British Muslim Woman, Attiya Shaukat, Overseeing Experimental Farm at Islamic Convention In UK
New Age
Islam News Bureau
31 July 2023
• British Muslim Woman, Attiya Shaukat,
Overseeing Experimental Farm at Islamic Convention In UK
• Sakinah Hussain of UK Working with
Exiles Together, A Community Group, to Inspire Muslim Girls for Mixed Martial
Arts
• 'Whatever Happens, I'm Starting the
Club': Iffat Tejani on Realising Her Bucket List Dream of Opening Up Cycling To
Muslim Women
• Saudi Social Media Star, Abrar
Al-Othman, Battling A Rare Skin Condition
• PM Modi On What Made Haj
"Special" For Muslim Women This Year
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/british-muslim-attiya-islamic-uk/d/130341
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British Muslim Woman, Attiya Shaukat,
Overseeing Experimental Farm at Islamic Convention In UK
Attiya
Shaukat (second from right) on a farming project in Nigeria. (Attiya
Shaukat/PA)
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A British Muslim woman is experimenting
with a 1.5-acre test farm on the site of the largest Islamic convention in the
UK.
Attiya Shaukat, 43, has gone from
growing vegetables in her garden to overseeing three farming sites – two in Nigeria
and one in Alton, Hampshire – with the aim of sharing agricultural knowledge
with communities in Africa.
Ms Shaukat, who is from a South Asian
background, told the PA news agency: “Instead of going to Africa, we can trial
things here and regulate them more and record them and then we can trial them
in a different country.”
The test farm is being used to try out
no till-farming and experimental forms of drip irrigation on the site of the
Jalsa Salana, which 40,000 Muslims were expected to attend.
Food waste from the convention will be
composted for the farm, which is testing out the fastest ways to break down
waste material in order to share that knowledge with communities in Africa.
Ms Shaukat, the agricultural secretary
for the International Association of Ahmadi Architects and Engineers (IAAAE),
said that “sustainability means that you’re trying to make yourself as
independent as possible,” which she believes is particularly important in light
of global instability.
She said: “The way that we are headed,
and the way that the world is headed, is towards a disaster.
“We can see that even as a developed
nation, we cannot guarantee that our shelves will always be full and that
concept is becoming more and more conscious to us after Covid, after Brexit.
“On top of that, there are children who
are going hungry, which you wouldn’t think of in a developed country such as
this.
“We need to teach all levels of people
how to actually grow their own to reduce their costs.”
Beans, courgettes, carrots and various green
vegetables are currently growing on the farm.
The farm was gifted 200 strawberries by
a plant nursery near Ms Shaukat’s home in Warwick “because the women’s
organisation this year in our community is celebrating their 100 years of
formal existence as an auxiliary organisation within the Muslim community”, Ms
Shaukat said.
“Our strawberries have just produced
their first crop, but not enough to feed people.
“Hopefully next year, we will have ice
cream and strawberries grown on the farm, so we can say, ‘This is Jalsa grown,
for you’.”
Ms Shaukat started growing vegetables in
her garden after being encouraged to do so by the current caliph of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
She said: “Come rain or shine, health or
otherwise, I grew every year, whether I was good at it or not, for 15 years.
“I only did it to fulfil the caliph’s
instruction and then I did start enjoying it because when you produce your own
tomatoes, or your crop of salads, and there’s so much you can share with your
streets of neighbours, it’s a really nice feeling to be able to do that.
In 2019, she displayed a raised bed of
growing produce at a Muslim women’s conference and upon seeing her work, the
caliph encouraged her to become the IAAAE agricultural secretary, which saw her
take on some of the organisation’s farming projects.
Ms Shaukat oversees a 100-acre farm and
an 11-acre model farm in southwestern Nigeria, which allow local people to
experiment with growing different types of produce using a variety of methods.
Leafy greens like celosia and amaranth
are being grown on the farms as they are frequently eaten by local people, Ms
Shaukat said.
She said: “We’re looking at teaching
people around that local area to come and learn so they can take that knowledge
and start growing in their own homes.”
“This project was started because of a
humanitarian purpose. It has no desire for monetary profits. It is just to help
all humans, all forms of life.
“The caliph said at the recent IAAAE
symposium speech that it’s our responsibility to help everyone from every
colour, creed and background, and those who have been murdered and in poverty
and deprivation, so I would say that’s our goal.”
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/british-muslim-woman-overseeing-experimental-farm-at-islamic-convention-in-uk/a201759350.html
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Sakinah Hussain of UK Working with
Exiles Together, A Community Group, to Inspire Muslim Girls for Mixed Martial
Arts
Sakinah
Hussain. Picture: The National Lottery (Image: The National Lottery)
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30th July
A Newport teenager is punching well
above her weight – and is inspiring other young Muslim girls like her to get
involved in martial arts.
Sakinah Hussain started her martial arts
journey aged just six at her uncle’s gym, training and competing firstly in
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, then adding Judo, Muay Thai and now Mixed Martial Arts, or
MMA.
At just 13 years old she competed in the
competed in the Pan Am World Championships in California, and in 2020 became
the first Muslim to represent Wales at the IMMAF Youth World Championships in
Abu Dhabi last August, where she won a bronze medal.
Today – and still just 16 years old –
Sakinah is working with the Exiles Together community group to help other young
girls learn vital self-defence skills.
Now she has become one of just five
young people in the whole of the UK to be dominated in the Young Hero category
of the National Lottery Awards.
The teenager said when she first began wearing
her hijab she struggled with her martial arts – but later realised it did not
have to hold her back, and is hoping to use this experience and knowledge to
inspire other young Muslim girls like her.
On the award domination, Sakinah said:
“I feel honoured to be nominated.
“It has always been my dream to teach my
own classes, and to get more girls into martial arts.
“There is so much to be gained from
doing a sport like MMA. I want to open the opportunity for everyone to
participate."
Exiles Together was set up in 2018 by
Jalal Goni and Anwar Uddin with the aim of encouraging people who may not
usually get involved to participate in sport.
Sakinah got involved when Mr Goni
approached her in 2021 to coach female-only self-defence classes - and his idea
received National Lottery financial support from Sport Wales, which enabled the
group to hire a venue and provide the necessary equipment for the female-only
sessions.
The winners of the National Lottery
Awards will be announced in September.
Source: southwalesargus.co.uk
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23688482.sakinah-hussain-working-exiles-together-inspire-muslim-girls/
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'Whatever happens, I'm starting the
club': Iffat Tejani on realising her bucket list dream of opening up cycling to
Muslim women
This article was originally published in
Cycling Weekly's print edition as part of the long-running MY FITNESS CHALLENGE
series.
Growing up in Dar es Salaam, the largest
city in Tanzania, Iffat Tejani would notice other children riding bikes but
could only dream of joining in. “None of us girls ever got on a bike,” she
says, speaking to me by video call from her Hertfordshire home. “We were sporty
and would play rounders, but girls were not allowed to cycle – it would have
been frowned upon.” Aged 16 Tejani relocated to the UK with her family; at 20
she married and set about raising a family of her own. Only with the onset of a
health crisis, 17 years later, did her long-dormant dream of cycling reassert
itself in her mind.
“At the end of 2009, I was diagnosed
with bilateral breast cancer,” says Tejani. “I was only 37 at the time and our
kids were still very young. Because the cancer was stage three and I’d recently
watched the Morgan Freeman film The Bucket List, I decided that’s what I
needed, my own bucket list.” Top of her list was to ride a bike. Exercise was
out of the question while dealing with the cancer, but after two years of
arduous treatment Tejani’s energy began to return. “Six weeks after
radiotherapy ended, I did a 5K breast cancer run,” she recalls, “and then I
wanted to learn to ride a bike. Because I’m a Muslim woman, I was looking for a
female to teach me, which was very hard to find.”
Unable to find a female coach, Tejani
booked a lesson with a St John Ambulance man who taught cycling skills
part-time. “On my first lesson, I hit a curb and fell off,” she chuckles. “The
instructor wasn’t expecting to hear back from me after that, but I rang him the
next day and said, let’s go out again today but can we go somewhere softer?”
Over the next three days, Tejani picked up all the basic skills she needed to
ride solo. “I’ve not looked back,” she grins.
Within a few weeks of regular rides with
her family, Tejani was ready to take her cycling to the next level: she wanted
to reach out to other women like her who were keen to get started. Over the
next few years, she gained more confidence, developed her fitness and joined
group rides through British Cycling’s Breeze network. Yet there was something
lacking from her cycling. “I was missing that community feeling,” she says,
“riding with other women who looked like me and had shared values. I could see
the gap.” From speaking to friends at her local mosque, Tejani knew that the
demand was strong, and she grew ever more determined to set up a cycling club
for Muslim women. “But life had another plan,” she sighs.
In 2019, Tejani’s cancer came back. The
only treatment option this time was a double mastectomy. It was another
life-and- death situation but also another impetus to put dreams into action.
“Bucket list number two was formed,” says Tejani. “This was an even more
determined list than the first one: I thought, whatever happens, I’m forming
the club.” Six weeks after surgery, in summer 2020, she was back on her bike
and raring to go. “As we got the bike ready, my husband said, ‘I’ll just get my
shoes so I can follow you – but before he could fetch them, I was down the road!”
STARTING OVER
Although her fitness was back to
square-one, Tejani refused to be held back. She became a Breeze Champion, began
leading group rides and, in partnership with the mosque, set about organising a
fundraising sportive from Harrow to Windsor. “No one realised this was going to
be my first big ride,” she laughs at the challenge she had set herself almost
by accident. There was no turning back. “Working with a coach, we created a
programme on TrainingPeaks, and I bought an indoor turbo,” Tejani remembers the
project taking shape. “My FTP was 50 watts when I started – that’s a cool-down
for most people!”
Outstripping her expectations, 85 riders
– all Muslim women – took part in the inaugural sportive in October 2020, and
from its success the Evolve club was born. Tejani’s vision for the club was to
provide everything its members could want, from coaching to group rides to
racing and performance development.
I have to admit at this point, I had no
idea there was such an appetite for competitive cycling among British Muslim
women – and I wonder what had been holding them back before Tejani and Evolve
came along. “Clothing was the first barrier because obviously being very tight
was not hijabi, so we knew we needed to design our own kit.” With characteristic
initiative, Tejani set about designing a jersey that would be sensitive to
Islamic values. “We’ve taken the traditional cycling jersey and given it a
modest look,” she explains. “It has pockets and functionality, the same
breathable material, but is slightly longer.”
The next hurdle was a shortage of female
coaches. “There were male coaches,” says Tejani, “but for those women who were
from more conservative backgrounds, it was keeping them away. So we trained
women to become coaches.” As the barriers were knocked down one by one, women
flocked to join Evolve – albeit initially on bikes that were far from conducive
to high performance. “At the first sportive, all of the women were on hybrids
with suspension – chunky tanks as I call them,” laughs Tejani. “By the next
one, we had transitioned all women onto road bikes. It’s been very much a
knowledge-building process.”
Leading by example, Tejani gave others
the confidence to try styles of bike and riding that at first seemed
intimidating. “The only way we could do it was just – jump! The journey has
been not only riding and getting stronger but also learning, which I’ve loved.”
All the while, Tejani’s own
skills-development has continued apace. “I’m now a Level 2 road, time trial and
track coach, and the club has 350 members,” she says proudly. “We’re looking to
launch the Muslim Women’s Track League at Lee Valley, after more than 100 of
our women took part in cyclocross. And this Sunday the club has a time trial –
our members want to race!” Her own performance has come on leaps and bounds
too, with her FTP up by 150% to 125W.
It has been two years since Tejani’s
cancer surgery; now 50, she is in remission and feeling healthier than ever.
“In a way, cycling was my healing journey,” she says. “When I am on the bike, I
am not the person who has beaten cancer twice – except when I hit the hills,
which is the only time I am reminded. At all other times, I am just a normal
person.” Mindful that two bucket lists have already been ticked off, it seems
almost churlish to ask, but I can’t resist: what is her long-term dream for
Evolve? “Our ultimate aim is getting a hijabi girl on the podium, either as
part of Team GB or some other way. That will mark our project complete!”
Islamic traditions dictate that followers
must fast from dawn till dusk during the holy month of Ramadan, partake in
daily prayers, and women must dress modestly. Tejani explains how cycling fits
in around these obligations
Training while fasting: “During Ramadan,
you have to adapt your training time. You go out closer to sunset, and you ride
more in Zone 2 rather than pushing into higher zones. For the first time this
year, I did fasted training on the turbo. It is usually best to train after you
have broken your fast [after sunset]. The longest I have ridden without food or
water is two hours, but you have to judge your effort accordingly.”
Cultural barriers: “There has always
been certain resistance, on faith grounds, to women cycling. It’s why many
Evolve members are coming to cycling later in life. We’ve had to do research to
see where the objections come from. Clothing is a key area, and it’s why we
designed the modest cycling jersey. If a woman wants to cycle in a full abaya
[loose cloak], that’s absolutely fine – we just have to make sure it doesn’t
get caught in the chain.”
Early starts: “We wake at dawn for
morning prayers, and then head straight out afterwards, which works really
well. During the summer, it is a gorgeous time of day to train – the best
time!”
Shahina Chandoo, 19, from north London,
is a Level 2 coach who works alongside Tejani to identify and develop Evolve’s
most promising young talents.
“When I was 14 I did RideLondon, which
was when I realised I really enjoyed cycling. Two years later, the Evolve club
started and I was originally brought on board to be a coach. Towards the end of
2021, we started Evolve’s Go Ride programme – designed to bring children into
the racing system. At that point, I needed to understand what competing
involved, so I started cyclo-cross racing – very scary to begin with!
“I’ve been awarded the British Cycling
coaching scholarship, helping me develop young riders – I’ve been able to see
exactly what selectors are looking for. Our first intake of kids have been with
us a year and a bit, with 15 of them now involved in racing.
“Cycling has always been seen as a white
man’s sport that’s not really open to everyone else. So the whole idea of
Evolve was to make a comfortable, safe space in which to progress. When I was
starting out I was the only woman from my background riding, but now the club
has 350 members. I don’t want anyone to be alone like I was.”
Source: cyclingweekly.com
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/whatever-happens-im-starting-the-club-iffat-tejani-on-realising-her-bucket-list-dream-of-opening-up-cycling-to-muslim-women
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Saudi Social Media Star, Abrar
Al-Othman, Battling A Rare Skin Condition
July 30, 2023
RIYADH: Abrar Al-Othman is a young Saudi
woman with a challenging and rare skin condition, but it hasn’t deterred her
from thinking positively, becoming an author of three books, and inspiring and
helping others.
Since birth, Al-Othman has been dealing
with the symptoms of Epidermolysis bullosa, a rare condition that causes skin
to blister easily in response to a minor injury, or heat, rubbing or
scratching. As the condition develops, large blisters can form on the skin. It
may last a few years and can cause serious problems.
No one else in her family suffers from
the genetic condition, and it has been a great challenge for Al-Othman. She
told Arab News: “My condition had a significant impact on me throughout many
stages of my life, both because of its uncomfortable symptoms and because of
how people looked at me and how I viewed society.”
Living with EB has caused her to face
some harsh times. When she was ten, a bicycle accident resulted in a head
injury that caused her to lose her hair permanently. She began wearing wigs at
a young age.
Despite this, she has maintained a
positive outlook on life and with the support of her family has been able to
accept the challenges that come with her condition.
Armed with a contagious smile and
optimistic attitude, Al-Othman took to social media as a platform to spread
positivity and has written three books. In 2016, she wrote “There is Life in
Every Heart,” which is “a variety of thoughts that I wrote years ago and
compiled in it.”
She began sharing her work on Twitter in
2018 and received many encouraging comments from users, but for a while she
preferred to remain anonymous.
Al-Othman continued: “After I published
my first book, I was advised by someone to write a book about my condition, and
I hesitated because I loved living behind the screen with no one knowing what I
looked like, but I decided to take this brave step.”
In 2019, Al-Othman wrote her second
book, “EB: My Other Half.” In this memoir-style work, she talked about “my
story with illness since childhood, how I lived with it, some situations I went
through … and among its pages are thoughts related to each stage.”
She was struck by readers’ comments and
their outpouring of love, which led her to reveal her identity online. Having
braved public scrutiny, Al-Othman began to appear in TV interviews, and as a
result her life changed. She gained more than 81,000 followers on Instagram as
well as the interest of prominent TV personalities.
Explaining the concept behind her third
book, “There is One Soul Between Us,” which was published in 2021, she said:
“(It) explores human emotions from my point of view. After each emotion, there
is an empty page and a question concerning that emotion, and the reader is
invited to express their perspective.”
She participated as an author in the
Jeddah Book Fair where she met her readers and was able to connect more deeply
with the community through her work. (NOTE: We’ll add the year this occurred
when it’s clear, waiting for reporter’s feedback.)
Al-Othman’s journey has been anything
but simple; she has had to deal with a lot of hardship, bullying, and has seen
the dark and ugly side of society.
She recalled some of the positive
experiences she had in school: “My friends at school helped open the water
bottle or sharpen my pencil.”
Her friends would also help her do a
variety of tasks, from carrying her backpack to helping her walk up the
stairs.
However, there were some really
difficult experiences. “But I had really embarrassing moments. While taking a
test, the pencil used to cut my skin and I bled on the paper so some of the
teachers used to write for me.”
Al-Othman explained that sometimes she
was embarrassed to eat at school because it would hurt her throat and so she
would only drink water.
Things became more difficult for Al-Othman
after secondary school; she became the target of bullies and other students
would avoid sitting next to her due to her condition.
Speaking about the isolation this
created, she said: “I was bullied to the point that I didn’t go to school for
many days and when I was in college, I had no friends.”
Now, after enduring hardships, Al-Othman
has become a beacon for others. She refers to herself as the “EB butterfly,”
and has established a group for mothers of children with the same disease, to
whom she offers a wealth of guidance.
She explained: “Every mother supports
the other with advice on how to care for the child and (shares) experiences,
whether in hospitals or treatments, and each one in accordance with their
personal knowledge of the disease. A dermatologist is also present.”
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2346986/saudi-arabia
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PM Modi On What Made Haj
"Special" For Muslim Women This Year
July 30, 2023
Delhi: In continuation of his outreach
to the Muslim community, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, while
addressing the 103rd edition of his radio programme, 'Mann ki Baat', thanked
the Saudi Arabia government for making changes in the Haj policy and said due
to this change, over 4,000 Muslim women from India performed Haj without
'mehram' (male companion). He said many of them had written to them to express
their joy and give their blessings.
"There are some letters that bring
you a lot of joy and inspiration. The letters that my Muslim mothers and
sisters have written to me, after returning from Haj, are like that. Their
journey this year was very special in many ways. These are women who have been
able to go to Haj without a male companion that was not allowed earlier. I want
to thank the Saudi Arabia government for this change in policy," he said,
calling the shift "transformative" as the number of women going for
Haj from India without men accompanying them was not "50 or 100" but
over 4,000.
Amid international scrutiny on human
rights record and treatment of women, Saudi Arabia in 2019 had said that it
would allow women to travel without the permission of a male relative.
Haj has been at the centre of political
flashpoints in India. While the central government decided to do away with the
discretionary Haj quota that was available with people in top constitutional
posts and the minority affairs ministry, the Congress has been blaming the
government for doing away with Haj subsidy that the centre has said was being
misused.
Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani
recently said a decision was taken to end discretionary quota in Haj under PM's
resolve to end VIP culture. She also said her government made several changes
in Haj yatra guidelines keeping in mind the interest of the people, including
disallowing a VIP delegation that visits Saudi Arabia every year.
As many as 4,314 Indian women went for
Haj without 'Mahram (male companion)' this year, the largest since the reform
in 2018. The Minority Affairs Ministry had made comprehensive arrangements for
the health of the Haj pilgrims with health desks at airports and medical
screening by government doctors.
Each year, Saudi Arabia hosts around 25
lakh to 30 lakh pilgrims from across the globe to visit Mecca and India sends
the third largest contingent of pilgrims in the world.
A quota of 1,75,025 Haj pilgrims was
allotted to India. The annual pilgrimage took place in June-end.
Muslim women have been at the centre of
the BJP's outreach towards the community, starting with the centre's move to
criminalise Triple Talaq.
The PM's mention of Muslim women came a
day after the BJP appointed former VC of Aligarh Muslim University Tariq
Mansoor as one of its Vice presidents.
Mansoor has been working with the RSS on
its efforts to promote teachings of Mughal prince Dara Shikoh on peaceful
coexistence of Hindus and Muslims. As the VC of AMU during the anti CAA rights,
his role was criticised by many students for being pro-government.
Mansoor is also a pasmanda Muslim, a non
Ashraf Muslim - BJP has been trying to woo the Pasmanda Muslims for a while
now.
The PM, specifically speaking in Bhopal
recently, while making a pitch for the Uniform Civil Code had listed the names
of the Muslim Pasmanda communities that were never given a voice by the
opposition.
Apart from Mansoor, Abdulla Kutty is
also a vice president with the BJP. He was appointed last year and also heads
the Haj committee.
Formerly with the CPM and Congress,
Abdulla Kutty has always been vocal in praising the PM's model of governance,
and this works well for the BJP that has been trying to strengthen its position
politically and ideologically in Kerala against the communist forces.
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-modi-on-what-made-haj-special-for-muslim-women-this-year-4253958
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/british-muslim-attiya-islamic-uk/d/130341