Meet India’s Youngest Muslim Woman MP Iqra Chaudhary Hasan: ‘Need To Empower Women’
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 December 2024
· Meet India’s Youngest Muslim Woman MP Iqra Chaudhary Hasan: ‘Need To Empower Women’
· Death Penalty, 15 Years Jail Term, Hefty Fines: How Iran's New Morality Laws Will Penalise 'Defaulting' Women
· Women’s Share In Polled Votes Jumps By 2.7m In 2024 Elections Pakistan Elections
· Ebit Lew Sexual Harassment Trial: Witness Says She Gave Pictures Without Consent Under Muslim Preacher’s Influence
· Afghanistan: Women Artists Help Drive Resistance to Taliban
· Iranian Women Could Face Death Penalty For Defying New Morality Laws
· How Sport Hijabs Give Girls Freedom To Play Football
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/india-youngest-muslim-woman-empower/d/133998
------
Meet India’s Youngest Muslim Woman MP Iqra Chaudhary Hasan: ‘Need To Empower Women’
Amit Pandey
December 11, 2024
NEW DELHI — In a momentous occasion for Indian politics, Iqra Chaudhary Hasan recently took her oath as a member of the Indian Parliament, marking several historic firsts.
Draped in a simple white scarf, she represents many firsts — the young politician has become India’s youngest female member, the youngest Muslim and the youngest female Muslim. This achievement highlights her unique position in terms of gender, age and religion, as well as a sign that a shift in the nation’s political landscape has taken place this year.
Hailing from Kairana, a rural constituency in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, Hasan’s journey combines a deep rural connection with an impressive academic background. She completed her schooling at Queen Mary’s School in New Delhi, graduated from Lady Shri Ram College at Delhi University and later pursued a postgraduate degree in international politics and law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Despite her modern education, she has stayed true to her roots and openly identifies as a farmer in her election affidavit. This resonates strongly with her constituents, who admire her for carrying forward the “legacy of service” in her family.
Hasan’s entry into politics was initially motivated by family circumstances. Her mother, Tabassum Hasan, and brother Nahid Hasan, both faced legal charges that hindered their political roles. When her brother contested the 2022 UP Assembly election from jail, Hasan managed his campaign, travelling across towns and villages, which gave her hands-on experience with grassroots politics.
A legacy of political service
Hasan’s political lineage is notable. She is the daughter of former member of parliament Tabassum Hasan and the granddaughter of the late Chaudhary Akhtar Hasan, also a former lawmaker. As a third-generation politician, she carries the Hasan family’s legacy in Kairana and became only the second woman lawmaker from her family, following in her mother’s footsteps.
In the recent Lok Sabha election, Hasan defeated the incumbent BJP member Pradeep Kumar by a significant margin of 69,116 votes. Despite the high-profile campaigning by BJP heavyweights, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Hasan ran her campaign with limited external support.
Her win — achieved through a “walk alone” strategy that involved meeting voters face-to-face — left political analysts and opponents in shock.
In a recent interview, Hasan discussed her interest in democratic systems, which she explored academically.
“My research focused on how the current electoral system encourages majoritarianism and how a preferential voting system might reduce hate speech,” she said.
Her interest in reform was put to the test when her family faced legal challenges from the ruling party during the second wave of COVID-19.
“This marked the start of my legal battle with the BJP,” she said. “Now, stepping into politics feels like a natural extension of that fight.”
Winning on a local mandate
One of the core reasons Hasan said she believes she won was her local presence, opposed to her opponent’s reliance on national figures. She expressed concern over the BJP’s strategy of campaigning on national identity, known as Hindu nationalism, rather than addressing the needs of local people.
“People preferred a local face like me over a national figure like PM Modi,” she said, emphasizing her bond with her constituents.
Hasan also observed a growing disillusionment among farmers in her constituency.
“Back in 2013, divisions were sown among communities, largely made up of farmers. The BJP had promised to double their income and provide a better Minimum Support Price (MSP), but many feel let down,” she added.
According to Hasan, the 2024 elections saw farmers from different religious and caste backgrounds coming together over common grievances.
“This election wasn’t about national narratives—it was about local issues that truly matter to the people here,” she said.
Advocating for Muslim women’s rights
As one of the few Muslim women in India’s Parliament, Hasan has expressed her disapproval of the government’s stance on issues affecting Muslim communities. She criticized Modi’s approach — especially regarding the triple talaq issue — which criminalizes the civil act of instant divorce in the Muslim community.
“The intentions behind the law seem clear to many Muslim women, and there’s dissatisfaction,” Hasan said.
She elaborated on her concerns, saying, “Turning a civil issue into a criminal one was unnecessary. There should have been a more inclusive dialogue involving community voices.”
According to Hasan, the lack of community engagement has left many women facing the risk of abandonment, with some husbands neither granting divorce nor providing financial support.
“We need to address these gaps to truly empower women,” she said.
As Hasan settles into her new role, her agenda focuses on addressing the core issues affecting her constituency — agricultural distress, religious harmony and the rights of women.
She said she aims to be a voice for the marginalized and to bridge the gaps between rural and urban needs. Her commitment to the “legacy of service” she inherited from her family has resonated strongly with her supporters, and many see her as a leader who will bring a fresh perspective to parliament and a new era in Indian politics, where tradition and modernity converge.
Source: religionunplugged.com
https://religionunplugged.com/news/2024/11/14/from-kairana-to-parliament-iqra-hasans-journey-as-indias-youngest-muslim-mp
---------
Death penalty, 15 years jail term, hefty fines: How Iran's new morality laws will penalise 'defaulting' women
December 11, 202
Protesters cut their hair in solidarity as they gather in Manhattan to show their opposition to the Iranian regime following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran after allegedly violating the country's hijab rules on October 01, 2022. AFP file
--------------
Iranian women defying the new mandatory morality laws that stifle their rights to the maximum extent will now face the death penalty or 15 years in prison after the rules come into effect next week.
The issue of defying strict hijab regulations and other misogynistic rules has become a major point of contention in Iran, with many protesting the Islamic Republic’s treatment of women.
The ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement has swept across the country where women unite to fight for their rights and overturn the administration’s stringent dress code.
What are the new rules?
Earlier this month, the Iranian authorities passed a new law promoting a “culture of chastity and hijab”.
Under the new laws, anyone found “promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing” will face hefty fines of up to $15,900 apart from flogging and prison sentences ranging between 5 to 15 years.
Article 37 of the new law mandates that individuals promoting or supporting acts of indecency, removing the hijab, or “inappropriate attire” to foreign organizations, including international media or civil society groups, could face up to 10 years in prison and fines.
Meanwhile, people whose conduct is deemed “corruption on Earth” will be sentenced to death under Article 296 of Iran’s Islamic penal code.
While women defying the stringent rules ought to face the wrath of the law, businesses, taxi drivers, media and broadcasters and educational institutions who fail to report women’s indecency in public will also face punishment.
Amnesty slams new rules
According to Amnesty International’s assessment, the new rules would effectively also punish women sending videos of themselves outside of Iran and penalise those involved in “peaceful activism.”
The human rights group stated that the law seems to grant immunity to individuals enforcing compulsory veiling as part of their “religious duty.” Under Article 60 of the new legislation, anyone attempting to intervene or prevent the arrest or harassment of women and girls defying the mandatory dress code could face imprisonment or fines.
“This shameful law intensifies the persecution of women and girls for daring to stand up for their rights following the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising,” Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East, Diana Eltahawy said.
“The authorities are seeking to entrench the already suffocating system of repression against women and girls while making their daily lives even more intolerable,” she added.
Source: firstpost.com
https://www.firstpost.com/world/death-penalty-15-years-jail-term-hefty-fines-how-irans-new-morality-laws-will-penalise-defaulting-women-13843552.html
---------
Women’s Share In Polled Votes Jumps By 2.7m In 2024 Elections Pakistan Elections
Iftikhar A. Khan
December 11, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The share of female voters in the total polled votes saw a marked increase in the 2024 general elections compared to 2018, with women casting 24.4 million of the 58.9m votes. This reflected an increase of 2.7m, nearly double the growth in male votes, which rose by 1.6m.
According to a report titled Women in Elections, launched at an event organised by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) on Tuesday, the share of female voters in National Assembly constituencies rose from 39.4pc in 2018 to 41.4pc in 2024. Similarly, in provincial assemblies, the female voter share grew from 40pc to 41.4pc.
The report noted that while both male and female voter turnout dropped across regions — except in Islamabad — the gender gap in turnout narrowed, decreasing from 10 percentage points in 2018 to 9 points in 2024.
Over the last ten years, female voter registration has significantly improved, reducing the gender gap from 12.8pc in 2013 to 7.7pc in 2024. Over the last five years, female voter registration has outpaced that of males by 10 percentage points, with female voter numbers increasing by 27pc compared to a 17pc rise for males.
For the first time since the 2013 general election, the overall voter gender gap dropped below 10 million in 2024, standing at 9.9 million. Of this gap, 74pc was concentrated among women aged 18-35, indicating under-registration in these age groups.
In absolute terms, Punjab accounted for 51pc of the overall gender gap, while Balochistan exhibited the largest proportional gap at 12pc, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (9pc), Sindh (8pc), Punjab (7pc) and Islamabad (5pc).
The number of constituencies with a gender gap exceeding 10pc has significantly declined, from 571 in 2018 (172 national and 398 provincial constituencies) to 140 in 2024 (38 national and 102 provincial constituencies).
Punjab showed consistent progress in narrowing the gap, reducing constituencies with over a 10pc gender gap from 214 in 2013 to just 17 in 2024. Conversely, Balochistan’s progress has been slower, with the number of constituencies with over a 10pc gap dropping from 45 in 2018 to 30 in 2024.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also showed improvement, reducing constituencies with significant gender disparities from 105 in 2018 to 24 in 2024. Sindh followed a similar trend, with such constituencies falling from 66 in 2018 to 31 in 2024.
Women contesting elections
Female political participation also witnessed a significant boost. The number of female candidates in the 2024 elections doubled compared to 2018, with 902 women contesting 509 of the 859 national and provincial assembly constituencies. This was a sharp rise from the 465 female candidates contesting 339 constituencies in 2018.
The share of female candidates in the votes polled for national and provincial assemblies also increased, rising from 2.7pc in 2013 to 4.3pc in 2024. A surge in independent female candidates
contributed to this trend, with more women contesting and winning votes than in previous elections.
Challenges persist
Despite these gains, the report highlighted areas where progress remains slow. Women remain underrepresented as voters, legislators and political leaders. Political parties continued to favour male candidates when awarding election tickets, limiting female representation.
Additionally, the report identified polling stations where female turnout was exceptionally low. In 230 polling stations across 51 National Assembly constituencies, women either did not vote or polled fewer than 10 votes.
Efforts initiated under the Elections Act 2017 have played a crucial role in narrowing the gender gap and increasing female voter registration. However, challenges persist, particularly in ensuring equal representation and participation in the democratic process.
Source: dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1877967/womens-share-in-polled-votes-jumps-by-27m-in-2024-elections
----------
Ebit Lew Sexual Harassment Trial: Witness Says She Gave Pictures Without Consent Under Muslim Preacher’s Influence
By Malay Mail
11 Dec 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — A woman told the Magistrate’s Court in Tenom yesterday that she initially intended to file a police report against EbitIrawan Ibrahim Lew, or Ebit Lew, over alleged sexual harassment in April 2021 but feared the public would not believe her.
However, the woman in her 40s, who is the ninth prosecution witness and complainant in the case, said she decided to lodge a report in August of the same year with assistance from a non-governmental organisation, as reported by Harian Metro.
She made the decision after news of sexual harassment allegations involving a prominent preacher, linking Ebit Lew, surfaced in July.
“I was truly influenced by him when I gave the pictures without consent, and I filed the report not for my own benefit,” she said during re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad before Magistrate Nur AsyrafZolhani.
According to the woman, she did not retrieve the pictures she sent, believing that Ebit Lew had not kept them.
The witness also said she initially replied to Ebit Lew’s messages in a playful tone because she thought he was a good preacher and religious figure.
Ebit Lew, 38, faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of the victim by sending obscene words and images to the woman via WhatsApp between March and June 2021.
The preacher is charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The trial will resume from January 15 to 17 next year.
Source: malaymail.com
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/12/11/ebit-lew-sexual-harassment-trial-witness-says-she-gave-pictures-without-consent-under-muslim-preachers-influence/159486
---------
Afghanistan: Women Artists Help Drive Resistance to Taliban
December 11, 2024
Afghan women artists are playing a vital role in the women’s movement resisting Taliban abuses, and their contributions—and art—should be recognized, Human Rights Watch said today in a new web feature.
The feature, published at the end of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, is titled “A human being is more delicate than a flower and tougher than a rock,” after the Afghan proverb. The feature honors two Afghan women artists in exile who protest through their work and who voice their beliefs through the art they create with patience, creativity, and passion. Their art depicts and challenges the oppression women and girls face under Taliban rule.
“A resistance movement is shaped, empowered, and maintained by those who support it in different capacities,” said Sahar Fetrat, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Women artists, much like the women protesters who marched with the slogan ‘bread, work, freedom,’ demand dignity and equality for all, and play a vital role in shaping this grassroots movement.”
Since taking over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the Taliban have systematically violated the rights of women and girls and imposed rules that not only violate their right to education, but also to employment, freedom of movement and speech, to bodily integrity, to participate in public life, to access health care, and even to speak, read, and recite out loud.
The project features Rada Akbar, a conceptual artist, and Fatima Wojohat, who creates art both with chalk and digitally. Both artists’ work touches on themes of women’s resistance to oppression, and both artists contribute to Afghan women’s resistance movement, even though they have been uprooted from their homeland. They share their artwork and messages of solidarity and hope, and they want to reach girls and women inside Afghanistan whose access to the creative world and art have been cut off due to the Taliban’s oppressive bans and restrictions.
Akbar said she feels a profound responsibility to dedicate her work to honoring the courage and resistance of Afghan women.
Wojohat said her work reflects her deep concern for the erasure of freedoms and opportunities for Afghan women and girls: “Through my art, I strive to amplify their voices and stories, presenting their dreams and struggles to the world.”
Afghan women have bravely resisted Taliban abuses by taking to the streets, organizing indoor protests, singing, and making art, and they have continued to find creative ways to oppose the Taliban’s oppressive policies.
“While Afghanistan remains the world’s gravest women’s rights crisis, it is crucial to acknowledge the Afghan women’s grassroots movement and those who nourish it with their wisdom, bravery, and art,” Fetrat said. “Rada Akbar and Fatima Wojohat, among many others, empower the women’s resistance movement by creating art, meaning, and symbols that leave a powerful legacy.”
Source: hrw.org
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/11/afghanistan-women-artists-help-drive-resistance-taliban
---------
Iranian women could face death penalty for defying new morality laws
11 Dec 2024
Women in Iran could face the death sentence or up to 15 years in prison if they defy new compulsory morality laws due to come into effect this week.
New laws promoting the “culture of chastity and hijab” passed by the Iranian authorities earlier this month impose severe penalties for those caught “promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing”, including fines of up to £12,500, flogging and prison sentences ranging from five to 15 years for repeat offenders.
Article 37 of the new law also stipulates that those promoting or propagating indecency, unveiling or “bad dressing” to foreign entities, including international media and civil society organisations, could face a decade in prison and up to £12,500 in fines.
Those whose conduct is considered by the authorities to amount to “corruption on Earth” could be sentenced to death under article 296 of Iran’s Islamic penal code.
Amnesty International said this legal provision in effect meant that women and girls sending videos of themselves unveiled to media outside Iran or “otherwise engaging in peaceful activism” may be sentenced to death.
The human rights group said the law also appeared to provide immunity for anyone who wanted to carry out their “religious duty” and enforce compulsory veiling on women. Anyone intervening or attempting to stop the arrest or harassment of woman and girls defying compulsory veiling could themselves be imprisoned or fined under article 60 of the new law.
Any businesses or commercial establishments, taxi drivers, media and broadcasters, and educational institutions will also now be subjected to punishments and penalties if they fail to report defaulting women and men, or allow the promotion of “nudity” and “improper dressing”.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East, said: “This shameful law intensifies the persecution of women and girls for daring to stand up for their rights following the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
“The authorities are seeking to entrench the already suffocating system of repression against women and girls while making their daily lives even more intolerable,” she said.
Iranian journalists, activists, clerics and human rights lawyers have expressed outrage over the law, which they say will legitimise the increasing restrictions on women in the country.
SaeidDehghan, a human rights lawyer at the Parsi Law Collective, said: “Nearly all provisions of this law contravene fundamental principles, such as article 9 of the Iranian constitution, which prohibits legislation that undermines citizens’ freedoms even in the name of national sovereignty.
“The [new] law stipulates lengthy prison sentences for those persistently opposing mandatory hijab and encouraging others to do the same. Citizens opposing mandatory hijab face punishments, such as long imprisonment or even execution, which are grossly disproportionate to their actions.”
The law came into place two years after nationwide protests rocked the country after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, for not wearing her hijab correctly.
Over the past two years, Iranian women have been publicly defying the strict dress code. Last month, videos of a young Iranian student stripping to her underwear, reportedly in protest at the strict dress code, went viral across social media. She was later taken to an undisclosed psychiatric hospital in the capital.
The authorities have since announced their intention of setting up “hijab clinics” to treat women defying the law, sparking further outrage.
NazaninAfshin-Jam MacKay, an Iranian human rights advocate, said the law signalled a radical crackdown on women’s rights and freedoms by an “oppressive, gender-apartheid regime”.
A woman in her underwear walks in front of women dressed in costumes from The Handmaid's Tale carrying sighns that read 'Woman, Life, Freedom'
She said: “In the last 45 years women have been subjected to fines, imprisonment and flogging for improper hijab but never have we seen written into law the possibility of an execution decree attached to such a ‘crime’.”
“Without international pressure, this regime will continue its campaign to crush women’s rights, as we’ve seen happen under the Taliban in Afghanistan – first restricting education, then silencing women entirely, even in spaces meant solely for women.”
Speaking anonymously to the Guardian, women in Iran said the new laws were part of an ongoing assault on their ability to choose how to live their lives.
One 23-year-old woman who took part in the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in September 2022, said: “We are being harassed, detained, fined and our cars are being confiscated already. I have received several SMS [text messages] with fines over driving without a hijab. They’ve already killed Mahsa anyway and, by now making it into law, they’re simply legalising the killing.”
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has stated his opposition to the new laws in a media interview, where he warned that its enforcement would lead to further discontent in Iranian society.
Source: theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/11/iranian-women-death-penalty-jail-fine-defy-new-morality-hijab-improper-dressing-islamic-penal-code
----------
How sport hijabs give girls freedom to play football
December 11, 2024
Specially-adapted hijabs are helping Muslim pupils have the confidence to play football.
City Academy in Bristol has had 50 of the hijabs donated, which have straps and means the girls do not need to worry about their headwear falling off.
It is hoped the clothing will make pupils feel comfortable while playing a range of school activities.
Student Hafsa said: "I think it would encourage girls to take up sport as it's easily adjustable, comfortable and doesn't come of easy. When you play sport in a normal Hijab there is the fear it would come off."
Pupil Mihaal added: "I really like the new sporting Hijabs, they are really nice and the material feels great. I Like the way it is designed, it stays on and is very comfortable to wear."
Dr Norah El-Gohary, a cultural awareness officer with Bristol Muslim Cultural Society, is working with the school on the project.
She spoke to Muslim girls who told her they love sport but found PE kits too restrictive.
“My vision and dream finally came true when these young Muslim girls experienced that freedom to completely embrace the game without having to worry about anything getting in the way," said Dr El-Gohary.
"I look forward to a brighter future for Muslim females in sports. This will foster more engagement and inclusion which is much needed today in our society.”
The sports hijabs are made from lighter and more breathable material than traditional headwear.
Sweaty Betty Foundation, which works to promote physical activity among teenage girls, donated the specially-adapted hijabs to the school.
Government figures show only half of children and young people in the South West of England are considered to be physically active, with girls less likely to participate than boys.
Barriers include a fear of being judged, worries about doing PE during menstruation, further compounded by a lack of suitable kit.
Source: bbc.com
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5lepjz557o
----------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/india-youngest-muslim-woman-empower/d/133998