Buddhist Body Calls Ladakh Inter-Faith Marriage ‘Forceful Conversion’, Couple Denies
New
Age Islam News Bureau
04
December 2021
•
‘Apparel Sector Can Be Launching Platform For Women In Labour Market’ In Developing
Countries Like Bangladesh
•
Formula 1 Driver Sebastian Vettel Invited Saudi Women To Karting Event To Learn
About Their Lives
•
70% Of Health Workers Engaged In Combating COVID-19 Are Women
•
UAE National Day: Meet The Five Women Featured In The Grand Hatta Ceremony
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/buddhist-interfaith-conversion/d/125900
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Buddhist
Body Calls Ladakh Inter-Faith Marriage ‘Forceful Conversion’, Couple Denies
The court directed police to provide security cover
to the couple and act in strict accordance with law laid down by the Supreme
Court. — Representational image/DC
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Pirzada
Shakir
1
Dec 2021
As
the inter faith marriage in Zanskar area
of Kargil in Union Territory of Ladakh has snowballed into a major controversy
in the region, a Budhist body on Wednesday claims that the case is of “forceful
conversion” of religion by the Muslim man. The accusations were denied by the
couple.
Abdul
Qadir Wani, 31, a muslim man of Padum Zanskar and a Buddhist woman Summaya
Kousar, (Sonam Angmo) said that they have married out of “their own free will
and consent” and accused the family and the relatives of latter of harassment
and threats in a petition filed before the High Court in Srinagar.
Sonam
Angmo, with her new name Summaya Kousar, and her husband Qadir have filed a
petition in the court arguing that both are major and had sought protection. As
per the documents, with The Kashmir Walla, Angmo is over 21 years old. “Both
are hiding somewhere to avoid threats,” said Advocate Ismail, counsel for the
couple, adding that, “Father and brother of Qadir have been detained by the
police.”
According
to the affidavit submitted by Kousar in the High Court, which was accessed by
The Kashmir Walla, she says, “I have married with the petitioner number 2 Abdul
Qadir… with freewill and without any coercion and undue influence, however to
the disliking of my parents and other
relatives who as such are causing interference in my married life causing
threat to me… I want to live with my husband.”
The
counsel, Ismail said, “the couple have been given protection by the court since
they are major and have married out of their free will and consent as both
recorded their statement in the court.”
“Taking
into the account relief solicited for by petitioners, writ petition is disposed
of with a direction to respondents to provide security cover to petitioners and
act in strict accordance with law laid down by the Supreme court in Lata Singh
v state of UP (2006) 5 SCC475 and Shakti Vahini vs Union of India and others
AIR 2018 SC 1601,” the referred judgement given on 26 November 2021 reads.
The
court further said, “provided that both petitioners are major and marriage has
been solemnized in strict accordance with prevalent laws, and if there is any
case/FIR registered against any of the petitioner (s) police may go ahead with
the investigation under rules and take it to its logical conclusion.”
However,
four days after the judgement Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) wrote to the
Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Ladakh demanding prompt intervention and action
into the case of what they call a case of “forcible conversion”.
The
letter written by the LBA to LG of Ladakh in possession of The Kashmir Walla
accusing the Muslim man of “running away with the Budhist girl” reads , “Qadir
ran away with the Budhist girl with the sole motive of [faith] conversion.”
The
body threatened communal tensions in the region. “Inter community forceful
conversion through allured marriage in Ladakh have always triggered ill-fated
communal riots in the past causing extensive damage to public and private
properties,” the letter reads.
“Unless
the administration takes prompt action in immediate restoration of the girl to
the family, extreme tension is bound to trigger,” it further reads.
However
activists in the region contend that the personal case of the two families
rather, two persons should not be used to sour relations between the two
communities.
“It
is not the first time that such an incident has taken place. We live in a
diverse society where people belonging to different religions live. In past
many Muslim woman have married Budhists and vice versa,” said Sajjad Kargili, a
member of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), an amalgam of different
political and religious parties based in Ladakh’s Kargil region.
Kargili
further said the case should be dealt with within the purview of law and must
not be politicised to damage the communal harmony in the region.
“Marriage
is a personal choice and there shouldn’t be intimidation from any side,” he
said.
Meanwhile,
LBA said that based on the inputs from the Zanskar unit of the association they
wrote accordingly to the LG.
The
President of the Zanskar unit of LBA could not be contacted for the comments.
In
2017, the association asked people of Kargil who were working in the Leh region
to leave following a Budhist women
marrying a Muslim man as they suspected that “the marriage had been conducted
under duress” despite the women’s denial of their accusations.
Source:
The Kashmir Walla
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‘Apparel
Sector Can Be Launching Platform For Women In Labour Market’ In Developing
Countries Like Bangladesh
Young Bangladeshi women being trained at the Savar
Export Processing Zone training center in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: Dominic
Chavez/World Bank
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Dec
3, 2021
Developing
countries like Bangladesh can take advantage of the apparel industry as an
indirect launching platform to help women transition from jobs to careers and
to bring more women into the labour markets by adopting complementary policies,
experts said.
To
expand female career opportunities, countries must address three barriers,
including low demand for career-related occupations, in service sector due to
insufficient national income, low education levels, and societal and cultural
norms that inhibit women from working, they said.Mentioning that safety
concerns play a significant role in determining women's mobility and their
labour market outcomes, experts emphasised establishing a safe environment for
women -- providing them equal access to thrive aiming at achieving economic
development.
Such
observations came during the presentation of several papers on different topics
at the opening session of the 3rd day of the three-day annual conference of the
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), reports our Chattogram
staff correspondent.
Development
Economics Prof SR Osmani at University of Ulster (UK) chaired the session where
four papers were presented.
Mexico
A Vergara, a consultant in the World Bank's Poverty and Equity Global Practice,
presented a paper titled "From Jobs to Careers: Apparel Exports and Career
Paths for Women in Developing Countries".
The
paper focused on Bangladesh and six other countries where the female-intensive
apparel industry plays an important role in the export basket.
In
his paper, Vergara said low service sector demand due to insufficient national
income, as well as low education levels in the developing countries, make it
difficult for women to transition from jobs to careers.
The
paper stated that without expanding other industries and further investing in
education or skill development, apparel exports are not sufficient to induce
the transition from jobs to careers for women.
Vergara
also made some policy recommendations for countries like Bangladesh, including
increasing participation of female production workers in apparel manufacturing
and related industries, as well as increasing access to education to promote
female participation in careers by expanding upper-secondary enrolment.
He
also emphasized reforming legal barriers that reduce women's access to and
permanence in employment opportunities.
Tanima
Ahmed of World Bank presented a paper on "Women's Employment and Safety
Perceptions: Evidence from Low-income neighbourhoods of Dhaka,
Bangladesh".
While
presenting her paper, Tanima referring to a survey conducted by ActionAid in
2016, said 84 percent of Bangladeshi women routinely experience insults or
sexual comments while in public spaces.
Revealing
the finding of their study on the gender gap in safety perceptions, Tanima
informed that 69 percent of women they interviewed reported feeling safe while
going outside of their community on their own while it was 96 percent for
males.
Providing
women equal access to thrive by establishing an environment in which women feel
safe is necessary to achieve economic development.
She
suggested some immediate measures including ensuring adequate streetlights in
city thoroughfares, providing gender-sensitive training among law enforcement
and security officers and establishing a city surveillance system.
Two
other papers were presented at the session.
World
Bank Senior Economist Maria Eugenia Genoni presented a paper, "Bangladesh
Rural Income Diagnosis", and World Bank Lead Economist Maurizio Bussolo
presented, "How Selling Online is Affecting Informal Firms in South
Asia".
Source:
The Daily Star
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Formula 1 Driver Sebastian Vettel Invited Saudi Women To Karting Event To Learn
About Their Lives
December
04, 2021
JEDDAH:
In an effort to learn more about life in Saudi Arabia and recent changes in the
country, and as an activist for equality, Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel
said that he organized a special karting event this week for women in Saudi
Arabia.
In
comments shared on social media, the German driver, who races for Aston Martin,
said he hired a karting track in Jeddah on Thursday and invited some Saudi
women to race so that he could hear their first-hand accounts of what life is
like for them in the Kingdom.
Vettel
said: “It’s true that some things are changing here. There are a lot of
questions that have been asked and I have asked myself. So I was thinking of
what I can do. I really tried to think of the positive side.
“And
so I set up my own karting event today, under the hashtag Race for Women, and
we had a group of seven or eight girls and women on the track.
“I
was trying to pass on some of my experiences in life and, obviously, on the
track; to do something together to grow their confidence. Some of them had a
(driving) license, others they did not. Some of them were huge Formula 1
enthusiasts, others had nothing to do with Formula 1 or racing before today.
“It
was a good mix of women from different backgrounds and a great event. Everybody
was extremely happy,” he continued. “And I was, I have to say, very inspired by
their stories and their backgrounds, their positivity about the change in the
country.
“It
was important to get to know some of these women. And I think it was a very,
very memorable and inspiring day and a great way to kick-off the weekend by
focusing on the positive.”
Vettel
will compete in the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche
Circuit on Sunday, Dec. 5.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1980401/sport
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70%
of health workers engaged in combating COVID-19 are women
December
02, 2021
RIYADH
— Around 70 percent of health workers who are engaged in the battle against
coronavirus around the world are women, according to an expert. “Most of these
women are working on the frontlines in rendering healthcare services with
attending and nursing COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Ghada Bint Yousef, vice dean
for students’ affairs at King Saud University.
She
was among the four Saudi experts in the health, educational, and media fields
who addressed the 14th session of the Muneerah Bint Mohammed Al-Melhem Forum
for Local Community Services at the Prince Abdulrahman Al-Sudairy Cultural
Center. Their talks at the forum titled “Safe Return...challenges and opinions”
focused on the pros and cons of the coronavirus pandemic on social, economic,
health and psychological aspects of life. The session was held under the
patronage of Princess Noura Bint Muhammad Al-Saud.
On
his part, Dr. Muhammad Al-Shayea, president of Al-Jouf University, said that
the changes brought about by the pandemic would contribute to accelerating the
achievements of development and positive social changes.
In
his speech, Dr. Abdul Hamid Al-Habib, director general of the National Center
for the Promotion of Mental Health, said that the pandemic upended the lives of
many people with a massive change in lifestyles and that impacted profoundly on
mental health.
Dr.
Ali Al-Anzi, professor of media at King Saud University, said that the safe
return to normal life requires a lot of attention from various sectors so as to
ensure the highest degree of health safety, and the resumption of activities of
business and economic sectors with their full potential.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
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UAE
National Day: Meet the five women featured in the grand Hatta ceremony
By
Sherouk Zakaria
4
Dec 2021
Celebrating
the UAE's tribal past before the union, the grand UAE National Day show in
Hatta featured compelling calligraphy-designed profiles of five women in a
tribute to their integral role in crafting the country's early story as a
nation.
The
mind-blowing show, live-streamed on Thursday, gripped thousands of TV
spectators into the UAE’s journey, leading up to the moment of the union and
the 50 years that followed.
Highlighting
the relationship between humans, nature, technology, the show sets the stage
for the UAE's bright future, led by the legacy of glory of the past and legacy
of the founding fathers.
Among
the figures who shaped the UAE's story are five inspiring women featured on the
large sculpture early on during the show.
Here
are their profiles in order of appearance in the grand spectacle:
Sheikha
Maitha bint Salmeen Al Mansoori
The
wife of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa, grandfather of the late UAE Founder Sheikh
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Sheikha Maitha was known for her courage.
She
rode to stand against a group of men approaching her settlement, impersonating
her brother to protect it. Her bravery continues to inspire a generation of
women today.
Sheikha
Hessa bint Al Murr Al Falasi
The
grandmother of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikha Hessa was
recognised for her positive counsel, financial advice and influence in Dubai.
She was also known for her philanthropy.
Sheikha
Shamsa bint Sultan Al Marar
An
exceptional pearl diver and fisherwoman in her youth, Sheikha Shamsa is
remembered for her courageous efforts in preserving and transmitting rituals
and traditions of the sea.
Sheikha
Hamama bint Obaid Al Teneji
Immortalised
in film and literature, Sheikha Hamama was a famous healer known to cure using
ancient techniques including 'body branding'. A botanist herself, she possessed
great knowledge of the medicinal uses of local plants.
Her
Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation
The
wife of the late UAE Founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Sheikha Fatima
leads several global and UAE-focused humanitarian and philanthropic initiatives
to support women and children.
She
is the Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme
Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family
Development Foundation (FDF). Her work and strong personality continue to
inspire a generation of women who follow her lead.
You
can still watch the UAE’s National Day breathtaking ceremony in Hatta. Buy the
tickets to the must-see show, open to the public from December 4-12, from the
official website www.uaenationalday.ae.
Source:
Khaleej Times
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