‘Haram’ In Sharia: Taliban ‘Ban’ Contraceptives for Women
New
Age Islam News Bureau
11
February 2023
• Belquis
Ahamdi, an Afghan-American Woman Wins ‘Gender Champion Award’
• French
Academic Fariba Adelkhah Released From Prison in Iran
• Syrian
Baby Born On Day of Earthquake Brought Mother ‘Back To Life’
• Dutch
to Prosecute Woman for Islamic State Membership, Yazidi Enslavement
• Only
22% Women Employed In Pakistan, Among Lowest In the World: World Bank
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/haram-sharia-taliban-contraceptive/d/129082
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‘Haram’ In Sharia: Taliban ‘Ban’ Contraceptives for Women
Afghan
women walk a long road in Ghazni Province. AFP.
------
Umang
Sharma
February
10, 2023
Kabul:
The Taliban have allegedly stopped selling contraceptives to women, claiming
that it is “haram” or forbidden under Sharia law. Drug stores and pharmacies
across Afghanistan have allegedly been directed not to stock any pills,
ampoules, or medicines used as contraceptive.
‘Outrageous’
Reacting
to the move, though there has been no official announcement to this effect,
Former Policy Advisor to Minister for Afghan Resettlement & Minister for
Refugees, Shabnam Nasimi tweeted: “Access to contraception is a universal human
right. This is outrageous.”
Contraceptive
prices skyrocket
According
to Afghanistan-based online news agency Rukhshana Media, selling contraceptives
to women has been quietly stopped in Kabul and Balkh provinces.
The
unofficial ban has doubled the price of contraceptives. There is, however, no
regulation on drugs as the report said they are secretly sold on the grey
market as the imports go unchecked by the Taliban.
'Don't
know whether to laugh or cry'
Women
in Afghanistan have said that midwives have refused to provide contraceptives
where they previously would have.
The
report quoted a 35-year-old Kabul resident and mother of three, whose youngest
child is a year old, saying to prevent another pregnancy, she would visit a
midwife every two months for contraception injections.
“The
midwife I always visit said the Taliban has told them not to inject
contraceptives because it is haram,” she said.
“When
she said that it was haram, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry," the
woman added saying that when she to buy tablets instead from outside, she was
charged double the amount.
'Decision
violates women's rights’
Afghan
women say that the decision to ban contraceptives violates the right of women
to make a personal choice and the right of families to make decision about
having children.
"They
(Taliban) have even taken away the peace inside our house," a woman said.
The
report quoted another 42-year-old woman and a mother of four saying that she
has been using birth control pills for past five years. Since the last three
weeks, she has been running pillar to post for contraceptives.
"Contraceptive
tablets were not found in many pharmacies in Kabul. The pharmacists told me
that it is forbidden, so the price has gone up and it is sold secretly,"
she said.
"They
(pharmacies) said they don’t have it and it is forbidden," he added.
‘Kabul
bans import of contraceptives’
Reports
quoted drug wholesalers in Kabul city confirming that the Taliban has stopped
importing these drugs and other related equipment which in turn has pushed the
price higher on the black market.
The
Rukhshana Media report quoted a drug dealer saying that the Taliban banned all
types of contraceptives 20 days ago.
“Currently,
any type of drug that women use for contraception are prohibited. Although they
did not tell us a specific reason, but the [the Taliban] said it is not
permissible and it is forbidden," the dealer said.
“About
fifteen days ago, four Taliban forces came dressed in white clothes and told us
that we no longer have the right to sell these drugs,” he said, adding that
they also confiscated some of the medicines that were there in his shop.
Midwives
in Afghanistan challenge ban
The
ban has been challenged many midwives with one in Mazar-e-Sharif saying that
the Taliban visited their clinic three weeks ago to tell them to stop providing
contraception.
“They
recited a few verses of the Holy Quran, but unfortunately, none of them had a
logical reason. When I said, why shouldn’t we be injecting it? They said, it is
haram," she said.
Source:
Firstpost
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Belquis
Ahamdi, an Afghan-American Woman Wins ‘Gender Champion Award’
Belquis
Ahamdi, an Afghan-American citizen
-----
By
Nizamuddin Rezahi
February
10, 2023
Belquis
Ahamdi, an Afghan-American citizen won the ‘Gender Champion Award’ of the
Global Women’s Affairs Office at the U.S. Department of State for her endless
efforts for Afghan women and girls.
The
Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues on Thursday said on Twitter that
the ‘Gender Champion Award’ was granted to Belquis Ahmadi for all that she has
done to advocate for and support the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan
for decades.
Meanwhile,
the U.S. Secretary of States Antony Blinken congratulated Belquis Ahmadi for receiving
the prestigious award and supporting Afghan women, girls, and human rights
during these difficult times.
Furthermore,
Rina Amiri, U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights also
wrote on Twitter that this award is to recognize all the works Ms. Ahmadi has
done to advocate for women, girls, and the vulnerable communities of
Afghanistan. Rina Amiri is an Afghan-born American diplomat, currently serving
at the United States Institute of Peace.
Since
the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the radical group has issued
serval gender-based decrees depriving Afghan women and girls of the right to
education, to earn a living income, and to appear in public places.
The
complete isolation of Afghan women, girls, and rights groups is not acceptable
to the people of Afghanistan, the international community, and its partners.
Since the implementation of the bans, foreign governments, and international
aid organizations have repeatedly called on the de facto authorities of
Afghanistan to lift the bans and respect all the people of Afghanistan,
including women, girls, rights groups, and religious minorities.
Responding
to gender-based bans, Washington recently issued ‘visa restrictions’ on some
former and current Taliban leaders including their family members.
Furthermore,
the governments of Swede and Demark have announced granting refugee status to
Afghan women and girls amid the deteriorating living conditions under the
Taliban-run administration in Afghanistan.
Human
Rights Watch (HRW) appreciated the decision by Danish and Swedish Immigration
Authorities for extending their helping hands to the isolated women and girls
of Afghanistan during these difficult times. HRW said the two nations should be
models for other countries around the world to follow.
Source:
Khaama Press
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-american-woman-wins-gender-champion-award/
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French
Academic Fariba Adelkhah Released From Prison in Iran
11
February, 2023
Iranian
authorities on Friday released from prison French-Iranian academic Fariba
Adelkhah, who was first arrested in June 2019 and was serving a five-year
sentence on national security charges vehemently denied by supporters, a source
close to her said.
The
source, who asked not to be named, told AFP Adelkhah had been freed from
Tehran’s Evin prison but added it was not immediately clear if she would be
able to leave her home and return to France.
Up
until Adelkhah’s release, seven French citizens were being held by Iran,
according to the French foreign ministry.
They
are among two dozen foreign nationals campaigners say Iran has jailed in a
strategy of hostage-taking to extract concessions from the West.
Last
month Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had demanded the “immediate release of
the seven French hostages arbitrarily detained” by Tehran in telephone talks
with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Iran
erupted into protests in September, following the death in custody of
22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly violating the
Islamic republic’s strict dress rules.
Adelkhah’s
release comes a day after Iran freed a total of seven women from Even prison.
They
included campaigner Saba Kordafshari, held since 2019 after she campaigned
against the obligatory hijab for women, and prominent photographer Alieh
Motalebzadeh whose latest stint in jail began in April last year.
Iran
Friday also released Farhad Meysami, a doctor and human rights campaigner, who
had been refusing food for several weeks over the authorities’ response to the
protests, his lawyer said.
Images
of his emaciated body while on hunger strike had caused international concern.
Motalebzadeh
wrote on Twitter that Adelkhah was among half a dozen more prisoners released
on Friday.
A
picture also circulated on social media of a smiling Adelkhah in a car
apparently being driven away from prison.
It
was not clear if the releases were linked to an announcement by the office of
supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he had agreed to pardon a large
number of convicts, including those detained over the protests.
Rights
activists have urged skepticism over the announcements, noting many prominent
figures remain in jail and activists continue to be arrested.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Syrian
Baby Born On Day of Earthquake Brought Mother ‘Back To Life’
10
February, 2023
When
the earthquake struck, Fatmah Ahmad’s family fled their building in the
northern Syrian city of Aleppo only for her to go into labour - giving birth to
her third child in hospital a few hours later.
The
journey to hospital had been difficult, with “many deaths and damage around
us,” she said, before rescue workers guided them to safety.
“May
God protect him, give him a good life and not deprive me of him,” she said of
her new son, named Najm al-Din Mahmoud.
“He
brought me back to life. I was afraid of losing him,” she added.
Even
after he was born, mother and baby faced danger. A big aftershock struck later
that day as they lay in an upstairs maternity ward.
Unable
to move, they were left alone as the doctors fled for safety. Her parents and
her other two children, aged one and three, had been on a lower floor of the
hospital, she said. Her husband, a soldier, is stationed outside Aleppo and was
not there.
“I
wrapped him up and started praying for God to protect us until the earthquake
ends and we can go down safely,” she said.
Evacuated
from their home and now released from hospital, the family are living
temporarily in a tent, part of a shelter area near the airport set aside by the
city for people displaced by the earthquake.
Their
building did not collapse but they cannot return until it has been cleared as
safe to live in.
Meanwhile
Najm lies swaddled in blankets, his tiny eyes closed, as the family prepares
bedding on the tent floor.
Recounting
the adventure of his birth, and feeding her small other children, his mother
beams with happiness.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Dutch
to prosecute woman for Islamic State membership, Yazidi enslavement
February
10, 2023
THE
HAGUE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the Netherlands on Friday announced
they plan to put a Dutch woman who joined Islamic State on trial for crimes
against humanity for enslaving a Yazidi woman in Syria in 2015.
The
woman, identified by Dutch media as Hasna Aarab, will also be tried for
membership of a terrorist organisation along with 11 other women who were
repatriated to the Netherlands in November last year from camps for IS members
in Syria.
It
is the first time Dutch prosecutors have brought a case for crimes against
humanity committed against Yazidis, an ancient religious minority who combine
Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs, the prosecution
service said in a news release.
In
neighbouring Germany, several former IS members have already been convicted for
crimes, including genocide, against Yazidis.
IS,
which views the Yazidis as devil worshippers, have killed more than 3,000 of
them, enslaved 7,000 Yazidi women and girls and displaced most of the
550,000-strong community from its ancestral home in northern Iraq.
Under
Dutch universal jurisdiction laws, national courts can try suspects for war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on foreign soil as long
as the accused reside in the Netherlands.
A
trial date has not yet been set.
Source:
Reuters
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Only
22% women employed in Pakistan, among lowest in the world: World Bank
Sandeep
Sharma
February
10, 2023
Islamabad:
A mere 22 per cent of women in Pakistan are employed, despite their progress in
the educational attainment, the World Bank noted on Friday, adding that this
accumulated human capital is “underused” because of constraints Pakistani women
face to participate in the labour force.
“Women
in Pakistan have made progress in educational attainment, but this accumulated
human capital is underused because of constraints they face to participate in
the labour force,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for
Pakistan.
“With
only 22 percent of women employed in Pakistan, women’s labour force
participation is among the lowest in the world. By closing the female
employment gap relative to its peers, Pakistan can accrue GDP gains of up to 23
percent. Successful implementation of policies to address the demand – and
supply – side barriers to female labor force participation, can create about
7.3 million new jobs for women,” Benhassine added.
Amid
severe economic crisis in the cash-strapped country, a report by the World Bank
stated that Pakistan’s economy can grow sustainably only if the Shehbaz
Sharif-led country introduces “productivity enhancing reforms that facilitate a
better allocation of resources into more dynamic activities, and of talent to
more productive uses”.
Pakistan’s
inability to allocate all its talent and resources to the most productive uses
has stunted economic growth, according to the World Bank report, titled “From
Swimming in Sand to High and Sustainable Growth”.
While
presenting evidence of systematic productivity stagnation across firms and
farms, the report further stated that in manufacturing and services, most of
Pakistan’s productivity stagnation is related to firms losing efficiency over
time. It further mentions a systematic decline in agricultural productivity, along
with a strong link between elevated temperatures and rainfall variations and
productivity.
Critical
reforms to revive economy
Amid
indecisive talks between the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistani government and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailout package, the report by the World
Bank presents a roadmap to reduce distortions in the country’s cash-strapped
economy that are currently acting as a deterrent to productivity growth.
Some
of the critical reforms include — harmonising direct taxes across sectors, so
that more resources flow into dynamic tradable sectors like manufacturing and
tradable services, instead of real estate and non-tradables; reduce the
anti-export bias of trade policy by lowering import duties and reversing the
anti-diversification bias of export incentives.
Economy
in ‘critical’ situation
Gonzalo
J. Varela, who is a senior economist and co-author of the World Bank report,
said Pakistan’s economy is at a “critical stage”.
“It
could be a turning point where long-term structural imbalances that have
prevented sustainable growth for too long ought to be addressed urgently. The
report puts forward a series of policy recommendations to achieve this in a
sequenced way,” Varela said.
“First,
reduce distortions that misallocate resources and talent. Second, support
growth of firms through smart interventions, rather than through blanket
subsidies. Third, create a positive, dynamic loop between evidence and
policymaking, strengthening feasibility analysis of publicly funded projects or
programs,” the economist added.
Top
recommendations of World Bank report
The
World Bank report has urged the country to step up positive impact on
businesses and productivity across the board by — reducing regulatory
complexity; harmonizing the general sales tax (GST) across provinces; reforming
investment laws to attract more foreign direct investment; and upgrading
insolvency laws to reduce the costs of liquidating non-viable firms, read a
statement.
Here’s
what the World Bank report has recommended –
1)
Provide safe and affordable mobility especially for women.
2)
Boost digital connectivity and digitally enabled jobs.
3)
Demonstrate the benefits of increased female labour force participation to
positively shift entrenched norms.
4)
Develop skills.
5)
Reduce sectoral gender bias.
Economist
and co-author of the World Bank report, Zehra Aslam said firms in Pakistan
struggle to “grow large as they grow old”.
“A
young formal firm in Pakistan that has been in operation for 10 to 15 years is
about the same size as a firm that has been in operation for more than 40
years. Similarly, an average Pakistani exporter is less than half the size of
one in Bangladesh. This shows a lack of dynamism amongst Pakistani firms,
compared to better functioning markets, where firms either grow or exit,” Aslam
said.
Source:
Firstpost
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