Bangladesh Scraps Women-Only Beach Zone After Outcry Over Gender Segregation
New
Age Islam News Bureau
31
December 2021
• Woman
Reported Arrested In Iran After Trampling On Cleric’s Turban
• Runners
Get Ready For Women’s Cross-Country Race In Jeddah
• Pakistani
TV Actress Alizeh Shah Caught Smoking; Pakistanis Accuse Her Of Corrupting
Culture
• Muslim
Women Redefined Democracy: Activist, Author Bhasha Singh At Launch Of Her Book
On Shaheen Bagh
• After
Seeing Local Need, Canadian Arab Women Association Expands To Guelph
• In
Egypt, Lending Apps Boost Cash-Strapped Women Business Owners
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bangladesh-beach-gender-segregation/d/126071
--------
Bangladesh
Scraps Women-Only Beach Zone After Outcry Over Gender Segregation
Getty Images/ A sign saying the beach was reserved for women and children was erected along one stretch on Cox's Bazar, before the decision was quickly reversed
----
Dec
31, 2021
COX'S
BAZAR: Authorities in Bangladesh's main tourist resort scrapped a dedicated
beach section for women and children after a social media outcry over gender
segregation, officials said on Thursday.
On
Wednesday afternoon, Cox's Bazar officials inaugurated a section of the
shoreline on the world's longest natural sea beach as an exclusive zone for
women and children. But hours later, the administration issued a press release
saying that it had "withdrawn its decision" after "negative
comments". Abu Sufian, a senior official in Cox's Bazar, said the section
had been created following requests from conservative women in the
Muslim-majority country. "They requested a dedicated beach section for
themselves, because they felt shy and insecure in a crowded place," he
said. Earlier this month the gang rape of a woman in Cox's Bazar sparked an
outcry over women's safety in the city.
But
the move to cordon off a section of the beach caused uproar on social media,
with critics saying it was pandering to hardline Islamists who still wield
considerable influence in the country. "This is Talebistan," veteran
journalist and commentator Syed Ishtiaque Reza wrote on Facebook, referring to
the Taliban in Afghanistan. Another commentator compared it to
"Mollahtantra", which translates as hardline Islamist ideology. Parts
of Bangladesh society remain very conservative, and in recent years, a hardline
Islamist group has held massive rallies demanding segregation of the sexes in
workplaces and factories.
Hundreds
of thousands visit Cox's Bazar during festive periods, and the tourism sector
has boomed in recent years. To provide security to the growing number of
tourists, authorities have set up a tourism police unit to patrol beach towns.
Source:
Times Of India
--------
Woman
Reported Arrested In Iran After Trampling On Cleric’s Turban
Thousands
of women are arrested in Iran each year for their "inappropriate"
dress.(Representative image)
----
12/28/2021
A
woman in the religious city of Qom was arrested for arguing with a cleric and
trampling on his turban after he and another cleric warned her over her hijab.
Hawza
News, news agency of Qom’s seminaries, claimed Tuesday that the woman had
attacked the cleric around two months ago after he had criticized her hijab.
Hawza News made no mention of legal action against the two clerics.
The
arrest took place after New York-based activist Masih Alinejad tweeted Monday a
video of the incident. Alinejad, who has a strong social media presence both in
Iran and in the diaspora, is a critic of mandatory hijab in Iran.
In
the video, which is undated, the woman attacks a middle-aged cleric, who holds
a cane, knocking off his turban and trampling on it. The cleric is seen using
his cane trying to hit the woman. She then chases another cleric across the
street, before knocking off his turban too, as passers-by gather and watch.
In an
interview with Iran International Tuesday, Toronto-based lawyer and activist
Mehrangiz Kar said the clerics should have been arrested, and that one had
committed a crime by “meddling with a citizen's rights” and hitting her on the
head with his cane. The woman had only defended herself, Kar argued.
More
than four decades after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, there is still much
resistance to the prescribed standards of hijab promoted by the state, which
many women refuse to accept even at the cost of being arrested, fined or even
lashed.
In
recent years, social media has been rife with tens of cases of fights with
clerics over hijab and other matters. Some Iranians, including clerics such as
Ayatollah Mostafa Mohaghegh-Damad, believe involvement of clerics in governance
has damaged the sanctity surrounding them.
Seminaries,
religious groups, and many government bodies including the education ministry
work at "establishing the culture of modesty and hijab." Seminars,
exhibitions, and state television all encourage adherence, and the state-run
television airs many programs on the subject.
Qom
hosts dozens of seminaries with over 100,000 students, meaning some clerics are
alive to any slackening in standards.
Hardliners
say adherence to hijab in Qom has hugely diminished in the past few years.
"The mushrooming of loose hijab in the holy city of Qom cannot be
denied," the news agency of the state broadcaster IRIB said in a report on
the situation of hijab in Qom in August.
An
activist introduced by her last name, Hosseini, told Fars news agency two years
ago that she had xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxorganized over 450
'trained hijab patrols' to warn women over poor hijab in Qom. She said her
colleagues handed out gifts such as veils, veil pins, and books about the lives
of martyrs to women on the streets to encourage them.
Source:
Iranintl
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202112280403
--------
Runners
get ready for women’s cross-country race in Jeddah
December
30, 2021
JEDDAH:
The Saudi Athletic Federation is organizing a first-of-its-kind cross-country
running event in Jeddah at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Friday.
The
federation has invited individuals and teams to participate in the race, which
is exclusively reserved for Saudi women and girls of all ages.
The
federation said there were still spaces to compete in the race, with
registration available through links posted on its website and on social media.
Roa
Kattan, a member of the Technical Committee of the federation, said: “The race
is dedicated for long distances and considered one of the athletic races, and
in most countries, it is held in open places and on uneven terrain. This is the
first time that the federation has held such a competition for women.”
She
added: “It is an official championship to encourage women to participate and
discover Saudi girls who would be able to represent the Kingdom as individuals
or in teams.”
She
continued saying: “We have received the applications of six teams and 87 female
competitors and we hope to have more participants.”
Saudi
Arabia organized a marathon race for women in 2018, with thousands running in
Al-Ahsa, in the east of the Kingdom.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1995676/sport
--------
Pakistani
TV Actress Alizeh Shah Caught Smoking; Pakistanis Accuse Her Of Corrupting
Culture
Nootan
Sharma
30
December, 2021
New Delhi:
Smoking is injurious to health. But in Pakistan, it is more so for women. Or so
it seems. Popular Pakistani TV actress Alizeh Shah was seen smoking in a car.
Someone recorded her and now the video is all over social media. Not
surprisingly, everyone watching it has a take on it.
Pakistani
drama shows are quite popular in India as well. Alizeh Shah has played lead
roles in Ehd-e-Wafa, Hoor Pari, Jo Tu Chahey, Mera Dil Mera Dushman, and Taana
Baana.
But
that seems to matter little for Pakistan’s outrage crowd. As Dawn, Pakistan’s
leading English newspaper, said in an article, “It doesn’t seem to matter what
she [Alizeh Shah] does, as long as she’s doing it, people are going to have a
problem.”
‘Against
culture’
One
Twitter user said Pakistani culture doesn’t allow women to smoke.
Another
wrote, “While promoting feminism, pakistani girls are gone too far, They have
adopted European culture completely, whether it is about dressing or their way
of life..Alas!!”
Some
shared a past video of Alizeh Shah in which she is seen arguing that women in
Pakistan are unable to live life on their own terms. With her clip of smoking
in public, they say this shows her “hypocrisy”. Clearly, it is lost on them
that the backlash is only proving Alizeh’s point.
Those
blaming the entertainment industry for her smoking weren’t going to be left
behind. A user named Teto Patiyaa said, “Alizeh Shah is the prime example of
how the showbiz industry ruins you.”
A few
users, not sure whether Alizeh was smoking a cigarette or charas, decided to
give her the benefit of doubt. They seem to draw a line over smoking charas
(hash).
Some
support for Alizeh
It
wasn’t all bad. Some people did come out in support of her. A user named Ata Ur
Rehman asked people to “stop being her dad”.
Another
user said, ‘So called ghairat of Pakistanis get hurt when they see #AlizehShah
smoking but their ghairat remains in deep sleep when their country has been
sold out to IMF. #MiniBudgetByPTIMF’
Alizeh
Shah was also accused of doing it for attention. ‘If getting attention had a
face,’ a user said.
This
backlash is similar to what Pakistani actress Mahira Khan had received when she
was clicked smoking a cigarette with Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor on the
streets of New York City in 2017.
The
Print
--------
Muslim
women redefined democracy: Activist, author Bhasha Singh at launch of her book
on Shaheen Bagh
Sanjukta
Basu
31
Dec 2021
Award
winning journalist, documentary film maker and cultural activist Bhasha Singh’s
latest book, ‘Shaheen Bagh – Loktantra ki Nai Karwat’ was released on Thursday
at the Press Club by eminent guests Syeda Hameed, Sidharth Varadrajan, Gauhar
Raza among others. Published by Rajkamal Prakashan the Hindi book documents the
indomitable spirit and courage of the anti-CAA protest led by Muslim women at
Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and similar protests across India which have since become
a beacon of hope for secularism, democracy, and people’s movement.
“The
Shaheen Bagh protests redefined what is democracy, and what is the role of
Indian Muslim women in democracy. From Kerala to Kolkata to Deoband there was
almost no state which did not have a Shaheen Bagh protest. The sheer strength
of this living history inspired me to document the movement,” author Bhasha
Singh said at the release.
“Indian
Muslim women have always been side-lined by both the political and community
leaders. We could not even access the Muslim women’s voice beyond the Maulana.
Journalist would go to Deoband and get a Maulana’s byte and do their stories.
Breaking all those barriers these women made a space for themselves. I hope
this book would keep the spirit of Shaheen Bagh alive in history,” Singh added.
The
author thanked the publisher Rajkamal Prakashan for having the courage to
publish the book in Hindi even though it is widely believed that there is no
market for such books in the Hindi language.
Activist
and former member of National Commission of Woman and Planning Commission Syeda
Hameed appreciated the way the book documents the protests through not just
words but powerful visuals showcasing the various study circles, libraries and
other educational and cultural activities which had become a part of the
anti-CAA protests.
She
also recalled how during her tenure as NCW Member in the late 90s, Muslim women
were ‘be-awaz’ (voiceless) and it took efforts for the NCW to bring them to
mainstream. She said that she could not ever imagine that those voiceless women
would one day show the nation the truth path to democracy.
“The
name of the book, Loktantra ki nai karwat (Democracy’s New Awakening) is truly
justified as it tells us tales of women like 101-year-old Hamidulmisa Begum,
who camped at the protest site all day and night for weeks and months because
she was too old to do a daily shuttle, who had the courage to question the prime
minister ‘Who are you to ask me where did I come from, where did my parents and
grand parents come from, did we ever ask you that?’” Syeda Hameed said
referring to one of the women protesters featured in the book.
Siddharth
Varadarajan, Founder and Editor, The Wire, spoke eloquently about the
significance of the book at a time when most Indian media are telling only what
the government wants to be told, when there are competing narratives, and
deliberate suppression of facts with fascist designs.
He
applauded the publisher for their courage to publish a book on Shaheen Bagh in
the current political environment. “Contemporaneous documentation of the events
of our time in the shape of books is imperative when there are constant efforts
to delegitimize one of world’s most inspiring democratic movement,” Varadrajan
said. “Sections of media, politics and other vested interest groups, some of
them having direct link to BJP, repeatedly tried to change the narrative about
Shaheen Bagh by calling them ‘anti-national’, giving communal colours to the
movement and so on. How the Delhi riots were instigated, how Delhi police
helped the rioters, the communal speech given by BJP leaders including Prime
Minister Modi – it is imperative to document these events so that the generations
to come are able to find the truth,” he added.
Several
speakers at the book launch said that one of the strongest features of the
Shaheen Bagh protest was the way Muslim women invoked the Constitutional
rights, celebrated the national flag, sung the national song and the collective
reciting of the Preamble. “I studied law, but even in the law college I cannot
remember any of us paying this much attention to the Preamble. At every protest
site I visited, I saw large cut out of the Preamble erected, I saw children
with the tri-colour painted on their cheeks,” Bhasha Singh said.
“I
was born in Allahabad to a Muslim family, studied in Aligarh and grew up in
Muslim environment. I cannot remember a single incident in my 65 years of life,
when Indian Muslims came out on the streets for Secularism. I remember when
there was theft of the holy relic Moi-e-Muqqadas from the Hazratbal Shrine,
Muslims all of India came on streets. They came on the street over some issue
at Masjid-e-Aqsa, the release of the book Satanic Verses, over some cartoons
but all of these were religious event. Shaheen Bagh was the first time that
Muslims came on the street for a secular cause,” said Scientist and Poet Gauhar
Raza at the book launch.
Speakers
at the book launch also emphasized on the fact that the Shaheen Bagh protests
showed the path to the farmers protests. “They showed the way that the powers
that be can be brought down without resorting to any violence by sheer will
power and we finally saw this method of non-violent protests clocking a win in
the way farmers protest ended at the repeal of the farm laws,” Gauhar Raza
said.
Also
present at the event was Rashtriya Janta Dal MP Manoj Jha. “In contemporary
India, Shaheen Bagh and Farmers Protests are two events which deepened the
democracy. Future generation will take pride in these protests. The ruling
regime tried to give a bad name to Shaheen Bagh but the life of a narrative is
not chosen by the contemporaries. It is chosen by the historical trajectory
through which a nation passes. History will remember these events through the
lens of what India once was, an ocean of ideas, and what this regime is trying
to make it, a dirty pond. History would be more brutal to this regime than the
present TV anchors,” Manoj Jha told National Herald.
Source:
National Herald India
--------
After
seeing local need, Canadian Arab Women Association expands to Guelph
Anam
Khan
Dec
28, 2021
In
2016, Asma Alwahsh started a community group for Arab women to get together,
spend time and share resources in Waterloo. Five years later, the group is now
a registered not for profit organization helping over 1,500 women in the
region.
Now
the group has officially expanded services to help Arab women in Guelph.
Whether
it is settlement organizations, volunteer services, educational programs,
conversation circles, computer classes or just offering a helping hand, the
Canadian Arab Women Association (CAWA) aims to connect, help, and ultimately
empower local Arab women.
Alwashsh
said the organization is expanding in Guelph with the help of recent funding
from Women and Gender Equality Canada and has already begun its outreach. The
funding has also enabled the organization to hire two outreach workers that
will work with Arab women and their families to connect them with resources.
It
also hopes to find office space in Guelph soon. The organization currently has
an office in Cambridge and Kitchener.
“Before
COVID, many women from Guelph came to our social events and they were asking
when we can open something in Guelph and now luckily, funding will enable us to
expand and help and support and empower women in Guelph,” said CAWA’s founder,
Alwahsh.
“Through
this program, we will be able to, to work with the Arab woman on resume
writing, cover letters, interviews, and some of like the Canadian work culture
and tips and tricks how to get the Canadian experience and I can say this is
the only program in Waterloo Region and in Guelph, that is providing the this
is skills only in Arabic,”
She
said any Arab woman regardless of her status or religion is welcome to join the
group.
“Our
mission is to connect and support and empower women by connecting them with
resources providing them with programs, engaging them in our community to
enable them to make a positive impact in their lives, and the lives of their
families, and their community at large,” said Alwahsh.
She
said when she first launched as a community group in 2016, she heard many
stories about women who lived in Canada for decades but struggled to engage
with the community because they didn’t have the right connections or didn’t
have friends or family members to guide them.
“I
started with this idea of the socializing aspect, just going out, getting to
know each other, because sometimes you are more comfortable to ask somebody
from your own culture, your own land. people using your own language,” said
Alwahsh.
“That
was the basic idea of CAWA.”
Alwahsh
said soon after, the organization began to see the needs of the Arab community.
Alwahsh
said when she first started, everyone was volunteers, and now the group has
grown into an 11 staff organization which began last September.
“Last
September, we had like two people and then in January we had like two people.
And then in July, we started the hiring process. So now in December we have
almost 11 staff members,” said Alwahsh.
Programs
in the organization, like Strong Families Together, discuss topics such as
parenting and family law in Canada so newcomers can navigate the different
parenting experience in Canada.
“We
were able to hire an art therapist and a parenting counselor to help women
navigate a system on how to parent in a different culture,” adding that the
group also connects the women in the tricity area through Whatsapp groups.
Their
private Facebook group has nearly 1,500 members that connects women with
resources and aims to serve as a safe space for women to ask questions.
Source:
Guelph Today
--------
In
Egypt, lending apps boost cash-strapped women business owners
December
30, 2021
Nagat
Mohamed was in dire straits. After sales at her clothes shop in Egypt's Nile
Delta plummeted, she took out a loan from a microfinance company to keep the
business going – but did not earn enough to pay that back either.
To
escape default, the 43-year-old entrepreneur turned to a traditional
money-lending system known as a 'gameya' — revived with a 21st-century twist as
an app.
"It
was a real lifesaver," Mohamed told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over
the phone.
A
gameya is a type of community savings pool which also functions as a
peer-to-peer loan system.
Members
deposit a fixed, equal amount of money into a joint pot every month. At the end
of each month, one person is awarded the full amount until everyone has had
their turn.
While
gameyas were long organised informally and offline, they are now being offered
through apps in a tech transformation that is revolutionising financing for
Egypt's cash-strapped female entrepreneurs.
One
in five Egyptian workers are women, according to the World Bank, many of whom
run their own small businesses or home-based initiatives.
That
makes it hard to get a loan from banks, which require documentation proving a
fixed salary or ownership of a shop.
Microlenders,
meanwhile, typically impose exorbitant interest rates of up to 40 percent.
Many
online gameyas have no interest rates, and registration requirements are
minimal: just uploading an ID, signing a contract in person, and providing
monthly income statements.
The
apps also let members pay a fee to be among the first in line for a payout,
thus letting them settle old debts quickly and avoid taking on new loans with
onerous interest rates.
Mohamed
turned to an online app called MoneyFellows to help her repay the 15,000
Egyptian pounds ($954) that she owed the microfinance company for her shop.
"Two
months ago, I finally paid my loan. I'm joining another money circle to grow my
business and fund my daughter's marriage," the mother of three said.
Many
of Egypt's women entrepreneurs turned to the gameya model during the pandemic,
which hit small enterprises hard.
Three-quarters
reported a drop in business in 2020, and 9 percent had to shut down completely,
according to a survey by Egypt's Ministry of Planning.
"People
are showing growing interest in online savings systems because they are simple,
easy to use and come with meagre interest rates," said Ahmed Wadi, the
chief executive and founder of MoneyFellows.
The
number of women entrepreneurs using the app has risen from about 20,000 before
the pandemic to some 150,000, representing about 6 percent of its 2.5 million
users.
On
average, they took out loans of 12,000 pounds.
Women
make up one in three users of another app, ElGameya, typically seeking loans of
about 15,000 pounds.
"There
was an already existing need for our business," its founder Ahmed Mahmoud
Abdeen said.
"Women
were already joining offline gameya apps or borrowing from their friends and
families to pay their loans or grow their business. We only made life easier
for them."
Part
of the appeal is the flexibility.
If
ElGameya's borrowers want to get their payout within the first four months of
the lending circle, they pay a monthly interest rate of up to 9 percent. But if
they accept a longer wait, the interest fees are waived.
Amal
Abdel Aty, who owns a home utensils shop in the Nile Delta city of El Mahalla
El Kubra, said she had been forced to borrow from her friends and sell some of
her possessions to meet repayments on two loans she took from microfinance
companies.
Her
first loan was worth 10,000 pounds at an interest rate of 24 p ercentover 18
months. When she could not pay it, she took out another 10,000-pound loan.
Three
months ago, she joined a 12,000-pound lending circle at ElGameya and has
already been awarded the full pot, allowing her to pay back the first
microfinance loan.
REVIVING
OLD SYSTEMS
Gameya
loan apps are not regulated, but the central bank is working on a system of
authorisation.
The
money-lending circles have a long history of boosting access to finances for
marginalised communities, particularly in urban areas, according to Yomna El
Hamaki, a professor of economics at Ain Shams University.
There
is also a religious element.
"In
a Muslim society like Egypt, people usually prefer to register for gameyas
rather than go to the banks or other financial institutions which offer loans
at interest rates that are considered forbidden by many Muslims," El
Hamaki said.
And
with economies squeezed by the pandemic, they have become an online lifeline
for Egypt's budding women business leaders.
"These
apps are a buffer for many who got their financials adversely affected by the
pandemic," she said.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1995461/business-economy
--------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bangladesh-beach-gender-segregation/d/126071
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism