects for female students above the sixth
grade.
They
said that female students can install the program on their phones and access
all school subjects.
“We
use this program “Maktab” so we can always have an open school for students so
they can be educated,” said Maryam Muneeb, executive director of the school
program.
They
say schools and universities help them provide educational materials for this
online program.
Meanwhile,
some girls urged schools and universities to reopen in the country for girls.
“Few
days remain in the new academic year and all girls are waiting for schools to
reopen for them,” said Mahjabin, a student.
“We
hope this new year that schools will be opened for girls and that they lift all
restrictions and reopen all schools and universities,” said Parwen, a student.
While
universities and schools remain closed for girls, the launch of online
education courses for girls is considered an effective opportunity.
“Online
education courses can be a good source of education for students,” said
Khadijah Mukhtar Zada, a lecturer.
According
to a current government decision, it has been more than one year that schools
and universities have been closed for girls.
Source:
Tolo News
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/provincial-182583
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In
Egypt's Nile Delta, women's field hockey team upholds ancient mantle
by
Bassem Aboulabass
March
21, 2023
Egypt's
fertile Nile Delta may not be the obvious destination for field hockey, but a
women's team is blazing a trail in a region that lays claim to the sport's
ancient roots.
While
hockey may never sell out stadiums in football-mad Egypt, 24-year-old forward
Donia Shaarawy says the governorate of Sharqiya has become the country's hockey
hub, and a potential launchpad for her dreams of going pro.
"Hockey
means Sharqiya, that's how we grew up," she told AFP, hopping off the
practice field clad in a black jersey and matching hijab.
Women
first took to the field in the region 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Cairo
in 1995, 30 years after the first men's team was established.
But
according to Sharqiya Hockey Club supervisor Ibrahim al-Bagoury, the region's
love for the sport goes back to Ancient Egyptian times, when a similar game was
played with a stick made of palm fronds.
"It
was known to them as hoksha, and it was played in ancient cities such as Tel
Basta" -- located in what is now modern-day Sharqiya -- as well as Amarna,
Bagoury told AFP.
The
national hockey federation's logo attests to this history, showing two Ancient
Egyptian figures sparring with sticks over a ball.
-
Hockey vs family -
Thousands
of years later, the athletes of the Sharqiya women's team -- which has won 25
out of 28 league tournaments in its history -- dribble across the field to the
sound of wooden hockey sticks colliding.
"No
woman in Egypt has broken into the professional leagues yet, but I hope to be
the first," Shaarawy said.
The
Sharqiya team is the most decorated in Egypt, winning five out of seven
national championships and taking the Africa Cup for Club Champions in 2019.
Despite
having "no media support", according to team coach Mostafa Khalil,
clubs in Italy and France have offered contracts to four members of his team --
all of which were turned down.
One
of the members could not leave her studies, while the three others were unable
to accept the offers because they were married with children.
The
coach chalks it up to Egypt's conservative culture, where young women and girls
"can't travel alone" -- a norm that Somaya Abdel Aziz, head of the
club's division for women, says is "changing with time".
Shaarawy,
the ambitious forward, said she would not accept "any potential partner
who objects to my athletic career".
For
team captain Nahla Ahmed, 28, marriage and children have been no object.
"I'm
married, I have a daughter, and my husband plays hockey himself," she told
AFP. She suggests "going pro in Egypt would be easier for women" than
going abroad, as teams would be more likely to accommodate the athletes' family
commitments.
Ahmed,
who has played hockey for 18 years and was crowned the Egyptian hockey league's
best player last season, has a bigger dream -- "to become the best player
in Africa."
-
'Bastion' -
Though
the women of Sharqiya have proven themselves time and again, they have come up
against both stubborn social norms and punishing economic woes.
"It's
an expensive sport, and without media coverage, we don't get sponsors,"
coach Khalil said.
It
was only in 2019 that an Egyptian company sponsored the team, he said, when
Egypt hosted the Africa Cup for Club Champions.
At
the far end of the pitch, eagle-eyed goalkeeper Nada Mostafa guards her post,
face hidden behind her protective mask.
Mostafa
-- a college student and goalie for both Sharqiya and Egypt's national team --
told AFP she chose her position "because you feel like you own the whole
world".
"As
they say, the goalkeeper is half the team," she continued.
A
single imported hockey stick costs upwards of $120, while a goalie's kit like
Mostafa's can set the team back $2,100 -- a steep cost in a country where the
local currency has been on a continuous downward spiral.
There
is little room for manoeuvre given the Sharqiya club's annual field hockey
budget of 5-6 million pounds (about $161,000-194,000), according to club
president Hamdy Marzouk.
But
he remains unphased, vowing instead to "preserve this bastion... (and)
keep the game here".
"With
over 150 national and continental championship wins, we can't throw that
away," he told AFP.
"It's
like samba and football in Brazil -- everyone in Sharqiya has a hockey
stick."
Source:
Al Monitor
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