House Republicans vote to remove 1st Muslim woman Ilhan Omar from committee
New
Age Islam News Bureau
03
February 2023
•
Taliban detain Afghan educator who spoke out on women’s school ban
•
Afghan women prosecutors once seen as symbols of democracy find asylum in Spain
•
Scholar Marcia Hermansen to Present ‘The Voices of Women in Islamic Thought’ on
Feb. 20
•
Small minority, not Pakhtun culture, keeps women at home: Akram
•
Jordan’s Queen Rania, US First Lady Biden meet in Washington
•
Berlin's justice senator wants to abolish blanket headscarf ban
•
Saudi women’s football reaping benefits of game’s boom in the Kingdom
•
Egypt mulls rewarding women with under 2 children amid population growth
•
Oscar-bound short lifts veil on Iranian women seeking freedom
•
Once-banned, Saudi women's soccer team wins big as Riyadh woos FIFA
•
BISP success hinges on making women self-reliant: Kundi
•
Pakistani women faculty embark on US exchange visit
•
German-Iraqi woman 'murdered lookalike to fake her own death'
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
House
Republicans vote to remove 1st Muslim woman from committee
February
3, 2023
The
218-211 vote saw all Democrats vote in opposition to removing Ilhan Omar from
the panel. (Jose Luis Magana / AP)
----------
US
House of Representatives Republicans has ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from a
high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two years
after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments.
"I
am a Muslim, I'm an immigrant and, interestingly, I'm from Africa," the
40-year-old Minnesota progressive said in a defiant floor speech ahead of her
removal from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
"Is
anyone surprised that I'm being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow
deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?"
The
deeply divided House voted 218-211 along party lines to remove Omar from the
Foreign Affairs Committee with Republicans citing the 2019 remarks for which
she later apologised. One Republican voted "present."
Omar,
who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia, is the only
African-born member of Congress and one of the only Muslim women in the House.
She
was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa
subcommittee.
Republicans,
who won a narrow House majority in November's election after years in the
minority, said they wanted Omar, a third-term House member, off Foreign Affairs
for statements that included a 2019 tweet which read, "It's all about the
Benjamins baby," suggesting that Israel's supporters in US politics were
motivated by money rather than principle.
Benjamin
Franklin, whose signature on the 1776 Declaration of Independence and 1787 US
Constitution earned him the reputation as a founding father, is portrayed on
the $100 bill.
During
the debate, Republican Mike Lawler said, "Words matter, rhetoric matters.
It leads to harm. The congresswoman is being held accountable for her words and
her actions".
Omar
and other Democrats said that any such remarks were made years ago and that
Omar had deleted the posts and apologised at the time.
Omar
has said in the past that US forces and those of other nations should be held
to the same standards of accountability when their actions hurt or kill
civilians.
The
ouster, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was viewed by Democrats as revenge
for their voting in 2021 to remove Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul
Gosar from their committee assignments after incendiary remarks.
Gosar
had posted a video on social media showing him appearing to kill another House
member, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
McCarthy
has given committee assignments to both Greene and Gosar as well as George
Santos, a newly elected representative who has admitted to fabricating much of
his resume, although Santos has temporarily stepped away from those assignments
while working to clear up questions about his ethics.
House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, told reporters before the vote
that Democrats had condemned Omar's "Benjamins" remark.
"There
has been accountability. Ilhan Omar has apologized. She has indicated she'll
learn from her mistakes" and was "building bridges" with the
Jewish community. "This isn't about accountability. It's about political
revenge."
McCarthy
previously rejected the assignments of Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell
to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Both played major roles
in the impeachments of Republican former President Donald Trump.
Source:TRTWorld
--------
Taliban
detain Afghan educator who spoke out on women’s school ban
February
03, 2023
Ismail
Mashal tore his academic degrees on TV after Taliban banned university
education for women, vowing to campaign for women's rights. (File/AFP)
----------
KABUL:
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have “beaten and detained” an academic who
voiced outrage on live television against their ban on women’s university
education, his aide said Friday.
Veteran
journalism lecturer Ismail Mashal caused a storm by tearing his degree
certificates to shreds on TV in December, protesting the edict ending women’s
higher education.
In
recent days, domestic channels showed Mashal carting books around Kabul and
offering them to passers-by.
“Mashal
was mercilessly beaten and taken away in a very disrespectful manner by members
of the Islamic Emirate,” Mashal’s aide Farid Ahmad Fazli told AFP, referring to
the Taliban government.
A
Taliban official confirmed the detention.
“Teacher
Mashal had indulged in provocative actions against the system for some time,”
tweeted Abdul Haq Hammad, director at the Ministry of Information and Culture.
“The
security agencies took him for investigation.”
Mashal
— a lecturer for more than a decade at three Kabul universities — was detained
on Thursday despite having “committed no crime,” Fazli said.
“He
was giving free books to sisters (women) and men,” he added. “He is still in
detention and we don’t know where he is being held.”
Footage
of Mashal destroying his certificates on private channel TOLOnews went viral on
social media.
In
deeply conservative and patriarchal Afghanistan it is rare to see a man protest
in support of women but Mashal, who ran a co-educational institute, said he
would stand up for women’s rights.
“As
a man and as a teacher, I was unable to do anything else for them, and I felt
that my certificates had become useless. So, I tore them,” he told AFP at the
time.
“I’m
raising my voice. I’m standing with my sisters... My protest will continue even
if it costs my life.”
A
small group of male students also held a brief walkout protesting the ban.
The
Taliban promised a softer regime when they returned to power in August 2021 but
they have instead imposed harsh restrictions on women — effectively squeezing
them out of public life.
In
December, the authorities ordered all aid groups to stop their women employees
coming to work. They have since granted an exemption to the health sector,
allowing females to return to employment there.
Secondary
schools for girls have also been closed for over a year, while many women have
lost jobs in government sectors.
They
have also been barred from going to parks, gyms and public baths.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244101/world
--------
Afghan
women prosecutors once seen as symbols of democracy find asylum in Spain
February
02, 2023
A
group of Afghan women prosecutors stand on a rooftop overlooking Islamabad, as
they wait for their asylum requests to be addressed after fleeing Afghanistan
fearing persecution by the Taliban government. (REUTERS)
----------
MADRID:
Pushing her son on a swing at a playground on a sunny winter's day in Madrid,
former Afghan prosecutor ObaidaSharar expresses relief that she found asylum in
Spain after fleeing Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban took over.
Sharar,
who arrived in Madrid with her family, is one of 19 female prosecutors to have
found asylum in the country after being left in limbo in Pakistan without
official refugee status for up to a year after the Taliban's return to power.
She feels selfish being happy while her fellow women suffer, she said.
"Most Afghan women and girls that remain in Afghanistan don't have the
right to study, to have a social life or even go to a beauty salon,"
Sharar said. "I cannot be happy."
Women's
freedoms in her home country were abruptly curtailed in 2021 with the arrival
of a government that enforces a strict interpretation of Islam.
The
Taliban administration has banned most female aid workers and last year stopped
women and girls from attending high school and university.
Sharar's
work and that of her female peers while they lived in Afghanistan was
dangerous. Female judges and prosecutors were threatened and became the target
of revenge attacks as they undertook work overseeing the trial and conviction
of men accused of gender crimes, including rape and murder.
She
was part of a group of 32 women judges and prosecutors that left Afghanistan
only to be stuck in Pakistan for up to a year trying to find asylum.
A
prosecutor, who gave only her initials as S.M. due to fears over her safety and
who specialised in gender violence and violence against children said, "I
was the only female prosecutor in the province... I received threats from
Taliban members and the criminals who I had sent to prison."
Now
she and her family are also in Spain.
Many
of the women have said they felt abandoned by Western governments and
international organizations.
Ignacio
Rodriguez, a Spanish lawyer and president of Bilbao-based 14 Lawyers, a
non-governmental organisation which defends prosecuted lawyers, said the women
had been held up as symbols of democratic success only to be discarded.
The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was not in a
position to comment on specific cases.
"The
Government of Pakistan has not agreed to recognise newly arriving Afghans as
refugees," UNHCR said in a statement. "Since 2021, UNHCR has been in
discussions with the government on measures and mechanisms to support
vulnerable Afghans. Regrettably, no progress has been made."
The
foreign ministry of Pakistan did not respond immediately to a request for
comment.
Pakistan
is home to millions of refugees from Afghanistan who fled after the Soviet
Union's invasion in 1979 and during the subsequent civil war. Most of them are
yet to return despite Pakistan's push to repatriate them under different
programmes.
The
Taliban has said any Afghan who fled the country since it took power in 2021
can return safely through a repatriation council.
"Afghanistan
is the joint home of all Afghans," said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesperson
for the Taliban administration. "They can live here without any
threat."
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2243646/world
--------
Scholar
Marcia Hermansen to Present ‘The Voices of Women in Islamic Thought’ on Feb. 20
February
2, 2023
Hermansen
will present “The Voices of Women in Islamic Thought: Historical and
Contemporary Perspectives,” this year’s al-Ghazali Lecture at Elmhurst
University, and part of the University’s Religious Literacy Project.
Hermansen
has authored numerous academic books and articles on classical and contemporary
Islam thought, Sufism, women and gender in Islam, Muslims in South Asia and
Muslims in America. In the course of her research and language training, she
has lived in Egypt, Jordan, India, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan.
The
al-Ghazali Lecture Series honors the great Muslim scholar and theologian Abu
Hamid al-Ghazali, who was born in Iran in 1058 but spent much of his life as a
teacher in Baghdad and as a wandering ascetic. His prolific writings on
religion, philosophy and Sufism had a lasting influence on scholars from a
variety of faith traditions.
The
al-Ghazali lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb 20, in the Frick Center,
Founders Lounge. Admission is free but reservations are encouraged and can be
made online. For more information, email marketing@elmhurst.edu.
Source:
elmhurst
https://www.elmhurst.edu/news/scholar-marcia-hermansen-voices-women-islamic-thought/
--------
Small
minority, not Pakhtun culture, keeps women at home: Akram
Anwar
Iqbal
February
3, 2023
UNITED
NATIONS: A day after Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram drew flak from Pakhtuns
and human rights activists in both Afghanistan and Pakistan for equating the
Taliban government’s restrictions on women with the Pakhtun culture, he
clarified on Thursday that he was referring to the “peculiar perspective” of a
small minority when he spoke about the practice of keeping Pakhtun women at
home.
Ambassador
Akram made the controversial remarks during a briefing at the UN in New York on
Wednesday.
“The
restrictions that have been put by the Afghan interim government, flow not so
much from a religious perspective as from a peculiar cultural perspective of
the Pashtun culture, which requires women to be kept at home,” he said at the
UN briefing. “And this is a peculiar, distinctive cultural reality of
Afghanistan which has not changed for hundreds of years.”
Former
senator Afrasiab Khattak called these remarks an insult to Pakhtuns and asked
Ambassador Akram “if Pakistan represents the Taliban now”.
Shah
Mahmood Miakhel, deputy defence minister in the former Afghan government, said
MrAkram was “playing an ethnic card”, which was “shameful”.
Pakistan’s
UN envoy clarifies remarks after drawing flak
Ashraf
Haidari, the Afghan ambassador to Sri Lanka, alleged that Ambassador Akram
“deliberately avoids blaming the extremist ideology of the Taliban for the
gender apartheid in Afghanistan, which the TTP [Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan] now
desires to enforce in Pakistan too as soon as they can”.
Responding
to queries from Dawn, Ambassador Akram said he “regrets if his remarks (were)
misunderstood or hurt anyone’s feelings. There was no disrespect meant to
Pashtun culture which is highly progressive and deserves full respect across
the world”.
He
said he was referring to the “peculiar perspective of a small minority — which
has resulted in the restrictions on women”.
In
Islamabad, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters
that Islamabad had sought details of the ambassador’s statement and the context
in which it might have been made.
“Pakistan
is a country that accords equal status to women. It also respects its
commitments under international agreements and conventions,” the spokesperson
said. “We believe that Islam grants equal access to education and women rights
and … we have also said that the enterprising and innovative Afghan women
should not be deprived of their rights to progress and to follow their dreams.”
Source:
Dawn
https://www.dawn.com/news/1735066
--------
Jordan’s
Queen Rania, US First Lady Biden meet in Washington
February
02, 2023
AMMAN:
Jordan’s Queen Rania met with US First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House
on Wednesday.
The
queen is accompanying King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah on
a working visit to Washington DC.
During
their meeting, Queen Rania and the first lady discussed issues of mutual
interest, Jordan News Agency reported.
Queen
Rania donned a royal blue long-sleeve dress and pointed heels while Biden opted
for a belted red short-sleeve dress with heels in the same colour.
The
queen posted a picture of the two of them on Instagram, with the caption: “It
was a pleasure catching with the US First Lady Dr. Jill Biden yesterday.”
The
pair have now met twice since US President Joe Biden took office, Jordan News
Agency reported.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2243716/offbeat
--------
Berlin's
justice senator wants to abolish blanket headscarf ban
Timo
Kirez
02.02.2023
BERLIN
Berlin
Justice Senator Lena Kreck of the Left Party wants to change the so-called
neutrality law, which blanketly bans female teachers from wearing headscarves,
as soon as possible.
"The
fact that criticism of the constitutionality of Berlin's neutrality law is
justified has now also been confirmed by the Federal Constitutional
Court," Kreck told the Dpa news agency on Thursday.
"This
means that Berlin's neutrality law must be addressed immediately," Kreck
said.
She
added: "The headscarf ban excludes people in the immigration society and
reinforces racist associations."
With
her statements, the justice senator is reacting to a decision by the Federal
Constitutional Court.
The
Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected the appeal of the state of Berlin
against the decision of the Federal Labor Court regarding the headscarf ban,
and decided that the wearing of the headscarf should not be banned in general.
Burhan
Kesici, president of the Islamic Council of Germany, told Anadolu that the
verdict was pleasing.
He
said the city of Berlin’s neutrality law, which has prohibited civil servants
and public employees, such as teachers, from wearing religious dress and
symbols, is unconstitutional.
"We
used to say that the inability of teachers with headscarves to work is against
human rights. We hope now that the state will regulate the law and allow
teachers."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
--------
Saudi
women’s football reaping benefits of game’s boom in the Kingdom
PAUL
WILLIAMS
February
03, 2023
Cristiano
Ronaldo’s arrival at Al-Nassr will inspire a generation of Saudi children to
take up the game, which it is hoped will lead to future success on the
international stage for the Green Falcons.
After
the exploits in Qatar at the end of 2022 and that famous victory over eventual
champions Argentina, the sky is the limit and everyone in Saudi Arabia is now
dreaming of a bigger and brighter future.
And
everyone means everyone, including the female footballers of Saudi Arabia. In
fact, especially the female footballers of Saudi Arabia.
The
Saudi Arabian Football Federation, under the leadership of president, and newly
elected FIFA Congress member, Yasser Al-Misehal, have been bullish in their
ambitions for the women’s game.
Over
the past 12 months a national women’s team has been established, playing a
number of international friendlies and tournaments in order to receive official
FIFA recognition and ranking. This saw the team recently host and win their
first international tournament on home soil.
At
his opening press conference, Ronaldo made a point of highlighting his desire
to be an inspiration, not just for young boys but also for female footballers
in the country.
“I’m
grateful that Al-Nassr gave me this opportunity to show and develop not only
the football, but also for the generation, the young generation, the woman’s
generation as well,” Ronaldo said.
“So
for me, it’s a good chance to change (and) to help with my knowledge and my
experience, to help to grow many, many important points. Also, many people
probably didn’t know, but Al-Nassr they have a woman’s football (team) as well,
and I want to give a different vision of the country, of the football, (and)
the perspective of everybody.”
Hearing
those words meant the world to Sarah Khalid, the young goalkeeper of Al-Nassr’s
women’s team, who lead the league by one point with just two games remaining.
“(It)
definitely means a lot hearing that coming from, let’s say, a football legend
like Cristiano Ronaldo,” she told Arab News from Riyadh.
“His
words were really inspirational to us, and let’s say it fuels us to move
forward and achieve the league (this season).”
Also
inspired was a national team colleague of Khalid’s, Talah Al-Ghamdi, who plays
her club football for Al-Ittihad.
“Of
course, Cristiano is a legend, so he always inspires me by his motivation, his
determination and his hard work,” she told Arab News.
“So
when I found that he talked about women’s football and he wants to support
women’s football, I was very happy, very motivated, and getting motivated from
a legend like him is a very good thing.”
Women’s
football in the Kingdom has undertaken a rapid transformation in recent years
with significant investment in grassroots development, as well as the national
team and league structures.
The
introduction this season of the first national league, with powerhouse clubs
such as Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal getting on board, has been a welcome
step forward for the game.
For
Al-Ghamdi, getting to play for Al-Ittihad, a club that she and her family have
supported their entire lives, is a dream come true.
“I
was honored when I found out that I’ll play for Al-Ittihad, I was very happy,”
she said.
“Playing
for Ittihad is such an honor. I couldn’t describe my feelings when I found out,
and of course my family, my dad is very happy. My dad is a big fan of Ittihad,
so I grew up with Ittihad everywhere, like in every detail in my life.
“Honestly,
I used to live two minutes away from Ittihad Club, so every trophy Ittihad won
we used to go to the Ittihad club to celebrate and celebrate on the streets . .
. so I have a lot of memories,” Al-Ghammdi said.
For
Khalid, whose family are all Ettifaq fans, there is a special feeling that
comes from being one of the modern pioneers of the women’s game in Saudi
Arabia.
“It
is very exciting to see the development of the women’s football in Saudi
Arabia,” Khalid said.
“And
for me, personally, I’m very honored and proud to be a part of that. I hope to
inspire the younger generation to pursue this field to start playing and
continue playing so the journey can continue and we accomplish more and more.”
That
journey, Khalid and Al-Ghamdi hope, will one day involve playing in the Women’s
World Cup. Both were fortunate enough, along with the rest of their national
team, to be inside Lusail Stadium when the Green Falcons scored their historic
victory over Argentina to open the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
While
they are just starting on their international journey, and a long way from
qualifying for the Women’s World Cup, which this year will be held in Australia
and New Zealand, it didn’t stop them from dreaming about their own miracle.
“It
was a very special day to witness,” Khalid recalled. “A historical win for
Saudi Arabia against Argentina, and that definitely pushes us to chase our
dream, which is playing in the Woman’s World Cup . . . and hopefully to win it
one day.”
While
the World Cup may be a distant dream, the Asian Cup may be just over the
horizon with Saudi Arabia officially bidding to host the next edition of the
tournament in 2026, which would come with automatic qualification.
While
some may question whether that is too soon for a national team very much in its
infancy, it follows the natural ambition of Saudi Arabia to turbo-charge its
football development at every level.
“The
future of women’s football in Saudi Arabia is bright and we are committed to
growing the game here and throughout Asia,” Al-Misehal said when they launched
their bid late last year.
“More
and more young girls are playing football in this country and we want to
inspire them further.
“Hosting
the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 would be a great occasion for our players and
would be made memorable by the passion of our fans.”
Monika
Staab, the legendary German coach tasked with developing the national team,
agreed.
“This
is an opportunity to bring the tournament to life, inspire a generation, and
turbo-charge the continued growth of women’s football,” she said.
“We
see this as a chance to improve technical performance and show the world our
homegrown talent.”
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244086/football
--------
Egypt
mulls rewarding women with under 2 children amid population growth
Hamza
Hendawi
Feb
02, 2023
Egypt
is considering offering incentives to mothers who restrict their families to
two children, part of an ambitious national programme designed to reduce the
Arab nation’s rapid population growth.
Egypt
is the most populous Arab nation with 104 million people. Its population is
growing by one million people every 10 months, a fact that President Abdel
Fatteh El Sisi said is wiping out the benefits of his government’s efforts to
create jobs and provide better education and health services.
In
the eight years he has been in office, he said, Egypt’s population has
increased by 10 million.
Offering
incentives to mothers with two children underlines the caution with which
authorities must tread when dealing with family planning in a conservative,
majority Muslim nation where penalising big families can trigger a popular
backlash on religious grounds.
The
government’s programme to check the population growth takes on added importance
given that Egypt is struggling to cope with a deepening economic crisis it
blames on the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war.
They
may also be seen as an admission that decades of media campaigns to persuade
couples to embrace birth control had a limited effect and that a more
comprehensive approach is required.
Many
Egyptians, especially in rural communities, are keen on big families for
economic reasons, looking to their children to work from an early age — as
young as 8 or 9 in some cases — to contribute to the family’s income.
Just
as importantly, they view children as a divine gift that should not be
interfered with through birth control. Even religious institutions that wield
vast influence, like Cairo’s Al Azhar Mosque — the world’s primary seat of
Sunni Muslim learning — tread carefully when addressing the issue, fearing a
public backlash if they openly advocate its adoption.
The
announcement on offering incentives to mothers with two children was made
following a meeting earlier this week by the recently-created National Project
for the Protection of the Egyptian Family that was chaired by Prime Minister
Mostafa Madbouly.
The
three-year project is Egypt’s most comprehensive and ambitious attempt in
decades to deal with population growth. Besides MrMadbouly, it will be run by
the ministries of health, planning, information and social solidarity in
addition to several relevant state institutions.
An
official statement said 2022 statistics showed that every Egyptian family had
an average of 2.8 children, considerably higher than the long-term target
average of 1.6.
The
proposed incentives, it said, will be applicable to women who are 45 or older
with two children. Women whose children are born at “reasonable” intervals
would also be eligible for incentives.
The
statement did not give further details, but MP Mirvat Abdel Azeem on the health
committee said monetary incentives would be the most effective.
“I
already proposed in the house, a programme under which women with two children
are given financial incentives twice a year for 10 years. Families that exceed
two children will be stripped of the incentives,” she told The National.
“Most
citizens need to be made aware of the importance of controlling population
growth and the danger it poses to the future of our children.”
Hazem
El Guindy, a member of parliament’s upper house, told The National that the
incentives should include social security coverage and a reduction in the cost
of health care and education.
“It
is an issue that should be given maximum priority,” he said.
A
blueprint of the family protection project seen by The National gives an annual
population growth of 2.4 as the target by 2030.
The
blueprint includes plans to help women aged 18-35 to start 1 million micro
projects and the training of 2 million women aged 18-45 to run projects, and
have their illiteracy eradicated.
It
also aims to offer birth control services and devices free of charge.
The
blueprint also includes plans to teach family planning at high schools and
universities.
Pregnant
or breastfeeding women from the poorest segment of the population are to be
offered 100 pounds' ($3.3) worth of subsidised food items obtained by the
state’s food cards, which cover more than 70 million people, according to the
blueprint.
Source:
TheNationalNews
--------
Oscar-bound
short lifts veil on Iranian women seeking freedom
02/02/2023
Short
movies nominated for an Oscar often do not get wide public attention. But when
one is about an Iranian girl seeking freedom from male domination by taking off
her veil, interest is sure to spike.
That
is the premise of "The Red Suitcase", a 17-minute film which at the
Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles on March 12, will shine a bright light on the
protests that have gripped Iran since last September.
Set
in Luxembourg's airport, it tells the story of a 16-year-old Iranian girl
freshly arrived from Tehran who, with trepidation, takes off her veil to escape
an unhappy fate dictated by men.
For
director Cyrus Neshvad, born in Iran but a Luxembourg national, the Oscar
nomination is a chance to highlight what the "virus" of the Islamic
regime is doing to the "beautiful body" of his birth country.
"Once
we get this virus out, the body will be flourishing again," he told AFP.
Demonstrations
in Iran were sparked by the September 16 death in custody of a young Iranian
woman, MahsaAmini, who was detained for incorrectly wearing the headscarf
mandated by the country's religious rulers.
Since
then the protests have spread to become one of the most serious popular
challenges to the hardline Islamic theocrats who took power in 1979.
The
regime has responded by cracking down on the protesters with arrests and
executions, while also turning against those voicing support among the
country's sports stars and film makers.
'Take
your hijab off'
For
Neshvad, "The Red Suitcase" was not born of the current uprising in
Iran. It was filmed a year before it started.
But
it has its roots in the injustices faced by his family, of the Bahai religion,
which is systematically persecuted in Iran, as well as those long experienced
by Iranian girls and women before Amini's death brought them to global
attention.
"For
me, it (the movie) was about a woman, which are the women in Iran being under
domination of the man," said the director, aged in his 40s.
In
Iran, "If a woman wants to do something, or go visit something, the man,
her father or husband, has to consent and write the paper and sign it," he
said.
For
the girl in his movie to take her veil off, it was a moment of
"courage", for her to rebel against a path forced upon her, but also
to inspire those watching.
"It
will be a message: 'Follow me, be like me, take your hijab off, don't accept
this domination and let's be free, at least have the free will to
decide'," Neshvad said.
His
actress, NawelleEvad, 22, is not Iranian and used a dialogue coach to deliver
the few lines in Farsi required.
But
as a French-Algerian, the issue of women and Islamic headscarves, along with
the debate in the West around them, was familiar to her.
"I
had a Muslim upbringing and I used to wear it," she told AFP in Paris,
where she lives.
But
for her, she said "it was never an obligation" to wear one.
And
even for her character in the movie, when she takes her headscarf off,
"It's not of her will, it's despite herself that she removes it ... I
think there are many women in Iran and elsewhere, where the headscarf is an
extension of themselves."
Criticism
of West too
In
the film though, by removing the headscarf, her character ultimately
"chooses herself".
"That's
what I find so beautiful in this film ... the doubts that anybody, in any
country, in any culture, faces ... What do I choose for myself? Do I listen to
my family? Am I making my own choices?"
Neshvad's
French scriptwriting partner, Guillaume Levil, also suggested that the sexualised
airport ads in the film underline that the West, too, can be criticised for
exploiting women and their public image.
The
final image of the movie, an ad showing a blonde model with abundant curly
hair, was emblematic of both social diktats, the director said.
"The
closer we go with the camera on her face, slowly we see that she's not happy
and when we are very, very close, we see that (she) is even frightened,"
he said.
"And
with this, I wanted to finish the movie. So to have both sides, not only one
side, but both sides."
Source:TheArabWeekly
https://thearabweekly.com/oscar-bound-short-lifts-veil-iranian-women-seeking-freedom
--------
Once-banned,
Saudi women's soccer team wins big as Riyadh woos FIFA
AP
Muhammed Afsal
February
2, 2023
A
Saudi national women’s team winning a tournament would ideally be front-page
news. But a friendly match showcasing contemporary soccer's four greatest male
stars in the nation’s capital on the same day almost drowned out the story in
Saudi Arabia last month.
Faraway
from Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium, where Cristiano Ronaldo of the
Al Nassr-Al Hilal combined XI and Lionel Messi, Neymar and KylianMbappe of
visiting Paris Saint-Germain met for the first time on any pitch, Saudi
Arabia’s national women's team were crowned champions at the Prince Saud bin
Jalawi Stadium in Al-Khobar, a small city some 400 kilometers (248 miles) from the
capital. They were competing at the four-nation Women’s International Friendly
Tournament alongside soccer teams from Pakistan, Mauritius and Comoros.
Despite
the relatively low media coverage and the very low ranking of participating
teams, the hosting of the four-nation tournament and Saudi Arabia's
participation is a historic event.
Saudi
Arabia formed a women's national soccer team less than two years ago and is not
ranked among FIFA's 187 nations. Mauritius ranks 187 and Comoros ranks 182, but
Pakistan is higher at 160, with few of its players participating in European
leagues.
The
stars of the Saudi women's national soccer team are Al Ittihad’s left-back
Bayan Sadagah and Al Nassr’s goalkeeper Sarah Khalid co-captain Saudi women’s
soccer team. Attacking midfielder Al Bandary Al Mubarak is a top scorer.
Another team member Farah Jefry became the first Saudi sportswoman to represent
sports goods manufacturer Adidas in 2021, while midfielder SebaTawfiq was
chosen as the best player at the 2022 WAFF Futsal Championship.
The
news comes as the Visit Saudi tourism brand reportedly sealed a deal this week
with FIFA to become a prominent sponsor of Women’s World Cup to be held in
Australia and New Zealand in July. The hosts were blindsided by the announcement
and have complained about the sponsorship, given Saudi's history in the game
and its restrictions up until 2017 on women prohibiting them from playing and
even entering stadiums.
The
Saudi women’s team coach is Monika Staab, a UEFA veteran who has worked with
female soccer players in around 80 countries and who coached Qatar’s women’s
team from 2013-2014, called their victory a milestone.
“Winning
this tournament is an important milestone in Saudi Arabian soccer and will give
the players huge confidence as they progress their national team careers. … It
provides a huge springboard for future success and inspiration for young girls
across every corner of Saudi Arabia as well as the other talented young players
in the [Saudi Women’s] Premier League who aspire to play international
soccer," Staab said.
The
win is an added boost coming just as Saudi Arabia has confirmed its bid to host
the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Saudi
Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) representative told Al-Monitor that the team
will make it to FIFA's official rankings. “They will feature in FIFA’s next
official rankings list for the very first time, enabling them to participate
formally in regional and continental qualifiers and competitions," the
representative said.
FIFA
chose last month Anoud al-Asmari as an international referee, making her the
first female referee from the kingdom.
When
Qatar was chosen in 2010 to host the 2022 men’s World Cup, FIFA’s bid
evaluation report cited Qatar’s commitment to the “promotion of women’s soccer,
including the creation of special facilities.” However, having a women’s
national team is not a requirement to host the men’s World Cup.
“Green
Ladies Saudi Arabia. From the beginning, the motto was
#TogetherWeCreateHistory. Today the first line of that history has been written
in the kingdom. Congratulations on winning the championship and entering the
international ranking,” Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki
Al-Faisal tweeted.
Women’s
sports teams worldwide fight the discriminatory policies of different
establishments. In the United Kingdom, soccer was off limits to women until the
early 1970s due to a 1921 Football Association edict banning women's soccer.
Almost two years ago, England’s women traveled premium economy to the SheBelieves
Cup in America, while the senior men’s team travels in business or first class.
In 2014, a group of US women’s players sued FIFA over the artificial turf they
were forced to play on.
But
the situation was worse in Saudi Arabia, where powerful conservatives long
prevented women from participating in sports. When two Saudi women, 800-meter
runner Sarah Attar and judoistWodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani,
participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London thanks to persuasion from
the International Olympic Committee and a rights campaign that began in 2009,
Saudi Twitter was flooded with a hashtag that translated as “Olympic_Whores.”
Initially,
the International Judo Federation also made things difficult for Shahrkhani,
saying she would have to fight without a hijab, said The National News.
However, oddly enough many Saudis were largely protective of the swimmer
Jasmine Alkhaldi, who is half Saudi, in her Olympic participation in
representing the Philippines.
The
immediate reason for setting up a national team for women’s soccer is
attributed to the kingdom’s increased sports push as part of Saudi Vision 2030.
Still, one can’t deny the role of a few early sports organizers such as Lina
Khaled Almaeena, chairperson of the basketball club Jeddah United.
Speaking
to Al-Monitor, Almaeena said it’s a beautiful evolution to see sports emerging
as an outcome of Vision 2030, as a sector and as a means of women’s
empowerment.
“As
someone who created an industry under a commercial umbrella when there were no
laws, legislation [or] governance for women’s sports 20 years ago, and as
someone who voted as a Shura member for [physical education] in the country’s
government schools while sitting on the Consultative Council, seeing these
developments are miraculous as it also involved the ‘social change of the
mind,’ as HRH Ambassador Reema bint Bandar described it,” Almaeena said,
referring to a recent speech by the Saudi ambassador to the United States, who
previously promoted women’s sports in her various roles in sports administration.
Unlike
those who went to public schools, Almaeena had opportunities to practice
basketball at her private school. In 2003, she gathered her old schoolmates
over the idea of forming a basketball team in Jeddah, which now is a private
club with franchises in other cities and whose members represent Saudi Arabia
in regional tournaments and who won gold in the Saudi Games last November.
World
Cup host Qatar, who halted play for its women’s teams in 2014 for unknown
reasons, is also reviving it, perhaps because of competition in the
neighborhood.
Al-Asmari,
Staab, Bandar and many others who work in soccer and other sports contacted
individually and through the Saudi Arabian Football Federation didn’t respond
to Al-Monitor’s emails and text messages. A public relations firm handling the
Federation's communications said replies “might be difficult considering the
short notice and the ongoing international friendly tournament in Dammam.”
Source:AlMonitor
--------
BISP
success hinges on making women self-reliant: Kundi
February
2, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social
Safety, Faisal Karim Kundi Thursday said the success of the Benazir Income
Support Program (BISP) depends on making women self-reliant.
“For
us, a success would be when women exit the program and become self-reliant,”
Kundi said while addressing the symposium titled “Promoting Shared Knowledge
for Continued Actions to Support Gender Justice and Equality”.
The
knowledge-sharing symposium was arranged by the Human Resource Development
Network (HRDN) and Oxfam in Pakistan under the Global Affairs Canada-funded
project Women’s Voice and Leadership – Pakistan (WVL-P).
The
SAPM talked about the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) which has a total
of 8.7 million beneficiaries, all of whom are women from poor households.
He
discussed the ways in which the BISP team was trying to innovate and streamline
the cash distribution system.
He
also talked about using technology to make the process of cash transfers smooth
and transparent. During his address, Kundi appreciated the work of HRDN and
Oxfam in promoting gender justice, and equality and their overall struggle for
social and economic protection of women and girls.
Kundi
expressed hope that the work of alliances under HRDN and Oxfam can continue in
uplifting women out of economic hardship by strengthening skills, and
supporting income-generating grants and social safety programs.
The
knowledge products launched during the event are part of the issue-based
research grants initiative integrated under the Women’s Voice and Leadership –
Pakistan project.
The
event provided an excellent opportunity for HRDN members, community
practitioners, women / human right experts, academia as well as policymakers to
come together and establish shared learning and knowledge on existing gaps in
women-related laws and policies in a changing world and contribute to formulate
suggestions and transform our collective actions as a way forward.
Source:
Pakistan Today
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/02/02/bisp-success-hinges-on-making-women-self-reliant-kundi/
--------
Pakistani
women faculty embark on US exchange visit
February
03, 2023
ISLAMABAD -
As many as 28 women faculty members from 16 Pakistani Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) departed for the US on an exchange visit under the USAID’s
Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA) being implemented by the
University of Utah. The international
study tour will allow the participants to meet an array of women leaders as
well as engage in intensive trainings to strengthen their leadership skills and
knowledge.The faculty members will be hosted by the University of Alabama for
two weeks. This US visit is part of an extended training program especially
designed for mid to senior women leadership representing each of the HESSA’s
partner HEIs. Last month, these faculty members attended a 3-daytraining organised
by HESSA at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi.
During
the structured implementation of this seven-month women’s leadership program,
the Pakistani women faculty will develop individual campusbased projects that
address central priorities of their respective HEI and will enhance their
leadership skills, through guidance from mentors in the US and in
Pakistan. The mentors will share their
career pathway and lessons learned, while the trainees will keep a reflective
record of the challenges they discuss and the mentors’ input on those
challenges. In addition, each
participant will develop a portfolio that will house their philosophy of
leadership, inventory of leadership skills, statement of personal goals, and a
five-year professional development plan.
Source:Nation
Pakistan
https://www.nation.com.pk/03-Feb-2023/pakistani-women-faculty-embark-on-us-exchange-visit
--------
German-Iraqi
woman 'murdered lookalike to fake her own death'
Tim
Stickings
Feb
01, 2023
A
German-Iraqi woman is suspected of murder after allegedly killing a lookalike
to fake her own death.
Police
in Germany said a 23-year-old identified as Shahraban K. scoured social media
for a doppelganger and found one called Khadidja O., an Algerian beauty
blogger.
She
allegedly arranged a meeting under false pretences, where the victim was lured
into the woods and stabbed to death.
The
body was left lying in a parked car near Shahraban’s home in Ingolstadt,
southern Germany, and police were initially fooled into believing that she was
dead.
But
investigators soon raised "massive doubts" about her identity, and
DNA tests showed the corpse was actually that of the Algerian victim — who
police said looked “strikingly similar” to Shahraban.
Shahraban
and an alleged accomplice, a 23-year-old Kosovan man, were arrested on
suspicion of the killing last August.
On
Monday, Bavarian police said the bizarre case had been raised to the level of a
murder inquiry — a term which covers particularly grievous killings under
German law — and new arrest warrants issued.
Police
believe Shahraban hatched the plan to fake her own death because she wanted to
“go underground” due to family problems.
She
tried her luck with several young women on social media, using various accounts
to try to coax them into a meeting, it is claimed.
One
tactic reported by German was to claim that the lookalikes could appear in a
music video by a rapper called Lune.
Once
Khadija O. agreed to meet, she was picked up in a black Mercedes by the two
suspects on August 16 last year, police said.
“During
the journey back, the victim, as planned, was lured out of the car under a
pretext and killed with multiple stab wounds in a wooded area,” a police
statement said.
At
the time, German news outlets said the victim had been stabbed 55 times but her
face was left unharmed.
Lune,
the rapper, said her sympathies were with the family and urged people to beware
strangers on social media.
The
two suspects remain in custody while investigations continue. Their full names
have not been published under German privacy laws.
Police
spokesman Andreas Aichele told newspaper Bild: "It was an extraordinary
case that required all the investigators' skills. We don't have a case like
this every day ― especially with such a spectacular twist. On the day we found
the body, we did not expect it to develop like this."
Source:TheNationalNews
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/house-republicans-muslim-woman-committee/d/129024
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African
Muslim News, Arab World
News, South Asia
News, Indian Muslim
News, World Muslim
News, Women in
Islam, Islamic
Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia
in America, Muslim Women
in West, Islam Women
and Feminism