The Three Female Hostages Released First By Hamas Under The Ceasefire Deal
New Age Islam News Bureau
20 January 2025
• The Three Female Hostages Released First By Hamas Under The Ceasefire Deal
• Rina Amiri, U.S. Special Envoy, Bids Farewell: Afghanistan Deserves Better And A Bright Future
• Mother In Afghanistan’s KunarProvince Gives Birth To Quadruplets
• Artists And Activists In Netherlands Rally Against Treatment Of Women In Afghanistan
• Taliban Deputy Presses Leader To End Education Bans On Afghan Women And Girls
• Nancy Pelosi's Daughter Calls Jill Biden 'Lady Macbiden': 'I’d Put On My Big Girl Pants'
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/female-hostages-hamas-under-ceasefire/d/134383
-----
The three female hostages released first by Hamas under the ceasefire deal
Peter Beaumont
Sun 19 Jan 2025
(From left) Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen. Photograph: Reuters
----------
A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has taken effect, pausing a 15-month war that has brought devastation and political change to the Middle East.
As part of the deal, three Israeli hostages have been released, named by Hamas as RomiGonen, DoronSteinbrecher and Emily Damari.
Hamas kidnapped Damari, who has joint British and Israeli citizenship, from her apartment in the Kfar Aza kibbutz on 7 October 2023, along with 37 other residents of the community on the Gaza border. She was the only hostage with British citizenship being held.
Her last message to her family on the day of her kidnapping was at about 10am, when she managed to send a text to say Hamas were in her neighbourhood and shooting close to her apartment.
According to friends and family, based on witness evidence from the attack, Damari suffered injuries and was abducted while blindfolded in her own car.
She was shot in the hand and “injured by shrapnel in her leg, blindfolded, bundled into the back of her own car, and driven back to Gaza”, her mother, Mandy Damari, later said.
In December, Mandy told the BBC: “She’s suffering from gunshot wounds to her hand and her leg … I worry every day, I worry every second because in the next second, she could be murdered, just because she’s there.”
A fan of Tottenham Hotspur football club, Damari grew up in south-east London but later moved to Israel. She is the granddaughter of Sidney Moss, who was for many years the managing director of the UK’s Jewish Chronicle.
Gonen, a former volunteer scouts counsellor, was attending the Nova music festival, a dance party close to the Gaza border, when she was abducted after being shot in the hand by Hamas gunmen on 7 October. Three of her friends who were with her at the festival were murdered.
Kidnapped while attempting to flee the site of the festival in a car, she managed to speak to her mother during her abduction. “They shot me, Mom, and I’m bleeding,” she told her mother, MeiravLeshemGonen. “Everyone in the car is bleeding.”
A month after the attack, one of the hostages released in November 2023 as part of a previous ceasefire deal told Gonen’s family that Romi was alive but that her hand was in a bad condition.
“Her hand does not function. Her fingers are barely moving and are changing colours – and that was 10 weeks ago,” the family told the Daily Mail.
Steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse, was abducted from her home in Kfar Aza when gunmen entered her safe room during the attack. She told her family during a phone call “they’re here” as she was seized, still in her pyjamas, and taken to Gaza.
Steinbrecher was known to be alive in January of last year when she appeared in a Hamas video with two other captives, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, pleading for their release.
During the attack she was in touch with her sister, Yamit Ashkenazi, and her parents, who were also in their home on the kibbutz when it was attacked.
At about 10.30am, Doron told her parents that she was scared. A little later she sent a voice message to friends: “They’ve arrived – they have me.”
Source: Www.Theguardian.Com
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/19/gaza-ceasefire-deal-female-hostages-hamas-release
-----
Rina Amiri,U.S. Special Envoy,Bids Farewell: Afghanistan Deserves Better And A Bright Future
By Fidel Rahmati
January 20, 2025
Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Women, has announced that she will step down from her position tomorrow, coinciding with the inauguration of the new U.S. president. In a message, she urged the global community to support the “brave women and men of Afghanistan.” According to Amiri, much work remains to hold the Taliban accountable.
In her statement shared on Sunday through social media platform X, Amiri described her work in support of Afghanistan women as a “great honor” and expressed hope that the Afghan people could free their country from the cycle of war, instability, and reliance on foreign aid, moving instead toward a brighter future.
Reflecting on her activities over the past three years, Amiri said that she and her colleagues have laid a “solid foundation” for supporting women of Afghanistan.
She emphasized that Afghan voices and their recommendations have been incorporated into U.S. policymaking through advisory programs, ensuring their perspectives are heard.
Amiri highlighted that working with Islamic countries to support Afghan women’s rights has been a central focus of her mission, noting that these nations “are the most effective voices in countering the Taliban’s narratives.”
Amiri underscored the importance of amplifying the voices of women and human rights defenders, advocating for pressure on the Taliban to reverse harmful decrees that have denied women and girls access to education, employment, participation in society, and medical services.
She also called for pressure on the Taliban to respect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, stating, “The Taliban have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, keeping Afghanistan trapped in a cycle of poverty and dependence.”
The U.S. special envoy stated, “The Afghanistan people deserve better, and I deeply believe that one day Afghanistan will move toward an inclusive society where its daughters and sons can participate in building a better future.”
Amiri concluded, “The world must stand with the brave women and men of Afghanistan. They are the best hope for a stable and secure Afghanistan that lives in peace with itself and its neighbors. This is a moral and strategic necessity for the region and the world.”
The departure of Rina Amiri underscores the ongoing challenges and urgency of addressing the plight of Afghan women and the broader humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Her appeal for global solidarity highlights the critical role the international community must play in supporting Afghan citizens during this turbulent period.
Amiri’s work has laid a crucial foundation for advocating women’s rights in Afghanistan. However, the path forward demands sustained efforts from both regional and global actors to ensure that Afghanistan women and ethnics can reclaim their rights and contribute to a stable, inclusive future for their country.
Source: Www.khaama.Com
https://www.khaama.com/rina-amiri-bids-farewell-afghanistan-deserves-better-and-a-bright-future/
-----
Mother in Afghanistan’s Kunar province gives birth to quadruplets
By Fidel Rahmati
January 20, 2025
Officials at the Kunar Provincial Hospital reported that a mother in the province has given birth to four babies, including one girl and three boys.
----------
According to the hospital officials, the mother delivered the quadruplets via surgery on Sunday, January 19.
The hospital staff confirmed that the quadruplets consist of three boys and one girl.
Meanwhile, Ansarullah Hamid, the director of Kunar Provincial Hospital, stated that the mother and babies are in stable condition, with the babies’ weights also being satisfactory.
This is not the first instance of quadruplets being born in Afghanistan. Similar cases have been reported in Herat, Ghor, Faryab, and several other provinces.
Doctors emphasize that such pregnancies require special care due to their complexities. Quadruplet births are rare and are often associated with risks such as premature delivery or low birth weight.
This comes amid the severe humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with millions affected by poverty, hunger, and displacement. Years of conflict and economic instability have left many reliant on humanitarian aid, particularly in remote areas where access remains a significant challenge. Vulnerable communities are often left without the assistance they need to survive.
The healthcare system is also in a critical state, with insufficient resources and a shortage of trained medical professionals. Maternal and child healthcare is especially at risk, as many pregnant women and newborns lack access to essential services, leading to high rates of preventable mortality. Specialized care for chronic conditions or high-risk cases is scarce, leaving countless individuals without treatment.
This comes amid ongoing challenges in addressing the root causes of poverty, displacement, and inadequate healthcare. The lack of sustainable solutions exacerbates the suffering of Afghanistan’s population, highlighting the urgent need for international support to strengthen healthcare and provide essential humanitarian aid.
Source: Www.khaama.Com
https://www.khaama.com/mother-in-afghanistans-kunar-province-gives-birth-to-quadruplets/
-----
Artists and Activists in Netherlands rally against treatment of women in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
January 19, 2025
A number of artists and human rights activists have protested in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in support of Afghan women.
The gathering, held on Saturday, January 18, aimed to oppose gender apartheid, violence, and the suppression of women in the country.
During the protest, dozens of artists used poetry and protest songs to amplify the voices of women silenced and erased by the Taliban.
For over three and a half years, the Taliban has completely excluded women from public life, including banning them from education, employment, parks, and markets.
The ongoing protests serve as a powerful reminder of the grave situation faced by Afghan women under the Taliban’s rule. The international community must continue to raise awareness and support efforts to restore the rights and dignity of women in Afghanistan.
The persistence of these protests also reflects the determination of Afghan women and their supporters to resist oppression and fight for a future where women are no longer silenced or excluded from society.
Source: Www.khaama.Com
-----
Taliban deputy presses leader to end education bans on Afghan women and girls
Jan 19, 2025
A senior Taliban figure has urged the group’s leader to scrap education bans on Afghan women and girls, saying there is no excuse for them, in a rare public rebuke of government policy.
Sher Abbas Stanikzai, political deputy at the Foreign Ministry, made the remarks in a speech on Saturday in southeastern Khost province.
He told an audience at a religious school ceremony there was no reason to deny education to women and girls, “just as there was no justification for it in the past and there shouldn’t be one at all.”
The government has barred females from education after sixth grade. Last September, there were reports authorities had also stopped medical training and courses for women.
In Afghanistan, women and girls can only be treated by female doctors and health professionals. Authorities have yet to confirm the medical training ban.
“We call on the leadership again to open the doors of education,” said Stanikzai in a video shared by his official account on the social platform X. “We are committing an injustice against 20 million people out of a population of 40 million, depriving them of all their rights. This is not in Islamic law, but our personal choice or nature.”
It is not the first time he has said that women and girls deserve to have an education. He made similar remarks in September 2022, a year after schools closed for girls and months and before the introduction of a university ban.
Ibraheem Bahiss, an analyst with Crisis Group’s South Asia program, said Stanikzai had periodically made statements calling girls’ education a right of all Afghan women.
“However, this latest statement seems to go further in the sense that he is publicly calling for a change in policy and questioned the legitimacy of the current approach,” Bahiss said.
In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, earlier this month, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban on women and girls’ education.
The U.N. has said that recognition is almost impossible while bans on female education and employment remain in place and women can’t go out in public without a male guardian.
No country recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, but countries like Russia have been building ties with them.
In Dubai earlier this month, a meeting between India’s top diplomat, Vikram Mistri, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi showed their deepening cooperation.
Left: FILE PHOTO: A primary school student walks back from school through an alleyway near her home in Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 20, 2021. Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
Source: Www.Pbs.Org
-----
Nancy Pelosi's daughter calls Jill Biden 'Lady MacBiden': 'I’d put on my big girl pants'
Jan 19, 2025
Reacting to Jill Biden's resentment against Nancy Pelosi whom the Bidens blame for Joe Biden's ouster from the presidential election, Nancy Pelosi's daughter Alexander Pelosi said if she had been in the place of Jill Biden, she would have thought about her husband's legacy. But the comment did not come without a scorn. “If I was Lady McBiden, I’d put on my big girl pants, play the long game and think about my husband’s legacy,” Alexandra Pelosi said comparing Jill Biden to Lady Macbeth.
"There aren’t that many people left in America who have something nice to say about Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi is one of them," Pelosi said and made it clear that she was only speaking for herself and not for her mother. Nancy Pelosi recently broke her hip during her Europe trip and the Bidens did not call her up.
Jill Biden, in her exit interview, said she was disappointed at how things unfolded -- how Joe Biden was forced to bow out of the presidential race in favor of Kamala Harris. Jill Biden also said how hurt she was at the conduct of Nancy Pelosi -- the Pelosid and the Bidens have been friends for the last 20 years.
Since Biden's exit from the presidential race, Joe Biden has not spoken to Nancy Pelosi. According to the Politico report which had Nancy Pelosi'd daughter's reaction, Pelosi tried to reach out to Joe Biden. But the answer was always no.
Pelosi told people last week she was struck that theDonald Trump inauguration: Foreign leaders to attend for the first time in US history; see full list
Source: Times Of India
-----
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/female-hostages-hamas-under-ceasefire/d/134383