Indonesian Women Join Iran's Hijab Protests amid Fears Own Rights under Threat
New
Age Islam News Bureau
22
October 2022
•
Iranian Climber Elnaz Rekabi Thanks Supporters after Competing Without Hijab
•
Shooting Center for Women Security Officers Opened In Riyadh
•
Afghan Women’s Long and Hard Struggle for the Right to Divorce
•
‘Dream Come True’ For Pakistani Women After Saudi Arabia Relaxes Pilgrim Visa
Rules
•
Qatar Airways Sued By 5 Women over Invasive Searches
•
'All Pakistan Women Universities Consortium' Joined By 10 More Women
Universities
•
In Iraq, Divorce Rates Soar Even As Stigma Persists For Women
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/indonesian-iran-hijab-protests/d/128244
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Indonesian
Women Join Iran's Hijab Protests amid Fears Own Rights under Threat
Hundreds
of protesters gather outside the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, in
solidarity with Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody for not wearing her
hijab properly CREDIT: Eko Siswono Toyudho/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
-----
By
Nicola Smith
21
October 2022
Indonesian
women are fighting for the rights of Iranians to ditch their mandatory hijabs,
amid fears that their own freedom to choose whether to wear a headscarf is
under threat.
Some
200 rights activists gathered in front of the Iranian embassy in the Indonesian
capital Jakarta this week. They were demanding an investigation into the
estimated hundreds of Iranian women and children who have been killed during a
violent state crackdown on their revolt against strict Islamic dress codes.
Activist
Ririn Sefsani, the head of the NGO “Commitment for Change” and one of the
organisers of the Jakarta rally, called on the Indonesian government to speak
up and urge Iran to stop all forms of violence against citizens fighting for
human rights.
Indonesia
should set an example that women have the right to choose their own clothes,
she said.
But
activists like Ms Sefsani have also warned that Iran is a cautionary tale for
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Over the past two decades,
women and girls have faced spiralling legal and social pressure to wear
clothing deemed Islamic under Sharia law.
She
said she hoped Iran would become more open and democratic, but also raise
awareness in her home country that “we don’t want Indonesia to become like
Iran.”
“We
hope that [the protests] can inspire Indonesian people to be considered and
aware that they should not push women to wear a hijab in the name of religion
or morality,” she told the Telegraph. “We don’t want Indonesia to become like
“Indo-nestan”, meaning Afghanistan or Pakistan or Iran.”
Creeping
conservative Islam
Rights
groups have long rung alarm bells about the spread of conservative Islam in
Indonesia and its impact on civil rights.
A
2021 report by Human Rights Watch said most of the country’s provinces and
dozens of cities and regencies were imposing discriminatory and abusive dress
codes on women and girls, highlighting evidence of the “harmful impact” through
more than 100 interviews that revealed long term consequences for refusing to
wear the hijab.
The
report documented widespread bullying of girls and women to force them to cover
up, as well as the deep psychological distress the bullying can cause.
It
said that in at least 24 of the country’s 34 provinces, girls who did not
comply were forced to leave school or withdrew under pressure, while some
female civil servants, including teachers, doctors, school principals, and
university lecturers, lost their jobs or felt compelled to resign.
While
the central government has no legal authority to revoke local laws, the home
ministry has the power to nullify local executive orders that contradict
national laws and the constitution.
“Indonesia’s
Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian should immediately overturn
discriminatory, rights-abusing provincial and local decrees that violate the
rights of women and girls. These decrees do real harm and as a practical matter
will only be ended by central government action,” said Andreas Harsono, an
Indonesia-based researcher for HRW.
Some
of the strictest dress codes are found in Aceh, the only Indonesian province to
implement Islamic law, or Sharia.
Donna
Swita, an Acehnese activist at the Institute for Women’s Empowerment, said she
had been arrested three times for not covering her hair.
While
she had not been jailed, she had felt psychologically intimidated by the
authorities’ actions, she said.
Ms
Swita said she feared some areas of the nation were becoming more
fundamentalist, like Iran. “It’s not only in Aceh, it's spreading around the
country,” she said.
The
Indonesian home ministry and the ministry for religious affairs have been
contacted for comment.
Source:
Telegraph UK
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Iranian
Climber Elnaz Rekabi Thanks Supporters after Competing Without Hijab
Elnaz
Rekabi, 33, broke Iran's strict dress code at the contest in South Korea - but
later said her headscarf had fallen off "inadvertently".
------
October
22, 2022
TEHRAN:
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi has thanked her supporters at home and abroad
following her return to a hero’s welcome in Tehran this week after competing
abroad without a hijab.
Rekabi,
33, wore only a headband during a competition event at the Asian Championships
in Seoul last Sunday, in breach of the Islamic republic’s dress rules requiring
all Iranian women — including female athletes competing abroad — to wear a
headscarf.
The
move was seen by some as a gesture of solidarity with weeks of protests that
have erupted in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest
in Tehran for allegedly violating the country’s dress code.
“I
sincerely thank all those who came to the airport for welcoming me, I love
you,” Rekabi said in her first social media comments since returning to Iran.
Dozens
of people cheering and clapping had welcomed the climber at Tehran’s Imam
Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday.
“I
am endlessly grateful for the support of you, all the people of Iran, the most
decent people of the planet, athletes and non-athletes, and all your supports
in (the) international community,” Rekabi said on her Instagram account
overnight Friday into Saturday.
“What
I have gained till today was regarding the caring of you beautiful souls,” she
said in the post, published in Persian and English.
Rekabi
began the message with a quote from late Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou, alluding
to individuals existing as part of a community. She signed off with: “Me; the
people, Iran.”
The
athlete had apologized over the incident and insisted her headscarf had
accidentally slipped off, in comments to state media on her return.
Sports
Minister Hamid Sajjadi received Rekabi hours after her arrival.
Rights
groups outside the country have expressed concerns for her safety.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2185871/middle-east
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Shooting
center for women security officers opened in Riyadh
October
21, 2022
RIYADH
— Major General Dr. Ali Al-Duaij, Director General of King Fahd Security
College, opened a shooting center at the Women's Training Institute in Riyadh.
During
the event attended by the college staff, the trainees showcased their skills in
shooting and disassembling weapons, which is the mainstay of training for
snipers.
The
center, having all modern facilities, was designed in accordance with
international standards and specifications as well as the latest safety
procedures.
Source:
Saudi Gazette
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Afghan
women’s long and hard struggle for the right to divorce
By
Ruchi Kumar and Orooj Hakimi
20
Oct 2022
After
years of abuse at the hands of her husband, 32-year-old Bano gathered the
courage last year to file for divorce in northeastern Afghanistan.
“For
four years, he beat me every day and raped me every night,” she told Al
Jazeera, requesting that her name be changed because she is in hiding from her
abuser. “If I resisted, he would beat me more.”
“He
would humiliate and insult me because I could not get pregnant,” she said.
“When the doctor told us that he was the one who needed fertility treatments,
he came home and kicked me between the legs, blaming me for being barren.”
Just
as Bano’s case was scheduled for a court hearing in Takhar province, the
government collapsed in August 2021 and the Taliban returned to power.
“The
judges were gone, the lawyers were gone, and with the help of the Taliban, my
husband forced me to return to his house, threatening to kill my family if I
didn’t,” she said.
After
their takeover, the Taliban dismantled the existing judicial system, appointed
their own judges and implemented their own version of Islamic law.
“There
are no female lawyers operating any more, and none of the female judges has
been allowed back to work,” said Marzia, a female judge before the Taliban
takeover. She is also in hiding.
Taliban
prejudice
Afghanistan
had more than 300 female judges presiding over judicial departments that ranged
from women’s issues to criminal and terrorism-related cases. Several hundred
judges have since escaped to other countries, and some 70 female judges – if
not more – are in hiding and unable to return to work.
“They
tell us it is because they believe we [female lawyers and judges] are
incompetent and do not have enough knowledge of Islamic law to work in this
field,” Marzia said.
The
Taliban acknowledged this position during a September news conference in which
Hizbullah Ibrahimi, the head of the Taliban Supreme Court’s research and
inspection directorate, dismissed the need for female judges.
“In
the previous system, female judges decided cases based on specific laws and
bills and did not have enough knowledge about jurisprudence and Shariah
principles,” he said. “… We have not felt their need until now, and we have not
understood the need for women judges to return.”
Marzia
accused the Taliban of being prejudiced against women and failing to provide
women their Islamic rights, including divorce.
“Without
women in the judiciary, female victims cannot seek formal help and relief from
the courts,” she said. “They don’t have access to their basic rights such as
divorce. It is a big loss for women’s rights but also human rights as a whole.
A significant population of the country has been cut off from accessing legal
support.”
Justice
ministry spokesman Abdul Hameed Jahadyar told Al Jazeera that divorce and
family violence cases have been heard in the past year.
In
Kabul alone, he said, 341 divorce cases “were settled”. He did not clarify how
many divorces were actually granted.
“Any
woman who wants to get a divorce can hire a male lawyer, and their case will be
dealt with,” Jahadyar said. “In divorce cases, we first try to make peace
between the parties and reconcile them.”
Large
gender gap
The
lack of women in the Afghan judiciary has left a severe gap in who has access
to the justice system in Afghanistan, said Kevin Schumacher, deputy executive
director of Women For Afghan Women (WAW), a United States-based non-profit
organisation that works on violence against women and provides psycho-social
and family counselling.
Before
the Taliban takeover, WAW also provided legal support for families and operated
shelters for women and children escaping abuse. Since then, however, the
organisation has been forced to close down 16 shelters and 12 family guidance
centres. The Taliban seized the properties, alleging that they were being used
as brothels and promoting immorality.
Schumacher
said that simply wasn’t true. “We were providing safe spaces along with
counselling, mediation, family guidance and legal support,” he said.
“The
forced closure of our domestic violence shelters left hundreds of our existing
female clients in legal and social limbo,” he said. “These state-mandated
shot-downs also brought thousands of ongoing family mediation and counseling
services to an abrupt end.”
Many
of the shelter clients had no choice but to go back to their families or
reintegrate into a society where there is no social support network for them
and no legal advocates to help fight their cases.
While
the situation for Afghan women was not ideal prior to the Taliban takeover,
Schumacher and Marzia argued that things have since gotten worse.
“The
Taliban government wants to adhere to the Islamic rules, but they haven’t
codified these laws,” Schumacher said. “As a result, no one knows for sure how
to go about seeking or implementing justice. With a lack of judicial procedure,
there’s discoordination, which is most affecting women’s access to justice.”
Stigma
Marzia
said seeking a divorce in Afghanistan has always been a challenge for women.
“There
is stigma towards the women, lack of awareness of their rights and also a
general lack of compassion among police and judicial officials, but despite
that, there were some protections in the form of institutions and mechanisms
that women could appeal to,” said Marzia, who heard many divorce cases during
her career as a judge.
“Those
few reliefs are also gone,” she said, adding that she knew of cases over the
past year in which Taliban judges denied divorces to women because they
believed women do not have that right.
“These
women were forced to go back to their abusers who would hurt them even more as
revenge for going to the courts,” she said.
Bano
said she had a similar experience when she approached the Taliban courts
recently after enduring more violence from her husband.
“About
two months ago, he came home under the influence of opium and slapped me
several times,” she said on the phone. “When I screamed, he went to the
kitchen, heated a knife and burned my breasts with it. He then locked me in the
bedroom and left. I was in a lot of pain, and the neighbours heard my wails and
broke me out and took me to the clinic.
“Two
weeks later, when my wounds had yet to heal, he brought a wild dog home. He
then tied me to the ground, and let the dog claw my whole body as he laughed at
me, saying, ‘Are you going to sue me now?’ My cheeks were torn and my eyes were
swollen.”
Bano
spent that night writhing in pain and begged her husband to let her go to the
clinic the next morning. When he agreed, she grabbed the opportunity to escape.
She took a bus to her brother’s home in a neighbouring province.
“When
they saw my condition, they were shocked,” she said. “My mother fell to the
ground.”
On
the advice of an imam, they approached the local Taliban court.
“I
went to the Taliban judge to show my mutilated face and body,” Bano said. “We
thought that perhaps after witnessing the signs of my husband’s cruelty, they
might offer me protection. Instead, a Taliban member called me a b**ch and
cursed me for showing my face.”
“When
we told them that we had applied for divorce with the previous courts, they
beat my brother and me with the bottom of their guns for filing a case in the
‘infidel’s court’,” she said.
There
is no such thing as a divorce in our court, they told her. “The judge said,
‘Your husband has the right to treat you however he likes because you are his
wife. Even if he kills you, you have no right to get a divorce,’” she said.
The
Taliban threatened to detain her and hand her over to her husband, Bano said,
but before they could do so, she and her brother were able to flee the province
with the help of the imam and remain in hiding, fearing for their lives.
“With
the brief experience I had dealing with the previous courts, the situation was
so much easier for women like me, to get a female lawyer, approach the courts
with women judges and get a divorce, which is my Islamic right,” Bano said.
“But with the Taliban in power, life is hell for women once again.”
Source:
Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/afghan-women-long-and-hard-struggle-for-right-divorce
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‘Dream
come true’ for Pakistani women after Saudi Arabia relaxes pilgrim visa rules
SAIMA
SHABBIR
October
21, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
All her life, Ayesha Gul hoped that one day she would be standing in Islam’s
holiest site in Makkah. The dream came true this month when Saudi Arabia
relaxed visa rules for pilgrimage.
In
mid-October, Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced that
women no longer needed a male guardian, or mahram, to visit the Kingdom to perform
Hajj or Umrah.
Gul,
who lives in Rawalpindi, a city adjacent to the Pakistani capital Islamabad,
traveled soon after the announcement.
“It
was my dream to visit the home of Allah and I still cannot believe that my
dream came true, and I am actually sitting in front of Haram,” she told Arab
News from Makkah.
“There
is no gender discrimination and Saudis are treating women as equally as men.”
Under
the new rules, visas have been extended to three months and pilgrims can travel
to other areas of the Kingdom.
“All
these measures speak volumes about the help being extended by King Salman and
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for pilgrims across the globe,” said Hamzah
Gilani, a spokesperson for the Pakistani consulate in Jeddah.
According
to Saudi authorities, about 1.27 million pilgrims have visited Saudi Arabia
since Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar which began on July 30.
About 200,000 came from Pakistan, the second highest number after Indonesia.
“We
have a long season ahead,” Travel Agents’ Association of Pakistan President
Nadeem Zaka told Arab News. “More people will travel after getting information
about the visa relaxation.”
The
number has already increased by an estimated 30 percent, according to Faizan
Akhtar, a member of Pakistan’s Umrah Travel Agents’ Association.
“We
used to send one or two groups of four to six people every week which has now
increased to three to four groups of about six individuals, despite increased
air fares due to the dollar rate,” he said.
“We
have also sent many women independently to perform Umrah since the Saudi
authorities have allowed them to travel without a male member of the family.”
The
relaxation of where pilgrims can travel has also helped Pakistani men.
Ahsan
Khan, from Mardan, said he performed Umrah on Oct. 15 and was planning to visit
his cousin in Dammam, something he would not have been able to do under the old
system.
“Now
we can perform Umrah and also meet our relatives in the Kingdom,” he said. “It
is a great step by the Saudi government.”
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2185586/world
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Qatar
Airways sued by 5 women over invasive searches
October
21, 2022
LONDON:
Five Australian women who were forced to undergo intimate medical examinations
and searches at Doha Airport have sued Qatar Airways for assault and battery,
according to reports on Friday.
Women
were forcibly removed by armed guards from several aircraft at the Qatari
airport on Oct. 2 in 2020 as officials searched for the mother of a newborn
baby abandoned in a toilet at the terminal.
Some
of the women claim they were forced to undergo “non-consensual gynaecological
or intimate examinations” and were subjected to “unlawful physical contact,”
The Guardian reported.
Of
18 Australian women subjected to the examinations, five are taking action to
the New South Wales Supreme Court, having failed to win compensation from the
Qatari government by other means.
“Each
of the applications has suffered … from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic
stress disorders and other psychological effects,” a statement read.
The
women incurred medical expenses, and some “suffered economic loss as a result
of needing to take medical leave from work due to the effects of the events on
… mental health,” it added.
Papers
were served to Qatar Airways at its Melbourne offices on Thursday, but the
airline has declined to comment.
The
women were not contacted by the airline or the Qatari government since the
incident that sparked international outrage.
However,
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al-Thani admitted that standard
security protocols were not followed, and expressed his “sincerest apology for
what some female travelers went through.”
He
added: “We regret the unacceptable treatment of the female passengers.”
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2185511/middle-east
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'All
Pakistan Women Universities Consortium' Joined By 10 More Women Universities
Sumaira
FH
October
22, 2022
RAWALPINDI,
(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Oct, 2022 ) :The British Council and
the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have pledged to support 'All Pakistan
Women Universities Consortium' (APWUC) in a meeting held here Saturday.
The
consortium was founded in October 2021 by three founding members including
Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, Lahore College Women
University and Government College Women University Sialkot.
The
central idea of this consortium is to strengthen the collaboration among women
universities to achieve excellence in higher education of women to enhance the
women development and empowerment in Pakistan.
In
the meeting, ten more women universities have joined the consortium including
Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University, Sukkur, Jinnah University for Women,
Karachi, Government College for Women University, Faisalabad, Government Sadiq
College Women University, Bahawalpur, University of Home Economics Lahore,
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, Women University Mardan,
Women University Swabi, Khyber Pakhtuknkhwa, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women
University, Quetta and Women University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Bagh.
The
Vice Chancellors from these universities signed the consortium document and
pledged to support women higher education in Pakistan by sharing resources,
finding grounds of mutual interests and future planning for women higher
education.
On
the occasion, Dr. Nishat Riaz, Director Education, British Council Pakistan
lauded the idea of women consortium and assured complete support of the British
Council in multiple forms such as technical, knowledge sharing, goodwill and
financial incentives. She emphasized that women must be involved in the
decision making process at the policy level to ensure women empowerment.
She
also emphasized on the need of creating a conducive environment where faculty
and student retention can be ensured.
She
suggested multidimensional strategies for talent identification, youth
motivation, career counseling and contemporary skill orientations for the young
Pakistani women to unleash their full potential.
Dr.
Bushra Mirza, VC, Lahore College Women University, who is also one of the
founding members, provided a framework and suggested holding annual consortium
meetings with partners to find mechanisms of documenting efforts.
Dr.
Shaista Sohail, Executive Director, HEC suggested that established universities
from the stable regions can support universities where women retention is an
issue such as universities in Balochistan are facing such issues in few areas.
Being
one of the founding members, Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Government College Women
University Sialkot, assured her full support to the cause.
Dr.
Saima Hamid, VC, FJWU played a significant role in bringing all stakeholders
together. During the meeting she highlighted the progress of the consortium in
a short span of one year. Under her leadership, a capacity building project
with founding universities was recently completed.
In
this project, the team of researchers from consortium member universities
worked with both women as well as general universities to support all the women
belonging to the field of higher education in Pakistan.
In
addition to this project, a series of webinars and seminars were also arranged
in different member and non-member universities.
Dr.
Saima highlighted the power of academic networking and said that gender
equality can be resolved through partnerships and collaborations and in this
way we can contribute toward the two SDGS such as 'Gender Equality' and
'Partnerships for the Goals' and can become a significant support to the
government's drive for achieving these SDGs.
Source:
Urdu Point
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/all-pakistan-women-universities-consortium-1582366.html
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In
Iraq, divorce rates soar even as stigma persists for women
19/10/2022
Just
a year into her marriage, Manal became one of the tens of thousands of Iraqis
every year who divorce in a deeply conservative nation where break-up rates
have risen.
For
Manal, like many other women, the reason was clear -- her husband's financial
dependence on his family's business meant that "he couldn't take any
decisions of his own".
The
33-year-old was divorced eight years ago from her ex-husband, who is also her
cousin and who worked for his father's appliance shop.
Not
only did he depend on his family for money, but the couple also cohabited with
her in-laws.
"He
wasn't financially independent, which caused family problems," she said.
Her
reasoning echoes that of tens of thousands of Iraqis, according to data
published by the country's Supreme Judicial Council.
More
than 73,000 divorces were pronounced in 2021 by the courts in the country of 42
million people, largely the same as the number in 2018.
This
is up from an average of just below 51,700 per year over the period 2004 to
2014, a decade that saw one in five marriages end in divorce, according to the
council's website.
'It's
better to divorce'
A
study published by the Supreme Judicial Council on the causes of divorce cites
"living with the spouse's family, leading in many cases to negative
interference in the relationship", in tandem with "the spouse's
financial dependence on his family".
It
also cites difficulties finding employment and "infidelities due to the
internet".
Premature
-- often child -- marriages are also a driver of divorce. A total of 4,092
adolescent girls were divorced in the two years to the end of 2021.
Veteran
feminist Hanaa Edwar also pointed to "financial pressure on families"
as a cause.
"This
creates a psychological burden and problems," she said.
And
Iraq was not spared the surge in domestic violence that came with the
coronavirus pandemic -- though Edwar salutes women for increasingly finding the
courage to leave.
"There
is an awareness among women that if violence persists in their lives and their
children's lives, then it's better to divorce."
But
in a deeply patriarchal society like Iraq, a divorced man and a divorced woman
are not equal.
On
top of the often arduous battle to gain custody over their children, women are
frequently exposed to "sexual harassment" by men who believe they
have the right to make sexual advances towards divorced women, Edwar lamented.
Some
families even refuse to allow divorced women to work or go out freely, for fear
of the "stigma" and what people will say.
"As
for men -- socially, everything is acceptable. Today, he divorces, tomorrow he
remarries."
'You
should wait'
But
statistics show that this has left many women undeterred.
"Courts
have registered a rise in divorces, particularly over the past decade," a
magistrate was quoted as saying in 2019 on the judicial council's website.
A
social worker who sifts through divorce cases filed in courts so as to try to
re-establish common ground between couples likewise acknowledges that
"divorce has become much more common".
Speaking
on condition of anonymity at a Baghdad court, she said that "only in 10
percent of cases are we able to find a solution" and abandon the divorce
proceedings.
Manal
now lives back in her parents' home and works for a feminist organisation. Her
nine-year-old son Adam sees his father from time to time.
Despite
the letdown of her first marriage, she has not written off the possibility of
remarrying, but says conditions must be met.
A
future husband would have to accept her son, for one, but also her professional
ambitions.
Her
advice to younger generations of women about to embark on their matrimonial
journey is simple: "guarantee your economic independence and don't get
married too young.
"You
should wait, marriage shouldn't be the sole ambition in life."
Source:
France24
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