New Age Islam
Sun Jun 22 2025, 10:49 AM

Islam, Women and Feminism ( 16 Jan 2024, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Comment | Comment

'Bhajan' By Muslim Girl, Syed Zehra Batool, From J&K Wins Hearts

New Age Islam News Bureau

16 January 2024

·         'Bhajan' By Muslim Girl, Syed Zehra Batool, From J&K Wins Hearts

·         Iran Extends Sentence Of Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Laureate, To 15 Months In Prison

·         In Cox’s Bazar, Making Eco-Friendly Bags Helps ‘Change Lives’ Of Rohingya Women

·         Islam Provides Khula Rights To Women, Rules Pakistan SC

·         Islamabad’s First Anti-Rape Crisis Cell Set Up At Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences

URL:    https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bhajan-muslim-zehra-batool-jammu-muslim/d/131529

-----

'Bhajan' By Muslim Girl, Syed Zehra Batool, From J&K Wins Hearts

 

Syeda Batool Zehra (19), a college student who belongs to the Syed community, was inspired by a 'bhajan' sung by singer Jubin Nautiyal

------

Jan 15, 2024

In a video posted by news agency PTI Batool was seen singing the Ram Bhajan.

Ram ‘Bhajan’ sung by a Muslim college student Syed Zehra Batool, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district has become an instant hit on the internet amid the rising popularity of Lord Ram's Bhajans in connection with the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. In a video posted by news agency PTI Batool was seen singing the Ram bhajan.

Syed Zehra Batool told PTI, “I wrote a Ram Bhajan in the Pahadi language recent which became viral on the internet. I believe that as the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple is nearing in Ayodhya, we the people of Jammu and Kashmir should also have contribution in it…”

"Our LG is a Hindu but he does not discriminate against us on the basis of religion while carrying out development work. Our Imam Hussain has also taught us that the followers of the Prophet love the country in which they live. Loving one's country is part of being faithful," she added.

Speaking about what inspired her to create the bhajan, Batool said, "I came across a Hindi bhajan by JubinNautiyal on YouTube. I sang it in Hindi first and I felt good about it. Then I thought of singing it in my Pahari language. I translated it, used various resources to write this four-line bhajan and posted it online".

The consecration of the Ram Temple will be held in Ayodhya on January 22. The temple authorities will conduct 7-day rituals preceding the consecration event. The event will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, renowned cricketers, celebrities, and industrialists.

Source: hindustantimes.com

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ram-temple-consecration-bhajan-by-muslim-girl-from-j-k-wins-hearts-101705317330131.html

-----

Iran Extends Sentence Of Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Laureate, To 15 Months In Prison

 

Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi at the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran in 2007. (Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images)

------

January 16, 2024

Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been sentenced to an additional 15 months in prison for “spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic regime,” her family said in a statement shared on social media.

She had been a vocal supporter of the wave of protests that swept Iran after a young woman named Mahsa Amini died in custody in 2022 after she was accused of wearing insufficiently conservative clothing. On the anniversary of Amini’s death, Mohammadi and other female detainees staged a protest inside Iran’s notorious Evin Prison and burned headscarves, she said.

Mohammadi’s latest conviction is her fifth since March 2021, which in total mount to 12 years and three months in prison, 154 lashes, and various social and political prohibitions, her family said Monday. She was first arrested in 2011.

“She declined to take part in any of the interrogations or trial sessions in court,” the family statement said. Mohammadi was also sentenced to two years of exile outside Tehran and was banned for two years from membership in sociopolitical groups and from using a smartphone.

Mohammadi, 51, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after a career spent helping imprisoned activists, leading a campaign against the death penalty and criticizing the “regime’s use of torture and sexualized violence,” the organization said.

“More than 20 years of fighting for women’s rights made her a symbol of freedom and standard-bearer in the struggle against the Iranian theocracy,” it said.

She was in prison when the Nobel Prize was awarded, and it was accepted by her children, who live in exile with Mohammadi’s husband in France. Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the award.

Iran’s latest judgment emphasized “accusations that she repeatedly incites and encourages public and individual opinions against the Islamic regime to sow chaos and disturbances,” her family said, adding that the judgment “resembles a political statement.”

NiloofarHamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two female journalists who reported on Amini’s death, were released from prison on bail this week, Reuters reported, citing local media. After images of their release were shared online, both were charged under laws requiring women to wear a hijab, the Guardian reported.

Mizan, Iran’s judiciary news site, said new cases were brought against two female defendants after they were photographed after their release, but it did not identify them.

Source: washingtonpost.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/16/iran-narges-mohammadi-nobel-prison/

----

 

In Cox’s Bazar, making eco-friendly bags helps ‘change lives’ of Rohingya women

January 15, 2024

COX’S BAZAR: Rashida Khatun spends about four hours most days making grocery bags, a skill she learned with other Rohingya women in the Kutupalong refugee camp to help support her family.

The whirring sounds of a sewing machine fill her work shifts, as she lines up fabric upon fabric made out of vegetable fiber called jute on the table, before she lets the machine do the stitches. The work brings her joy, Khatun says.

“I have been working here for the last three years, here my job is to sew the grocery bags. I am very happy to learn this skill,” the 38-year-old told Arab News.

Khatun is one of 150 Rohingya women currently working at the Jute Bag Production Center in Cox’s Bazar, an initiative by the UN refugee agency and its partner organization, the NGO Forum for Public Health.

The coastal district, which has for decades given shelter to Rohingya fleeing violence in neighboring Myanmar, has become the world’s largest refugee settlement with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of them following the 2017 Myanmarese military crackdown.

The world’s largest stateless community has been cut off from formal work and education opportunities, as they await their fates with growing uncertainty. Though their return to Myanmar has been on the agenda for years, a UN-backed repatriation process has not taken off until now, despite pressure from Bangladesh amid dwindling financial support to host the large community.

At the center, women like Rashida earn less than half a dollar per hour, which accumulates to around $35 per month. The meager income, however, offered them a little taste of freedom.

“I have three children. With this money, I have been able to provide education for my children. I could bring happiness to them, buy them rice, and manage to buy new dresses for myself. All these things made me very happy,” she said. “In fact, this earning gives me the liberty to do many things.”

Urbi Chakma, who has been managing the center since it opened over three years ago, said the center has focused on working with vulnerable Rohingya women, including those who are disabled, divorcees and victims of gender-based violence.

“Another objective is to involve women in economic empowerment to provide support to their families. In this production center we have 150 women working here, we produce 500,000 bags each year,” she told Arab News.

Made out of natural materials, the jute bags are degradable and therefore an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The center also produces other items besides grocery bags, including gift bags and file folders.

“Women who are working here, they changed their lives after coming here. You know, with the incentive or the payment or money they get with this, they buy food for their children, clothes, and for their families,” Chakma said.

Women and children make up over 75 percent of the nearly one million Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh. More than six years into the refugee crisis, humanitarian aid has dwindled while the needs remain urgent.

In January, the UN’s World Food Programme said it will increase food rations for all Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, after severe aid cuts that led to a rise in malnourishment in the refugee camps. But there is still a $61 million funding gap for the UN body to restore the critical food assistance to the full amount.

For Halima Khatun, the money she earns from making the jute bags goes to supporting her family.

“Earlier, my life was fully dependent on the food (aid) rations, and it was very tough,” she said. “All the money I get from this job, I spend to bear my family expenses … With this, I provide food and education for my family.”

Source: arabnews.com

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2442016/world

----

 

Islam Provides Khula Rights To Women, Rules Pakistan SC

January 16, 2024

Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday held that Islam confers the right of Khula (separation) by virtue of which a Muslim woman can get herself released from the bond of marriage if she could not live for any reason with her husband within the limits prescribed by Allah Almighty.

“Islam does not force on the spouses a life devoid of harmony and happiness and if the parties cannot live together, it permits a separation,” explained Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi in a judgement he wrote.

Justice Rizvi was member of a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and also comprising Justice Irfan Saadat Khan that had taken up an appeal by one Sohail Ahmed against a decision of the Sindh High Court (SHC) last year.

The case revolves around a marriage between Sohail Ahmed and Samreena Rasheed, a Pakistani Am­­­erican, duly registered at New York in accordance with Islam­­ic law against a dower amount of $5,000.

Court dismisses appeal of Pakistani husband against SHC decision

However, within nine months of their marriage, petitioner Sohail allegedly maintained a harsh and irresponsible behaviour with the respondent (Samreena) and then re­turned to Pakistan. Consequent-ly, hatred developed between the spouses and the respondent filed a suit on Oct 12, 2019, in a family court of Karachi for the dissolution of marriage by the way of Khula.

The petitioner contested the suit by filing an application on Dec 17, 2019, for dismissal or return of plaint on the ground that courts in Pakistan have no jurisdiction to entertain the case as marriage was solemnised in the US and the cause of action also accrued therein.

This application was dismissed by the family court on Feb 27, 2021, which was assailed by the petitioner before the SHC. Thereafter, in the family suit, reconciliation proceedings were conducted. And after the failure of the reconciliation proceedings, an order for the dissolution of marriage by way of Khula was passed on April 10, 2021, by the family court and preliminary decree was prepared the same day.

Being aggrieved, the petitioner filed another constitutional petition before the high court challenging the withdrawal of the suit. Both the petitions filed by the petitioner were consolidated and decided by the SHC on Feb 6, 2023.

The Supreme Court, after hearing the case, held that family courts in Pakistan have jurisdiction to entertain the matter and the trial court has rightly exercised so while deciding the question whether the family courts in Pakistan have jurisdiction when the wife was a dual citizen of Pakistan and the US and residing abroad at the time of the institution of the suit, whereas, the husband is national and permanent resident of Pakistan.

In the present case, though the respondent was living in the US at the time of the institution of the suit, the respondent usually comes to Pakistan, acquired her education in Karachi and visits her family in the city from time to time.

The seven-page order said the right and mode of Khula has been described in a verse of Surah Baqra: “The divorce is twice, after that, either you retain her on reasonable term or release her with kindness. And it is not lawful for you (men) to take back (from wives) any of your Mahr (bridal money given by man to his wife at the time of marriage) which you have given them, except when both parties fear that they would be unable to keep the limits ordained by Allah (e.g. to deal with each other on a fair basis). Then if you fear that they would not be able to keep the limits ordained by Allah, then there is no sin on either of them if she gives back (Mahr or a part of it) for her ‘Al-Khul’ (divorce). These are the limits ordained by Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits ordained by Allah, then such are the Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).”

In the present case, the judgement said, the preliminary decree passed by the family court for the dissolution of marriage by way of Khula was in due compliance with Section 10(4) of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964.

The record reveals that after preliminary decree of Khula, the respondent has contracted a second marriage in the US. The petitioner also attempted to contract second marriage in Pakistan as he has made several applications to relevant authorities for permission to solemnise second marriage, the judgement recalled.

Thus, the petitioner was unnecessarily dragging the respondent into litigation when the marriage stood dissolved, it said.

In the end, the judgement explained the petitioner failed to point out any infirmity or illegality that could persuade the Supreme Court to interfere in the matter. There­fore, the petitions being meritless are dismissed and leave to appeal is refused, the apex court ruled.

Source: dawn.com

https://www.dawn.com/news/1806203/islam-provides-khula-rights-to-women-rules-sc

----

 

Islamabad’s First Anti-Rape Crisis Cell Set Up At Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences

 January 15, 2024

Haseeb Bhatti

Islamabad’s first anti-rape crisis cell (ARCC) was established at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Monday to provide timely response and expedite justice for victims of sexual violence.

The cell was set up by the ministries of health and law and justice with support from the UK government, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Legal Aid Society.

According to a press release issued by the law ministry, the inauguration of the ARCC came as a part of the implementation of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021, which necessitated the establishment of anti-rape cells across districts to provide survivors with access to multiple services including the registration of first information reports (FIR), collection of evidence and a medical examination within six hours.

“Survivors of sexual violence suffer tremendously from physical impacts emotional trauma and even social stigmatisation. Therefore, confidential and quick medico-legal services must be available to help them receive justice and hope,” it said.

“This ARCC will be helpful in addressing the critical issues of gender-based violence,” the press release quoted Raja Naeem Akbar, secretary of the law ministry, as saying.

“We are working, through the Special Committee on Anti-Rape Law and National Commission on Rights of Child, with all provinces to ensure that similar Anti-Rape Crisis Cells are established and are fully functional across Pakistan to ensure timely and effective assistance to survivors of rape,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Secretary Iftikhar Ali Shallwani noted that the need for a 24/7 helpline or app was suggested as a means for survivors to access the services provided, particularly in light of the stigma attached to speaking up about rape.

He also emphasised the need for self-defence training for girls in schools.

Ayesha Raza Farooq, the chairperson for the Special Committee on Anti-Rape Law and National Commission on Rights of Child, stated that the government’s goal was to allow every citizen, especially women, to claim public spaces and travel on public routes without any fear of sexual violence.

Separately, UNFPA representative Dr LuayShabaneh termed rape “an ugly crime” and a crisis that warranted a “collective response”.

“I hope this Anti-Rape Crises Cell will be the first building brick based on the Sexual Violence Response Framework and will be expanded throughout the country,” he said.

Speaking at the inauguration, Pims Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikandar asserted that rape cases would be addressed through a holistic approach and with respect, care and confidentiality throughout the medical examination.

According to a report published by Sahil — a non-profit organisation — last year, 12 children on average were subjected to sexual abuse every day in Pakistan from January to June 2023.

It stated that in 2023, the total number of abuse victims was 2,227, of which more than half (54 per cent) were girls. The number of boys abused had risen to 1,020.

Meanwhile, a policy brief released by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) on March 8, 2023, said that around 63,000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) had been reported in Pakistan over the past three years.

The NCHR, quoting Ministry of Human Rights data, said 80pc of these cases were related to domestic violence, while some 47pc pertained to domestic rape, wherein married women experienced sexual abuse. The data was based on reported cases; the actual number is feared to be much higher.

Source: dawn.com

https://www.dawn.com/news/1806051/islamabads-first-anti-rape-crisis-cell-set-up-at-pims

-----

URL:    https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bhajan-muslim-zehra-batool-jammu-muslim/d/131529

 

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

Loading..

Loading..