Bollywood Actress Huma Qureshi Says Being A Muslim, She Never Felt ‘Different’ In India
New Age
Islam News Bureau
07 July 2023
• Bollywood Actress Huma Qureshi Says
Being A Muslim, She Never Felt ‘Different’ In India
• Apex Court Of Pakistan Gets 2nd Female
Judge As Justice Musarrat Hilali Takes Oath
• Afghan Female Makeup Artists Protest
Ban on Female Beauty Salons
• Elizabeth Tsurkov Was Kidnapped By
Shia Militia Soon After She Said, 'I've Had Enough'
• Arab Women: We Will Stand In The Face
Of All Occupation Attacks
• Plane Carrying Brazilian Women’s World
Cup Team To Australia Emblazoned With Tribute To Iran Protesters
• Forough Farrokhzad Gave Voice To Iranian
Women’s Despair And Defiance
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bollywood-actress-huma-muslim-india/d/130158
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Bollywood Actress Huma Qureshi Says
Being A Muslim, She Never Felt ‘Different’ In India
Jul 06, 2023
Huma Qureshi talks about being a Muslim
in India and if she has experienced any different treatment in the industry.
Huma Qureshi recently opened up about
polarisation in the film industry on the basis of religion and said she doesn't
understand it. Huma said she never felt she is a Muslim or anyone ‘different’
from others. She also slightly touched upon the incident in the US where the
media questioned PM Narendra Modi about the rights of Muslims and other
minorities. Also read: Huma Qureshi: I’ll get married when the time is right
for me
Huma Qureshi on polarisation in
Bollywood
Huma rose to fame with Anurag Kashyap's
Gangs of Wasseypur. She is known for her bold statements. During a recent
interaction on a news channel, the actor was asked if polarisations in films exist.
In response, Huma told Aaj Tak, “Aaj Kal
Jab Mai Ye Baatein Sunti Hu Toh Lagta Hai Ki Ye Baatein Ho Ki Ura Hi Hai? (I
don't understand where these things are coming from).” Replying to her, the
anchor explained, “Yeh Baatein Isliye Horahi Hai Kiuki Jab PM Narendra Modi Hal
Hi Mein America Gaye They, Media K Taraf Se Ek Hi Sawal Pucha Gaya Aur Woh Ye
Sawal Tha Bharat Me Jo Musalman hai unke Hit And Adhikar Surakshit Nahi Hai. Kya
Aap Ko Lagta Hai Ye Sawal Sahi Tha? (This has surfaced from PM Modi's recent
visit to the US where US media questioned him about the protection of Muslim
rights. Do you think this was the right question)"
Huma Qureshi on being a Muslim in India
Huma replied in Hindi, "I never
realised that I am Muslim and I am different. My father is running a
restaurant, Saleem's in Kailash Colony (of Delhi). In my personal experience, I
have never felt it. People might have felt it. Having said that I feel,
questions should be asked and every government should answer."
Internet reacts to Huma's answer
A video clip from the interview has
surfaced online. Reacting to her reply, an Instagram user wrote in the
comments, “End me khelgayi Qureshi (In the end she said it).” “India is the
safest for any human alive on this earth. Period,” commented another one.
Someone said, “Well said.” Yet another added, “Huma Ji ne sahijawabdiya (Huma
has answered it correctly).”
Huma Qureshi is only a day away from the
release of her upcoming film Tarla. It is a biopic on Indian chef and cookbook
author Tarla Dalal, which will stream on ZEE5.
Source: hindustantimes.com
https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/huma-qureshi-being-muslim-she-never-felt-different-in-india-101688650113427.html
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Apex Court Of Pakistan Gets 2nd Female
Judge As Justice Musarrat Hilali Takes Oath
Chief
Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial (left) administered the oath to Justice
Mussarat Hilali on Friday morning. — DawnNewsTV
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July 7, 2023
The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan
gained its second female judge on Friday as Justice Musarrat Hilali took oath.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial
administered the oath to Justice Hilali — who had been serving as the Peshawar
High Court (PHC) chief justice — during a ceremony held at the ceremonial hall
of the SC.
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor
Usman Awan, senior judges and lawyers also attended the oath-taking ceremony.
After Justice Hilali’s elevation, the
number of top court judges has increased to 16 out of a total sanctioned
strength of 17.
On Wednesday, President Dr Arif Alvi had
formally appointed Justice Hilali as an apex court judge. The development had
come a day after the Parliamentary Committee on Judges’ Appointments gave the
nod to the unanimous approval given by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan
(JCP) on June 14 to elevate the PHC CJ to the apex court.
Last year in January, Justice Ayesha
Malik had taken oath to become the first-ever female judge to reach the apex
court.
Who is Justice Hilali?
Justice Hilali was sworn in as the first
woman chief justice of the PHC on April 1 after Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan
retired from the post.
Following this development, she also
became the second female judge to become the chief justice of a high court in
Pakistan after Justice Tahira Safdar, the chief justice of the Balochistan High
Court from September 2018 to October 2019.
Justice Hilali was born in Peshawar on
Aug 8, 1961. She received her law degree from Khyber Law College, University of
Peshawar, and was enrolled as an advocate of district courts in 1983. She was
enrolled as an advocate of the high court in 1988 and that of the Supreme Court
in 2006.
Justice Hilali has earned several
distinctions in her career — first as a civil society activist and member of
the bar and then her elevation to the bench. Known as an outspoken human rights
activist, she remained office-bearer of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
and also headed its KP chapter on different occasions.
Justice Hilali was an active member of
the PHC Bar Association and served as its first female secretary, vice
president and general secretary. She was also twice elected as an executive
member of the Supreme Court Bar Association for 2007-8 and 2008-9.
She served as the first woman additional
advocate general from November 2001 to March 2004 and as chairperson of the KP
Environmental Protection Tribunal as well.
Justice Hilali was also the first
provincial ombudsperson appointed in 2010 under the Protection against
Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010. She was elevated to the bench as an
additional judge on March 26, 2013, and was confirmed as a judge of the high
court on March 13, 2014.
Additionally, Justice Hilali remained a
focal member of the 2007 Lawyers’ Movement — started after a reference was
filed against then-CJP Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry — during which she
courageously stood alongside the rest of the male-majority legal fraternity.
During that movement, one of her legs
got fractured when police raided her residence for arresting her.
Source: dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1763448/apex-court-gets-2nd-female-judge-as-justice-mussarat-hilali-takes-oath
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Afghan Female Makeup Artists Protest Ban
on Female Beauty Salons
By TOLOnews, TV Network
6 July 2023
Some female makeup artists held protests
in reaction to the ban on women's beauty salons, calling on the interim
government to rescind its order.
They held a gathering in an enclosed
area, saying that they are the breadwinners of their families, and that the
closing of women's beauty salons would create severe economic challenges for
them.
They gathered at the Union of Women's
Beauty Salons.
“More than 12,000 women's beauty salons
are active all over Afghanistan and all of them are women,” said Nadia Sultani,
a female makeup artist.
“Women's beauty salons are the women's
area. The head of every beauty salon is a woman. When a woman is working in a
women's beauty salon, that is due to hardship and poverty,” said Raha Hassani,
a female makeup artist.
Earlier, a spokesman for the Ministry of Vice
and Virtue, Mohammad Akif Mahajar, said that the Islamic Emirate’s leader, in a
new verbal decree, banned women's beauty salons in Kabul and other provinces
across the country.
“I am forced to work there to find food
for my children. Now as they are closing it, it is very difficult for us,” said
Ziwar, a female makeup artist.
“We either leave the country, or we will
go on the street and commit suicide. Or they put us under an atom bomb or
execute us because we are women,” said a female makeup artist.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Vice
and Virtue, Mohammad Akif Mahajar, said that female beauty salons have been
closed in consideration of Sharia law.
“Based on Sharia it is not allowed that
the hair of one human is put on the head of another human. There in beauty
salons they do hair transplants for women,” he said.
A women's rights activist,
MarriamShorash, criticized the decision of the Islamic Emirate to ban women's
beauty salons.
"Everyone has engaged in a career
due to their needs. (Women) are deprived of schools and higher education, and
then referred to a career, but they took it from them as well,” said MarriamShorash,
a women’s rights activist.
The Kabul Municipality said that 3,000
beauty salons are registered.
“Based on the statistics of the Kabul
municipality, we have registered less than 3,000 licences and the Kabul
municipality will not extend their licenses from the due date,” said
NematullahBarakzai, a spokesman for the Kabul municipality.
This comes as the US special envoy for
Afghan women and human rights, Rina Amiri, on Twitter reacted to the ban on
women's beauty salons, saying that the “Taliban ban on beauty parlors removes
another vital space for women’s work at a time when they’re struggling to feed
their families, eliminates one of the few refuges for women outside the home.”
Source: tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-184077
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Elizabeth Tsurkov Was Kidnapped By Shia
Militia Soon After She Said,'I've Had Enough'
Daniel Edelson, New York
6 July 2023
Elizabeth Tsurkov, an experienced
researcher, made ten trips to Iraq as part of her research efforts. During her
tenth visit on March 19, she reached out to the research institute in
Washington where she was a fellow and expressed her intention to return,
feeling satisfied with her field work. However, just a week later, she was
unexpectedly abducted from a café in Baghdad. She remains in captivity under
the control of the Shia militia group known as the "Hezbollah
Brigades."
In New Lines Institute, where she had
close connections and published articles, calls were being made for the United
States to join efforts in securing Tsurkov's release. However, the American
response, at least publicly, does not show a sense of urgency. The US State
Department, when asked about the situation, said "We are aware of the
kidnapping and condemn the kidnapping of private citizens, and we are referring
the matter to the Iraqi authorities".
"Tsurkov was in Iraq to conduct
field research for her doctoral thesis at Princeton University. We are
uncertain whether Princeton was aware of her physical presence in Iraq, and we
have no information regarding any security measures in place to safeguard her
during her stay, The research institute told Ynet. "Since her abduction,
we have had no contact with her, and we cannot provide any updates on progress
towards her release."
"Our last contact with her was on
March 19. She told us that she had had enough of fieldwork in the Middle East
and that she wanted to return to Princeton to write her doctorate, 'No more
fieldwork,' she said. We were relieved. We didn't want her to stay in Iraq
where the pro-Iranian militias are dominant," the institute said in a
statement published on its website
"A week later we learned from our
sources that a pro-Iranian militia kidnapped her in Baghdad, where she was
conducting her research. We haven't heard from her since. Our initial instinct
was to shout on the Internet, in the media, and through these pages about her
disappearance. We discussed it, but out of respect for her family's request and
the possibility that it will be resolved with a quick release, we chose not to
publish it until it appeared in English last month in an article, and yesterday
in other sources.
"Liz's research focuses on
political science, and her fieldwork in the Arab world is not inherently
dangerous. However, as an Israeli citizen, there are parts of the Middle East
where her identity alone puts her at significant risk. But Liz is committed to
local research that requires fieldwork, and she doesn't seem to be afraid at
all. She chose to stay in Iraq.
"After Liz's abduction, there were
months of public silence, but relentless efforts to gather more information and
work towards her return. We reached out to people quietly, both within and
outside the United States. We contacted senior officials and media outlets, and
even Princeton University. We will continue to do so. We hope that she will be
released through negotiations, and although we are not certain of her
whereabouts, it is likely that Iran is involved. And since Liz is also a
Russian citizen, Russia may also be involved.
"Contrary to the belief that Liz
was abducted due to her being seen as a 'Zionist enemy', she is actually not a
Zionist at all. She strongly criticizes Israeli security policies and holds
deep empathy for the people of the Middle East. While it remains uncertain if
her captors perceive her as an enemy, one thing is evident - she has garnered
numerous friendships within the region.
"Liz is meticulous and empathetic,
but unlike some field researchers, she is never exploitative. What matters to
her is understanding people's motivations, whether they are refugees in
northern Syria, armed individuals in Iraq, or politicians in Lebanon. This
combination allows her work to be exceptional. She despises those whom she perceives
as inhumane, unjust, or corrupt - individuals like her captors. In contrast,
she approaches each person with love and genuine companionship, devoid of
cynicism."
"The complicating factor is that
Liz is a sharp critic of three key players who may be involved in her abduction
- Israel, Iran, and Russia. We all feel that the United States needs to
intervene in some way to assist Liz. She is not an American citizen, and her
disappearance did not elicit the response that the disappearance of an American
citizen would have. However, Liz is very much a part of America. She works at a
research institute in Washington, writes for an American magazine, and studies
at Princeton. It is only fitting that the United States make efforts to bring
them to a place of safety."
Tsurkov is currently enrolled in the PhD
program at Princeton University's Department of Politics. Her academic focus
lies in the field of comparative politics, and she has contributed articles
based on her firsthand observations in Syria, as indicated on the website. A
spokesperson from Princeton declined to comment on whether Tsurkov was
conducting research on behalf of the university adding that this decision was
made in adherence to the institution's policies and federal laws governing the
privacy and safety of students.
"Elizabeth is a valued member of
the Princeton University community," Michael Hotchkiss, University
spokesperson, said in the statement. "We are deeply concerned for her
safety and well-being, and we are eager for her to be able to rejoin her family
and resume her studies."
Officials in Israel believe that
Tsurkov's case is unlikely to be resolved soon. It's reasonable to assume
Israel will not engage in direct negotiations or pay for her release as it has
done in previous cases of Israeli abductions. In the meantime, Israel said it
regards the Iraqi government as responsible for her well-being.
Source: ynetnews.com
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjupjqvf3
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Arab women: We will stand in the face of
all occupation attacks
Jul 6, 2023
Women's reactions to the Turkish attacks
on the region are escalating, the most recent of which was the targeting of the
car of the co-chair of the Qamishlo Canton Council, Yusra Darwish, the co-chair
of the council, Lyman Shweish, and the member of the council, FuratTouma, which
resulted in their martyrdom, in addition to the injury of the co-chair of the
council, Kabi Shamoun, in June 20.
The deputy spokesperson for the Women's
Council in the Future Syria Party, Huda al-Khalidi, affirmed the insistence of
women in North and East Syria to pursue the struggle despite all the attacks
and the special war targeting them and their people.
Moreover, she condemned, "We, the
women of Deirez-Zor countryside, condemn and denounce the crimes committed
against women." She expressed her strong rejection of all the murders that
persecute women throughout Kurdistan and the world.
For her part, the administrator of the
Young Women's Union in Deir-ez-Zor, Suha al-Saeed, condemned "the
assassinations, murders, kidnappings and rapes committed by the Turkish
authorities against women, and the symbols and pillars of the July 19th
Revolution," noting that all these crimes and violations are nothing but
an attempt to break the will of women and strike AANES' project.
And she stressed that Turkey has
violated all international laws, with its continuous targeting of North and
East Syria and its people. "We will stand in the face of all attacks
targeting the region and our people," she said.
Source: hawarnews.com
https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/arab-women-we-will-stand-in-the-face-of-all-occupation-attacks-h36976.html
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Plane carrying Brazilian Women’s World
Cup team to Australia emblazoned with tribute to Iran protesters
Thu July 6, 2023
The plane carrying Brazil’s Women’s
World Cup squad arrived in Australia for the 2023 tournament emblazoned with a
tribute to Iranian human rights protestors.
The squad touched down in Brisbane
earlier this week in an aircraft that had the faces of Amir Nasr-Azadani and
Mahsa Amini, whose treatment by authorities have fuelled anti-government
protests in Iran, on the plane’s tail.
The aircraft also displayed the phrases
“No woman should be forced to cover her head” and “No man should be hanged for
saying this” on the side of it.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald,
the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has said it had nothing to do with
the statements on the plane.
“CBF chartered the private plane, whose
messages are the responsibility of the aircraft owner,” the CBF said. “It was
not an institutional message.” CNN has reached out to the CBF and world
governing body FIFA for comment.
The charter plane belongs to Argentine
film producer Enrique Piñeyro, according to Australian broadcaster SBS.
Protests swept through Iran following
the death in September last year of Amini, a young woman detained by Iran’s
notorious morality police for being accused of improperly wearing her hijab.
Nationwide protests rocked Iran as anger
over the regime’s treatment of women and other long-festering economic and
political grievances flared up after the death of the 22-year-old.
Authorities violently suppressed the
months-long movement, which had posed one of the biggest domestic threats to
Iran’s ruling clerical regime in more than a decade.
High-profile Iranian footballer
Nasr-Azadani is accused of involvement in the killing of three security
officers, including two volunteer Basij militia members, during protests in
Isfahan on November 16, Iranian state media IRNA reported.
According to state media, the city’s
chief justice, Asadullah Jafari, said Nasr-Azadani had been charged with Baghi
– or rioting against authorities. Under Iran’s penal code, the sentence carries
the death penalty. CNN previously reported that he has been sentenced to 26
years in prison.
Brazil is in Group F for the 2023
Women’s World Cup alongside France, Jamaica and Panama. It will begin its
campaign on July 24 in Adelaide. The tournament starts on July 20.
Last week, world soccer governing body
FIFA announced that captains of teams of Women’s World Cup teams would be
allowed to wear an armband around eight different social causes, including
gender equality, inclusion and peace.
Source: edition.cnn.com
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/06/sport/brazil-womens-world-cup-iran-protestor-spt-intl/index.html
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ForoughFarrokhzad gave voice to Iranian
women’s despair and defiance
Jul 6th 2023
Women’s liberty is at the forefront of
Iranian politics. In September Mahsa Amini was arrested for not wearing her
hijab correctly and died in police custody; for weeks people occupied the
streets and chanted “women, life, freedom.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, the regime’s praetorian guard, has clamped down on the protests and
arrested tens of thousands of people. Some police officers have continued to
threaten women who do not cover their hair and have erected billboards stating
that those forgoing the hijab are dishonouring their families.
The struggle for female emancipation was
powerfully articulated by ForoughFarrokhzad, a 20th-century poet. She was born
into a strict military family in Tehran in 1934; at the age of 16 she married a
distant, much older relative and had a son. In 1954 the couple divorced and, in
accordance with the law at that time, she lost custody of the child. Farrokhzad
released her first collection of poetry, “Asir” (“The Captive”), the following
year.
Her work offered provocative
explorations of lust; the verses are shot through with religious language.
“Weary of divine asceticism,” she wrote, “in the middle of the night in Satan’s
bed/I’d seek refuge in the slopes of a fresh sin.” Elsewhere sex and artistic
inspiration are entwined: “You kindled my passionate desire/Thus setting my
poems afire.”
Farrokhzad saw that the repression of
women was having a stultifying effect. Poets such as Rumi had imagined Persia
as a thriving garden, yet she saw her country as “dying” and “waiting for
rain”. In her final and most widely read collection, “TavalodiDigar” (“Another
Birth”, 1964), a blistering poem attacked self-satisfied elites who “suckle on
our past glory”.
She released only four collections of
poetry during her short life: she died in 1967, aged 32, in a car accident. Her
work was potent enough to cause consternation more than a decade later, during
the Islamic revolution of 1979. Religious clerics banned the dissemination of
her poetry and, when Farrokhzad’s publisher refused to stop, he was thrown in
jail.
Iranian artists have continued to evoke
her verse when drawing attention to the oppression of women. For one
photographic series called “Women of Allah” (1994), Shirin Neshat wrote lines
from the poems on her subjects. In 2002 “The Green Cold”, a documentary about
Farrokhzad’s life by Nasser Saffarian, was screened to sold-out audiences for
three weeks before it was banned. In 2009, during the presidential-election
protests, women etched lines from her poetry on placards when they took to the
streets.
Last year New Directions, an American
publisher, released a fresh translation of her selected poems. (They are also
available online.) Her work is still read widely in Iran as old editions are
sold on the black market. Farrokhzad remains a symbol of defiance. “Only you, O
Iranian woman, have remained/In bonds of wretchedness, misfortune, and
cruelty;/If you want these bonds broken,/grasp the skirt of obstinacy,” she
wrote. “Take action because a world/awaits and is in tune with you.” ■
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This article appeared in the Culture
section of the print edition under the headline "Freedom writer"
Source: economist.com
https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/07/06/forough-farrokhzad-gave-voice-to-iranian-womens-despair-and-defiance
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/bollywood-actress-huma-muslim-india/d/130158