Iran’s Decree on Head Scarves: Tehran Cemeteries Cover Graves That Have Pictures of Women without Hijabs
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 July 2022
• Sara Sabry: Egyptian Aims to Inspire Her Nation on
Blue Origin Space Flight
• Rights Given To Women by Islam Can't Even Be
Imagined In the West: Balochistan Awami Party Senator Samina Zehri
• Pakistan International Film Festival organises
Special Effects Makeup Workshop for Film
• Afghan Women Report Beatings, Abuse under Taliban
• Iran's Khamenei Says Western Enemies Stoking
Anti-Hijab Protests
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iran-decree-hijab-tehran-cemeteries-/d/127590
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Iran’s Decree on Head Scarves: Tehran Cemeteries Cover
Graves That Have Pictures of Women without Hijabs
Photo courtesy Twitter/ @Mahy90900240
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July 26, 2022
The organization of cemeteries for Tehran Province
says it has covered graves that feature images of the deceased not wearing the
hijab, as authorities continue to widen their crackdown on a government decree
on head scarves.
Saeed Ghazanfari, the head of Behesht-e Zahra, the
largest cemetery in Iran, said that 98 tombstones that had images of women
without a proper hijab had been "corrected."
A July 5 order by President Ebrahim Raisi to enforce
the hijab law has resulted in a new list of restrictions on how women can
dress. The country's notorious Guidance Patrols, or morality police, have
become increasingly active and violent in enforcing the law, with videos
emerging on social media showing officers detaining women, forcing them into
vans, and whisking them away.
Since Raisi's order, women judged not to be in
compliance have been told they will be barred from government offices, banks,
and public transportation.
Gholamreza Karim Aghaei, the director-general of Fars
Province Airports in southern Iran, said on July 26 that women wearing a hijab
"improperly" would now be prevented from entering the Shiraz Airport,
the country's third-largest, and its flight terminals.
In response to the crackdown, activists have launched
a social media campaign under the hashtag #no2hijab to urge people to boycott
companies enforcing the tougher restrictions.
On July 12, women's rights activists posted videos of
themselves publicly removing their veils to coincide with the government’s
National Day of Hijab and Chastity.
The hijab first became compulsory in public for
Iranian women and girls over the age of 9 after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Many Iranian women have flouted the rule over the
years in protest and pushed the boundaries of what officials say is acceptable
clothing.
Source: Rferl
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-graves-covered-women-hijab-decree-crackdown/31960716.html
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Sara Sabry: Egyptian Aims to Inspire Her Nation on Blue
Origin Space Flight
Sara Sabry
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Sarwat Nasir
Jul 27, 2022
An enterprising Egyptian is aiming to bring hope to
her country as she prepares to journey to the edge of space.
Sara Sabry will be one of six passengers on board the
latest Blue Origin space tourism flight.
The New Shepard suborbital flight will take the group
to an altitude of 106 kilometres after launching from a spaceport in West
Texas. A launch date is yet to be announced.
Ms Sabry is more than ready for the remarkable
experience ahead of her.
She is a mechanical and biomedical engineer, and the
founder of Deep Space Initiative, a non-profit that works to increase
accessibility to space research.
She is also Egypt’s first female analogue astronaut,
having completed a two-week simulation of a Moon mission that recreated the
extreme conditions astronauts experience in space.
Now, her lifelong dream of seeing Earth from above
will be realised.
“Many Egyptians have lost hope in our future and my
hope is that by going to space, I can contribute to changing that; to bring
hope to people, and to make them proud of where they come from,” she said.
“I believe that sharing my experience with the world
will motivate the younger generation of Egyptians to pursue education and help
change the perception of women in the Arab world, showing the world what we are
truly capable of.”
Latest step in region's growing space plans
In 2020, Egypt announced a 10-year national space
programme that involves sending the first Egyptian into space by 2026.
It was reported that the astronaut programme is open
to men and women, although no update on the search has been given since.
In recent years, many Arab countries have launched
space programmes to diversify their national economy and create talent in the
science, technology and engineering fields.
This includes Saudi Arabia, which also has a 10-year
plan that involves reaching the Moon and Mars.
Bahrain has set up the National Space Science Agency
to develop space technology.
The UAE, however, is leading the way in the Middle
East and North Africa region through its space programme, having reached Mars
with its Hope probe in 2021, launching the first Arab astronaut to the
International Space Station in 2019 and building domestic satellites.
The country will soon send Emirati astronaut Sultan Al
Neyadi on the Arab world's first long-duration space mission on the
International Space Station, where he will spend six months carrying out
science experiments.
Ms Sabry’s seat on the NS-22 mission is being
sponsored by Space for Humanity, a non-profit that is trying to expand access
to space.
Relishing opportunity
She is currently pursuing a PhD in aerospace sciences
with a focus on space suit design.
“I am incredibly excited that Space for Humanity has
offered me this opportunity and I am honoured to be representing Egypt in space
for the first time,” she said.
“My ancestors have always dreamt big and achieved the
impossible, and I hope to bring that back. This is just the beginning.”
The entire experience on a Blue Origin flight lasts 10
minutes.
After reaching apogee, the flight brings passengers a
few minutes of weightlessness as well as stunning views of Earth and the
darkness of space.
The capsule then descends to the Texas desert under
three parachutes and retro engines, bringing the passengers safely back to
Earth.
Other passengers on the flight are Dude Perfect
co-founder Coby Cotton, Portuguese entrepreneur Mario Ferreira,
British-American mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien, technology leader Clint Kelly III
and telecommunications executive Steve Young.
Blue Origin, a space tourism company founded by Amazon
chief Jeff Bezos, has sent 26 people to the edge of space so far.
Mr Bezos went on a joyride himself on the first
passenger flight last year. Other notable customers were Star Trek actor
William Shatner and TV personality Michael Strahan.
The company has not revealed how much a passenger
ticket costs, but its competitor, Virgin Galactic, charges $450,000 per seat,
although flights are not yet operational.
Source: The National News
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Rights Given To Women By Islam Can't Even Be Imagined
In The West: Balochistan Awami Party Senator Samina Zehri
Mohammad Ali
July 27, 2022
QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jul,
2022): Central vice president of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) Senator Samina
Mumtaz Zehri on Wednesday said that the rights given to women by islam cannot
be imagined in the West.
She thanked the party's central president and Chief
Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and the party leaders for electing
her as the vice president of BAP, said a statement issued here.
"I thank all the party leaders and workers who
elected me for this important position and entrusted me with this important
responsibility. I will try to fulfill the expectations of the party and the
people of Balochistan by trying to do my best for the interests of the
people", she said.
She said that BAP believed in democratic values and
the focus of our politics is the welfare of the people and rapid development of
the country, especially Balochistan and a strong and stable political and
economic system is needed at this time.
Interests of Pakistan should come first and our party
is ready to play an effective role through understanding to moderate the
political temperature, she added.
Samina Zehri maintained that Pakistani women,
especially the women of Balochistan, are knowledgeable, courageous and educated
and are playing their role in every section of society including politics.
Women are an important part of the society and a lot
of work is being done for their rights she said adding that a society can never
progress without the active participation of women.
It is indispensable to provide opportunities for the
welfare and development of half of the population of Pakistan and steps have to
be taken to implement them.
Protection of women's rights has been guaranteed in
the Constitution of Pakistan, she noted.
Senator Samina Zehri said that no steps were being
taken to empower and protect women. She added that Pakistan, being an Islamic
country gives respect to women as part of our social and religious values and
women are allowed to raise their voice for their legitimate rights while living
in Islamic values.
Source: Urdu Point
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/rights-given-to-women-by-islam-cant-even-be-1541156.html
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Pakistan International Film Festival organises Special
Effects Makeup Workshop for Film
JULY 28, 2022
Special effects makeup is an integral part of modern
cinema. It is not just used to create aliens and monsters but to build a
realistic character that the audience can connect to and believe. Keeping in
the mind the importance of SFX makeup in film and television and limited
options available locally, The Karachi Film Society organised a two-day film
and television SFX makeup workshop with Turkish experts Murat Polat and Sezen
Can who flew from Türkiye. The workshop was part of the 3rd Pakistan International
Film Festival Women’s Edition 2021, which was postponed due to the Covid19
lockdown internationally. PiFF Women’s Edition hosted a series of insightful,
engaging, interactive and educational panel discussions and seminars/webinars
on various topics, celebrating the tremendous achievements of women in
Pakistan’s entertainment industry.
Held at Arts Council, Karachi, day one of the workshop
by Sezen Can, a specialist in beauty on screen and in the fashion industry with
experience of working in popular movies such as The Big Flight, Never Leave Me
and Aile Arasinda gave exclusive tips and live demonstrations on how to apply
trauma makeup, the different stages and aging techniques of SFX makeup. Day two
of the workshop featured Murat Polat, a specialist in SFX makeup with
experience of working in over 500 projects including popular Netflix series The
Protector and Turkish original Alev Alev. He introduced the attendees to the
different types of trauma makeup kits, sculpting techniques, different lighting
setups, wound applications, transfer techniques and how to add depth to various
applications with makeup via live demonstrations and exclusive tips.
The workshop was supported and attended by makeup
experts Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Masarrat Misbah, Angie Marshall and aspiring makeup
artists who appreciated the efforts of KFS for organising such an educational
workshop. The workshops were broadcast live on PiFF’s official social media
pages for those who couldn’t join due to the current monsoon spell in Karachi.
President KFS Sultana Siddiqui in her concluding
speech thanked the Turkish guests, President Arts Council Mohammad Ahmed Shah,
Provincial Minister of Sindh for Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Syed Sardar
Ali Shah and the attendees for their support in making the two-day workshop a
huge success. She also highlighted the importance of organizing such
educational workshops to train the talent of Pakistan. Provincial Minister Syed
Sardar Ali Shah in his speech appreciated the efforts of KFS and extended the
provincial government’s support to KFS’s vision of improving technical skills
of aspiring young talent in different categories of cinema and films.
Source: Daily Times Pakistan
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Afghan women report beatings, abuse under Taliban
27.07.22
The Taliban have "decimated" the rights of
Afghan women and girls since they returned to power in Afghanistan almost a
year ago, an Amnesty International report said on Wednesday.
This includes rights to education, work and free
movement which have been severely curtailed under the draconian rules of the
regime.
"Every daily detail — whether they go to school,
if and how they work, if and how they leave the house — is controlled and
heavily restricted. This suffocating crackdown against Afghanistan’s female
population is increasing day-by-day," said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty
International’s Secretary General.
The report titled "Death in Slow Motion: Women
and Girls Under Taliban Rule" interviewed more than a hundred Afghan women
and girls and revealed that those who protested against the restrictions were
"threatened, arrested, detained, tortured, and forcibly disappeared.
"
Taliban threaten to kill family members
When the Taliban first came to power in 2021, they
promised to uphold women's rights. These promises were soon proven hollow as
policies of systemic oppression of women were introduced, activists say.
Those who protested these discrimination were targeted
by the Taliban with harassment, arbitrary detention, and physical and
psychological torture, said the report.
"The Taliban guards kept coming to my room and
showing me pictures of my family. They kept repeating ... 'We can kill them,
all of them, and you won’t be able to do anything,'" said one woman who
was sent to a Taliban prison.
"We were beaten on our breasts and between the
legs. They did this to us so that we couldn't show the world," said
another woman.
Women are also being arbitrarily detained and tortured
for crimes such as appearing in public with a man who does not qualify as
"mahram" - a male chaperone.
Survivors of domestic and gender-based violence have
said that they are being sent to prisons, instead of shelters, which do not
exist. Here, the women are "subjected to solitary confinement, beatings
and other forms of torture, and forced to endure inhumane conditions."
War, poverty, drought drive up child marriage
Under the Taliban regime, the number of child
marriages have surged.
"In Afghanistan… You have a patriarchal
government, war, poverty, drought, girls out of school — with all of these
factors combined… we knew child marriage was going to go through the
roof," said Stephanie Sinclair, director of Too Young to Wed, an
organization working on early marriages.
Meanwhile, Afghan girls continue to be denied the
right to education. The Taliban's schedule to reopen school for girls in March
2022 was scrapped as girls were sent home citing a "technical issue"
related to their uniforms.
Amnesty International called upon the international
community to respond to these violations of human rights by the Taliban regime
by imposing targeted sanctions on Taliban leaders.
"The relentless oppression of women in
Afghanistan is intensifying day by day. If the international community does
nothing, millions of women and girls in Afghanistan will be left to their own
devices," said Julia Duchrow, Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty
International in Germany.
Source: Telegraph India
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/afghan-women-report-beatings-abuse-under-taliban/cid/1876773
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Iran's Khamenei says Western enemies stoking
anti-hijab protests
27 July ,2022
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused
Western adversaries on Wednesday of being behind a movement among Iranian women
activists to challenge the government's obligatory Islamic dress code.
On July 12, Iranian rights activists urged women to
publicly remove their veils on the government's “National Day of Hijab and
Chastity”, risking arrest for defying the Islamic dress code as the country's
hardline rulers crack down harder on “immoral behavior”.
“Recently, on the pretext of hijab, they have raised
the case of women again...Suddenly, the propaganda machine and the...media of
the US and Britain and some other places, and their mercenaries and followers,
go on the attack,” Khamenei said in remarks carried by state media.
“The enemies' goal is to spread doubt among the
people... and shake their faith, which is the main factor in maintaining the
country and the Islamic system,” Khamenei said in a speech to Friday prayers
imams.
Following the calls for anti-hijab protests, videos
posted on social media showed cases of what appeared to be heavy-handed action
by “morality police” units against women who had removed their hijab.
A video that went viral showed a mother begging
morality police to release her daughter due to her illness and trying to stop a
police van by standing in front of it. The footage prompted Iranian authorities
to announce that the police squad in question would be disciplined.
Under Iran's sharia (Islamic) law, imposed after the
1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long,
loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures. Violators face public rebuke,
fines or arrest. But decades after the revolution, clerical rulers still
struggle to enforce the law, with many women of all ages and backgrounds
wearing tight-fitting, thigh-length coats and brightly colored scarves pushed
back to expose plenty of hair.
Source: Al Arabiya
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iran-decree-hijab-tehran-cemeteries-/d/127590