Another Indian College Bars Muslim Girls Wearing Hijab
06 February 2022
•
Another Indian college bars Muslim girls wearing hijab
•
Hijab
crisis: Kwara Muslims advocate commission of inquiry
•37 women write ‘She
Dares’ to inspire
•
Afghanistan:
Taliban Releases 14 Women Inmates In Kabul Amid Mounting Global Pressure
•Mayor of Israeli
Arab Town Cancels 'Unseemly' Play About Violence Against Women
•Afghan women face
increasing violence and repression under the Taliban after international
spotlight fades
•‘Absolutely
confronting’: the sickening stories of sexual harassment of women in mining
•Reader's View:
Feminism failing women around the world
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Another
Indian college bars Muslim girls wearing hijab
Shuriah
Niazi
04.02.2022
Another
hijab row broke out in the southern Indian state of Karnataka after Muslim
students were not allowed to enter a government college for wearing a
headscarf.
------------
Another
hijab row broke out in the southern Indian state of Karnataka after Muslim
students were not allowed to enter a government college for wearing a
headscarf.
After
the latest incident, people have taken to social media platforms to support the
students. “Hijab is our Right” is trending on Twitter, showing support for
young girls.
On
Thursday, some two dozen Muslim girls in kundapura area of the Udupi district
were stopped from attending classes after some students belonging to right-wing
groups wore saffron scarves – the color favored by the ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party – and opposed Muslim girls wearing hijabs.
“Let
us all stand for the rights of our sisters. What is the reason for this
discrimination? Why are they not allowed to enter colleges.. just because they
wear hijab,” said TousifNandehalli, a Twitter user.
A
video has also gone viral where Muslim students were seen pleading for entry
into classrooms after they were stopped by the college principal. They also
said that denying entry just before exams will jeopardize their future.
Meanwhile,
opposition Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor has also come
under attack for questioning whether Sikh turban, Christian crucifix, Hindu
forehead mark are also not allowed in educational institutes.
“It's
been a strength of India that everyone is free to wear what they want. If the
hijab is disallowed, what about the Sikh turban? The Hindu's forehead mark? The
Christian's crucifix? This college is going down a slippery slope. Let the
girls in. Let them study. Let them decide,” tweeted Tharoor.
“Individuals
are free to choose what to wear. You may or may not like their choice but
that's a right we all have. If these public representatives can wear saffron
robes, then these girls can use hijab. Muslims are not second-class citizens,”
Abdullah wrote on Twitter.
According
to the Indian constitution, every citizen has the right to practice, profess
and propagate religion. This right can be curtailed only on grounds of public
order, morality, and health.
Last
month, tensions erupted in another government college in Karnataka's Balagadi
village after a group of students turned up wearing saffron scarves and asked
their female classmates from the Muslim community not to wear a hijab during
classes.
A
student of the Women’s Government Pre-University College in Udupi, who was
denied entry into the classroom for wearing a hijab, has approached the
Karnataka High Court seeking interim relief to attend classes wearing the hijab
before the entire matter was settled.
Indian
Muslims have witnessed a deterioration of the right to practice faith under the
rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-wing BJP.
Source:
AA.Com.Tr
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/another-indian-college-bars-muslim-girls-wearing-hijab/2494257
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Hijab
crisis: Kwara Muslims advocate commission of inquiry
Umar
Bayo Abdulwahab
February
5, 2022
Hijab
crisis: Kwara Muslim, Christian groups disagree over peace move
----------
Kwara
state Muslim stakeholders Friday asked the state government to enforce its
policy on wearing of hijab by Muslim girls in all government grant- aided
secondary schools.
They
made the call while addressing journalists in Ilorin over the Thursday violence
that erupted at Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo in the Oyun local government
area of the state over the alleged refusal of the school management to allow
Muslim girls who wore hijab into the school.
The
people, who called for immediate closure of the school and relocation of the
students to other schools pending the resolution of the crisis, urged the state
government to set up a commission of inquiry to unravel those behind the
killings and maiming of innocent Muslim parents in Ijagbo.
The
chairman of the forum, Alhaji IsiaqAlbdulkareem, who was flanked by Barrister
Ibrahim Agbaje among other members, alleged that one of the parents of the
Muslim students of the school, Habeeb Idris, was killed during the fracas that
also left 11 parents injured.
The
group also called on the Police to investigate the circumstatnces surrounding
the crisis with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
In
his contribution, the legal adviser of the forum, Barrister Ibrahim Agbaje,
said the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) lost the two cases it
instituted at both at the lower and appellate courts on the issue of hijab
wearing by Muslim school girls in the state.
He
said as at yesterday (Thursday), there is no case instituted at the Supreme
Court by CAN on the earlier judgements delivered by a Kwara state High Court
and the court of appeal.
Source:
Blueprint
https://www.blueprint.ng/hijab-crisis-kwara-muslims-advocate-commission-of-inquiry/
-----
37
women write ‘She Dares’ to inspire
AMEERA
ABID
February
05, 2022
Heba
Khashogji at the launch of ‘She Dares’ with her mother. The book was launched
at the Swedish Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020. (Supplied)
----------
JEDDAH:
The stories of 37 powerful women with inspiring stories have been collected
into a book called “She Dares.”
The
collaborative book, written by women from countries including the UAE, Saudi
Arabia, Argentina, the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain and Jordan, do not follow
one definition of success but a variety — there are successful businesses, and
stories of overcoming illnesses, surviving traumas and about how the women
became who they are.
“She
Dares” was launched at the Swedish Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020 by MENA
Speakers, where some of the authors gathered together to sign the books.
Arab
News sat down with Heba AbdulwahabKhashogji, one of the Saudi authors who
shared her story in the book on how she became a writer. “When I was approached
to write this book, I told them that I just wrote children’s stories. However,
they pushed me to write the first draft and from there I was able to polish the
story.”
Khashogji
said that she had never previously considered herself an author — she’d had a
habit of writing about strong emotions ever since she was young but for her
that wasn’t writing. However, this process had helped to shape her journey as a
writer.
The
46-year-old wants to help her society as much as she can. She shifted her
career from accounting and finance to HR because she realized that human
capital was much more important than financial capital.
Writing
was something that she pursued as a hobby. “My goal with writing is to leave
behind something that does good and helps people; the books I wrote for
children were to teach them the values, religion and culture . . . and teach
them the reasons behind what we do and why we do it,” she said.
With
“She Dares” Khashogji faced a number of challenges. One of them was her concern
for privacy. “I struggled with using my imagination and telling my life story
as a story; it was supposed to be colorful enough for the reader to remain
attracted. I did my best and now I just hope people like it.” She added: “When
I found out that it would be a motivational book and I remembered that my goal
is helping the society develop in every aspect, I thought, ‘Why not?’”
Khashogji
feels proud that her characters from the children’s book are becoming popular
locally. “It makes me happy when I hear children talk about the character,
especially in schools.” Quoting from a chapter in the book, Khashogji said: “By
going through the challenging moments in life, I was able to create something
beautiful from it and come out as the best version of myself.”
Toward
the end of the chapter, she wrote: “If you have a knack for words, start
writing and you will be surprised at the flow of words, all you have to do is
start, and then the words will do their magic.”
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2018831/saudi-arabia
-----
Afghanistan:
Taliban Releases 14 Women Inmates In Kabul Amid Mounting Global Pressure
By
Aparna Shandilya
06-02-2022
The
Taliban released 14 women inmates in Kabul on February 3 in response to rising
international outrage over the disappearance of women activists. The
announcement by the Taliban's Office of Prisons Administration of the release
of 14 female captives in Kabul, Afghanistan, comes as international pressure on
the interim government mounts. The detainees were released as a assessment of a
government delegation's assessment, according to the authority.
"14
women prisoners were released on Thursday, February 3 as a result of an
assessment conducted by a five-member delegation," according to Taliban's
OPA statement to the media.
According
to Tolo News, the Taliban's deputy of the counternarcotics commission in the
ministry of internal affairs MoulayeeAbdulhaq stated that the inmates released
vowed not to engage in activities that disrupt social order and are illegal or
in violation of Sharia law. The move comes as a result of the news of the
second case of missing women's rights activists that prompted international
outrage, with many prominent personalities and groups seeking answers about
what happened to these people.
Two
female activists, Zahra Mohammadi and MursalAyar, went missing two days ago.
Further, TamanaParyani and ParwanaIbrahimkhil went missing about two weeks ago.
Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan women, said that if Taliban wants
to gain credibility from the rest of the world and the Afghan people, it must
respect the Afghan people's human rights.
"These
unjust detentions must stop. If the Taliban seek legitimacy from the Afghan
people & the world, they must respect Afghans’ human rights - especially
for women - including the freedom of expression & immediately release these
women, their relatives & other activists." Rina Amiri expressed on
Twitter.
Some
women's rights advocates have urged the international community to intervene
quickly to secure the release of the jailed women activists. Meanwhile, the UN
Mission in Afghanistan requested information from the Taliban regarding recent
reported Taliban detentions. It also reiterated appeals for the release of all
'disappeared' women activists and relatives.
"Urgent
information sought from @moiafghanistan today by UNAMA on latest reported
detentions over last 24hrs by the Taliban of a further two women activists in
Kabul. UN repeats its call for all 'disappeared' women activists &
relatives to be released," UN Mission wrote on Twitter.
Source:
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Mayor
of Israeli Arab Town Cancels 'Unseemly' Play About Violence Against Women
Deiaa
Haj Yahia
The
mayor of the Israeli Arab town of Jatt has canceled the performance of a play
dealing with violence against women, saying it "is not suitable for the
values of Islam and Arab society."
The
performance of the play, "Voices," had been set for Tuesday. Mayor
Khaled Jarra said he had agreed to allow the play to be staged under the
auspices of the Na'amat NGO, but was then informed that it includes inappropriate
scenes and portrays the role of women within a family in an “unseemly” manner.
Source:
Haaretz
-----
Afghan
women face increasing violence and repression under the Taliban after
international spotlight fades
PTI
6
February, 2022
Atlanta,
Feb 6 (The Conversation) The Taliban reportedly captured 40 people in
Mazar-e-Sharif, a medium-sized city in Afghanistan, at the end of January 2022.
Taliban members then allegedly gang-raped eight of the women.
The
women who survived the gang rape were subsequently killed by their families.
The fact that the women had been raped violated a societal honor code called
Pashtunwalli, which prohibits women from engaging in sex outside of marriage.
Taliban
spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that some of the women they arrested
“remain detained because their male relatives have not yet come to escort
them.” News of the attack is circulating among various Afghan communities and
some local media, according to several Afghan women’s rights activists who are
part of my academic network. These colleagues cannot be named because of
security concerns.
But
a careful online news search in English will not reveal details about these
recent kidnappings and gang rapes – a common form of aggression by the Taliban
in the 1990s. No Western media has covered the attacks.
Under
the Taliban’s latest rule, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in
Afghanistan are facing “grave threats” of violence and death, according to new
findings by the research and advocacy nonprofit organization Human Rights
Watch.
Violence
against women in Afghanistan also appears to again be worsening, according to
local Afghan colleagues I know. But these reports are not eliciting
international political concern.
During
a major peace and conflict conference I attended with Alexia Cervello San
Vicente, a masters student at Columbia University, in January 2022,
participants shelved questions about Afghan women’s gender-based violence in
favour of discussing trade agreements and foreign aid.
As
an expert on terrorism and violence against women, I find that the current
situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is reminiscent of the Taliban’s
last restrictive regime in the 1990s.
Women’s
rights in Afghanistan then and today When the Taliban first rose to power in
1996, it famously banned Afghan women from holding jobs, or even leaving home
without a male guardian or chaperone.
Women’s
rights did improve significantly after the Taliban’s fall in 2001, as women and
girls were again allowed to attend school, participate in the workforce and
hold positions of authority in government.
Violating
a code of conduct My previous research on women’s human rights and gender-based
violence in places like Nigeria and Iraq shows that violence against women can
follow a common trajectory.
Women
are doubly victimized, first by gender-based violence and then by their
communities, which fault women for violating patriarchal codes of conduct.
These codes blame women for being sexually harassed or assaulted.
The
fact that these codes target women discourages them from reporting gender-based
violence and creates an atmosphere of impunity for men who brutalize women.
This permissive environment has led to increased violence against women in
Afghanistan over the last six months.
A
similar incident to the gang rapes happened in 2014, before the Taliban
returned to power – but the situation played out very differently: Former
Afghan president Hamid Karzai signed death warrants for the men who gang-raped
four women.
Legal
retribution for the recent alleged gang rapes is unlikely, given that the
Taliban have eliminated the women’s affairs office, which worked to secure
women’s legal rights.
They
replaced it with the previously disbanded ministry of vice and virtue. This
notorious government office imposed stringent restrictions on women and girls.
Afghanistan
falling through the cracks International media coverage of Afghanistan in
August 2021, and shortly thereafter, focused on whether the country would lose
two decades of human rights progress.
Global
interest in Afghanistan and women’s rights appears to have since dissipated.
One likely contributing factor is that most Western and Afghan journalists
alike left Afghanistan as the Taliban gained control of the country.
Meanwhile,
there are reports from the human rights nonprofit Amnesty International that
the Taliban has closed women’s shelters and other social services for women
experiencing abuse.
A
new template for improving Afghan women’s rights Some Afghan civil society
groups have tried to encourage Muslim and traditional religious authorities to
advocate on behalf of women and to give sermons about preventing gender-based
violence.
The
likelihood of any moderation is slim under the Haqqani network, a Sunni Islamist
militant organization that is part of the Taliban.
As
part of Western countries’ push to normalize relations with the Taliban, they
could also establish connections between receiving foreign funding and
protecting women’s peace and security.
Financial
incentives could help prevent women from being stigmatized or killed. There is
a historical precedent for this strategy in Muslim countries.
Women
were specifically targeted when Pakistan invaded Bangladesh in 1971. An
estimated 200,000 to 400,000 women were raped by the Pakistani military and
Razakar, a Pakistani military group, in a systematic fashion.
Source:
The Print
-----
‘Absolutely
confronting’: the sickening stories of sexual harassment of women in mining
Ben
Butler
Sat
5 Feb 2022
Astacia
Stevens wanted to drive a haul truck – the giant yellow vehicles that bring ore
from the mines – for Rio Tinto, the equally vast company that controls swathes
of the iron-rich Pilbara.
But,
she told a West Australian parliamentary inquiry, her attempts to move from
working for a contractor for Rio to working directly for it and wearing the
company logo on her shirt were met with a demand from a superior she have sex
with him.
The
supervisor, who the inquiry gave the code name “A”, “took me off the trucks and
took me up to the site lookout in his supervisor vehicle”, Stevens, who now
works in an administrative position at Rio, said in a written submission to the
parliament.
“The
lookout is secluded and requires a site pass to access, which A held. At the
lookout, whilst in the vehicle, he unzipped his pants and leaned back in his
seat.
She
refused, did not get transferred to Rio, and was victimised and fired, she told
the inquiry, which is investigating the sexual harassment of women on
fly-in-fly-out mine sites.
In
a report Rio released this week, the company revealed that women who work for
it reported 21 incidents of rape, attempted rape or sexual assaults over the
past five years.
The
report, the result of an investigation by the former sex discrimination
commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, showed that sexual harassment, bullying and
racism is endemic across Rio’s global workforce.
It
was the latest blow for a company already reeling from its decision in May 2020
to blow up ancient rock shelters at Juukan Gorge, in the Pilbara, in order to
mine more iron, the Serbian government’s decision last month to cancel its
licence to mine lithium after a community outcry that saw thousands march in
the streets, and ongoing controversy over its Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia,
the cost of which has blown out by billions of dollars after Rio struck a new
deal with the government a week ago that it hopes will end a long-running
dispute over the country’s share of potential profits from the vast copper
deposit.
However,
the inquiry in WA has shown that Rio is not alone when it comes to failing to
provide a workplace free from rape, bullying and harassment.
At
BHP, in the two years between July 2019 and July 2021, there were 18 cases of
rape, attempted rape or what the company called “non-consensual touching of a
sexual nature”, the company said in a submission to the inquiry.
Investors,
the sex discrimination commissioner and the mining companies themselves say action
is needed to curb a culture of sexual assault, sexism, bullying and racism in
the industry, especially at mines where workers fly in and out and are often
among strangers, far from their homes, friends and family.
Debby
Blakey, the chief executive of $68bn super fund Hesta, which has been critical
of Rio’s management over Juukan Gorge, said Rio had done the right thing by
conducting such a comprehensive review and said other mining companies needed
to consider whether it was something they should also do.
“The
findings of the Rio workplace culture report that sexual harassment, racism and
bullying were systemic are extremely concerning for investors and potentially
point to broader issues across the mining sector,” she said.
Source:
The Guardian
-----
Reader's
View: Feminism failing women around the world
by
Kenny Elizabeth Martinson
Feminism
has failed in today’s society. Or, rather, we as a society have failed
feminism.
What
was once a civil rights movement has become a social-media trend that promotes
misandry. It is not uncommon on social media, or even in everyday conversation,
to hear “feminists” bashing men in such a way that “feminists” would qualify it
as misogyny if the recipient of their cruelty was a woman. If this is the case,
why is this behavior so widely accepted among those who claim to support gender
equality? This widespread misandry has diverted the fundamental focus of
attaining equal rights for an underrepresented gender to simply obsessing over the
faults of another.
The
irony surrounding what has become known as “fad feminism” is why feminism is
failing women around the world. Celebrities and influencers from every corner
of the internet will claim to support the feminist movement, just to turn around
and say they hate all men in their next tweet. A true feminist is someone who
believes in and advocates for equality of the sexes, not just the rights of
women. It is unrealistic and hypocritical to torment men and ignore that they
too suffer from forms of inequality while protesting for the equal rights of
all genders.
There
is too much emphasis on the differences between genders and who is or isn’t at
fault. In order for feminism to succeed, we as a society need to shift this
focus to the advocacy for equal worth of all.
Source:
Duluth News Tribune
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/indian-muslim-girls-hijab/d/126311