New
Age Islam News Bureau
01
January 2021
•
A Pakistan Parliamentary Committee Orders Fresh Inquiry into Minor Christian
Girl’s Abduction
•
Muslim Outreach Group Berated By Woman on Islamophobia Rant In Vancouver
•
Russia: Registration Of Girls To Muslim Youth Forum Opens In Kazan
•
Turkey Shaken By Brutal Killings Of 3 Women In A Single Day
•
Yemen in Focus: 'No Women, No Government' Movement Demands Political
Participation
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/female-participation-sports-up-one/d/123948
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Female
Participation in Sports up One Hundred Fifty Percent in Saudi Arabia
January
01, 2021
12 Saudi women now in prominent international
sporting positions
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JEDDAH: Female participation in sport in Saudi Arabia
has shot up by almost 150 percent since 2015, the Kingdom’s sports minister
revealed.
Prince
Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said far-reaching changes as part of the Saudi
Vision 2030 reform plan and the influence of Princess Reema bint Bandar bin
Sultan have been major factors in contributing to the success.
The
minister hailed the princess as a great role model who had inspired her peers
and country
through
her sporting achieve- ments, playing a crucial part in promoting mass
participation in sports and carrying out important work on the board and as a
member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) women and sports
committee.
Princess
Reema recently took part in the first Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum,
organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) and the International
Taekwondo Federation, that targeted women’s welfare in sports.
Following
her lead, many female achievers have been elected as members of international
sports organizations.
These
have included Princess Haifa bint Mohammed, who became chair of the women’s
committee of the Arab Union, and Princess Reham bint Saif Al-Islam who was
appointed as a member of the Arab Swimming Federa- tion’s women’s committee.
The
Kingdom’s first female boxing coach, Rasha Al-Khamis, became a member of the
women’s committee for the Asian boxing organization, Abrar Bukhari sat on the
women’s committee of the Asian Taekwondo Federation, and Sarah Al-Fayez was
elected a member of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) media committee.
Asma
Al-Yamani, meanwhile, became a member of the World Tennis Tour Committee, Aseel
Al-Hamad was nominated a member of the Women in Motor- sports Committee at the
Interna- tional Motorsports Federation, and Haya Al-Dossary took on the role as
a marketing committee member for West Asia of the International Table Tennis
Federation.
In
addition, Adwaa Al-Arifi became a member of the AFC and Arab Football
Confederation, and Dr. Razan Baker was appointed chairperson of the
International Bowling Federation’s women in sports committee.
Saudi
sportswomen have also notched up around 100 medals in events at regional and
interna- tional levels.
Fencing
topped the list for Saudi female sporting achievements. The sport’s federation
has been one of the leaders in investing in the training of women of all ages,
with academies in Jeddah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province.
Fencing
has delivered around 29 medals including four bronzes in the epee event at the
2016 Arab Games held in Riyadh. In 2018, Saudi fencers bagged one silver and
three bronze medals at the Juniors Arab Fencing Champion- ship in Jordan, and
in the same year they brought home a bronze from the Arab Fencing Championship
in Tunisia.
In
Kuwait’s 2019 junior fencing championship, they scooped one gold, one silver,
and five bronzes, and collected a gold and two bronzes in the Asian Qualifying
Round of Fencing Champion- ship in the same year in Riyadh.
In
2020, they won two silver medals at the Arab Women Sports Tournament in
Sharjah, and one silver and two bronze medals in Manama’s Junior and Youth
Fencing Championship.
At
the Virtual Confederation Championship, the women’s fencing team secured single
gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Second
place went to the judokas with 15 medals, all won in 2019. Two golds, two
silvers, and eight bronzes were from the Estonia International Judo
Championship; a gold, silver, and bronze came in the West Asian Judo
Championship.
Not
to be outdone in third place were the taekwondo ladies with one gold, two
silvers, and four bronzes from the 2019 and 2020 GCC and Arab Taekwondo
championships.
Tied
at fourth place with four medals each were the female equestrians and
weightlifters.
Equestrienne
Dalma Malhas gave Saudi Arabia its first bronze medal at the 2010 Youth
Olympics in Singapore. Riders also collected two more bronzes and one silver at
the Sharjah tournament in 2020.
The
women weightlifters snatched their two golds, one silver, and one bronze in
Gulf tournaments and the West Asian Championship.
Other
sports where Saudi women broke into the medal column were: Rowing, through
Kariman Abujadail, who won a gold medal at the Gulf Rowing tournament in
Sharjah in 2020; boxing courtesy of Najd Fahad with a gold at the virtual
Univer- sity World Cup in 2020 and Dona Alghamdi with another gold at the
International Leaders Champi- onship in 2018 in Jordan; kick boxing through
Zahra Alqurashi, who claimed first place at the International Clubs Champion-
ship in mixed martial arts in 2019 in Jordan; and archery, from its women’s
team that clinched bronze during the Sharjah Arab Women Sports tournament in
2020.
Elsewhere,
the Saudi women football leagues were inaugurated, and saw participation of 10
teams last November in three cities. The football federation, in collaboration
with the Leaders Development Institute, offered coaching courses to create
oppor- tunities for Saudi women who were keen to become professional football
coaches without the need to travel abroad.
The
Saudi Archery Federation also launched a tournament featuring more than 25
women archers.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1785526/sport
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A
Pakistan Parliamentary Committee Orders Fresh Inquiry into Minor Christian
Girl’s Abduction
Jamal
Shahid
01
Jan 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Convinced that police have mishandled the case, a parliamentary committee on
Thursday ordered a fresh inquiry into the abduction of a minor Christian girl
in Faisalabad.
The
13-year old was freed five months after Muslim men allegedly abducted, forcibly
converted her to Islam, and then one of them married her.
A
meeting of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights was held under the
chairmanship of Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar. The meeting discussed various
issues of forced conversion and marriage and the death of a farmer in Lahore
due to alleged police violence besides the murder of a member of the minority
community.
Faisalabad
police officials told the committee that they had received a complaint from the
family of the girl that Khizer Hayat had allegedly abducted the girl. But the
girl’s recorded statement said otherwise.
The
police maintained that the girl in her statement recorded before a magistrate
said she had left her home voluntarily and embraced Islam and got married. The
police officials told the committee that the girl had also undergone a medical
test and according to the doctor’s report she was between 16 and 17 years old.
However,
during the committee meeting, the girl’s father presented the form “B” issued
by Nadra which showed her as 13 years old.
Lawmakers
question investigation process and also reject medical report declaring girl
aged 16 to 17 years
Senator
Khokhar and other members of the committee raised questions over the
investigation process and declared that the certificate issued by Nadra was
authentic proof of the girl’s age, rejecting the doctor’s report. As a proof,
the family members also presented her twin brother’s Form “B”.
The
girl’s father also registered a complaint with the committee about the
behaviour of the police over which the committee expressed its regret.
The
chairman of the committee apologised to the family of the minor girl and
demanded that legal action be taken against those responsible and proper
protection be provided to the family.
Senator
Khokhar said: “The investigating officer has tarnished Pakistan’s image.”
The
committee also directed the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Faisalabad to
investigate the whole matter and submit a report to the committee on Jan 6. The
SSP assured the committee that the matter would be investigated and a
charge-sheet would be issued to the concerned investigating officer.
Regarding
the murder of Dr Tahir Mahmood, a member of the Ahmadi Jamaat in Nankana, DPO
Nankana Ismail Kharal informed the committee that Dr Mahmood was killed by a
16-year-old boy, living in his neighborhood. According to the official, those
who provided the boy with a weapon had also been arrested and the case was
pending in the anti-terrorism court.
The
chairman of the committee declared the case sensitive, saying a committee of
the entire Senate should discuss these issues with regard to the protection of
minorities. He believed that strict action also needed to be taken against hate
speech.
Deputy
Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed from Lahore presented facts before
the committee against allegation that Malik Ashfaq Langrial died after being
tortured by the police during a protest by farmers.
The
farmer’s condition deteriorated after tear gas shelling on protesting farmers
at Thokar Niaz Baig. He later died in hospital.
The
police officer informed the committee that the farmer was suffering from a
heart condition and did not die in police custody. He said: “The police had
nothing to do with it.”
He
said the farmers’ representatives were on a strike and action was taken against
them. No one was tortured, he claimed.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598944/senate-hr-body-orders-fresh-inquiry-into-christian-girls-abduction
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Muslim
outreach group berated by woman on Islamophobia rant in Vancouver
BY
KAREEM GOUDA
Dec
31, 2020
VANCOUVER
(NEWS 1130) — A local Muslim group trying to clear misconceptions and educate
others about bigotry was confronted and verbally attacked by a woman over the
weekend.
The
Bridging Gaps Foundation was on Robson Street Dec. 27 with their “Meet a
Muslim” initiative, which offers a chance for others to ask questions and have
an open dialogue with them about Islam.
“We
on the street talk to people about Islam and clarify misconceptions,” says
Adnan Akiel, the group’s program manager, in a video posted to the foundation’s
YouTube.
But
a woman approached their table and went on an Islamaphobic rant.
The
woman in the video yelled expletives, telling the group to “Go home,” and said
she would drive them to the airport.
In
one part of the video, she says she’s enjoying the interaction despite several
requests for her to leave the table.
“What
you think is not important in the country,” the irate woman yelled. “You need
to understand that what you think is zero, dog. You’re a dog.”
She
is shown yelling at the team members, saying “everyone hates Islam” because it
is “against women and children,” while taking issue with prayer.
“And
also we don’t want to see people’s butts in the air on the street in public.
Take your butt out of our faces. Go pray in your mosque.”
A
voice in the video tries to tell the woman the conversation isn’t productive
and asks her to leave. She refuses and doesn’t seem concerned the encounter is
being filmed for most of the interaction.
People
walking by join in asking her to leave, telling her she’s being racist, which
she argues isn’t true.
The
video switches back to Akiel, who shot the footage of the woman, as he explains
there’s never cause for this kind of behaviour.
“Every
single one of us, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, we have a responsibility to
ensure that our communities are safe and free from bigotry of this nature,” he
says.
Akiel
says in the video it serves as an example that bigotry is alive and well in our
community, but can still be addressed, “if we ground ourselves in education, in
knowledge, and general mutual respect and understanding.”
He
calls the incident disheartening, saying people can disagree, but they must
also coexist.
https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/12/31/muslim-outreach-group-confronted/
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Russia:
Registration of girls to Muslim Youth Forum opens in Kazan
December
31, 2020
Kazan
plans to hold the XI Forum of Muslim Youth in January 20-24, 2021. This time,
the annual gathering will be held separately for the girls.
It
will be focused on the topic of healing. As the Almighty said in the Last
Scripture: “The Day when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit.
Only those who come before Allah with a pure heart will be saved.”
During
the four days courses the girls will study heart diseases: riya – show off in
worship, ghaflat - carelessness, anger and envy.
Young
Muslim women from 18 to 30 years old are invited to participate in the forum.
The
forum program includes an interesting educational program: lectures, lessons,
quest, creative, sports activities and communication.
https://en.abna24.com/news//russia-registration-of-girls-to-muslim-youth-forum-opens-in-kazan_1101417.html
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Turkey
shaken by brutal killings of 3 women in a single day
December
31, 2020
Three
women in Turkey were brutally murdered by men on Tuesday, sending shockwaves
across the country at a time when domestic violence has become a major problem,
Turkish Minute reported.
One
of the women, Aylin Sözer, 48, a lecturer in the preschool education department
of a private university in İstanbul, was killed by a man named Kemal Ayyıldız,
32. Sözer’s family called the police when they hadn’t heard from her. The
police had to break into Sözer’s apartment in the Maltepe district of İstanbul,
where they found Sözer’s body. Ayyıldız, who was also in the apartment, tried
to attack police officers with a flammable liquid. The police determined that
Ayyıldız had stabbed Sözer to death and then set her body on fire. Ayyıldız was
detained by the police and arrested on Wednesday.
Sözer’s
family denied the existence of a romantic relationship between Sözer and
Ayyıldız.
Sözer,
who appeared on a TV program on Haber Global in April 2009, said at the time
that the more acts of violence become widespread among society, the more
widespread they become among children.
The
second victim was a woman named Selda Taş, who was shot to death by her husband
in the eastern Turkish province of Malatya on Tuesday. The third woman who was
killed on Tuesday was Vesile Dönmez, who was shot by her son with a rifle in
the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
The
motivations for the murders are unknown and are being investigated by the
police.
Two
hundred fifty-three women in Turkey were killed and 715 others were injured at
the hands of men between Jan. 1 and Nov. 21, according to a report on the
Bianet news website in November.
These
findings are based on reports in the Turkish media and may not include all the
cases of the domestic violence that took place in Turkey in this period.
Women’s
rights organizations have for years been trying to raise awareness about the
increase in violence against women that has taken place in the last decade.
Many
think it is linked to the policies and rhetoric of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP), which has its roots in political Islam.
AKP
leader and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long been accused by critics of
seeking to erode the country’s secular principles and limit the civil liberties
of women.
https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-shaken-by-brutal-killings-of-3-women-in-a-single-day/
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Yemen
in Focus: 'No women, no government' movement demands political participation
19
December, 2020
Leading
activists in Yemen have slammed the formation of a new government that left out
women for the first time in two decades.
A
feminist movement, which has stepped up a campaign dubbed 'No Women, No
Government' in recent weeks, described the move as an "unfair
discrimination against women’s rights to political participation".
"We
hold the the president, prime minister and heads and secretaries of political
parties and forces, as well as the Southern Transitional Council,
accountable," a statement said.
"Yemeni
women are the lifeline and partners in the battle to restore the state at all
levels. They are the ones bear the responsibilities of their families on their
shoulders, of which the burden has been doubled due to the war," the
movement, comprised of more than 50 local women's groups across the country,
said.
"We
assure them that we will not abandon defence of their right to participate in
the public sphere."
The
statement was released after Yemen's internationally recognised government and
southern separatists formed a new cabinet on Friday, forging a joint front
against Houthi rebels who have seized much of the north.
The
new government was formed under the auspices of Saudi Arabia, which leads a
military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthis, who took control of the
capital Sanaa in 2014.
The
new government includes ministers loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and
supporters of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC), as well as
other parties, a government official told AFP, though no women are involved.
"This
campaign was launched to implement the National Dialogue Conference [NDC]
outcome to grant women a quota of at least 30% in all decision making
positions," Hooria Mashhour, former minister for human rights and current
member of the technical advisory group for the UN envoy’s in Yemen told The New
Arab.
"That
came after leaked news that the forming of the new cabinet in Yemen excluded
women totally," she added.
But
more than anything, she said, "this is a political right."
“We
have been striving since 2003 to connect women to decision making positions and
the [NDC] outcomes emphasised that women should be granted a percentage of not
less than 30% in all decision-making positions.
"This
means the government and parliament for what is elected, the judiciary, as well
as any national mechanism that is established, such as the Supreme Committee
for Elections or the anti-corruption body," she added.
More
than 100,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced
in Yemen's grinding five-year war, which has triggered what the United Nations
has called the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
While
the new government brings together all factions that oppose Houthi forces, deep
divisions have grown between the forces, and the Riyadh-sponsored talks pushed
a power sharing agreement designed to mend the rifts.
Prime
Minister Maeen Said has retained his position in the new government, which
comprises of 24 ministers, while changes have taken place in several
ministries, including the foreign ministry.
But
these changes are just not enough for those that want a complete overhaul of
the government, including founder of Yemen Aid, Summer Nasser.
"We
cannot support all women for the sake of supporting women - there are some that
are just as corrupt as the men involved in the current cabinet," Nasser
told The New Arab.
"Right
now, the government is not functioning as a government - there is no
sovereignty in decision making so we won’t be able to make any changes,"
she said. "Even the names on the cabinet have to be approved by outside
forces.
"I
do recognise women must be involved in decision making across the board, but
the state is not in its normal function. Until that happens, we, as women,
should throw some effort into recognising the corruption of this government,
start building national sovereignty, then demand the right for political
participation in the top posts," she said.
"It
must start from the bottom-up, not up to bottom," Nasser noted.
"Women
or man, if you have a questionable background, we shouldn’t support you,"
she said, noting this is counter-productive and continues an ongoing cycle of
corruption and bad governance.
"We
must break that cycle and bring in people that are clean - anything else makes
no sense," Nasser added.
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2020/12/19/yemen-in-focus-womens-group-demands-participation-in-government
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