Justice Ayesha Malik To Be Pakistan's First Woman Supreme Court Judge; Elevation Approved
New
Age Islam News Bureau
07
January 2022
• Belgian-British
Teenage Pilot, Zara Rutherford To Fly Solo Around The World Arrives In Saudi
Arabia
• Saudi
Women Told They Can Also Apply To Become Cabbies
• Indian
Police Arrest Alleged Creator Of App Targeting Muslim Women
• Women’s
Periods May Be Slightly Late After Covid Vaccine: Study
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ayesha-malik-pakistan-supreme-court-judge/d/126108
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Justice
Ayesha Malik To Be Pakistan's First Woman Supreme Court Judge; Elevation
Approved
A
file photo of Justice Ayesha Malik. — Photo courtesy Punjab Judicial Academy
website
----
By
Salman Masood
Jan.
6, 2022
ISLAMABAD,
Pakistan — Pakistan cleared the way for the first woman in the country’s
history to become a Supreme Court justice, when a judicial commission on
Thursday approved the elevation of Justice Ayesha A. Malik to the top court.
The
nomination of Justice Malik, a justice on Lahore’s High Court, was hailed by
lawyers and activists who saw it as a rare victory after decades of struggle to
secure greater representation and rights for women in Pakistan’s largely
conservative and male-dominated society.
“This
is historic,” said Aliya Hamza Malik, a member of parliament from the governing
Tehreek-e-Insaf bloc. “It is a defining moment for women’s empowerment in the
country.”
Her
nomination, which was backed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, will now go to a
parliamentary committee, which is expected to confirm her appointment to a
10-year term.
The
path to Justice Malik’s nomination was not smooth. She has faced bitter
opposition from a large section of the legal community, and some lawyers have
threatened to go on strike if she becomes part of the Supreme Court bench.
Last
September, the judicial commission rejected Justice Malik’s elevation after
four out of its eight members opposed her, citing her lack of seniority.
Justice Malik is fourth in seniority on the Lahore High Court, which she joined
in 2012.
Despite
the opposition, the country’s chief justice continued to support her elevation
to the top court, and legal advocacy groups have discounted the argument that
lack of seniority is a disqualifying factor for nomination.
“This
elevation has come 74 years too late, and we should all celebrate that some
change to an all-male bench has finally come,” said Benazir Jatoi, an
Islamabad-based lawyer, referring to the creation of an independent Pakistan in
1947.
“Our
judicial system is alien to female representation,” Alia Zareen Abbasi, another
Islamabad-based lawyer, noted. “Despite years and years of struggle and having
very able female judges, none was able to make it to the Supreme Court. Even in
high courts, the low, almost negligible percentage of female representation is
very alarming.”
Some
observers cautioned that one victory for women was far from enough in a country
where sexual assault and discrimination remain largely unpunished crimes.
“If
women continue to be shackled by patriarchy and regressive interpretations of
Islam, we will continue to not progress in terms of developing the human
capital required to succeed nationally and globally,” said Zarmeeneh Rahim, an
Islamabad-based lawyer.
Still,
she said, “to finally see a woman sit on the highest court in the land is a
small step forward in that struggle.”
Source:
New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/world/asia/pakistan-woman-supreme-court.html
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Belgian-British
Teenage Pilot, Zara Rutherford To Fly Solo Around The World Arrives In Saudi
Arabia
Belgian-British
teenage pilot, Zara Rutherford
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January
07, 2022
RIYADH:
Belgian-British teenage pilot, Zara Rutherford, landed at King Khalid
International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday in her attempt to break the record
for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.
Passing
through 52 countries in a microlight aircraft, Rutherford stopped off in the
Kingdom from the UAE as part of her tour, which is meant to encourage girls and
women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as to
stimulate girls’ interest in aviation, a statement on Saudi Press Agency said.
The
Kingdom’s hosting of the adventurous young pilot, in coordination with the Saudi
Aviation Club, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Riyadh Airports Company,
aims to shed light on the role of women in the aviation sector, and in
particular empower Saudi women in the field in line with the Kingdom’s Vision
2030.
Capt.
Rutherford said she was pleased to arrive in Riyadh and that the flight had
exceeded all her expectations and gave her unforgettable moments and tremendous
challenges.
“I
enjoyed the wonderful view when flying over the Kingdom, and every moment I had
was an exceptional experience,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford
set out on the epic flight in August from Kortrijk-Wevelgem International
Airport in western Belgium, with the goal of flying 32,000 miles (51,499
kilometers) across five continents.
The
19-year-old, who obtained a special flight license from the US Federal Aviation
Administration and the UK on Aug. 18, is piloting one of the world’s fastest
lightweight aircraft, the Shark Ultralight, which is the world’s fastest
two-seater single-engine light aircraft, and can reach a speed of 300
kilometers per hour.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1999686/saudi-arabia
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Saudi
Women Told They Can Also Apply To Become Cabbies
January
06, 2022
JEDDAH:
Less than four years after being given the right to drive, Saudi women have
been told they can now also apply to become cabbies.
The
news was announced by the Saudi General Directorate of Traffic via its Twitter
account @eMoroor. The statement said that women could apply for a “general taxi
license” at any of 18 driving schools in cities across the Kingdom, including
Riyadh, Jeddah, Jazan, Asir, Najran, Jouf, Hail and Taif.
The
cost for applying for a license is SR200 ($53), the department said.
Artist
Latifah Al-Shalhoub told Arab News she supported the announcement.
“As a
female, I always had an issue with this topic. I never felt comfortable riding
in a taxi on my own with a male driver. At least with Uber and Careem you get
some information about the driver before you get in,” she said.
“Most
taxi drivers around the world are men, but you do see women drivers in some
countries. It is definitely more comfortable to ride with a female driver than
a male.”
Translator
Aseel Atif said the announcement would give women more options in the jobs
market.
“I
think this news will help many women find a career,” she said, adding that she
might consider it for herself.
“I
love driving, so I wouldn’t mind being a taxi driver.”
Since
being granted the right to drive in 2018, a number of careers in the
transportation field have opened up to Saudi women, including driving trains,
flying planes and even racing cars. That ruling also allowed women to work as
drivers for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Careem.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1999536/saudi-arabia
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Indian
police arrest alleged creator of app targeting Muslim women
January
7, 2022
NEW
DELHI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Indian police said on Thursday they had arrested a
20-year-old man they suspect created an online app that shared pictures of
Muslim women for a virtual "auction", as an investigation into the
case of communal harassment widened.
An
open source app on the Github platform called 'Bulli Bai' - a derogatory term
to describe Muslim women - had shared pictures of dozens of women without their
consent before it was taken down.
K.P.S
Malhotra, a police official in the capital New Delhi, said his team had
arrested a 20-year-old engineering student from Jorhat in the eastern state of
Assam after a probe that involved the state-run Computer Emergency Response
Team.
"He
is the person who had created the Bullibai app on Github. He had also created
the Twitter handle @bullibai_ and other handles," Malhotra said.
Police
in the western city of Mumbai, who are also investigating the app, have
separately arrested three people this week, including two 21-year-old
engineering students and an 18-year-old woman. read more
Mumbai
police said they were investigating whether the app, which did not involve any
actual auctioning of people, was part of a "larger conspiracy".
Several
Indian Muslim journalists were targeted by the app, including Ismat Ara who
filed and then shared on social media a police complaint on Sunday that said
the app was "designed to insult Muslim women".
"After
today's arrest by @DelhiPolice, I hope the culprits behind this elaborate
harassment of Muslim women, including journalists like myself, will ultimately
be caught & punished," Ara said in a tweet on Thursday.
Muslims
account for around 14% of India's 1.3 billion population. Some sections of the
community have been at odds with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration
and Hindu right-wing supporters, including over a controversial 2019
citizenship law that triggered large-scale protests.
The
youngest of those arrested so far is from the northern Indian state of
Uttarakhand. The 18-year-old began spending time on social media and made
contact with Hindu right-wing users after finishing her school-leaving exams
last year, a local police official who spoke to her earlier this week told
Reuters.
The
official, who declined to be named, said she had told him that her actions were
based on Hindu right-wing ideology, which she had picked up on social media
platforms, including Facebook (FB.O), WhatsApp and Twitter (TWTR.N).
"She
came to social media to distract herself but she kept getting entangled in
it," the official said.
Source:
Reuters
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Women’s
periods may be slightly late after Covid vaccine: study
January
07, 2022
WASHINGTON:
Women vaccinated against Covid-19 saw a slight delay in their period of almost
a day compared to those who were unvaccinated, a US government-funded study
said Thursday.
But
the number of days of bleeding was not affected, according to the research
carried out on nearly 4,000 individuals and published in “Obstetrics &
Gynecology.”
Lead
author Alison Edelman of the Oregon Health & Science University told AFP
the effects are small and expected to be temporary, a finding that is “very
reassuring” as well as validating for those who experienced changes.
The
study can also help counter anti-vaccine misinformation on the topic, which is
rampant on social media.
The
slight increase in menstrual cycle length is not clinically significant. Any
change of fewer than eight days is classified as normal by the International
Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Period
cycles generally last about 28 days, but the precise amount varies from one
woman to another, as well as within an individual’s lifetime. It can also
change during times of stress.
For
their study, the scientists analyzed anonymized data from a fertility tracking
app, among women aged 18 to 45 who were not using hormonal contraception.
Some
2,400 participants were vaccinated — the majority with Pfizer (55 percent),
followed by Moderna (35 percent) and Johnson & Johnson (seven percent).
About
1,500 unvaccinated women were also included as a comparison.
Among
the vaccinated group, data was collected from three consecutive cycles before
vaccination and from three more consecutive cycles, including the cycle or
cycles in which vaccination took place.
For
unvaccinated individuals, data was collected for six consecutive cycles.
On
average, the first vaccine dose was associated with a 0.64-day increase in
cycle length and the second dose with a 0.79-day increase, when comparing the
vaccinated to unvaccinated group.
The
immune system’s response to the vaccine could be behind the change.
“We
know that the immune system and the reproductive system are interlinked,” said
Edelman.
A
revved-up immune system might have an impact on the
hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis — what Edelman calls the “highway of how
your brain talks to your ovaries, talks to your uterus,” or simply the “body
clock.”
Specifically,
the production of inflammatory proteins called cytokines appears to disrupt the
way this axis regulates the timing of menstrual cycles.
The
changes seem most pronounced when vaccination takes place early in the follicular
phase, which starts on the first day of the menstrual period (bleeding) and
ends when ovulation begins.
In
fact, a subgroup of people who received two injections of the Pfizer or Moderna
vaccines during the same cycle, as opposed to two different cycles, saw an
average increase in cycle length of two days — but the effect again appears
temporary.
The
team now hopes to gather more data on subsequent cycles among vaccinated women
to confirm a long-term return to baseline, and expand the study globally so
they can differentiate the effects between vaccine brands.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1999711/lifestyle
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