Bodour Al-Qasimi Becomes First Woman From An Arab Gulf State To Win A Prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award For Fiction
New Age Islam News Bureau
06 April 2025
• Bodour Al-Qasimi Becomes First Woman From An Arab Gulf State To Win A Prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award For Fiction
• Two Women, Man Killed ‘For Honour’ In Nawabshah, Pakistan
• Rifts Growing In The Taliban Over The Ban On Girls' Schooling
• UK Denies Asylum To Afghan Women’s Rights Activist, Citing No Risk Of Return
• On International Day Of Conscience, Afghan Women Say The World Has Turned A Blind Eye
• Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Ex-Husband Perry Apologizes for Shouting Racist Comments at 3 Muslim Women Who Were Praying
• Pezeshkian Praises Iran’s NPC For Winning Women’s Day Recognition Award
• Iran And Japan Share Spoils At SAT Women’s Futsal Championship 2025
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/gulf-state-bologna-ragazzi-woman/d/135072
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Bodour Al-Qasimi Becomes First Woman From An Arab Gulf State To Win A Prestigious BolognaRagazziAward For Fiction
05/04/25
Bodour Al-Qasimi
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Emirati publisher, author, and women’s advocate Bodour Al-Qasimi has made history by becoming the first woman from an Arab Gulf state to receive a prestigious BolognaRagazzi Award for Fiction.
Sheikha Bodour Al-Qasimi received the prize for her groundbreaking children's book ‘House of Wisdom’ at a ceremony in the impressive Farnese Chapel, at Palazzo d'Accursio, in Bologna.
Reflecting on the honour, Sheikha Bodour said: “For me, this award signals a shift towards a more inclusive children's publishing sector. Amid heightened global tensions, stories like ‘House of Wisdom’ carry a message that books can occasion unity, progress, and a deeper understanding between cultures. It’s a timely statement about literature’s power to build bridges and keep the bigger human picture in view.”
She added: “The House of Wisdom was a library that symbolised how knowledge and collaboration across cultures can build sturdy bridges. Its loss in 1258 is a tragic allegory for the fragility of intellectual freedom – a lesson of undiminished relevance today.”
Feted for its engaging approach to encouraging critical thought, scientific curiosity, and compassion, the success of ‘House of Wisdom’ marks progress in international recognition of the value of Middle Eastern children's literature.
Although unable to be in Bologna to collect the award with Sheikha Bodour, he said: “Working on ‘House of Wisdom’ was a unique opportunity to visually capture the spirit of curiosity and innovation that drives humanity’s infinite quest for learning and dialogue, something Sheikha Bodour has so deftly portrayed in her narrative.”
The day after the prizegiving, Sheikha Bodour spoke on a thought-provoking panel with other BolognaRagazzi Award winners and joined a celebration reception at the Kalimat Group stand. On both occasions, she shared her inspiration behind ‘House of Wisdom’, emphasising the importance of preserving cultural and intellectual legacies, the role of storytelling in bridging cultural divides, and Sharjah’s commitment to promoting knowledge, including through the creation of its own House of Wisdom.
Before receiving the award, Sheikha Bodour signed copies of her book at the GianninoStoppani Children’s Bookshop, which she helped restore after it was destroyed by fire in 2022. To support the renovation, Sheikha Bodour allocated significant funds from the Sharjah World Book Capital Office.
Source: www.atalayar.com
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Two Women, Man Killed ‘For Honour’ In Nawabshah, Pakistan
April 6, 2025
NAWABSHAH: A man gunned down a co-villager and then killed his wife and teenage sister reportedly in the name of honour in a riverine village near Qazi Ahmed town on Saturday.
Zafar Khoso, Station House Officer of Nasiri police station, said that Umar Chandio first opened fire at the co-villager Hakim Mahar when he was working on his farmland and left him seriously wounded. He then rushed home where he shot dead his wife Ms Meerzadi, 25, and his sister Ms Zahida, 16, and escaped, he said.
The injured Hakim was taken to Sehwan hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival and the body was brought to Sakrand taluka hospital for autopsy, he said.
Ghulam Rasool Mahar, the victim’s uncle, told reporters that the suspect along with a group of Chandio armed men had killed Hakim as he wanted to occupy his farmland.
He had killed innocent women of his own family to make the murders appear as motivated by feelings of bruised honour, he said and demanded police authorities immediately arrest the killers and serve justice to the victims’ families.
The SHO said the suspect was also involved in a number of murder cases lodged with Pubjo police station. They would launch a thorough investigation into the triple murder after release of autopsy report and registration of FIR, he said.
Source: Www.Dawn.Com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1902376/two-women-man-killed-for-honour-in-nawabshah
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Rifts growing in the Taliban over the ban on girls' schooling
By AsthaRajvanshi
April 6, 2025
Afghan girls learn the holy Koran at an Islamic school on the outskirts of Kabul.AFP via Getty Images file
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Rifts are growing among Taliban officials over the group's decision to ban girls from secondary education, leading at least one minister to leave Afghanistan and forcing families to move so their daughters can continue their schooling.
As religious police patrol large parts of the country to ensure that rules are enforced, the restrictions have become so repressive that some senior members of the militant group have called for them to be rolled back in recent months, three Taliban officials told NBC News, which agreed not to identify them so they could speak candidly.
All three said there was a growing divide between ultra-conservative Taliban members in the southern city of Kandahar, where the group’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, lives, and more moderate members from the capital, Kabul. The three officials have been affiliated with more hardline wings of the Taliban, but said their thinking differed on girls’ education, adding that it had been a mistake to bar them from going to school.
Some Taliban officials “openly expressed their views in support of girls’ education, believing that it will have some impact on the leadership,” one official told NBC News earlier this year. “Unfortunately, rather than welcoming their suggestions, some people took it negatively as if they were against the top leadership.”
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied that there were any tensions within the government, although he said there was occasionally a “difference of opinion among the people.”
But in a rare rebuke of the Taliban from within its own ranks, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s acting deputy foreign minister, did speak out against the ban that was introduced in September 2021, a month after the group took power following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the country.
The Taliban was “committing an injustice” by barring girls from school, Stanikzai said at a graduation ceremony in the country’s eastern Khost province on Jan. 18, adding that it was not in line with Sharia law, but rather “our personal choice or nature.”
It would prove to be one of his final acts in Afghanistan. Within days, Stanikzai — a man once trusted by the Taliban to lead a team of negotiators in Qatar in talks about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — left the country for the United Arab Emirates.
He has refused to return, despite a visit from Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, who failed to persuade him, the three Taliban officials confirmed.
Stanikzai’s departure was a further mark of protest against the regime’s “illogical and irresponsible policies,” one of them said.
With a new school year starting last week, almost 2.2 million girls have been deprived of their education in the country, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
But there are few signs the Taliban will reverse its policy, leading to some families to risk their lives to flee Afghanistan so women and girls can pursue their schooling elsewhere, according to Sahar Fetrat, an Afghan researcher with Human Rights Watch.
Many “didn’t face persecution, per se; they left because they wanted to educate their girls,” she said, adding that their journeys are often “very risky and done in a very illegal way.”
Fifteen-year-old Gulalai said in an interview last month that her family decided to leave Kabul for Peshawar because her father, a grocery store owner, “wanted us to continue our education.”
“We were living a happy life. Then, suddenly, the Taliban suspended our education, and our dreams were shattered,” Gulalai said, speaking on the grounds of her new school.
After travel agents demanded $2,500 for each visa — far more than her family of seven’s entire savings — their only option was to bribe officials and cross the border illegally, Gulalai said.
A relative eventually helped them settle in a two-room house on the outskirts of this city in northeastern Pakistan, she said, adding that her father had gotten a job at a store and her mother was cleaning the homes of local families to help make ends meet.
Gulalai, who said she dreams one day of being a nurse, said she was struggling to settle in her new school because she does not speak or write Urdu, Pakistan’s national language.
She added that she had lost a happy life of close friends, relatives and classmates in Kabul. “There was no more life in Afghanistan, otherwise, who can leave their birthplace?” she said.
Even those who manage to escape safely eventually find that going to school remains out of reach in countries like Turkey or Iran, where there are strict restrictions on granting asylum, according to Fetrat, from Human Rights Watch.
In Pakistan, the government announced in January that it would oust all Afghan refugees living in the country by March 31. From September 2023 to February, at least 844,499 Afghan nationals were deported, according to Amnesty International.
“My father took a risk by migrating us to Pakistan,” Gulalai said, adding that she didn’t know if her family would be allowed to stay or forced to leave.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban, which appeared to take a more moderate stance after it took power, has since cracked down further on women’s rights.
Source: Www.nbcnews.com
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UK Denies Asylum To Afghan Women’s Rights Activist, Citing No Risk Of Return
by Ahmad Azizi
06-04-2025
A female Afghan activist who fled to the United Kingdom after working on Western-backed women’s empowerment projects has had her asylum application denied, with the U.K. Home Office declaring it would be safe for her to return to Afghanistan, The Guardian reported.
The woman, identified as Mina (a pseudonym for her protection), said she had assumed her case would be approved based on her background: she is Afghan, female, and worked extensively on international projects supporting women. “The refusal was an absolute shock,” she told The Guardian. “Now every day I fear being sent back. Having a normal life here looks like a dream. I’m really suffering mentally.”
Before the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, Mina had worked with Western governments and trained women across the country. She said she had undergone security training for scenarios such as bombings or kidnappings. “Every day I was a few minutes or a few seconds away from bomb blasts,” she said.
The U.K. Home Office had previously granted asylum in similar cases, particularly for women who had engaged in high-profile efforts to promote women’s rights. But new data show a significant shift: in the final quarter of 2024, 26 Afghan women had their asylum claims rejected. In total, 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers were denied during the same period—up from just 48 a year earlier. The grant rate for Afghan asylum cases fell from 98.5 percent in late 2023 to 36 percent by the end of 2024.
The decision in Mina’s case cited a lack of evidence that she would be at risk. The refusal letter stated: “It is considered that you do not face a real risk of persecution or harm on your return to Afghanistan on the basis of your claimed adverse attention by the Taliban.” It added that she likely had “a great support network due to your occupation.”
However, The Guardian noted that many of Mina’s former colleagues are either in hiding or have already fled Afghanistan, and such support systems have largely collapsed. The letter concluded: “There are no compassionate factors in your case that warrant a grant of leave to remain outside the immigration rules.”
“When I arrived here I felt safe,” Mina said. “I thought I would have a chance to live. In Afghanistan, I had not been considered a human.”
Jamie Bell, Mina’s solicitor at the law firm Duncan Lewis, criticized the decision. “It’s shocking that 26 Afghan women were refused asylum in the last quarter,” he said. “But this is a particularly upsetting case where the Home Office states that a woman who risked her life defending women’s rights in Afghanistan would not be at risk on return.”
The U.K. Home Office declined to comment on the specific case, saying it does not provide public statements on individual asylum decisions.
The 2025 Human Rights Watch report on Afghanistan documented a significant deterioration in conditions for women and girls under Taliban rule, including increased restrictions on education, employment and freedom of movement.
Source: amu.tv
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On International Day of Conscience, Afghan women say the world has turned a blind eye
by Ahmad Azizi
09-04-2025
As the world marked the International Day of Conscience on April 5, some Afghan women and girls said the concept of conscience holds little meaning in a country where they have been stripped of basic rights under Taliban rule.
The United Nations observes the day as a time to reflect on one’s actions and to foster a more inclusive and compassionate world. “Every small step toward compassion makes a difference,” the U.N. said in its message commemorating the occasion.
“For nearly four years, we women and girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of all our rights, and no awakened conscience within the country has heard our voices,” said Nabila, a resident of Badghis Province. “We ask the world — as fellow human beings who also have human rights — not to forget us and to keep their consciences awake regarding the women of Afghanistan.”
Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, they have imposed sweeping restrictions on women, barring them from most education, employment, and public life. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the group’s policies amount to gender persecution.
Footage circulated online on Friday appeared to show an Afghan woman defacing an image of Uzbekistan’s president, ShavkatMirziyoyev, while denouncing his government’s engagement with the Taliban. In the video, the activist accuses the Taliban of imprisoning and abusing women and condemns Mirziyoyev for supporting them.
“Shame on your conscience. You support and defend the Taliban who rape women in prison — you heartless hyena,” the woman says. “The Taliban are rapists, terrorists, ignorant and fanatical.”
Women’s rights advocates have called on the international community to refrain from legitimizing the Taliban and to continue pressing for accountability. Many fear that global engagement with the Taliban — including from regional powers — risks sidelining women’s issues altogether.
Afghanistan has endured more than four decades of conflict, but many rights observers say the current rollback of women’s freedoms under the Taliban is unprecedented in its scope and severity.
Source: amu.tv
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Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Ex-Husband Perry Apologizes for Shouting Racist Comments at 3 Muslim Women Who Were Praying
By Toria Sheffield
05-04-2025
Perry Greene, the ex-husband of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, has apologized after hurling anti-Islamic insults at three Muslim women who were praying in a mall parking structure in Alpharetta, Ga.
Perry issued his apology at a press conference outside of the women’s place of worship in Johns Creek, Ga., on Friday, April 4, four days after the March 31 incident, per Channel 2 Action News.
“I came today just to meet with the young ladies that I was mean to and treated disrespectfully about their religion and about what they were doing,” Perry said in his statement. “I just wanted them to know that I humbly apologized to them because no one should be treated that way, and that’s not the right way for us to treat anybody.”
Police in Alpharetta confirmed that they first became aware of the incident on March 31 when the women — who wished to remain unnamed for safety reasons — reported that a man had verbally harassed them while they prayed in a parking structure, per Channel 2. The women filmed part of the encounter, and the man was later identified as Perry.
In a statement to Channel 2, the women’s attorney, Ali Jamal Awad, shared that Perry contacted his office and said that he would like to apologize to his clients. Perry agreed to meet the women at their place of worship, the Masjid Jafar and Al-Rahmah Community Center in Johns Creek.
In the now-viral video of the incident, Perry can be seen driving a Tesla Cybertruck and pulling up to the women — who had been praying in an empty parking spot before heading out to celebrate the end of Ramadan, per Atlanta First News.
“Where are you from? Where all y’all from?” Perry demands to know in the video, before telling the women that they are worshipping a “false god,” and also saying, “Ya’llwanna do all kinds of crazy s---.” Perry proceeded to follow the women with his car as they walked toward the mall.
“It did feel very long in the moment. Like, it just wouldn’t stop,” said one of the women while speaking to Atlanta News First. “Attack after attack, insult after insult. All of it was just out of pure hate and his disgust of us, which I don’t understand.”
While Alpharetta police condemned the incident, they said Perry did not technically commit a crime and thus will not face any charges.
“The comments made in the video circulating on the internet are disgusting and do not reflect the diversity and understanding that Alpharetta values,” police said in a statement to Channel 2. “However, in our community all speech is protected — even the speech we may not agree with. After thoroughly watching the video, we have determined no crime was committed. And, while we do not condone activity like this, absent any new information coming forward our investigation is closed, and no criminal charges will be made.”
The women — all of whom were born and raised in Georgia — note that while they understand the police department’s decision, the experience has only strengthened their resolve to practice their faith freely and publicly, per KBTX 3.
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“This is our identity, this is our faith. No matter what anybody says to us, no matter what bigot wants to tell us that we have a false God, we will be firm on our feet, regardless of what anybody has said about us,” one of the women told the outlet.
PEOPLE reached out to Alpharetta police and the office of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for comment on April 5, but did not receive an immediate response.
Source: people.Com
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Pezeshkian praises Iran’s NPC for winning Women’s Day Recognition Award
April 6, 2025
TEHRAN – President Masoud Pezeshkian praised Iran’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for winning the 2025 International Women’s Day Recognition Award.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced the three exceptional winners of the 2025 awards in early March: Penny Briscoe CBE from ParalympicsGB (Leadership), Paralympian Zakia Khudadadi (Emerging Leadership), and the NPC of Iran (IPC Member), which were recognized for their outstanding contributions in advance of International Women’s Day.
Commenting on the NPC Iran's recognition in the Membership category, GhafourKaregari, President of NPC Iran, said, “NPC Iran not only believes in gender equality but also provides enhanced privileges, services, and support specifically tailored for women with disabilities. Through this vision and diligent oversight of its implementation, it has created a supportive and empowering environment for women with disabilities.”
In a letter to Karegari, Pezeshkian expressed his gratitude for the committee’s efforts and hard work, congratulating them on this significant honor and wishing the National Paralympic Committee continued success in upcoming events.
Source: Www.Tehrantimes.Com
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Iran and Japan share spoils at SAT Women’s Futsal Championship 2025
Mir Farhad Ali Khan
April 5, 2025
Tehran Times – KARAT, Iran and Japan shared the spoils in a goalless draw in the SAT Futsal Championship Thailand 2025 on Saturday.
The Iranian football team prepare for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025, which will be held in Hohhot, China, from May 7 to 18.
Source: Www.Persianfootball.Com
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/gulf-state-bologna-ragazzi-woman/d/135072