Helmets Securing Colourful Headscarves: Pakistan’s Women ‘Rowdy Riders’ Take On Traffic
New Age Islam News
Bureau
08 March 2024
·
Helmets Securing Colourful Headscarves: Pakistan’s
Women ‘Rowdy Riders’ Take On Traffic
·
US Orthodox Women Activists Pledge ‘Sex Strike’
In Protest Of Religious Divorce Refusal
·
Iran's Exiled Queen, Farah Pahlavi, Calls For Freedom Of Iranian Womenon
International Women's Day
·
Over 230 Million Girls And Women Alive Today
Have Undergone Female Genital Mutilation: UNICEF
·
Iran Responsible For ‘Physical Violence‘ That
Killed Mahsa Amini: U.N. Probe
·
Mumbai: Muslim Women Demand Access To
Education, End To Discrimination In Upcoming Polls
·
Prince Salman Did Not Free Saudi Women from
Sharia Dress Code
·
Empowering Women For A Prosperous And Healthy
Planet On International Women’s Day
·
Pakistan's Embassy In Türkiye Hosts 'Women's
Leadership' Event
·
Over 325 Women Detained in 2023 Amid Iran's
Hijab Law Enforcement
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/helmets-headscarves-pakistan-rowdy/d/131875
------
Helmets
Securing Colourful Headscarves: Pakistan’s Women ‘Rowdy Riders’ Take On Traffic
And Tradition
Karachi's 'Rowdy Riders' group now boasts a membership made up of more
than 1,500 housewives, students and professionals. (Photo: Asif Hasan/AFP)
------
March
08, 2024
KARACHI,
Pakistan: Revving round a dusty oval in the heart of Pakistan’s largest city,
women on motorbikes practice looping a row of safety cones, their helmets
securing colourful headscarves in place.
It is a
rare sight in the culturally conservative country, where women are typically
relegated to the back seats of cars or to riding side-saddle on motorbikes,
ferried by a male relative.
“Change
is under way,” says Zainab Safdar, demonstrating how to mount a two-wheeler
while cloaked in a pink body-covering Abaya.
The
40-year-old is an instructor for the “Rowdy Riders,” a women-only group
teaching novices in Karachi everything from the basics of balancing on a
bicycle to high-octane gear changing and negotiating traffic.
Since
being founded in 2017 by a handful of pioneering riders, the self-described
“Rowdies” have swollen in number to more than 1,500 housewives, students and
professionals.
“In the
past, there were misconceptions about girls riding bikes,” Safdar said,
referring to doubts about their abilities.
“Fortunately,
with greater awareness, these notions have been dispelled.”
Women’s
participation in the workforce is impacted by the limited availability of
public transport services that ensure their safety.
In the
sprawling megacity, granting women the skill and confidence to join legions of
male bikers in the helter-skelter of congestion unlocks a new tier of freedom.
Most of
the riders hail from Karachi’s middle class, but rigid gender norms often still
hold sway.
University
lecturer Shafaq Zaman said “it took a while to get permission” from her family
to start classes to master a pedal bike two months ago.
Among the
few dozen bikers assembled under the mid-afternoon sun, she looks on with her
seven-year-old daughter Aleesha as a convoy of women open up their engines and
rip past in a haze of dust.
“I am so
inspired that now I have my own dream for me, that I want to ride on a heavy
bike. I want to ride the whole of Pakistan,” 30-year-old Zaman said.
Her
story is not unusual. In Pakistan, very young boys are often seen steering
motorbikes, but many of the “Rowdies” did not learn to ride a bicycle until
well into adulthood.
“There
should be a bike in every house, and usually there is, but it’s rotting because
men do not use it and women don’t know how to,” said Sana Kamran, sitting
confidently astride a 110cc Suzuki.
“If
women can manage household responsibilities and earn a living, why can’t they
ride a bike for their convenience?” the 41-year-old asked.
Motorbikes
are ubiquitous across Pakistan — most commonly red Honda models or cheaper
Chinese reproductions, considered capable of mastering any terrain.
The
quest to conquer a bike has seen 26-year-old Farwa Zaidi suffer multiple bone
fractures — but the injuries are a badge of honour she wears as proudly as the
“Rowdy Riders” crest on her jacket.
“Here I
am, standing strong,” she said alongside her 70cc electric scooter.
At four
feet and six inches (137 centimetres) tall, Zaidi said her small stature made
it difficult to claim a spot on crammed city buses.
Learning
to ride gave her a new sense of possibility.
“Once we
master cycling, it instils a new-found confidence in our ability to conquer
other challenges,” she says.
Source:
arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2473151/world
----
US
Orthodox Women Activists Pledge ‘Sex Strike’ In Protest Of Religious Divorce
Refusal
Protesters supporting an agunah in Kiryas Joel. Credit: Adina Sash
------
08.03.2024
JACKIE
HAJDENBERG
JTA —
Orthodox women activists are pledging to withhold sex from their husbands as
they escalate a public campaign to help one of their own obtain a religious
divorce from her husband after four years of trying.
Supporters
of Malky Berkowitz, 29, are launching what they are calling a “mikvah strike” —
a form of protest that leverages Jewish sexual purity rituals as a pressure
tactic. It begins on Friday night and could be extended.
According
to traditional Jewish law, following menstruation, married women must immerse
in a mikvah, or ritual bath, before they can have sex with their husbands —
which many do later that night. In fact, some authorities say that Jewish law,
or halacha, attaches special significance to the intimacy that follows
immersion, requiring that it take place without delay.
For
Adina Sash, an advocate for Jewish women whose estranged husbands are refusing
to divorce them ritually, that makes post-mikvah sex a natural site of protest.
For the
last seven weeks, Sash — an Orthodox feminist activist in Brooklyn known by her
Instagram handle, Flatbush Girl — has led a team of activists, lawyers, and
community leaders pursuing a “get,” or Jewish divorce document, for Berkowitz.
Berkowitz’s husband, Volvy, is refusing to issue the get that would complete
their divorce, making her what is known as an “agunah,” or “chained woman” who
cannot remarry under Jewish law.
Sash
believes that Orthodox women need to negotiate and formalize Jewish legal terms
around divorce before getting married — and that those who don’t run the risk
of one day having a divorce withheld, widely understood to be a form of abuse.
“You
need to stand with us on this mikvah strike and withhold sex on mikvah nights
or on mitzvah night, on every Friday night until Malky is free as a way of
showing your compassion for Malky,” she said, addressing her fellow Orthodox
women. (Jewish tradition encourages married couples to have sex on Shabbat, and
some in the Orthodox world refer to that time as “mitzvah night” for that
reason.)
She said
the objective is to get men in the community to take action on Berkowitz’s
behalf.
“When
your husband says, ‘Why?’ say, ‘I could be the next agunah until Malky is free.
I could be the next agunah. Please call your rabbi and figure out a way to help
free Malky,” she said.
The
protest echoes the sex strike in Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata,” the Greek comedy
where the women of Athens refrained from sleeping with their husbands in order
to end the Peloponnesian War. Sex strikes have been used successfully to effect
change in contemporary communities, for example ending Liberia’s civil war in
2003 when the country’s women participated. LeymahGdowbee, the organizer of the
Liberian sex strike, later won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.
Orthodox
women have reportedly embarked on similar protests on a small scale in the
past, such as in Canada several decades ago. But protest on behalf of agunot
has more recently centered on public demonstrations, rabbinic suasion and,
increasingly, social media campaigns like those run by Sash.
Asked
whether Malky Berkowitz has any thoughts on the strike, Sash said only, “Malky
has no comment.”
ORA, the
New York-based Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, was established in
2002 precisely to facilitate Jewish divorces, and the organization also
provides halachic prenuptial agreements that place a penalty on get refusal and
abide by Jewish law. A representative for ORA did not return JTA’s requests for
comment on the sex strike.
After
Sash formally announced the call for the strike on social media Thursday
afternoon, many of her followers reacted approvingly.
“Malky
is worth this,” one of her followers commented on the call for a strike. “Every
agunah before her is worth this. Every prevented agunah is worth this.”
In
response to a negative comment, another woman wrote, “It’s not punishing women.
” She added, “A properly executed sex strike would def get some of the men in
power to think twice.”
But
critics of the strike — including those who agree that the problem of get
refusal needs to be addressed — say it could interfere with “shalom bayit,” or
peace in the home, an oft-cited Jewish value, and could disrupt otherwise
healthy relationships.
“The way
to address broken relationships is *not* by creating more broken
relationships,” Rabbi David Bashevkin, creator of popular Orthodox podcast
18Forty shared on X on Monday. “Using intimacy as a point of leverage for
social protest is unwise and downright dangerous. More healthy families. More
healthy relationships.”
He
added, “This is a communal issue that needs communal coordination and buy-in.”
Even
some Orthodox feminists who have lobbied on behalf of agunot say they are
troubled by the strike. Daphne Lazar Price, executive director of the Jewish
Orthodox Feminist Alliance, told JTA she often speaks out against the
“weaponization of halacha” and sees the mikvah strike to be another example of
it.
“Religion-based
coercive control is morally wrong and should never be tolerated,” she wrote in
an email to JTA. “It shouldn’t take the threat of women to withhold sex from
their husbands in order to get men’s attention — nor to get men to behave as
allies toward women, and toward the halachic system that they purport to hold
so dear. Using sex as a form of coercion is also highly problematic.”
She
suggested, though, that the strike could create an opportunity for Jewish legal
authorities to remember the other tactics they have at their disposal to
pressure men who refuse to divorce their wives — in particular, “banning entry
of recalcitrant husbands into every Jewish religious and communal institution
and business, as well as private homes, until he issues a get.”
Sash
attributes negative reaction to the strike as part of a “misogynistic” double
standard for withholding a get versus withholding sex.
“If
they’re going to withhold the get, then we’re going to withhold sex,” Sash
said.
“They
say, ‘How could you withhold sex? You’re weaponizing your body! How can you
withhold sex? You’re weaponizing intimacy,’” she added. “Then how could you
withhold the get? You’re weaponizing the divorce process. You are holding a
woman in limbo.”
Malky
and Volvy Berkowitz married in 2016. At their wedding, Malky wore a dektichel,
or opaque bridal veil, which she described in a text shared with JTA as a
“blindfold.”
“Besides
Volvy giving me a kdishen [sic] ring and getting me pregnant twice we never
connected,” she wrote. “Good bye Volvy I never knew you and I’ll never know
you.
Source: timesofisrael.com
https://www.timesofisrael.com/orthodox-women-activists-pledge-sex-strike-in-protest-of-religious-divorce-refusal/
---
Iran's
Exiled Queen, Farah Pahlavi, Calls For
Freedom Of Iranian Womenon International Women's Day
08 March
2024
In a
statement on International Women's Day, exiled queen, Farah Pahlavi, praised
the resilience of Iranian women in the face of adversity and called for liberty
for all Iranian women.
Celebrating
the role of women throughout history in advancing the world and human goals,
she highlighted the contributions of Iranian women. She praised the resilience
of Iranian women, noting that they have "with hard work and perseverance
endured the hardships of life and time."
She
noted that Iran has a long history of strong and independent women, from queens
in ancient and medieval periods to courageous mythological women in the
country's cultural heritage, and renowned poets like ForoughFarrokhzad
(1934-1967) and SiminBehbahani (1927-2014).
Pahlavi's
statement comes at a time when Iran is facing serious human rights issues with
women disproportionately affected.
Pahlavi
then turned to the present day, noting that Iranian women both inside and
outside the country continue to fight for freedom and progress. She expressed
her hope for freedom and liberation for all Iranian women, saying that
"light will ultimately triumph over darkness."
In 2022,
Iranians revolted against the Islamic Republic regime after the country’s hijab
police killed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Her death in police custody ignited the
boldest uprising against the clerical regime since its establishment in 1979.
The nationwide protests came to be known as the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
The
regime cracked down on the popular protests, killing around 550 people and
arresting over 20,000. To intimidate people against further protests, the
regime has taken a wide range of measures including executing several
protesters while there are many more who face death sentences on trumped-up
charges.
Source:
iranintl.com
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202403087116
----
Over 230
million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation:
UNICEF
08 Mar
2024
NEW
YORK: Over 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female
genital mutilation (FGM), according to a newly released UNICEF report.
The
updated global estimates show a 15 per cent increase in the total number of
survivors – or 30 million more girls and women – compared to data released
eight years ago.
Released
on International Women’s Day, the data shows that the pace of progress to end
FGM remains slow, lagging behind population growth, especially in places where
FGM is most common, and far off-pace to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goal to eliminate the practice. The global pace of decline would need to be 27
times faster to end the practice by 2030.
The
report shows that the largest numbers are in African countries, accounting for
144 million cases, followed by 80 million in Asia and 6 million in the Middle
East, with more estimated in small practicing communities and countries of
migration elsewhere in the world.
The
analysis shows that 4 in 10 FGM survivors live in fragile and conflict-affected
settings, where population growth is also fast. This combination can strain
education and health services, divert resources toward crises, and disrupt
programmes that address gender inequality, making it more challenging to tackle
FGM. Places like Somalia and Sudan face the challenge of addressing widespread
FGM, among other urgent issues, and amid conflict and population growth.
Ethiopia has consistently made progress, but climate shocks, disease, and food
insecurity make it harder to reliably deliver programmes to support girls.
However,
the report also reveals that progress is possible and is picking up. Half of
the progress made in the last 30 years happened in just the past decade.
Country examples include Kenya, declining from moderate to low prevalence;
Sierra Leone, dropping from high to moderately high prevalence; and Egypt,
beginning to decline from a previously near-universal level.
"Female
genital mutilation harms girls' bodies, dims their futures, and endangers their
lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "We’re also
seeing a worrying trend that more girls are subjected to the practice at
younger ages, many before their fifth birthday. That further reduces the window
to intervene. We need to strengthen the efforts of ending this harmful
practice.”
Female
Genital Mutilation: A Global Concern is the most up-to-date compilation of
statistics on FGM, a practice that violates girls' and women’s human rights and
can leave enduring physical, psychological, and social consequences.
Source:
newindianexpress.com
https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2024/Mar/08/over-230-million-girls-and-women-alive-today-have-undergone-female-genital-mutilation-unicef
----
Iran
responsible for ‘physical violence‘ that killed Mahsa Amini: U.N. probe
March
08, 2024
Iran is
responsible for the “physical violence” that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in
September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests against the country's mandatory
headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a U.N. fact-finding mission
said on Friday.
The
stark pronouncement came in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the U.N.
Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran.
It also
found that the Islamic Republic employed “unnecessary and disproportionate use
of lethal force” to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Amini's
death, and that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees.
The
monthslong security crackdown killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000
detained.
There
was no immediate comment on the report from Iran. Iranian officials did not
respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on the mission's
findings.
The
release of the report is unlikely to change the trajectory of Iran's
government, now more firmly in the hands of hard-liners after a low-turnout
vote last week put them back in charge of the country's parliament.
However,
it provides further international pressure on Tehran amid wider Western concerns
about its advancing nuclear program, Iran's arming of Russia in Moscow's war on
Ukraine and the continued harassment and imprisonment of activists, including
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.
“The
protests were unprecedented because of the leadership of women and youth, in
their reach and longevity and, ultimately, the state's violent response,” the
report says.
Amini,
22, died on September 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country's
morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the
authorities. She was brought to Iran's Vozara detention facility to undergo a
“re-education class", but collapsed after 26 minutes and was taken to a
hospital 30 minutes later, according to the report.
Iran has
denied being responsible for her death or that she had been beaten. At times,
authorities have pointed to a medical condition Amini had from childhood after
a surgery. The UN report dismissed that as a cause of her death.
What led
to the protests in Iran?
The
panel "has established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms. Amini's
body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police", the report
says.
“Based
on the evidence and patterns of violence by the morality police in the
enforcement of the mandatory hijab on women, the mission is satisfied that Ms.
Amini was subjected to physical violence that led to her death,” it said.
The
report stops short, however, of blaming anyone specifically for harming Amini.
The
protests that followed Amini's death started first with the chant “Women, Life,
Freedom.” However, the protesters' chanting and cries soon grew into open calls
of revolt against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The UN
report found Iranian security forces used shotguns, assault rifles and submachine
guns against demonstrators “in situations where there was no imminent threat of
death or serious injury" to them, “thereby committing unlawful and
extrajudicial killings”.
It also
found a pattern of protesters being shot intentionally in the eye.
The mission
notes the deterrent and chilling effect of such injuries, as they permanently
marked the victims, essentially branding' them as protesters,” the report says.
Some of
those detained faced sexual violence, including rape, the threat of rape,
forced nudity, groping and electrocution of their genitals, according to the
report.
“The
security forces played on social and cultural stigma connected to sexual and
gender-based violence to spread fear and humiliate and punish women, men and
children,” the report says.
The
panel also acknowledged it continued to investigate the 2023 death of teenager
Armita Garavand, who died after falling on the Tehran Metro in what activists
allege was an attack over her not wearing a hijab.
Geravand's
parents appeared in a state media video at the time saying a blood pressure
issue, a fall or perhaps both contributed to their daughter's death.
“In
actions reminiscent of Ms. Amini's case, the state authorities took measures to
obfuscate the circumstances leading to Ms. Garavand's death,” the report says.
It also
noted a suspected spate of poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls, without
drawing conclusions on what transpired in the incidents.
Source:
thehindu.com
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-responsible-for-physical-violence-that-killed-mahsa-amini-un-probe/article67928513.ece
---
Mumbai:
Muslim Women Demand Access To Education, End To Discrimination In Upcoming
Polls
March
08, 2024
Mumbai:
Libraries, residential schools and hostels – these are part of a wishlist
prepared for political parties given the upcoming elections by various groups
of Muslim women.
Speaking
at a press conference on the eve of International Women’s Day under the
umbrella of the Young Secular Muslim Women’s Collective, these women presented
a list of demands aimed at improving access to education and healthcare
facilities among the minority community, especially its female population.
These demands will be presented to the political parties vying for votes in the
Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls.
Poor
Education & Representation In Govt
Highlighting
their poor education level and representation in government positions, the
youngsters called for special measures to uplift Muslim women. These include
increasing the free schooling provision under the Right to Education (RTE) Act
till class 10, waiving tuition fees till graduation, and ensuring equal
opportunities for education to everyone.
Support
For Female Muslim Students
Considering
that many parents are reluctant to let girls travel long distances for
education, there should be residential schools for them, demanded the
activists. They also want library and reading spaces to help Muslim students
prepare for various competitive exams.
Call For
Equality, Justice And Upholding Secularism
The representatives
of the organisation also called for an end to religious bigotry and upholding
of secular values in the state. The collective claimed that many Muslim
youngsters are feeling dejected due to discrimination in the public and private
sectors. They urged that the constitutional ideals of equality and justice
should prevail in the state.
Source:
freepressjournal.in
https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-muslim-women-demand-access-to-education-end-to-discrimination-in-upcoming-polls
----
Prince
Salman Did Not Free Saudi Women from Sharia Dress Code
March
07, 2024
On
February 25, Globe Eye News, a blue-checked X account, claimed that Saudi
Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud promised Saudi women the
freedom to choose what to wear.
Global
Eye News’ post, which had gained nearly 8 million views by the time of this
writing, features a photograph of Prince Salman next to the picture of a group
of women wearing black burkas, a type of loose female attire that covers entire
body and face except for the palms.
The post
states:
"Saudi
Prince Salman: From now on, only Saudi Arabian women can decide what clothing
Saudi Arabian women will wear."
That is
misleading.
Polygraph.info
could not find any recent interview with or statement by the Saudi Arabian
prince about his nation’s dress code for women.
While
Saudi Arabia does not have a law laying out a dress code for women, they are
expected to dress in accordance with Sharia law.
Prince
Salman made that clear in a March 19, 2018, interview with CBS:
“The
laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of Sharia: that women wear
decent, respectful clothing, like men. This, however, does not particularly
specify a black abaya or a black head cover. The decision is entirely left for
women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear.”
In
saying that “the decision is entirely left for women,” Prince Salman seemed to
be referring to the choice of color rather than the type of clothing, which he
said is stipulated by Sharia law for both men and women.
X added
a community note to Globe Eye News’ post, stating that it was “missing
important context.”
Saudi
Arabia’s Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice,
which is popularly known as the mutawa and functions as a religious police
force, imposed a strict dress code on women and gender segregation between the
early 1980s and 2010s.
While
the religious police still exist, Saudi King Salman abolished the mandatory
burka for women in 2015. In 2019, women were given permission to drive cars,
wear colorful clothes instead of black burkas and choose different clothing
styles and designs.
Still,
women in Saudi Arabia remain restricted in their choice of clothing, and many
designs are listed as prohibited. Among the banned items are clothes that
reveal too much skin, garments that do not cover the knee or elbow, bikinis,
and tight or see-through clothing.
Saudi
Arabia also has dress code for foreigner visitors, called the “Public Decorum
Charter,” which describes the types of prohibited clothing in both words and
illustrations.
Foreigners
are banned from wearing clothes bearing human photographs, human silhouettes,
or signs and phrases that violate “common decency.”
Recent
social media posts and YouTube videos show that more women in Saudi Arabia
interpret the Sharia dress code liberally, with some abandoning head and face
covers and even switching to modern clothing, while many continue to cover
their bodies fully.
While
Saudi Arabia's dress code is experiencing some reform, other Muslim nations,
like Iran and Afghanistan, are moving in the opposite direction.
Afghanistan
had liberal dress code from the early 1900s to the 1970s, when it was a
kingdom.
In the
1920s, Queen Soraya Tarzi, the wife of King Amanullah Khan, emerged as a
stylish and powerful figure in the Middle East. During her reign, King
Amanullah Khan famously remarked, "I am your King, but the Minister of
Education is my wife, your Queen."
Queen
Soraya Tarzi was an exemplar of modern Afghanistan, establishing the first
school for girls and launching the kingdom’s first women’s magazine in 1927,
called Ershad-I-Niswan, or "Guidance for Women."
However,
Afghanistan subsequently saw a regression in women's rights. After coming to
power in 1996, the Taliban banned girls for attending schools. In 2021, after
retaking power, they barred girls from studying beyond sixth grade, enforced
stricter dress codes and imposed other limitations that led to the increased
isolation of women from public life and narrowing professional opportunities.
In Iran,
the religious police, bearing a name similar to the one in Saudi Arabia, is
infamous for its brutal enforcement of the dress code for women.
With the
regime’s encouragement, this morality police and its adepts have physically
attacked women in Iran, with some having had flesh-eating acid thrown on their
faces and others even beaten to death for wearing “loose hijabs.”
Thousands
of Iranians protested in 2022, accusing the regime’s religious police of
killing Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in police custody after being
arrested for wearing a loose hijab.
Iran’s
Islamic clergy responded to the public unrest by introducing even stricter
legal limitations on women and girls who violate the dress code, including
punishments of up to 10 years in prison and fines of around $8,500.
Source:
polygraph.info
https://www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-prince-salman-did-not-free-saudi-women-from-sharia-dress-code/7517563.html
----
Empowering
women for a prosperous and healthy planet on International Women’s Day
March
07, 2024
REBECCA
ANNE PROCTOR
DUBAI:
Although the Arab world has a long way to go before it achieves gender parity,
recent reforms in Saudi Arabia have already transformed women’s participation
in the labor force, business and leadership, while promoting economic growth
and sustainable development.
The
pursuit of gender equality as a way of fostering prosperous economies and a
healthy planet is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, the UN’s
annual day to celebrate the empowerment of women and girls.
“There’s
no country on the planet that has taken such dramatic action and where there is
such dramatic change for the betterment of women,” Maria Al-Zahrani, a
Saudi-American resident of Riyadh who works as a consultant for WeBuild
Ventures, told Arab News.
Achieving
gender parity and tapping the full potential of women and girls is a
fundamental part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 social reform and economic
diversification plan, launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Our
critics can pontificate all they want, but numbers don’t lie,” said Al-Zahrani.
“Women now represent more than 36 percent of the labor force.”
In 2019,
Saudi Arabia implemented reforms that allowed women to travel abroad
independently, to register for marriage or divorce, and apply for official
documents without the permission of a male guardian.
Faisal
Al-Ibrahim, Saudi Arabia’s minister of economy, said that the Kingdom had
consequently witnessed a significant rise in female participation in the
private sector.
“Gender
equality is a cornerstone of our commitment to sustainable development,” he
told the Human Capability Initiative in Riyadh in February. “Increasing female
representation is a critical macro-goal supported by a multitude of
initiatives.
“Women
now hold 20 percent of seats in the Saudi Shoura Council and key positions in
ministries and governmental bodies. Twenty-nine percent of middle and senior
private sector management positions are held by women, and 45 percent of SMEs in
the Kingdom are female-led.”
MarriamMossalli
is a living example of this transformation.
“Women
control more than $31.8 trillion in worldwide spending and actually spend more
than men daily,” Mossalli, a Saudi entrepreneur and founder of communications agency
Niche Arabia, told Arab News.
Mossalli
recently launched C-Suite Advisory — a business consultancy that helps
start-ups and international firms with investment and Gulf Cooperation Council
market entry strategies. She wants to see many more women breaking into
business.
“We need
more women in leadership positions,” she said. “And that’s why I’m personally
investing in female-owned businesses that share similar values, which is why
I’ve come on with Powder Beauty — the region’s first dedicated clean beauty
platform.”
Basmah
Abdulaziz Al-Mayman, Middle East region director for the UN World Tourism
Organization, believes the development of the region’s tourism industry in
particular has offered women opportunities for economic participation and
advancement.
“Although
the proportion of women engaged with the tourism sector in the Arab world is
still low,” Al-Mayman told Arab News, “there is hope that it will improve,
especially that some progress toward gender equality in the sector has been
observed, particularly in the public sector where concrete policy actions have
begun to bear fruit and the representation of women in leadership roles has
increased toward similar levels seen globally.”
In 2020,
UNWTO and the Saudi Ministry of Tourism jointly published the Regional Report
on Women in Tourism in the Middle East to mark the Saudi G20 presidency.
The
report examined opportunities and challenges for women across areas considered
key for women’s empowerment: Employment, entrepreneurship, education and
training. It also examined leadership, decision- and policy-making, and
community.
“Tourism
has long been viewed as an engine of women’s economic empowerment more than
other sectors in the economy,” Al-Mayman said.
“Tourism
can provide more opportunities for women’s participation in the labor force, in
entrepreneurship and in women’s leadership. As such, the tourism sector can
make important contributions to the achievement of SDG5 on gender equality and
women’s empowerment, as well as to the gender-related targets and other
sustainable pool areas.”
Al-Mayman
said that Arab governments had a crucial role to play “in creating this more
equitable world through deliberate change and actions to more inclusively
ensure that women and marginalized groups have access to resources, support and
opportunity.”
Working
toward gender equality is viewed as an essential part of the effort to
eliminate poverty, to boost gender-responsive financing, transition to greener
economies, and to support female change-makers.
It is
important to note however that no country in the world has achieved gender
parity, according to the Global Green Growth Initiative. One region that still
has quite a way to go is the Middle East and North Africa.
The Arab
world has the second-widest gender gap in the world after South Asia, as
measured by the Gender Development Index, with women lagging behind in income
and labor participation.
As a
result of such gender inequalities, women and girls in Arab countries have on
average achieved 14.4 percent less than men in measures of human development
over the past 20 years.
According
to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023, in comparison with
other regions, the Middle East and North Africa remains the furthest from
parity, with a 62.6 percent parity score.
This
represents a 0.9 percentage-point decline in parity since the last edition of
the report for the region, based on the constant sample of countries covered
since 2006.
According
to the report, the UAE at 71.2 percent, Israel at 70 percent and Bahrain at
66.6 percent have achieved the highest parity in the region, while five
countries, led by Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, have increased their parity by 0.5
percent or more.
And yet,
according to the UN, the region as a whole has progressed at a far slower rate
than the global average over the past decade. It says gender inequalities are
preventing the Arab world from fulfilling the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
of the 2030 Agenda.
Of
course, the mission to achieve gender parity goes well beyond the Arab region.
It is a major international concern.
According
to the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023, the global gap has closed by 0.3
percentage points compared to the previous year. Based on this rate of
progress, parity will only be achieved in the year 2154 — the same forecast in WEF’s
2022 report.
The
little progress that was made was due to improvements in education, with 117
out of 146 indexed countries now having closed at least 95 percent of the gap.
The economic participation and opportunity gap also saw progress, closing by
60.1 percent.
However,
according to the International Monetary Fund, less than half of women are
actively part of the global labor market, compared to 72 percent of men. This
has a direct impact on issues such as poverty reduction and nutrition.
A
quarter of women and girls worldwide are expected to be moderately or severely
food insecure by 2030, according to the UN. If gender gaps in agri-food systems
are closed, this could reduce food insecurity and boost global gross domestic
product by $1 trillion.
“While
there have been encouraging signs of recovery to pre-pandemic levels, women
continue to bear the brunt of the current cost-of-living crisis and labor
market disruptions,” SaadiaZahidi, WEF managing director, said in the report.
A global
economic rebound will require “the full power of creativity and diverse ideas
and skills,” she said. “We cannot afford to lose momentum on women’s economic
participation and opportunity.”
While
there is still undoubtedly a long way to go, even for the region’s most
proactive nations such as Saudi Arabia, International Women’s Day offers an
opportunity to take stock of how far women’s empowerment has come in a
relatively short space of time.
Just
five years ago, “you would hardly see women working anywhere,” said Al-Zahrani,
the Riyadh-based consultant.
“Then
all of a sudden they were working at hotels, working in stores at the mall,
driving. I never thought I’d be so proud to see women at the grocery store
taking customer payments at the checkout counters.
“I’m
proud of our leadership and I am proud of what they’ve done for everyone to
create a more productive and prosperous future for the country.”
Source:
arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2472971/saudi-arabia
----
Pakistan's
Embassy in Türkiye hosts 'Women's Leadership' event
Can
Efesoy
08.03.2024
Pakistan’s
Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara organized an event Thursday titled
“Women's Leadership” on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8.
The
event, held at the ambassador's residence, was attended by Pakistan's
Ambassador Yusuf Cuneyd, Türkiye’s Future Party Antalya Deputy
SerapYaziciOzbudun, the first Turkish female archer to win a gold medal at the
Paralympic Games, GizemGirismen, Ankara University Vice Rector Prof. Dr.
YaseminKepenekci, the President of the Spouses as Heads of Missions (SHOM)
Association, LoumaKabalanMuallim, the president of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Spouses Solidarity Association (DMEDD) and professor of Sociology at
Ankara Social Sciences University, Prof. Dr. SebnemAkcapar, and the founder of
the Women's Studies Department at the Middle East Technical University’s (METU)
Social Sciences Institute, Prof. Dr. FerideAcar.
The
event began with the recitation of verses from the Muslim holy Quran and
continued with a video highlighting women who have played a leading role in
political and social issues in Pakistan.
Following
the singing of the Pakistani National Anthem and the Türkiye’s National Anthem,
participants delivered speeches.
Ambassador
Cuneyd highlighted the need to celebrate International Women's Day not only on
March 8 but every day.
He
expressed his support for both oppressed and successful women, noting that the world
has witnessed progress in achieving equality between men and women, with women
holding high positions in many places.
Cuneyd
underlined that without women having equal rights, progress in any field of
society would be hindered.
He
mentioned that many of the books he reads are written by female authors,
illustrating how these books provide insights into the meaning of life.
Deputy
Ozbudun highlighted the importance of International Women's Day for emphasizing
women's economic, political and social rights.
She said
that women face various challenges every day throughout the year, adding that
women should fight these challenges threatening equality between men and women.
Girismen
said that every athlete dreams of having their determination and efforts
crowned with a medal, and she found it gratifying that her success encourages
women to set new goals for themselves.
Kepenekci
emphasized that women's position in society has strengthened with their demands
for political and social rights, and female leaders have found their place in
public life.
Muallim
underlined the necessity for women to continue fighting for their rights,
saying that religions already acknowledge women's rights.
Akcapar
drew attention to the low participation of women in employment, politics and
academia, noting that women face a "glass ceiling" that halts their
ascent in their careers.
Prof.
Acar highlighted that International Women's Day is not only a day of celebration
but also a day of questioning.
She
highlighted the importance of renewing awareness about the problems and
challenges women face.
Source:
aa.com.tr
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/pakistans-embassy-in-turkiye-hosts-womens-leadership-event/3158636
---
Over 325
Women Detained in 2023 Amid Iran's Hijab Law Enforcement
MARCH 8,
2024
Authorities
of the Islamic Republic detained at least 325 women in 2023 amid an escalated
enforcement of mandatory hijab laws.
The
Hengaw Human Rights Organization, in a March 8 report, detailed the professions
of several arrested women.
According
to it, the detainees include 18 students, 17 journalists and media activists,
ten artists and actors, and seven teachers.
The
women were arrested on charges including "propaganda against the Islamic
Republic," "assembly and collusion," "corruption on
Earth," and "espionage."
The
charges often lead to harsh sentences, with some women facing life imprisonment
or several years behind bars.
Hengaw
further reported that at least 147 women activists were tried by the Iranian
judicial system in 2023.
Their
sentences included imprisonment, flogging, and, in one case, the death penalty.
A total
of 139 activists received prison sentences amounting to a cumulative 553 years
and 10 months.
Additionally,
ten women were sentenced to a total of 557 lashes alongside imprisonment.
Source:
iranwire.com
https://iranwire.com/en/women/126208-over-325-women-detained-in-2023-amid-irans-hijab-law-enforcement/
---
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/helmets-headscarves-pakistan-rowdy/d/131875