Ilaben Suratiya, Gujarat Class X Exam Supervisor, Removed After Muslim Students Asked To Remove Hijab
New Age
Islam News Bureau
15 March
2024
·
Ilaben Suratiya,
Gujarat Class X Exam Supervisor, Removed After Muslim Students Asked To Remove
Hijab
·
Negar
Karimian, 21-Year-Old Woman Latest Victim Of Iranian Security Forces
·
The
Movie, Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others Unveils The Daily Confines Of
Iranian Women
·
Perseverance
Amid Challenges: Afghan Women’s Engagement In Society
·
Guterres
Concerned About Afghan Women's Rights
·
Ilhan
Omar Says 'Of Course' She Will Vote For Biden After Warning Him About Losing
Muslim Votes Over Israel
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ilaben-suratiya-gujarat-hijab/d/131927
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Ilaben Suratiya, Gujarat Class X Exam Supervisor,
Removed After Muslim Students Asked To Remove Hijab
The incident took place at
Lions School in Ankleshwar town, Bharuch district. ( Image Source :Getty )
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March 15, 2024
A Class X Board exam supervisor of a private school in
Ankleshwar town in Bharuch district was removed from his post on Thursday after
he allegedly instructed invigilators to remove the hijab of Muslim students
ahead of the mathematics exam on Wednesday.
The Bharuch District Education Officer (DEO) Swati
Raulji had on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the incident after receiving a
complaint from the parents of one of the students whose hijab was removed.
The exam supervisor who was removed was identified as
IlabenSuratiya, also the principal of the school, which was an exam centre for
Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB).
Raulji told The Indian Express that the incident
occurred on Wednesday ahead of the Senior Secondary Certificate (SSC) exam at
Lions School, where invigilators were seen “collecting veils” of students. “I
received a complaint from a parent who alleged that his ward was asked to
remove hijab while appearing for the exam at Lions School on Wednesday… On
checking CCTV camera footage, the complaint was found to have merit and so, I
pulled out the Board exam supervisor of the school and ordered further
inquiry,” Raulji said.
“The school, in its primary explanation, has verbally
said that students were asked to remove the veil so that their faces can be
matched with the image on the hall ticket,” she added. The CCTV footage shows
two invigilators and a helper going around the class and collecting hijabs of
some Muslim students.
Raulji said the students had also appeared for an exam
on Tuesday as well in the school but no such complaint was received. “The
complaint stated that it was on the second day, on Wednesday, that the student
was asked to take off the veil… We have received one complaint but there could
be more students who were asked to remove their veil as CCTV footage shows more
than one student. We are looking into it,” she added.
The father of the student, who studies in a Gujarati
medium school, also filed a complaint with the Ankleshwar police station on
Thursday.
He said, “The school lowered the morale of the
students even before the exam began. It was not just one child but around 15
girls were treated similarly… They belonged to different schools. They
disturbed the students and also harassed them. Some cried at the spot and were
not able to write their exams well.”
“My daughter returned home and cried because others in
the room had looked at her like she had committed some crime,” the father
added.
Suratiya defended the action, stating that ensuring
clear video recordings of all students’ faces was the rationale behind the
request. “We had begun checking students before they entered their respective
classrooms… and found one student, who had scribbled notes for copying. At that
time, we told all female students wearing the scarf (hijab) that they should
take it off, as their face would not be visible in the video, which is
mandatorily sent to the Board. It is necessary that 80 per cent of a student’s
face is visible in the video.”
“We missed one student perhaps and she entered the
classroom wearing a hijab. It took us a few seconds to politely instruct her to
remove her veil when she was attempting the paper so that we do not have to
disturb her during the exam,” she added.
However, Deputy Director of GSHSEB, M K Raval, said
that it is not a rule that the face of a student has to be visible in the
cameras during exams. “Since there is no uniform applicable in Board exams,
there are no specific instructions about what the students should wear while
appearing for the exam. It is not a standing instruction that the face of the
students has to be visible in the cameras. As far as verification is concerned,
any female staff of the examination centre can verify the identity of the
student with the receipt and be allowed to write the exam in whatever outfit
she desires.”
Raulji added, “There is no explicit mention of any
prohibitions in the attire of students and so, once identification has been
done, students are allowed to wear outfits of their preference and appear for
the exam.”
Members of the Muslim community as well as parents of
some students gathered at the school to protest on Thursday. They also handed
over a memorandum to the DEO.
Source: indianexpress.com
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/gujarat-school-asks-muslim-students-to-remove-hijab-during-class-10-exam-probe-ordered-9214075/
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Negar Karimian,21-Year-Old Woman Latest Victim Of
Iranian Security Forces
A 21-year-old woman, Negar
Karimian, was killed on March 9 after the Islamic Republic's police forces
opened fire on a civilian vehicle in western Lorestan province.
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March 14th, 2024
Iran's security forces have killed a 21-year-old woman
in what law enforcement claims was a case of mistaken identity as she and her
family drove home from a funeral in the early hours of Saturday.
Negar Karimian sustained injuries when law enforcement
officers mistakenly fired at their moving car on Saturday and later died in
hospital with severe internal bleeding.
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
news agency reported that officers suspected the family's vehicle was carrying
narcotics and opened fire.
According to Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a
Kurdish rights group, Karimian was so badly wounded that her organs were even
too damaged to donate.
The incident is the latest in a series of deaths by
Iran's security forces. In a similar incident on June 9, a nine-year-old child
lost his life after law enforcement officers fired at a van without warning. In
January, Iranian security forces shot at a car and killed 20-year-old student
Anahita Amirpour, also in Lorestan province.
According to HRANA, a total of 402 citizens were
victims of military forces' shootings in 2023, with 120 deaths reported.
Source: iranintl.com
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202403140216
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The Movie, Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others
Unveils The Daily Confines Of Iranian Women
March 14th, 2024
Iranian director FarshadHashemi's debut movie, Me,
Maryam, the Children and 26 Others, is getting a lot of attention. Premiered at
the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, the film has gone on to receive
acclaim and was awarded the Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award at the
Göteborg Film Festival.
Although he is a debutant, Farshad is certainly not a
newcomer to the world of art. In addition to his background in civil
engineering, he has been working in the art industry since he was eighteen,
gaining prominence as both an actor and an assistant director. Farshad studied
filmmaking at the Iranian Youth Cinema Society in Isfahan and then moved to
Tehran to work as an assistant director in both theatre and cinema.
"My introduction to art was through
theatre," explains Farshad to The New Arab. "So I feel a particular
attachment to it. I've always been obsessed with the boundaries between truth
and imagination. I got this from working on stage. Now I want to blur the
boundaries of reality and fiction in film."
For more than a decade, Farshad has been writing and
acting in plays and has appeared many times on screen and made several
independent short films, one of which became the inspiration for his debut
film.
Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others tells the story
of a young woman who allows a film crew to shoot a film in her house, breaking
her solitude. Their arrival ends up causing a profound internal transformation.
The woman, played by MahboubehGholami — who uses her own name in the film —
also appears alongside Farshad, who plays one of the filming crew. The idea,
Farshad tells us, is for the film to mirror real-life events.
"The idea came to me when I was involved in
making a shot film in Mahboubeh's house as a production manager. Our main
character is the same Mahboubeh whose house we rent in real life to make a
short film. When I discussed the idea of making a full feature film with her,
she agreed."
A 'film within a film'
When The New Arab asked Farshad if he was influenced
by notable cinema classics involving metafictional self-reflections on film
shoots such as François Truffaut’s La Nuit Américaine (1973), Farshad admits
that he was so engrossed with the film that he didn't have time to rewatch
thematically similar films. "It only took four months to make, from the
moment of the idea to the end of shooting."
"Choosing the structure of a 'film within a film'
was essential for us, both in form and in content," continues Farshad.
"As we gradually realise throughout the plot, Mahboubeh is someone who has
lost her trust in people. She's become reclusive, she lives in solitude and has
chosen to distance herself from the outside world. The presence of a film crew
in her house and the build-up of mutual understanding are the main drivers of
her revival," Farshad tells The New Arab.
"I believe cinema has the power to create a
therapeutic environment," explains Farshad. "In this case, the main
character is engaged by her imagination which allows her to bring other
elements into her life. We tried to reflect this cathartic effect in the film.
The film also serves as a humble tribute to the worlds of cinema and art."
Being both writer and director, Farshad's goal was to
create a genuine portrayal of life in Iran. "This life has, at times,
eluded us, hidden beneath the veil of censorship in Iranian cinema,"
elaborates the filmmaker in his Director's statement.
Indeed, the most captivating thing about Me, Maryam,
the Children and 26 Others is its authentic atmosphere that allows the viewer
into the intimate world of Mahboubeh in her home, just as how she allowed the
film crew in. As such, one of the most difficult tasks of the film was to
create a tangible representation as close as possible to the reality of living
in Iran.
"We tried to remain truthful to our reality by
considering the casting and deciding on the costumes, set design, make-up and
shooting style. Except for a few experienced actors, most of the cast are non-professionals
and was their first time in front of a camera," says Farshad. "For
example, the night guard, Navid, is played by himself. I appear as myself too,
and most importantly, Mahboubeh plays herself.
"Over the past few decades, showing daily life in
Iran has not been possible in cinema. We dared to do it. The simple
relationships between men and women, wearing and not wearing the hijab based on
beliefs, the various types of female clothes we displayed, the presence of
pets, each are important characteristics of the Iranian way of being which I
wanted to transfer on screen," explains Farshad to The New Arab.
How to avoid Iranian censorship
Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others takes place
almost exclusively in the interior. Except for a few outdoor scenes, the main
bulk of the story takes place within the confines of the home.
"The concept of home has significant implications
for us in terms of storytelling," clarifies Farshad. We were lucky that
our plot didn't really include many exterior scenes because we were shooting
the film in a very specific political period in Iran. Even filming those
outdoor scenes was stressful."
Before heading to Rotterdam and Gotheborg, Me, Maryam,
the Children and 26 Others was shown by the Independent Filmmakers Union of
Iran at the Marche du Film (Cannes Film Market), and received a warning from
authorities for not observing the Islamic Republic's censorship laws, including
the mandatory hijab for female actors.
When asked if he expects to have further issues,
Farshad jokes to The New Arab that he hasn't committed a crime so he's trying
not to worry, even if this perspective is optimistic.
"I went out to make a film the way I like.
Regarding the hijab, I wanted to honour diverse perspectives. A character who
chose not to wear the hijab in Iran holds as much significance as someone who
has embraced it. Fundamentally, our goal is to depict a spectrum of personal
choices, beliefs, and lifestyles in the film, a dimension sadly lacking in the
widespread contemporary depiction of Iranian society."
Source: newarab.com
https://www.newarab.com/features/farshad-hashemi-unveils-daily-confines-iranian-women
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Perseverance amid challenges: Afghan women’s
engagement in society
Fidel Rahmati
March 14, 2024
Throughout history, women in Afghanistan have
persevered through numerous challenges, big and small, in their quest to assert
their engagement within society.
These challenges have sometimes been severe and rarely
light. However, the undeniable issue is that women have always strived to break
out of the thick layers of discrimination to the surface of society. In this
report, you will read the story of a 62-year-old woman who heads her family and
is forced to return home at three in the morning from where she works
overnight.
She believes that working, even under challenging
conditions, is better than being confined within the four walls of a house.
Bakhtawar is a 62-year-old woman who works as a
servant in one of the wedding halls in Kabul city. Decades of work and
hardships have bent her stature, wrinkled her hands, and left only a breath in
her. She now struggles to carry a tray from the hall to the kitchen, yet none
of these difficulties have made her give up her job, especially since the hall
authorities are considerate of her condition.
Bakhtawar says she has become accustomed to work, and
on the other hand, her family depends on the meager income she earns. She works
from eight in the morning until three after midnight.
She faces various challenges to maintain this level of
work, with the hardest being her return home. She has to cover the distance
between the restaurant and her home in the darkness of the night in a society
where, as she says, “women lose their sense of security.”
In a motherly tone, she says, “Working is better than
begging.” Still, sometimes, she is forced to accept the money offered to her
because, as she says, on the one hand, it’s Ramadan. There are no weddings in
the hall where she works, and on the other hand, her family’s needs take
priority, and Bakhtawar, with her bent and weak stature, has to fulfil those
needs.
She roughly estimates that she is 62 years old, but
she is not sure, and to justify this, she says, “I haven’t had the opportunity
to count the years.” She has been working for as long as she can remember, and
work has been something she has grown up with, but the current circumstances
have made her describe it as “misfortune.”
Bakhtawar is referred to in her own definition as
someone who brings “happiness” to herself. But this 62-year-old woman believes
that her life is entangled with “misfortune.” She says, “My mother named me
Bakhtawar so I could be happy, but misfortune does not leave me.”
Now that no weddings are being held in wedding halls,
she also has no income and is almost unemployed. She says there is a lot of
work on wedding nights, but the income from it also meets her needs, and
besides, she is allowed to take leftover food home.
Bakhtawar, who has several children and has lost
several of her children in infancy, says her two sons got married and live
farther away from her. She receives no help from her sons. One of her
daughters, according to her, “got married and went to her husband’s house.” She
now lives with her two sons and one daughter, and all the responsibility of
this four-member family is on Bakhtawar’s shoulders.
The challenges that women face are not summarized in
levels of educational prohibitions; these challenges, and even more serious
ones, have knocked women down for a long time. However, the challenges faced by
women as heads of households are much more severe. Bakhtawar’s life is a clear
example of this. Throughout her life, she has fought against the prevalent
mindset that says women are not allowed to work, and she continues to struggle
with this challenge.
In June 2023, Khama Press, in a research report titled
“Investigating the Social and Economic Engagement of Women in Afghanistan,”
divided the level of economic and social engagement of women before and after
the collapse of the Afghan Republic system, reporting that not only has the
position of women in terms of economic engagement regressed in society but also
their position has been disrupted in family structures.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/perseverance-amid-challenges-afghan-womens-engagement-in-society/
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Guterres Concerned About Afghan Women's Rights
HadiaZiaei
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, expressed concern over the lack of access to rights for women in
Afghanistan at a meeting held at the organization's headquarter.
Guterres said that some countries had made progress in
gender equality; however, these advancements are now being reversed.
The United Nations Secretary-General called
Afghanistan one of the most prominent examples of gender inequality at this
meeting.
He added, "Around the world, women’s rights are
under attack, civic spaces are being squeezed, and women’s rights defenders
face violence threats for daring to speak up for justice. Afghanistan is the most
agresuse example."
The Islamic Emirate has always said that women's
rights in the country are protected and organizations should not interfere in
Afghanistan's internal matters.
"The lack of real and sincere support from the
United Nations human rights bodies and the intelligence objectives of major
powers and securing their interests in several countries have led to further
reversals of civil activities and restrictions against women, with women in
Afghanistan also being victims of these human rights organizations and
intelligence goals," said LamiaShirzad, a women's rights activist.
"Restrictions on girls' education in Afghanistan
hinder their development, and they currently do not have all their Islamic
rights in reality, and this deficiency needs to be resolved for the educational
and civil society of Afghanistan to become richer," said Tariq Farhadi, a
political analyst.
Earlier, the Irish deputy representative to the United
Nations, referring to Afghan women, said that the imposition of work restrictions
on women and preventing them from going to schools and universities have led to
the stagnation of Afghanistan's economy.
Source: tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-187832
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Ilhan Omar says 'of course' she will vote for Biden
after warning him about losing Muslim votes over Israel
March 14, 2024
Kristine Parks
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. was quick to show her support
for President Biden in the upcoming election despite her outspoken criticism of
his administration's support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
The far-left Democrat was asked on CNN on Tuesday if
Biden would get her vote if the election were held that day, after not
supporting him in the Minnesota Democratic primary.
"…You didn’t vote for President Biden or for
uncommitted in Minnesota’s primary. The uncommitted vote was a big part of that
primary in your home state," CNN anchor Abby Phillip said, referencing
tens of thousands of voters protesting Biden on Super Tuesday.
"I wonder if the election were held today, would
you vote for Joe Biden? Can you confirm that he would have your vote
today?" she asked Omar.
"Of course, democracy is on the line," Omar
said. Biden and former President Trump are now the presumptive nominees of both
their parties, setting up a long-expected rematch of their 2020 race.
US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said "of
course" she would vote for President Biden if the election were held this
week. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
"We are facing down fascism. And I personally
know what my life felt like having Trump as the president of this country. And
I know what it felt like for my constituents and for people around this country
and around the world. We have to do everything that we can to make sure that
does not happen to our country again," she continued.
Omar's response came after a series of questions by
Phillip questioning the Democrat's loyalty to Biden after he clinched the
Democratic nomination.
Phillip followed up by asking Omar if she thought her
constituents would also back Biden despite disagreements over Israel policy.
"The uncommitted's [have] been very clear. They
want a change in policy and we've seen that," Omar said before touting
Vice President Kamala Harris's calls for a cease-fire in Gaza and President
Biden's "red line" comments about a possible Israeli invasion of
Rafah in south Gaza.
Rep. Ilhan Omar touted President Biden's red line
comments as evidence of policy changes she's seen over Israel. (Left: (Photo by
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images), Right: Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via
Getty Images)
Omar has been highly critical of Biden over his stance
on Israel and previously warned him that he would be hurting his re-election
efforts with Muslims and young voters who are staunchly against the
Israel-Hamas war.
She also directed her anger at Biden and Democratic
leadership over the war in a press conference last October.
"How is it that we have a president who is
talking about releasing hostages, who is talking about getting American
citizens out of Israel, but could not get himself to say, I want to save and
work to save the hundreds, thousands of Americans stuck in Gaza. What is wrong
with you?" Omar asked after claiming Israel had dropped more bombs on Gaza
in the last 10 days than the U.S. did across an entire year in Afghanistan.
Source: foxnews.com
https://www.foxnews.com/media/ilhan-omar-says-of-course-she-will-vote-biden-warning-him-losing-muslim-votes-israel
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URL:
https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ilaben-suratiya-gujarat-hijab/d/131927