Bangladeshi Architect Marina Tabassum on Time's 100 Most Influential List
New
Age Islam News Bureau
18
April 2024
·
Bangladeshi Architect Marina Tabassum on Time's 100
Most Influential List
·
Nour Project: Sexual Assault and Brutal Beatings in
Iran Renews Violent Hijab Crackdown
·
Medical Entrance Exam for Girls to Be Held Tomorrow In
11 Afghanistan Province
·
Iranian Medical Student, Motaharah Gohanei, Summoned
Amid Crackdown on Women
·
Saudi Poet and Artist Hana Almilli: ‘After Each Piece,
There’s Some Sort of Conclusion’
·
Muslim Women inVaranasi Perform Aarti of Lord Ram,
Sing Sohar
·
Army Rescues Pregnant Chibok Schoolgirl with Children
After 10 Years In Captivity
Compiled by New Age Islam News
Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bangladeshi-architect-marina-times/d/132159
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Bangladeshi Architect Marina Tabassum on Time's 100
Most Influential List
Architect Marina Tabassum. |
UNB Photo
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APRIL 18, 2024
Noted Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum has been
named in the Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people for her
contributions to the field of innovation.
Known for her contributions to environmentally
sustainable design, Tabassum's approach to architecture breaks from
commercialism and is rooted in local communities and serving the needs of
common people.
Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily
Star's Google News channel.
According to Time's entry for Tabassum on the list
published last night, "Tabassum's altruism even extends to buildings
themselves. She cares for her creations as creatures partaking in the resources
of our earth: describing her Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which
won the prestigious Aga Khan Award, she said a building 'has to be able to
breathe without artificial aids".
"Elsewhere in the country, which faces increased
flood risks due to climate change, she has developed houses that are
cost-effective and easy to move—clearly, buildings shouldn't just breathe; they
should avoid getting their feet wet. While she practices very locally, she
teaches, lectures, and is recognized internationally, modeling architecture not
as an individual signature but as a collective Esperanto."
Tabassum's work was previously honoured with the 2016
Aga Khan Award for Architecture and by the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Awards in 2021.
She was named as the winner of the Millennium Lifetime
Achievement Award at the upcoming Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022.
Source: thedailystar.net
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/bangladeshi-architect-marina-tabassum-times-100-most-influential-list-3589581
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Nour Project: Sexual Assault and Brutal Beatings in
Iran Renews Violent Hijab Crackdown
(Photo credit: Majid
Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
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TZVI JOFFRE
APRIL 17, 2024
Iran has begun intensifying its crackdown on hijab
restrictions in several cities in the past week, with violent arrests reported
across the country by opposition groups and human rights agencies.
The intensified assault on women across Iran comes
after the regime announced the "Nour Project." The project, aimed at
"dealing with anomalies," has involved a heavy presence of the
"Morality Police" in several cities since this past weekend.
According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, police have been
instructed to focus on "positive behaviors" and avoid using
"negative behaviors" as much as possible. Reports from Iran suggest
the crackdown has been violent, including sexual harassment, beatings, the use
of tasers, widespread arrests, and breaking car windows, among other measures.
The intensification of hijab enforcement came just a
week after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that maintaining hijab
wearing was of the "utmost importance" and accused foreigners of
"hiring" women to not wear hijab.
One video published on social media showed a woman
struggling against the "Morality Police" as she was shoved into a
van.
Dina Ghalibaf, a journalist and student at Tehran's
Beheshti University, was arrested from her home on Tuesday after posting on X
that she had been detained and sexually assaulted by "Morality
Police" at the Sadeghiyeh metro station in Tehran earlier in the week.
Ghalibaf said the Morality Police officers violently
detained her and tased her while she was trying to access the metro in a post
on Monday. She added that one of the officers made insulting comments about
Mahsa Amini and women in general. On Tuesday, she was taken from her home to an
unknown location. Ghalibaf's X account has since been suspended. The Iranian
Teachers Union reported on her arrest as well.
Iran International reported on Wednesday that the
"Morality Police" have been using plainclothes officers to surround
them while they arrest women in order to prevent crowds from interfering.
The wife and daughter of AhmadrezaAbedzadeh, an
Iranian soccer goalkeeper, were also arrested in Tehran on charges of violating
hijab regulations, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency. Iranian media
claimed the two were "causing tensions and clashing with officers."
Abedzadeh had expressed some support for protesters
during the wave of anti-government protests that swept Iran in late 2022.
Businesses where women are seen violating hijab laws
will also be shuttered if women are seen without hijab more than once there.
Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad
referenced the renewed crackdown in a post on X, calling on people to
"Stand against this silent war against Iranian women."
"Women are being subjected to beatings and sexual
harassment simply for not wearing hijabs," Alinejad wrote. "This
started on Saturday, right after Ali Khamenei ordered the police to impose
hijab on women at any cost. When they say ‘at any cost,’ it means police can
easily kill women for not wearing hijab, the way they did (sic.) killed
#MahsaAmini."
Enforcement of hijab laws intensified over past year
The Islamic regime in Iran has been gradually
intensifying enforcement of hijab laws since they were somewhat relaxed in
light of nationwide protests that swept Iran after Mahsa Amini, a
Kurdish-Iranian woman, was killed by "Morality Police" in Tehran.
Amini’s death sparked intense nationwide
demonstrations last September, commonly referred to as the “Woman, Life,
Liberty” (“Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” in Kurdish) protests, which continued in full
strength for months on end.
For the past year, the Iranian parliament has been
working on a new law that would intensify the penalties for not wearing the
hijab. However, the law has been held up in the Guardian Council, a group of
experts in Islamic law and jurists tasked with approving all legislation.
Last year, the regime instituted new measures to
enforce hijab laws, including surveillance cameras.
In recent months, plainclothes agents known as
"hijabban" have been seen in metro stations in Tehran, enforcing
hijab laws.
In January, a Kurdish-Iranian woman named Roya
Heshmati was whipped 74 times after a photo of her was published a few months
beforehand in which she was seen not wearing a hijab in Tehran.
Despite the continued crackdown, Iranian women have
increasingly been seen in public without the hijab.
Source: jpost.com
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/iran-renews-violent-hijab-crackdown-widespread-arrests-reported-797603#google_vignette
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Medical Entrance Exam for Girls to Be Held Tomorrow In
11 AfghanistanProvince
Fidel Rahmati
April 18, 2024
The National Examination Committee of the de facto
administration has announced that the entrance exam for female volunteers in
medical fields at Ghazanfar Institute’s branches in 11 provinces will be held
on Friday, April 19th.
In a statement released on Thursday, April 8th, the
committee stated that female volunteers in medical fields who have previously
registered at Ghazanfar Institute’s branches should be present at the
designated exam venue on Friday at 8:00 AM.
In this exam, girls from the provinces of Paktia,
Paktika, Ghazni, Bamyan, Kabul, Logar, Badakhshan, Parwan, Maidan Wardak,
Panjshir, and Khost will participate.
Volunteers in medical fields at Ghazni Institute’s
branches will be recruited, including nursing, midwifery, and physiotherapy.
The exact number of girls registered to compete in
this exam has not been specified by the National Examination Office and public
health directorates in the designated provinces.
Meanwhile, the governor’s office in Bamyan has stated
in a statement that the exam is scheduled to be held in Bamyan with 358 female
candidates. Among these, 18 girls who obtain the highest scores in the entrance
exam will undergo a three-year training course in midwifery, physiotherapy, and
nursing in Kapisa province.
This comes as girls are deprived of secondary and
higher education in schools and universities for the third consecutive year
since the Taliban took control of power, and enrollment in limited medical
fields at institute branches is considered the only educational option
available to them.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/medical-entrance-exam-for-girls-to-be-held-tomorrow-in-11-province/
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Iranian Medical Student, MotaharahGohanei, Summoned
Amid Crackdown on Women
APRIL 17, 2024
An Iranian medical student, suspended from the
university during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, was recently summoned to a
security institution.
MotaharahGohanei, a final-semester dental doctorate
student at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, received a 24-month
suspension and exclusion from education.
Arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence in October
2022, she was barred from entering the university for months.
The reason for her latest summons has not been
reported.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Dina Qalibaf, a student at
Tehran's Beheshti University, was arrested by security forces after she said
she was "sexually" abused by the Morality Police.
Qalibaf recently posted on social media about being
detained by the Islamic Republic's Morality Police, which enforces dress code
regulations.
Qalibaf said she was "sexually" assaulted
during the arrest.
While global attention remains on Israel's possible
response to recent Iranian attacks, a government crackdown on women in Iran
entered its fourth day.
According to eyewitnesses, the Morality Police and
plainclothed agents are apprehending women wearing non-compulsory clothing on
the streets of Iranian cities.
Source: iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/women/127669-iranian-medical-student-summoned-amid-crackdown-on-women/
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Saudi Poet and Artist Hana Almilli: ‘After Each Piece,
There’s Some Sort of Conclusion’
April 18, 2024
ADAM GRUNDEY
DUBAI: Saudi artist Hana Almilli and her two siblings
grew up in a household where creativity and self-expression were actively
encouraged. “My mom is a poet,” Almilli tells Arab News. “And my dad was very
motivating in terms of doing photography.” Her two brothers, she adds, “are
both talented in terms of music and art.” And with her Syrian maternal
grandmother, Almilli shares a love of nature and of textiles.
But aside from being one of the main inspirations
behind her creative output, Almilli’s family are also the subject of most of
it. Through her poetry, embroidery, weaving, dyeing and photography, she
explores her own history and her diverse cultural identity (she has Saudi,
Syrian, Turkish, Kurdish, and Palestinian ancestry).
“It’s about me and my family history,” Almilli says of
her work, which was most recently on display at Art Dubai in March. “It does
really focus on heritage, history, personal narratives.
“Being from all these different identities, it’s
always been important to be a part of those cultures,” she continues. “They’re
all very different. And sitting with each and every grandparent, which I’ve had
the privilege of doing, you learn so much. Growing up I’d have Turkish
lullabies from my Turkish grandma, Kurdish news on the televsion that my
grandpa would translate. My memory’s not great, but those specific moments from
my childhood still remain; I still write about them and I’m still inspired by
them. And I still want to almost recreate them in my work.”
Aside from her family history, the other major theme
running through Almilli’s work is alienation or estrangement (as made clear in
the title of her ongoing series “The Echoes of My Alienation”). That may seem
odd in someone who talks so warmly of her close and nurturing family ties, but
those same ties could, perhaps, have been one of the causes of her alienation.
It really began when she moved to the US to attend the
California College of the Arts in 2014. Initially, she was studying
architecture, but, “I just hated it. I couldn’t express myself in any way that
I wanted to.” She shifted courses, eventually graduating with a focus on
textiles and creative writing, the latter allowing her to build on her poetry
writing, which began as a teenager with verses that were “hidden under the bed
— ‘No one’s looking at this.’”
It was towards the end of her college years that she
began “The Echoes of My Alienation,” although the emotions it explores had
surfaced almost as soon as she arrived in the States.
“My first day in the US, there was an earthquake, and
I’d never experienced an earthquake. So it was almost like the beginning of
this trial of alienation,” Almilli says. “I was, like, ‘I don’t know if this is
for me.’ So persevering, and staying there for five years, was an interesting
experience. It grew that alienation. And I wouldn’t say it has dissipated. It
still stays, because if it doesn’t then that curiosity about finding out where
I come from is gone.”
The series features a number of different works,
including several self-portraits and images of family members embellished with
embroidery.
“You can see the pieces are obsessively embroidered
with little maps. I was almost mapping myself out — those identities that have
always been a part of my life but that, to some extent, I had lost as I
travelled to the US and was far from home. My grandma had Alzheimer’s at the
time, too, so that history was lost with her. My grandpa had passed away in the
first year I was in the US as well, so there’s this aspect of rediscovering and
recreating history through myself in self-portraits.”
The “most emotional” section of the series, she says,
is “Memoirs.” In “Memoirs 2” Almilli has embroidered delicate jasmine flowers
over an image of her maternal grandmother in Syria, standing among trees.
“It’s the same technique I use every time, but I
intuitively highlight specific parts of an image, whether it’s to hide or
accentuate,” Almilli explains. “My grandma and I have a great connection with
flowers.”
As she explored working with textiles, Almilli also
developed her poetry skills. She has even published the poems that she once hid
under her bed.
“At art school, you don’t really have that fear of
exposing yourself, because everyone is. So I found the courage to take part in
this school publication that went around California as well. That really
re-started everything in terms of writing and, ever since, every piece I make
has been inspired by a written poem.
“Usually, my works are unique pieces representing a
story, or a dream, or someone,” she continues. “It’s interesting, because
nowadays, with contemporary art, you’re meant to look at it and make your own
sense of it. But, to me, it’s important to know the story of what happened.
Being able to write, as an artist, is very important for me because it gives
context to my work — what it represents, what it feels like.” She cites her
piece on display at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art — “A fragile dawn,
a floating wish, a fleeting farewell.” “That was initially a long poem that got
turned into an embroidered piece that has the poetry within it,” she explains.
With so many different outlets for her creativity, her
mind must be constantly churning with ideas, which seems like it could get
exhausting, I suggest. But Almilli, who returned to Saudi Arabia in 2019,
explains that she’ll often take a lengthy break after finishing a piece or a
series.
“After each piece, there’s some sort of conclusion,”
she says. “For example, the piece I just spoke about talks about how, in my
dreams, I meet people I’ve loved, but they’re forever drowning in my dreams.
Like, my grandma had Alzheimer’s for a few years and we couldn’t get her to
Saudi. It’s almost like the only connection I had with her was when she showed
up in my dreams. And to be able to write that and grasp it, and put it into
something that is physical… it’s very difficult, in the beginning, because you’re
facing the idea of that loss in the future, but after that comes a conclusion
of sorts: ‘Now I understand these emotions.’ I try to think about what I wrote
when I’m making each piece, and — if it’s a difficult piece — to try and heal
from it in the process. That difficult feeling becomes something you can bear,
whatever it might be.”
And even though her pieces are so personal, Almilli
has found her work connects with people on a very emotional level.
“As much as my stories are about my personal history,
and my family’s oral history and heritage, at the end of the day there are a
lot of people that feel an alienation, or a craving after the loss of a person
for that person. So they are stories that people can relate to,” she says.
“I cherish my pieces so much. It’s very difficult for
me to let go of them, but I’ve grown to understand that it’s really about being
able to share that story with people and show them that there are others going
through that,” she continues. “It’s beautiful too, because I hear stories from
others that they’ve never spoken about. It’s important, because it shows them
that you can embrace multiple aspects of yourself, and that’s OK.”
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2495076/lifestyle
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Muslim Women in VaranasiPerform Aarti of Lord Ram,
Sing Sohar
Apr 18, 2024
Varanasi: A group of women of Hindu and Muslim
communities, led by the president of Muslim Mahila Foundation Nazneen Ansari,
sang in praise of Lord Rama and performed aarti of the deity to celebrate Ram
Navami at Vishal Bharat Sansthan in Lamahi in Varanasi on Wednesday.
They sang, “Ayodhya haihumarejiyaratgah ka naam,
Rahate hain wahan Imam-e-Hind Shri Ram", (Ayodhya is the name of our
pilgrimage, where Imam of Hind Shri Ram lives)".
They performed aarti of Lord Ram with an earthen lamp
in a decorated plate, giving the message of removing the darkness of violence
and hatred. They also sang sohar songs to mark the birth of Lord Ram.
These Muslim women have been performing the aarti of
Lord Shri Ram for the past 18 years. They expressed happiness after their long
awaited wish of a grand temple at the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya
was fulfilled. “Shri Ram is our ancestor. We can change our name and religion,
but cannot change our ancestor,” said Nazneen, adding, “As long as our
ancestors were associated with the name of Lord Ram, they were looked upon with
respect in the world. Now people look at us with suspicion. If we remain connected
to our roots, our respect will remain intact”.
“We are Indians, hence it is our duty to believe in
Indian culture and take it forward. We are Muslims but will never accept Arabic
culture. Muslims will be respected only if they remain connected to their
ancestors,” she said.
The programme was attended by Nagina Begum, Shabnam
Afroz, Najma, Shamshunnisha, Razia, Archana Bharatvanshi, Mridula Jaiswal, Ili
Bharatvanshi, Khushi Bharatvanshi, Ujala Bharatvanshi, Dakshita Bharatvanshi
and others.
We also published the following articles recently
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child's destiny.109338700
Surya Tilak: A Special Day for Lord Ram on Ram
NavamiThe April 17, 2024 Ram Navami celebration at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya
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Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/muslim-women-in-city-perform-aarti-of-lord-ram-sing-sohar/articleshow/109386252.cms
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Army rescues pregnant Chibok schoolgirl with children
after 10 years in captivity
Goodness
Adaoyiche
April 18, 2024
The Nigerian Army has announced the rescue of Lydia
Simon, a Chibok schoolgirl who had been held captive by Boko Haram terrorists
for over ten years.
A statement from the Department of Army Public
Relations said Lydia, is number 68 among the abducted missing Chibok Secondary
School girls.
She was rescued along with her three children by
troops conducting Operation Desert Sanity III, around Ngoshe in the Gwoza Local
Government Area of Borno State.
Lydia is five months pregnant at the time of her
rescue and claimed to be from Pemi Town in Chibok.
The statement added that Nigerian Army troops deployed
for Counter-terrorism Counter-insurgency operations in the North Central on
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 successfully ambushed and neutralised three terrorists,
who were on a mission to wreak havoc.
According to statistics released by parents of the
abducted schoolgirls, 271 students were kidnapped on that unfortunate day but
57 girls escaped shortly in 2014, 103 were released through the intervention of
the Federal Government, 20 others freed by the efforts of the state government
but 92 students are still in captivity.
Source: politicsnigeria.com
https://politicsnigeria.com/army-rescues-pregnant-chibok-schoolgirl-with-children-after-10-years-in-captivity/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bangladeshi-architect-marina-times/d/132159