Genocide, Dehumanisation And Vilification in Gaza Led Muslim Women to Wear the Hijab Across the World
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 June 2025
· Genocide, Dehumanisation And Vilification in Gaza Led Muslim Women to Wear the Hijab Across the World
· Iranian Activist And Political Prisoner SepidehGholian Is Released
· African Women Entrepreneurs Are A Smart Bet For Climate Change Investment: Research Shows Why
· Government Is Failing Black Women In Tech And It’s Time For That To Change
· It Isn't Just Government Policy That Oppresses Women In Iran, As Recent Assaults Show
· Iran: Arbitrary Execution Of Woman Life Freedom Protester After Sham Trial And Torture
· NEOM Port Trains 10 Saudi Women In Remote Crane Operation
· NEET Aspirant Alleges Harassment Over Hijab At Kolkata Exam Centre
· "Niqab Is Not A Crime" - Hijab Advocates Decry Brutal Attacks In Lagos, Ibadan
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/genocide-gaza-led-muslim-women-wear-hijab/d/135850
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Genocide, Dehumanisation And Vilification in Gaza Led Muslim Women to Wear the Hijab Across the World
June 12, 2025
The genocide in Gaza has profoundly shaped how many of us see the world. For some, it’s triggered a crisis of faith in liberal democracies and deep despair. For others, it’s sparked spiritual renewal, a firmer embrace of Islam, and pride in being visibly Muslim. Amid this, Palestinians and their supporters have faced dehumanisation and vilification, with Islamophobic hate crimes surging globally – all while the powerful continue to endorse genocide as self-defence.
Inspiration from the Palestinians’ resilience and faith has been taken by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Gazans’ proclamations of ‘HasbiAllah WaNi’mal Wakeel’ (God is sufficient for me) when faced with the lifeless bodies of their families following Israeli airstrikes have strengthened Muslims, both in their Islamic faith, and their defiance of imperial forces aiding and abetting the genocide, embodied in the sentiment ‘we’re not saving Palestine, Palestine is saving us.’
Moreover, in the last 19 months, we’ve seen countless examples of people researching Islam, as well as converting. The most visible online figure was Megan Rice, a TikTok content creator, who began her journey when she made a video expressing her awe at Palestinians’ resilience. When commenters explained that this resilience comes from faith and the Qur’an, she and others on TikTok shared their journey while they explored the faith for the first time, in October 2023 and expressed how they felt that they were ‘deprogramming’ themselves from a lifetime of Western anti-Islam propaganda. Similarly, following the 9/11 attacks, a reported 8,000 American women converted to Islam, despite the raging propaganda that presented Islam as antithetical to Western democracy.
In 2004, Hoda Badr found that the decision to observe hijab by American Muslim women in Houston, Texas, was affected by media portrayals of Muslims after 9/11, who chose to wear it to present a positive image of Muslims in the US. In the UK, Shaista Gohir noted the uptick in Muslim women wearing the headscarf following 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings. She asserted that ‘this phenomenon is not surprising because when any population feels threatened, it reacts by defending its culture or faith, becoming more attached to it.’
I spoke to four Muslim women who took up the hijab after the genocide began, reclaiming and reconnecting with their faith and identity in a world increasingly hostile to both.
Taking the Leap
For Rubab, the decision felt like divine intervention, as well as the effect of one of the many harrowing videos that made their way across her screen.
“It was in the last few days of 2023. It felt sudden, but I believe it was Allah ﷻ’s qadr. I had made du’a during Ramadan that year, asking Allah to make me a hijabi within five years—He willed it to happen in five months.
At work, we suddenly had an influx of hijabis. At university, I made hijabi friends for the first time. Slowly, I became the only one in my circles not wearing it. I think Allah was preparing me, gently planting the idea. I kept putting it off—‘maybe next year’, ‘in six months’ — until October 7th happened.
A few months later, I came across a video of Palestinian women being pulled from rubble, plastic bags over their heads, trying to cover their hair even in that horror. That moment unnerved me. I’ve found that with certain things in my life, whenever I’m trying to move in a certain direction, Allah will put a video on my ‘for you’ page on TikTok that will shake me to my core, whether it’s something like this or an Islamic reminder. My mum has worn a hijab for years, but most of my family isn’t very practising when it comes to it.
Since wearing it, I’ve felt a difference – more respect, more clarity in my identity. Seeing Palestinian men rush to cover the women they were pulling out from under the rubble, I realised: it’s not just hair. That level of protection and gheerah (protective jealousy) shifted my entire perspective on hijab.”
Maha’s decision to begin practising hijab felt like it was a long-time coming, but was propelled forward by her strengthening commitment to faith as a result of the genocide.
“My reason for wearing hijab is just because of the stage I was at in my life. I’d been thinking about it for a long time, knowing I was getting married soon and starting a PhD, it felt like it was the right time. Though I wouldn’t say that my decision to wear it was directly a result of witnessing this genocide, events in Palestine and Lebanon, where some of my family is from, were all conducive to strengthening my connection to Allah, and consequently accelerated my decision to practice hijab.”
Like the others, Faima had also been pondering making the jump for a while, and her interrogation of how her own shortcomings could be impacting Palestinians led her to finally put it on.
“I’d been thinking about wearing hijab for a year now, and I put it on about two months ago. I think I was led to the decision because of the power of istighfar (seeking refuge in Allah), which I try to do daily, alhamdulillah. At a khutbah last year, the Imam asked us to think about what sins we’re committing that are causing the tragedy and suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world, in Palestine, for example.
The Prophet ﷺ said the Ummah is like one body; when one part suffers, the whole body feels it. So yes, as Muslims we all feel the suffering of our beloved Palestinian brothers and sisters, but have we considered if our own commitment to sinning has disintegrated the ummah, whether our sins, or the absence of practising something obligatory, have worsened the situation? So I do the daily istighfar to seek forgiveness from Allah for my actions, for my sins that hurt the believers. And He loves the sinner who repents, and He has blessed me with gu1idance.”
Following the same trend, Ascia Sahar, an Afghan-Palestinian American content creator, had been praying that she’d be able to make the change for a while, and started trying to ease herself in.
“I started a hijab series [on Instagram] because on Fridays I would go to Jumu’a and wear the hijab, so I took my audience along with me on that experience. I enrolled into the Jannah Institute’s Year of Knowledge course, which covers everything a woman should know and learn about Islam, so that we can be informed and raise the next generation with a deep understanding of our faith and how to practice it. I started it in September, and then October 7th happened. I was in the fifth week of classes when my heart just knew that it was time for me to properly wear the hijab. There was no more questioning it or praying on it. I just knew I was going to do it. I started wearing it privately, not on social media, I just wanted to do it for myself and for Allah’s sake.”
Being Inspired by the Palestinians’ Commitment to Their Faith
The combination of being engrossed in Islamic study, as well as the images coming out of Gaza, ultimately drove Ascia to her decision.
“At that same time, the impact of October 7th on me was that the illusions of the dunya (worldly life), everything started to crumble right in front of me. Whatever seemed to be powerful, the life that we’d become accustomed to, all started crumbling, and the truth of what Allah has shared with us in the Qur’an started making more sense.
Witnessing women in Gaza coming out from underneath the rubble with their prayer scarves on, or bleeding from their heads and still doing their best to keep their headscarves on – that deep level of obedience, commitment, and striving to make sure that they’re still representing their deen even when they come out from the rubble was deeply inspirational. SubhanAllah, may we all reach that level of taqwa (God consciousness). I’m doing the bare minimum right now, but that was definitely the push I needed at that moment.”
Rubab calls October 7th a turning point, for Muslims and non Muslims alike.
“Conversions soared, people learned about Palestine for the first time — it shook the Muslim ummah to its core.
For me, it was the realisation: I am part of these people. I share their faith. Watching them, legs torn off, bodies covered in dust, still looking for scraps to cover their hair — and meanwhile I was telling myself hijab wasn’t “that deep.” Having that epiphany is when I decided to wear hijab, because how can I say I’m Muslim and then not want to visibly represent the faith?
I’d been praying consistently for a few months, growing closer to Allah, and asked myself: what hill are you willing to die on? Palestinians had clarity — to their last breath, they chose their deen.
Faima’s approach to life, her faith and hijab also shifted as a result of the genocide.
“What we’ve seen since October 7th reminded me to see Allah in everything, and have taqwa by fulfilling the obligations He’s placed on me, one of which is practising hijab. I know that I’ll be buried in a covering, and I don’t want that to be the first time I‘m covered. Seeing the God-consciousness of Palestinians pushed me to remember Allah in my own everyday life. I think Palestine should serve as a daily reminder to all Muslims about the conviction of faith and whether we believe in Allah and His Message in the same way. Gazans will pray between rubble, reel off verses of the Quran and be steadfast in the remembrance of ‘Hasbuna-Allah wani’mal wakeel’ – Allah is sufficient for us and the best disposer of affairs. This is the level of iman we should aspire to, and I’m inspired by it. May Allah give us firm conviction, ameen.”
In the same vein, Maha shares that witnessing both the Palestinians’ unwavering faith and the horrors that they have been and continue to experience shifted her mindset entirely, both in her taqwa (consciousness of Allah) and her perspective on her own life events.
“Gaza taught me to remember Allah in every situation. Even when Palestinians lost their children and families to Israeli airstrikes, in the most gruesome ways, we still saw them say alhamdulillah. Seeing the praise of Allah, no matter what, impacted my religious journey deeply. It showed me the importance of trusting His plan even when we don’t have the hikmah (wisdom) to understand it.
For me, the impact of Gaza isn’t just about being inspired by the Palestinians’ strength and faith – it was a realisation that worldly things don’t matter as much. Not just in big decisions, but in everyday moments: when something small goes wrong, or when certain foods aren’t in stock, I remind myself of my privilege compared to what Palestinians are facing. These small shifts strengthened my deen. Any hardship I face, I think to myself, I need to praise God for my blessings, because relatively, in the wider context of things happening in the world, this issue or inconvenience is inconsequential.
It also made me think more about family and our duties to others and God. You don’t know when your last prayer will be, your last interaction with God or with the people you love, your last act of good. The past year and a half showed me that everything is so transitory and how trivial many of our worries are.”
Islamophobia: Deterrent or Driver?
For Faima, it was neither.
“I don’t think it factored in at all. I also don’t want to attribute anything good as a result of it, and it didn’t make me second-guess my decision at all; it didn’t even cross my mind.”
As observed by Gohir, following 9/11, the increasing hostility towards Muslims since October 7th led Maha to become more attached to her faith.
“Ironically, Islamophobia didn’t deter me from wearing the hijab — it strengthened me. It made me feel that people who hate Islam have no real understanding, and if they truly knew, they would believe. The genocide made me more open about my faith, more proud and public in my Muslim identity. In a time when hostility towards Muslims is growing, it felt important to stand firmer. Even in the Prophet ﷺ’s time, believers faced much worse persecution. Remembering that keeps everything in perspective — what we face now is hard, but it’s nothing compared to what others have endured for their faith.”
Rubab shares a similar sentiment. When she felt that her empathy for Palestine was met with animus, she doubled down.
“Immediately after October 7th, something shifted. I started wearing a keffiyeh out, and for the first time, I felt real hatred — glares, disgust — in central London. Until then, I was just seen as “brown.” Now, I was recognisably Muslim. Ironically, it made me lean in more.
The threat of Islamophobic attacks was scary, though I have to admit. The first week I put my hijab on, a white man outside of a pub tried to spit on me while I was on my way to an Islamic lecture for the first time. Last summer, during the race riots, shops in my neighbourhood were vandalised, and machete attacks happened nearby. It was terrifying. At this point, I was very much practising hijab, and I stayed home for a couple of weeks because I didn’t want to be a walking target. Alhamdullilah, though, I’m in my second year of wearing hijab, and Allah has gotten me through it relatively unscathed.”
Growing up in America, Islamophobia has always been a part of Ascia’s life. While it didn’t factor into her decision to start wearing hijab, it does factor into her wider decisions around her family’s safety.
“I was in high school when 9/11 happened. In 10th grade, I witnessed islamophobia on the rise, and understood that we couldn’t fully be as Muslim as we’d want to be in public. Once I got married, I had to do a lot of cultural unlearning, and my husband and I decided that the number one thing we would do is raise unapologetically Muslim children, be unapologetically Muslim ourselves, and build a strong identity within our children. Alhamdulillah, the area we live in is very diverse, so Islamophobia didn’t really need to factor into my decision to wear the hijab because I’ve always been around it. If someone is Islamophobic, they’ll also be racist, not wearing a hijab wouldn’t make me less of a target of their hate.”
Undoubtedly, the horrors we’ve witnessed in Gaza and Palestine as a whole, as well as in other regions – Sudan, Congo, Myanmar, and now Kashmir – have caused a paradigm shift in many people’s worldview. The ongoing genocide has felt like a ‘mask off’ moment for liberal democracies, and their flimsy commitment to values of human rights, justice and the right to self-determination is now unambiguously buried six feet under. The overwhelming feeling is that when faced with deep depravity, and when the world turns against us, threatens us, and surrounds us with darkness, solace can always be found by turning back to Allah and the light of the Qur’an.
Source: amaliah.com
https://www.amaliah.com/post/70464/finding-faith-palestine-gaza-genocide-led-muslim-women-wear-hijab
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Iranian Activist And Political Prisoner SepidehGholian Is Released
JUNE 11, 2025
Gholian has spent most of the past six and a half years in jail for labor activism
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Iranian activist and political prisoner SepidehGholian was released from Evin prison on Wednesday, her brother announced.
“My sister Sepideh was freed today after a months-long pause,” her brother Mehdi Gholian wrote on social media.
He said her release came amid grief over the execution of MojahedKourkour, referring to the protester executed earlier on Wednesday.
“Although we waited years for this moment… sadly it coincided with losing our brother,” he wrote.
Gholian had completed her two-year sentence and was held for nearly three additional months without legal explanation.
She was convicted of Supreme Leader “insulting Ali Khamenei” and sentenced to two years in prison.
According to her sentence, she should have been released in March, but authorities delayed her release for several months without providing a specific reason.
One relative said, “They suddenly released her… they didn’t allow her to return to the ward to say goodbye. We were also shocked.”
She has written a kbook from inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, documenting how female inmates bake cakes and pastries as acts of defiance against the Islamic Republic.
“The Evin Prison Bakers’ Club: Surviving Iran’s Most Notorious Prison in 16 Recipes” was smuggled out of the prison.
Gholian has spent most of the past six and a half years in jail for labor activism.
She was last arrested in 2023 after posting a video removing her hijab and denouncing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Source: iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/news/141961-activist-sepideh-gholian-is-released/
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African women entrepreneurs are a smart bet for climate change investment: research shows why
12 Jun 2025
Women in Africa are often framed as especially vulnerable to climate change. Our earlier research suggested that women entrepreneurs often face a “triple differential vulnerability” to climate risk compared to men.
What we mean is that there are three possible reasons for their additional vulnerability. First, their livelihoods are often in climate sensitive sectors. Second, they face additional barriers to accessing resources for adaptation in the business environment — such as finance, new adaptation technologies and markets for climate smart goods and services. Last, they also hold primary responsibility for managing climate risk at the household level.
However, our new research also suggests a parallel, more overlooked reality. Women entrepreneurs may also be leading the way in action on climate resilience in Africa.
Through the Women Entrepreneurs in Climate Change Adaptation (WECCA) project we are researching this role of women as strategic actors in inclusive adaptation action.
Women’s entrepreneurship is key to development outcomes in Africa. This is because their businesses make wide ranging contributions to economic activity. They are active in critical agriculture and food processing value chains, which boosts export earnings. And through cooperatives, and savings groups, at the local level, women create access points to finance and markets for others in underserved regions. Studies also suggest women are more likely to use their profits to address the most critical household needs.
Small businesses form the backbone of most African economies. They generate most employment opportunities and provide essential goods and services.
Yet, these businesses are on the frontline of climate impacts. Floods, droughts, and concurrent disruption to power, water and transport networks threaten supply chains, disrupt markets, interrupt livelihood activities and damage business assets.
Businesses must adapt to survive. But how they adapt can make the difference between building long-term resilience and deepening vulnerability.
Results from our study of small businesses in climate vulnerable regions of Kenya and Senegal suggest that businesses with women leaders take a more sustainable approach to adaptation than those with only male leaders. This safeguards long-term business resilience. Our results also found adaptation assistance has a stronger impact on helping women-led small businesses adjust to climate change, compared to those led only by men.
These results suggest that supporting adaptation for women entrepreneurs isn’t just about fairness. It’s also a smart strategy for scaling up climate resilient economies. Building an inclusive business environment for adaptation may deliver bigger returns on investments for governments and donors.
Women entrepreneurs as strategic actors
Our study analysed survey data of small businesses in semi-arid regions of Senegal and Kenya. The aim was to consider how having female owners and managers shaped a business’s adaptation to extreme events.
Our dataset covered the Senegalese regions of Louga, Saint Louis and Kaolack. In Kenya, it covered the county of Laikipia. The regions experience extreme drought and flooding that is expected to increase in the coming decades. Entrepreneurship in these regions is particularly concentrated in agricultural sectors. These are highly exposed to the impacts of these extremes.
We investigated how a business having female leaders impacted the number of sustainable and unsustainable adaptation strategies that they adopted.
Following earlier literature, we classified adaptation strategies as:
“sustainable” when they maintain business operations at existing levels
“unsustainable” if they help businesses “cope” in the short term but result in a temporary (or sometimes permanent) reduction in business activity. This could reduce the resources that they have to cope with future climate impacts.
We found that businesses which include women within their management and ownership teams adopted fewer unsustainable adaptation measures than those led solely by men. Unsustainable adaptation actions are typically reactive coping strategies that can help businesses address immediate needs to minimise the negative impacts of climate shocks in the short term. These might include selling off business assets or cutting staff.
But these actions often come at a cost. They reduce business activity, undermine future growth, and may limit a business’s ability to recover from subsequent climate impacts.
In contrast, we found that businesses with female leaders were more likely to adopt sustainable adaptation measures that protected the long-term health of the business. These included:
diversifying income sources
switching to different crops
taking out loans or insurance.
Such strategies can help to reduce vulnerability to future climate shocks, and support income stability and recovery during periods of climate stress.
These findings are striking given the additional barriers that women face when trying to adapt.
It is well documented, for example, that women entrepreneurs in Africa face deeper constraints than men in accessing adaptation resources. This includes finance, training and technologies.
Similarly, gendered expectations around domestic responsibilities can limit women’s time and mobility, restricting their ability to attend training sessions or participate in external markets.
Social norms may also limit their decision-making power within households or businesses. This can make it harder to act independently on adaptation investments.
Given these constraints, the use of more sustainable adaptation strategies by women-led businesses deserves careful interpretation. Many of the sustainable measures we analysed — such as switching crops or diversifying income streams — can require less upfront capital than the unsustainable ones. Actions like selling assets or scaling back staff, meanwhile, are only possible if the business owns significant physical or financial resources to begin with.
The lower use of unsustainable strategies by women-led businesses may therefore reflect more limited coping capacity: they may simply have fewer assets to draw on when a shock hits.
Yet this makes the findings even more important. Sustainable strategies can still be highly effective. Our research suggests that women business leaders are often finding ways to adapt that are both practical and forward-looking, even when working with limited capital. In this sense, women entrepreneurs are not just more vulnerable — they are also strategic actors driving adaptation innovation, often with fewer resources.
What’s needed
These findings highlight not only the constraints women entrepreneurs continue to face, but also their untapped potential in adaptation.
What’s more, our study suggests that this potential can be especially powerful when the right support is in place. We found that when adaptation assistance (whether financial or technical) is made available, women-led businesses didn’t just catch up with their male-led counterparts. They often outperformed them.
This points to a highly strategic opportunity: that investing in adaptation for women entrepreneurs could deliver outsized benefits for climate resilience. For their businesses as well as the communities and economies they support.
This finding points to the need for governments to develop a business-enabling environment for adaptation that targets women entrepreneurs. This means designing policies, programmes, and support that address persistent gaps in access to tailored finance, technologies, and adaptation goods and services.
Better data is also needed. Our study used the best available data. But it was based on a relatively small sample from specific regions in Kenya and Senegal and should not be overgeneralised.
To test the strength of our findings, there is an urgent need for additional high-quality, gender-disaggregated datasets on business level adaptation behaviour.
The World Bank Enterprise Surveys could play a vital role, as one of the most extensive sources of data on small and medium-sized enterprises globally.
Source: downtoearth.org.in
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/africa/african-women-entrepreneurs-are-a-smart-bet-for-climate-change-investment-research-shows-why
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Government Is Failing Black Women In Tech And It’s Time For That To Change
2025-06-11
In a country where we pride ourselves on innovation, digital growth, and inclusivity, Black women in technology are still being shut out of spaces they helped create. We, Gugu and YamandosiCele, are not only sisters but business partners, technologists, and visionaries born in the small town of Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal. We are part of a generation of self-taught Black women who dared to step into tech and AI and then got pushed aside.
Our story is not about what we’re missing. It’s about what we’ve already built, and how the very government that should be empowering women like us continues to undermine and ignore our voices.
When we first started this journey, we created the Ovico Super App an all-in-one digital platform that allows users to book services, buy products, report municipal issues, access deliveries, manage businesses, and connect with government and local SMMEs. It was our answer to the broken systems we saw daily systems that made life harder for people in rural and township communities.
But we quickly realized something deeper: people in rural areas ,semi-rural ,small towns and townships didn’t just lack access to services they lacked the tools and infrastructure to engage with technology at all. Many had no smartphones, no internet, no digital literacy. So, we asked: Why are smart cities only imagined in big metros like Johannesburg or Cape Town? What about rural, semi-rural, and township areas?
That question birthed our second innovation the Digital Economy Innovation Project.
A New Vision: Smart Communities, Not Just Smart Cities
The Digital Economy Innovation Project is more than a vision. It’s a 2025–2030 national rollout aimed at turning overlooked communities into connected, smart ecosystems.
Imagine uGogo in a rural village telling her granddaughter to go to the smart hub and order her pills, or a single mom in the township reporting a leaking pipe to the municipality without spending money on transport or airtime.
This isn’t the future. This is now. And yet, despite our proven track record and pilot success with Ray Nkonyeni Municipality in 2024, we are still hitting brick walls with government officials who don’t understand the very technologies they are tasked to promote.
The Harsh Truth:
We’ve sat in boardrooms with government departments that speak of “smart cities” as a media buzzword but have no real understanding of what they are or how they work. We’ve presented real, community-based solutions only to be dismissed not because our work lacked merit, but because we are young, Black women leading the conversation.
We’ve had to use people from other races just to get our voices heard. We’ve watched budget allocations sit idle while communities continue to suffer. And we’ve experienced firsthand how these spaces exclude women like us not through law, but through disrespect, doubt, and closed doors.
Moving Forward Without Permission
We say this not to complain but to call for change.
Because even with all this resistance, we’ve secured three major stakeholders who believe in our vision. We are pushing forward. The rollout has begun. And this is just the beginning.
We are proving that Black women in tech are not just capable we are essential. We are building the bridges between tradition and innovation, between the informal economy and formal systems, between paper queues and digital service delivery.
A Call to Stakeholders, Media, and South Africans
We invite more partners to join us. This is a call to the private sector, government departments that are ready to learn, universities, innovators, and changemakers.
Source: techfinancials.co.za
https://techfinancials.co.za/2025/06/11/government-is-failing-black-women-in-tech-and-its-time-for-that-to-change/
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It isn't just government policy that oppresses women in Iran, as recent assaults show
June 11, 2025
Iranians have lately been engulfed in debates around misogyny, gender roles and violence against women. A few disconnected events have helped push these issues to the top.
The body of ElaheHosseinnejad, 24, was found in a deserted area outside Tehran earlier this month. A nail stylist at a beauty salon, she had been missing for 11 days after getting into a taxi home. The taxi driver was later arrested, having confessed to killing her with a knife.
Just days earlier, a coach and two athletes representing Iran at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea were arrested on allegations of sexual assault. A young South Korean woman has accused them of assaulting her in their hotel room after they met in a nearby bar. Iran’s athletics federation has confirmed “inappropriate behaviour” by the three men. The case is ongoing and the accused might face life sentences if convicted.
The two events are unrelated but they both involve violence against women and have tested social attitudes. The feminist community has used them to raise awareness while, inevitably, they have become central to broader political controversies.
Following the athletes' arrests, many in the sports community called for Ehsan Haddadi, who heads Iran’s athletics federation, to resign. A demonstration was held against him in front of Iran’s sports ministry last week. They brought up the former discus thrower's own dubious past, including his 2016 conviction and subsequent jail time for harassing a woman. Haddadi has another open sexual harassment case against him, and critics say his appointment shows a culture of impunity in Iran and the government's lack of attention to women’s concerns.
The government has also drawn criticism over murder case, particular over its inability to provide adequate safety and security to its citizens. They point to a lack of proper public transportation and a sharp increase in crime in recent years.
Opponents of the government are debating among themselves, too. Iran has one of the highest number of executions in the world, and critics have advocated for the abolition of the death penalty – a position some of the more conservative opponents disagree with. Another debate pits criticism of the government’s competency, or lack thereof, against broader sociopolitical critiques. Some argue that eradicating violence against women requires systemic changes that go beyond politics and that that’s where the focus should be.
Shocking reactions of some Iranian celebrities to the assault case lends credence to this argument.
The US-based influencer AisanEslami, with more than 14 million followers on Instagram, has in particular incensed many. In one video, he mockingly said the events in South Korea were of great national pride for Iranians and that the three men had “held the flag high”. In a later clip, he called the three accused men “our brothers” and criticised those who were “getting all honourable” on behalf of the victim (a reference to whom carried racial undertones).
This is hardly surprising from Eslami, who is something of an Iranian version of Andrew Tate, the right-wing American influencer. Previously, Eslami verbally attacked female Iranian influencers based in Dubai, openly calling for their male relatives to murder them for what he saw as inappropriate online behaviour on their part.
But Eslami isn’t the only figure to downplay the assault case.
Mohammad Mayeli Kohan, a former national football team coach, said what the Iranian athletes did was “indubitably ugly” but also accused Haddadi’s opponents of seeking “personal revenge” against him. More troublingly, he added: “In South Korea, such issues are not viewed so negatively. We have to see why they made a big deal out of this one.”
JavadKazemian, a former footballer, said: “Such things are natural and they happen everywhere in the world … they are making too much out of this. Let’s be men and human and think what we would have done had this happened to ourselves?”
It's worth pointing out that Eslami, Mayeli Kohan and Kazemian have all faced backlash for their comments. Just as heartening are the reactions of other Iranians. For example, Ehsan MohajerShojaei, who competed in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, said the “catastrophe” in South Korea made him ashamed to be an Iranian athlete. He also called for Haddadi to resign.
Another issue that has fuelled gender-based debates, albeit on a much lighter register, relates to a pioneering reality TV show that has captured millions of views since its debut last month.
Eternal Love is modelled after the Love Island franchise that began in the UK in 2015 and has since expanded to other countries. The Iranian version is set in Bodrum, Turkey and is produced by a Turkish company that also brought out versions based in Turkey and some Arab countries.
Hosted by the Iranian actress ParastooSalehi, the show is broadcast on YouTube to overcome Iran’s strict censorship rules. Its first episode was viewed more than 7.5 million times, and the show has 1.5 million followers on Instagram.
Like its western counterparts, it features frank discussions and depictions of sexuality and romance. Such portrayals are not particularly new to Iranian audiences who are used to open programming broadcast to the country by Persian-language outlets based abroad. But the show is still the first of its kind, which explains its large viewing numbers.
But Eternal Love has also provoked debates on attitudes towards gender. In an episode aired this week, a male participant was seen pushing a female contestant, leading to an avalanche of public discussions on domestic violence.
All three instances, troubling as they are in varying degrees – and the widespread reactions to them – have shed much-needed light on gender-based issues in Iran. They are also a reminder that these issues are not always directly linked to repressive government policies. They can surface anywhere.
Source: thenationalnews.com
https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/06/11/it-isnt-just-government-policy-that-oppresses-women-in-iran-as-recent-assaults-show/
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Iran: Arbitrary execution of Woman Life Freedom protester after sham trial and torture
11 June 2025
Reacting to an announcement by Iran’s judiciary that the Iranian authorities this morning executed Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri in connection with the 2022 Woman Life Freedom protests in Iran, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Hussein Baoumi, said:
“The news of MojahedKourkouri’s arbitrary execution is utterly appalling. It exposes yet again the Iranian authorities’ disdain for the right to life and their determination to use the death penalty as a tool to crush dissent and instil fear in Iran’s population.
“MojahedKourkouri was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court following a grossly unfair sham trial. He was subjected to enforced disappearance for months and tortured to extract forced ‘confessions’ which were then broadcast in propaganda videos on Iran’s state media. In one video he is seen in a hospital bed with his arm visibly bandaged.
“The ongoing arbitrary execution of protesters amid a horrific rise in executions in Iran demonstrates yet again that Iranian authorities will persist in committing crimes under international law and other grave human rights violations unless the international community takes concrete and robust accountability measures.
“It underscores the need for states to initiate criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction against all those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law during the protests, including senior Iranian officials.”
Background
Iranian authorities had accused MojahedKourkouri of involvement in the killing of nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak during the Woman Life Freedom protests that took place in Iran between September-December 2022. However, Kian Pirfalak’s family have repeatedly publicly refuted the accusation and attributed responsibility to Iran’s security forces.
The authorities denied MojahedKourkouri access to a lawyer at the investigation phase of his case and never investigated his torture allegations.
Amnesty International has documented a pattern of the Iranian authorities systematically covering up and concealing their crimes and denying responsibility for the unlawful killings of children by security forces during nationwide protests.
Iranian authorities have so far executed 11 individuals in connection with the Woman Life Freedom protests, all following grossly unfair sham trials. Several other individuals remain at risk of execution in connection with the Woman Life Freedom protests. See here for more details.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence, or the method of execution. The organization has long called on the Iranian authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view of fully abolishing the death penalty.
Source: amnesty.org
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/06/iran-arbitrary-execution-of-woman-life-freedom-protester-after-sham-trial-and-torture/
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NEOM Port trains 10 Saudi women in remote crane operation
June 11, 2025
TABUK — NEOM Port has begun training 10 young Saudi women from the Tabuk region in advanced technical jobs, including remote operation of cranes. This training is part of a pioneering two-year program that combines technical education, practical training, and career guidance.
This initiative coincides with NEOM Port's delivery of the first batch of fully automated, remote-controlled cranes designed to transfer containers and cargo from ships to the dock, enhancing its readiness for smart trade.
This equipment, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, will contribute to raising the port's efficiency and strengthening its position as a global center for smart and sustainable trade. Development work is accelerating at NEOM Port in preparation for the opening of Advanced Container Terminal No. 1 in 2026, which will implement an automated horizontal transport system as part of the port's plan to achieve full automation.
With the introduction of these new technologies, the port's logistics capacity is expected to double, supporting industrial growth in the region and expanding access to global markets, in addition to enhancing the flexibility and efficiency of supply chains and opening up horizons of new works.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/652628/SAUDI-ARABIA/NEOM-Port-trains-10-Saudi-women-in-remote-crane-operation
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NEET aspirant alleges harassment over hijab at Kolkata exam centre
11June 2025
Mrityunjay Sharma
Hyderabad: A Muslim woman was allegedly not allowed to sit for her NEET UG entrance exam after officials demanded she take off her hijab as per National Testing Agency (NTA) policy. The incident reportedly took place at the MP Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya in Garden Reach, Kolkata, on May 4.
Although the incident took place last month, a clip of Farheen sharing her experience went viral on social media platform X on June 11.
Farheen Khan, hailing from Beckbagan, alleges that she arrived at her assigned exam centre at 12 in the afternoon. She faced harassment before she even entered the venue. “A few boys outside the building saw me in hijab and started chanting slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’. I had gone alone,” she was quoted by Halaat e Bangaal.
When Farheen entered the venue, she encountered NTA staff who told her that no hijabs or dupattas are allowed to be worn during the test as per NTA rules.
However, NTA rules prescribe that those donning hijabs for religious reasons reach the centre one hour in advance for security clearance. Farheen had accordingly arrived two hours before her exam.
“I spoke to the staff, and they told me that the rules change every year. I told them I have read no such rule and nothing like this was mentioned in the dress code,” she added. The NTA dress code mandates that students not wear shoes, earrings, belts, and more.
Farheen alleged that she had filled out the form stating she would come wearing a hijab under religious attire. “As per bulletin eight, they require me to come earlier for checking,” said Farheen.
“Then the staff told me that they’ll get their superior. There were many girls in hijab to the side while others continued to enter. I asked to be checked by a female security guard in private, so that I could give the test in hijab. But they said I must take it off in order to sit for the exam. They went in again. We waited for a long time in the heat. She came out with a man after a long time, who very rudely told us we were not allowed inside with a hijab on. He claimed to be a member of NTA. I asked to be shown where it is written in the rules, and he very rudely told me to get out and go home,” she added.
Farheen told the staff that if they could show where the rule regarding hijab is written, she would willingly take off her hijab to give the test. Yet the senior official claimed he had clarified the situation and promptly left.
The situation moved forward at a snail’s pace, even when it seemed that a resolution was in sight.
“Later, they said that the NTA told them hijab is okay to wear as long as our ears are visible. I said okay, and went to do the security check – everyone else first had to do the biometrics, but we were taken separately for security first.”
Though NTA advises those in religious attire to come an hour in advance for smooth security checking, the process slowed the students down so much that they were allowed to sit for the exam only after it had begun. “I had only covered my hair with the hijab, with my ears out as I was instructed. When my turn came, they told me I must take off the hijab in its entirety. I was allowed last, along with another girl in a hijab. They had delayed me so much I could barely give half the paper, though I’m sure I did it correctly.”
Upon being asked about her efforts to reach out to NTA, Farheen further said, “I have mailed the NTA about the incident, and have communicated with them over speedpost as well.”
She expressed feeling watched and surveilled throughout the exam, with staff pointing at her while talking to other officials throughout the test time.
Source: siasat.com
https://www.siasat.com/hijab-controversy-neet-aspirant-not-allowed-to-take-exam-3231828/
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"Niqab is not a crime" - Hijab advocates decry brutal attacks in Lagos, Ibadan
11 June, 2025
The Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative has condemned in the strongest terms the recent violent attacks on two Muslim women wearing the hijab and niqab in Ibadan and Lagos.
It described the incidents as grave violations of religious freedom, human dignity, and constitutional rights.
In a statement released by the organisation, its Executive Director, Barrister HajiyaMutiatOrolu-Balogun, described the assaults as “discriminatory hate crimes” that reflect a growing pattern of religious intolerance against visibly Muslim women.
One of the incidents occurred in Ibadan, where a pregnant woman donning the hijab and niqab was publicly harassed, physically assaulted, and her veil forcibly removed in a market setting, an act witnesses described as both humiliating and dehumanising.
In a more recent case on May 17 in Ijora, Lagos, a 40-year-old niqabi woman with asthma was allegedly accosted by a man identified as a Naval officer, who demanded she unveil to “prove” she was female.
When the victim respectfully offered to lift her veil for another woman, she was reportedly attacked by the officer, a woman summoned from a nearby beer parlour, and several others.
Her hijab and niqab were stripped off in the scuffle, and she was left severely beaten until a passerby intervened.
The matter was reported to the Ijora Police Division, where one of the suspects has since been charged to court and remanded at Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
However, the Naval officer, known only as Akin, is currently at large after being granted bail to a senior official, raising concerns over accountability and transparency.
“This is not merely about clothing. It’s about a woman’s right to live freely, safely, and in accordance with her faith,” said Orolu-Balogun.
“Such acts of violence are an assault on every woman’s right to religious expression and must not be tolerated. If these attacks are left unpunished, we risk normalising a dangerous culture of impunity and intolerance,” she added.
She called on security agencies and relevant authorities to ensure that all perpetrators were brought to justice and that efforts to shield suspects from prosecution are immediately addressed.
She also urged the public to assist by providing credible information about the fugitive officer.
ShereefatEnessi, Secretary of the organisation, added: “These women were not committing any crime. They were simply walking in modesty and faith. To leave their attackers unpunished would be to sanction discrimination and violence under the guise of security or suspicion.”
The group reiterated its demands for justice, safety, and respect for every woman’s right to religious identity, asserting: “The niqab is not a threat. The niqab is not a crime. The niqab is her right.”
Source: pmnewsnigeria.com
https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2025/06/11/niqab-is-not-a-crime-hijab-advocates-decry-brutal-attacks-in-lagos-ibadan/#google_vignette
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/genocide-gaza-led-muslim-women-wear-hijab/d/135850