New
Age Islam News Bureau
04
November 2020
• Pakistan Minority Women Forum Urges Govt To Uphold Rights Of Girl Child
•
Maria Khan From Goalkeeper In US Looks To
Midfielder In UAE Wishes To Make Her Mark With Pakistan
•
Saudi Arabia Driving Forward With Transport Benefits For Women
•
Women’s Golf Events Royalty To Swing For Victory In Saudi Arabia’s ‘New
Frontier’
•
Saudi Arabian Working Women to get SR1,100 Wusool Support For Two Years
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hundreds-women-jamaat-e-islami/d/123367
--------
Hundreds Of Women From Jamaat-e-Islami Marched In Port City Of Karachi to Protest Blasphemous Cartoons
Aamir
Latif
03.11.2020
KARACHI,
Pakistan
The
Women protesters, carrying banners, and placards plastered with word “Muhammad”
in Arabic marched on the city’s main Mohammad Ali Jinnah road.
----
Hundreds
of women marched in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday against French
President Emmanuel Macron’s anti-Islam remarks, and publication of cartoons
insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The
protesters, carrying banners, and placards plastered with word “Muhammad” in
Arabic marched on the city’s main Mohammad Ali Jinnah road.
The
rally was organized by the country’s mainstream religious party,
Jamaat-e-Islami, which has launched a nationwide campaign against projection of
the blasphemous caricatures on government buildings in France.
Addressing
the rally via video link, JI chief Senator Siraj-ul-Haq said the recent events
involving French authorities have hurt the feelings of millions of Muslims
across thee world, who can bear “everything, except for the blasphemy of
Prophet Muhammad.”
Demanding
the expulsion of French ambassador from Pakistan, Haq urged the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call an urgent meeting to delineate joint strategy
on the matter.
He
also called for boycotting the French products.
Boycott
French products campaign
The
rally coincides with a rising trend of boycotting the French products in the
South Asian nuclear states as dozens of store chains joined the nationwide
campaign.
In
Karachi, the country’s commercial capital, nearly two dozen major store chains
have either removed the French products, mainly fashion and food products, from
the shelves or marked them with “not for sale” tag.
"Trade
is our bread and butter but the honor of Prophet Muhammad is above
everything," Ahmed Hashim Noorani, the owner of Bin Hashim store chain,
which pioneered the boycott campaign in Pakistan, told reporters.
"Consumer
response is positive as well. They themselves are not buying the French
products," he said, adding that shelves containing French products at all
the branches have been sealed with “not for sale” tag.
Last
month, Macron described Islam as "a religion in crisis" and announced
plans for tougher laws to tackle "Islamist separatism" in France.
French
Muslims have accused him of trying to repress their religion, and legitimizing
Islamophobia.
Turkey
has also condemned Macron’s attitude toward Muslims and Islam, with Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the French leader needed "mental
health check".
Macron's
attitude against Islam, the publication of cartoons insulting the Muslim
Prophet Muhammad and their projection on the walls of buildings have triggered
boycotts of French products in several countries, including Qatar, Kuwait,
Algeria, Sudan, Palestine, and Morocco.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/pakistan-women-protest-blasphemous-cartoons/2030633
--------
Pakistan
Minority Women Forum Urges Govt To Uphold Rights Of Girl Child
November
2, 2020
The
Forum stated that while it respects the independent right to conversion to any
faith, it appeals to the concerned authorities to look into the pattern of
religious conversions followed by underage marriages.
-----
LAHORE:
The Minority Women Forum has strongly condemned the practice of marrying
underage girls belonging to the religious minorities on the pretext of
converting their faith and contracting marriage of choice, saying this amounts
to statutory rape under the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
“The
case of Aarzoo Raja, once again, seeks the State’s attention to the multiple
vulnerabilities of minor girls of religious minorities emanating from the
social divisions based on class, caste, religion and gender. Various research
studies explain the disastrous consequences of underage marriages on the health
of mother and child and deprive the girls from seeking their educational
pursuits,” it said in a press statement.
The
Forum stated that while it respects the independent right to conversion to any
faith, it appeals to the concerned authorities to look into the pattern of
religious conversions followed by underage marriages.
It
demanded strict and unbiased implementation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act
particularly with regard to minor girls belonging to the religious minorities.
Moreover,
it demanded enactment of comprehensive legal and policy measures at the
national and provincial levels to stop forced conversions and subsequent
marriages of minority minor girls and to ensure that any religious conversion
is done without any pressure and with free will.
The
Forum also demanded wide-ranging anti-discrimination measures, legislative,
policy and administrative initiatives to protect and promote the human rights
of religious minorities, particularly of minority women and girls who often
become victims of abduction, rape, forced religious conversion and underage
marriage.
“If
no action is taken against such rampant practices, then such incidents will
strongly contribute towards the spread of social divisions, distances and
disharmony among communities of different faiths. Adhering to the Child
Marriage Restraint Act 1929, such marriages of minor girls need to be
invalidated,” the statement by the rights group concluded.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/11/02/minority-women-forum-urges-govt-to-uphold-rights-of-girl-child/
--------
Maria
Khan From Goalkeeper In US Looks To
Midfielder In UAE Wishes To Make Her Mark With Pakistan
Umaid
Wasim
02
Nov 2020
Maria
Khan in action - PFP
----
Karachi:
Maria Khan went from goalkeeper in the United States to midfielder in the
United Arab Emirates and now wants to help women’s football in Pakistan in any
capacity she can.
Her
journey to the national women’s team camp currently underway in Lahore has seen
her dispel the notion that most of the diaspora players gain an easy entry into
the team.
Maria,
though, has tested herself at the National Championships and proven she’s
worthy of a spot at the national team’s training camp; the first in seven years
after infighting in the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) saw women’s football
largely ignored.
Despite
her stellar performances for Wapda in the National Championships in 2018 and
2019, her inclusion in the training camp saw many questions why a player of
US-origin was called up.
“My
both parents are Pakistani and although I haven’t been raised in the country, I
feel a very deep connection with the country,” she said an interview with Dawn
on Friday. “At no stage did I want to play for US despite so many
opportunities. I wanted to wait for the opportunity to represent Pakistan.”
Maria
played as goalkeeper in the University of Denver’s women’s team with her
transition to a midfielder coming when she moved to the UAE for her Masters
degree in 2013.
Once
in the UAE, she began playing amateur football there. It was there that the
close proximity to Pakistan saw her learn about women’s football in the
country.
Five
years later, Maria took part in the National Women’s Championship for the first
time.
“I’m
a huge advocate for development of sports,” she said. “I was very fortunate to
take part in the National Championships in 2018 and I got to know firsthand
about the potential and talent that is there in Pakistan.”
Maria
is one of the senior players, age-wise, at the training camp. The gulf in
women’s football that has come with the crisis in the PFF has meant there are
now several up-and-coming youngsters vying for a spot in the roster.
“There
are a lot of young girls who have good potential,” she noted. “There is a
healthy competition in the team. For me, I’m trying to feed into the experience
that the team is having at the camp.”
Maria
will have to wait at least until next year to make her debut for the national
team with the Covid-19 pandemic having put the game on hold internationally.
“I’ll
keep playing until my legs keep going,” she said, when asked if she would be
looking to head into management in the future. “The camp has been hard on the
body but I’ll keep going on until I feel I can contribute to the team in any
capacity on the field.”
Maria
said the holding of the training camp was a good step taken by the PFF
Normalisation Committee, which was appointed by global football body FIFA last
year to sort out matters in the country’s football governing body.
“They’re
trying to put a system in place which helps in organisation and development,”
said Maria. “The entire staff including [PFF technical director] Dani Limones
is working on several aspects including the neglected areas of players’ mental
health and nutrition.”
She
however hopes that there are changes made to the format of the National Women’s
Championship to ensure more competition. Since its inception, the Women’s
Championship has been played as a knockout tournament and Maria believes that a
league system will tremendously benefit the women’s game.
“Consistency
is essential,” she said. “A league will give the players a chance to play
regularly. I really benefitted from that during my career and I hope girls and
Pakistan get a similar chance.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1588086
--------
Saudi
Arabia driving forward with transport benefits for women
November
04, 2020
JEDDAH:
Wusool, a program to help Saudi women in the private sector with transport
costs, has been updated to benefit more working women in the Kingdom.
Backed
by the Saudi Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF), the program aims to cut
the cost of transportation for working women on their trips to and from their
workplaces. It supports and empowers women in the workforce throughout the
Kingdom.
A
new mechanism will help women by providing an 80 percent subsidy for the cost
of each trip. For those whose monthly salaries are below SR6,000 ($1,600), a maximum
of SR1,100 can be deducted from transportation costs each month. Meanwhile,
SR800 per month can be deducted for those whose wages range from SR6,001 to
SR8,000, as long as the trip does not exceed 60 km.
The
program previously covered a 12-month period for working women, but new changes
have expanded it to 24 months. To ensure security and inspire trust in working
women, Wusool has partnered with companies that are licensed by the Ministry of
Transport.
Reem
Aqad, a 24-year-old general manager at a trading company in Jeddah, tried
Wusool during the last year.
“It
is very helpful. If your trip costs SR50, you can end up paying only SR10,” she
told Arab News. “When I tried it, it was a one-year offer that could be
arranged the moment you’re registered with the General Organization for Social
Insurance (GOSI).”
According
to Wusool’s website, all women who have not been registered with GOSI for over
three years with the same job can apply.
Aqad
said that the service was perfect, and when asked to suggest changes, she said
she only wished it lasted longer than a year.
The
general manager said she used Wusool daily to get to work and back, and
described it as easy to use and subscribe to.
“Some
would assume because it’s a service that caters to customers during busy work
hours that cars would be unavailable, but they’re not. It’s as smooth as
ordering an Uber,” she added.
Waad
Abdullah, 26, has not tried the service, but has seen it benefit her colleagues
at the insurance company where she worked.
“I
think it’s very helpful for mothers especially, because of how their schedule
would often go against their children’s in the morning,” she told Arab News. “
It also saves up their money to be put into other things like tuition, house
supplies and the like.”
Abdullah
said her friends at work found it easy to register with the service. “The
companies they’re using are also trusted and well known, which helps us feel
secure.”
She
added: “It’s something that I haven’t heard exists anywhere else in the world.
The country is enabling women, giving them the chance to work (for women who
can apply at companies to drive other women) and also giving them privileges
with such a program, which is really nice.”
Nora
Al-Rifai, a 29-year-old who works in human resources, came across Wusool
through her job. She made an internal announcement within her workplace to
educate women about the program.
“We
noticed not many female employees knew about it,” she said. “I think it’s a
wonderful initiative because due to the nature of our lands, we don’t have many
public transportation options. Female employees have to pay unreasonable
amounts of money for it and the quality of services and cars sometimes doesn’t
match the price.”
An
added bonus the program offers women is helping them spend their money on
things that are more important, she said.
“I
believe it helps in comforting these employees, which reflects positively on
their enthusiasm for work and productivity, knowing that they won’t bear the
costs from their own salaries and that their government is supporting them,”
said Al-Rifai.
Account
manager Rania Al-Ghamdi said that the program began a year before the ban was
lifted on women driving in the Kingdom. “In a way, it’s been used to support
women until they get their licenses, or those who still don’t wish to drive
yet.”
She
told Arab News: “There’s still a lot of demand on driving schools and many
women are still waiting for schools to open up in their regions, or they’re
learning and waiting until the demand lessens to apply. This program is for
those women who still can’t drive, to support women in the workforce,
especially when women’s salaries are considerably lower than men’s.”
Wusool
covers 13 regions in the Kingdom, including Riyadh, Makkah, the Eastern
Province, Madinah, Tabuk, Asir, Qassim, Hail, Jazan, the Northern Borders,
Najran, Al-Jawf and Al-Baha.
The
program aims to reduce the burden of transport costs for Saudi women by
providing safe, high-quality transportation services in partnership with
private taxi companies through licensed applications.
Women
can register in the Wusool program on the website wusool.sa.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1758241/saudi-arabia
--------
Women’s
Golf Events Royalty To Swing For Victory In Saudi Arabia’s ‘New Frontier’
November
04, 2020
JEDDAH:
Trailblazing English golfer Dame Laura Davies has confirmed her place in next
week’s landmark women’s golf events in Saudi Arabia.
A
host of other golf stars also cemented their spot in what promises to be a
historic occasion on the Jeddah coast.
Four-time
major winner Davies will travel to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in
pursuit of an 86th professional title in a career that has seen her win the
Ladies European Tour Order of Merit seven times and represent Team Europe in 12
different Solheim Cups.
The
World Golf Hall Of Famer will have two chances to break her own Tour victory
record, with November’s women’s week playing host to two debut events in the
space of seven days: The $1 million (SR3.75 million) Aramco Saudi Ladies
International presented by Public Investment Fund, and the $500,000 Saudi
Ladies Team International.
Davies
said: “The Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF will be quite the
watershed moment that allows us to bring the sport we love to a whole new
audience in a way that I think blazes a trail for women and sportswomen in and
out of Saudi Arabia. The two events we’ll be playing in Saudi Arabia will be of
great support to the women’s game and a morale boost to all the players after a
stop-start 2020.
“We’re
taking women’s golf to a new frontier, both in terms of inspiring new women to
give the sport a try and in helping grow the Ladies European Tour event
calendar, so it’s a tournament I’m really excited to play in – at what looks
like a fabulous golf course.”
Tournament
organizers Golf Saudi Tuesday revealed details of the other superstar golfers
to feature in both tournaments.
Some
of the headline names include Swedish two-time major winner Anna Nordqvist and
her 19-year-old compatriot Julia Engstrom. The latter was named 2018 LET Rookie
of the Year and was winner of two events already this year, the Women’s NSW
Open in March and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, which saw her bag a
hole-in-one en route to a round of 64.
Anne
van Dam of the Netherlands and Wales’ Amy Boulden also feature in the field of
more than 100 players, alongside previously announced English pair Georgia Hall
and Charley Hull. The field is available to view in full on the Ladies European
Tour website.
The
events get underway next week, starting with the Aramco Saudi Ladies
International presented by PIF, which runs from Nov. 12 to 15. The unique
format of the Saudi Ladies Team International will follow on Nov. 17 to 19,
where teams of four players will battle for a share of $500,000.
To
celebrate the historic nature of both tournaments, Golf Saudi will launch the
Ladies First Club next week, which will offer free golf to 1,000 women living
in the Kingdom.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1758136/sport
--------
Saudi
Arabian Working Women to get SR1,100 Wusool Support For Two Years
November
3, 2020
RIYADH
— Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) has raised the
ceiling for financial support to female beneficiaries of the Working Women
Transportation Support Program (Wusool) to SR1,100 from SR800 per month. The
period for benefiting from the program has also been extended to 24 months
instead of 12 months.
The
Wusool program, one of the key features of the National Transformation Program,
aims to empower Saudi female workers in the private sector by increasing their
participation in the employment market by providing them with subsidies in
transportation costs between their homes and workplaces.
Of
late, a number of major improvements have been made in the program with the
objective of covering a much larger number of applicants for the program and
facilitating registration procedures.
According
to the new mechanism, women employees who have registered in the program can
benefit from the subsidy by deducting 80 percent of the cost of each trip after
the maximum limit has been raised to SR1,100 per month for beneficiaries with a
monthly wage of less than SR6000, and with a maximum of SR800 per month for
beneficiaries whose monthly wages range between SR6,000 to SR8,000.
The
period of benefiting from the program has been extended from 12 months to 24
months and this is out of the keenness on the safety of the beneficiaries of
the Wusool program and ensuring the quality and safety of transportation
service, which is to be provided through companies licensed by the Ministry of
Transport.
Female
citizens who wish to participate as vehicle drivers can join the licensed
companies that are part of the program. The Wusool program covers all the
Kingdom’s 13 regions, namely Riyadh, Makkah, the Eastern Province, Madinah,
Tabuk, Asir, Qassim, Hail, Jazan, the Northern Border, Najran, Al-Jouf, and
Al-Baha.
In
an earlier statement, HADAF revealed that a total of 64,577 Saudi female
employees have benefited from Wusool, since the program was launched in
November 2017 until the end of June 2020. Riyadh region has the highest number
of beneficiaries with 28,308 followed by the Makkah region with 19,463 and the
Eastern Region with 9,186 beneficiaries.
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/599913
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hundreds-women-jamaat-e-islami/d/123367