Iran Sentences Woman Labour Activist, Sharifeh Mohammadi, to Death for Links to Banned Kurdish Group
New Age Islam News Bureau
05 July 2024
·
Iran Sentences Woman Labour Activist, SharifehMohammadi,
to Death for Links to Banned Kurdish Group
·
Muslim Woman, Serine Abuelhawa, forced to
Remove Hijab in Oregon, USA, Jail
·
Fatima Payman, Afghan-Origin Australian Labour
Senator Resigns After Criticism for Her Support of Palestine
·
‘Nothing Compensates for The Stolen Years’: The
Afghan Women Rebuilding Shattered Dreams in Iran
·
Saudi Women Clinch Victory AtAsian Lacrosse
Games In Uzbekistan
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
Iran
Sentences Woman Labour Activist, SharifehMohammadi, to Death for Links to
Banned Kurdish Group
July 04,
2024
She is
accused of being a member of the Kurdish separatist Komala party
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Tehran,
Iran: Iranian authorities Thursday sentenced to death a woman labour activist
on charges of links to an outlawed Kurdish organisation, rights groups said.
SharifehMohammadi,
initially arrested in December in Rasht, Iran, was convicted of the capital
crime of rebellion and sentenced to death, said the Norway-based Hengaw and
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
She is
accused of being a member of the Kurdish separatist Komala party, which is
banned in Iran. Hengaw said she endured "physical and mental torture"
by intelligence agents while in custody.
A
revolutionary court in Rasht, the main city of Gilan province on the Caspian
Sea, convicted and sentenced her to death following a hearing, the groups said.
A source
close to her family said Mohammadi was a member of a local labour organisation
and had "nothing to do with Komala".
The
US-based Iran-focused rights group AbdorrahmanBoroumandCenter said the death
sentence was linked to "her involvement with an independent labour
union".
"This
extreme ruling highlights the harsh crackdown on dissent within Iran,
particularly against labour activists amid economic turmoil," it added.
A
campaign set up to support her case wrote on its social media accounts that the
ruling was "absurd and unfounded" and aimed to create "fear and
intimidation" among activists in Gilan province.
Gilan
was a major centre for protests that erupted in 2022 after the death in custody
of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly violating dress rules
for women.
Rights
activists have accused Iranian authorities of using the death penalty as a tool
to intimidate the entire population in response to the protests.
The
non-governmental group Iran Human Rights said at least 249 people, including 10
women, were executed in Iran in the first six months of 2024.
It
warned of the risk of a "sharp increase" in executions after Iran's
presidential election runoff on Friday, which will pit ultraconservative Saeed
Jalili against reformist MasoudPezeshkian.
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-sentences-woman-labour-activist-to-death-for-links-to-banned-kurdish-group-6035358
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Muslim
Woman, Serine Abuelhawa, forced to Remove Hijab in Oregon, USA, Jail
Jul 4,
2024
Police
arrest Serine Abuelhawa during Portland's Grand Floral Parade on June 8.
Abuelhawa was among a group of protesters who staged a pro-Palestine
demonstration during the parade. KEVIN FOSTER
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Following
a protest in support of Palestine at Portland’s Grand Floral Parade last month,
Serine Abuelhawa was among eight protesters arrested.
Abuelhawa,
a Muslim woman, was taken into custody at the Multnomah County Jail, where she
was instructed to remove her hijab in front of male deputies. For religious
reasons, she initially refused, which led to a tense interaction, a
traumatizing day, and a possible civil rights violation.
The
hijab is a religious headscarf worn by Muslim women to practice modesty in line
with the text of the Quran. Traditionally, they are not permitted to remove the
hijab in front of men, with the exception of their husbands and family members.
“Taking
off my hijab in front of someone, it feels like I’m getting naked,” Abuelhawa
says. “I know that might sound crazy to somebody, but I don’t even take off my
hijab in public.”
Multnomah
County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) protocol states that removal of the hijab will
be done by someone of the same gender and out of view of male staff.
According
to Abuelhawa, she requested a female to oversee the process, but a woman at the
jail didn’t seem to know what the hijab was, nor its religious significance,
which led the deputy to pressure her to remove the garment.
Abuelhawa
responded, “just because I’m in jail does not mean I’m no longer Muslim.”
Abuelhawa
was marked “non-compliant” for not initially removing her hijab and was
separated from the seven other protesters who were arrested.
Video
footage from the jail shows Abuelhawa interacting with deputies for a few
minutes before being taken to a private cell, where she removed her hijab in
the presence of two female deputies. But after a search and pat down, deputies
didn’t return the hijab and instead left Abuelhawa in the cell without her head
covering.
Abuelhawa
says she was kept in a cell for approximately three hours and was not offered
food or water. MCSO has designated meal times and each cell has a water faucet,
but Abuelhawa says the cell wasn’t clean and the faucet was right next to the
toilet.
When it
was time to continue the booking process, multiple male deputies—including some
who were there for the earlier altercation—again observed Abuelhawa without her
hijab on. She says the deputies didn’t offer to return her hijab or have a
female staffer conduct the rest of the process.
Abuelhawa
was photographed without her hijab for jail booking records. MCSO protocol
states that this is normal conduct, but that “booking photos will be taken
without the presence of male staff when possible.” Video shows that didn’t
happen.
AyaBeydoun,
a legal fellow at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), says these
incidents are all too common. In the past year, she has worked on upwards of 12
cases involving women having their booking photos taken without their hijab on.
“It's
deeply unsettling, it's deeply offensive, disrespectful, and it's illegal,”
Beydoun says. “It's a violation of their religious rights because for Muslim
women who wear the hijab, this is a mandate.”
Abuelhawa
is considering legal action.
Her booking
photo is not public, but the photo being in the MCSO database where anyone can
have access is bad enough, Beydoun says. If Abuelhawa wants to pursue legal
action, Beydoun thinks she has a strong case.
It
wouldn’t be the first time a law enforcement agency was sued over the issue.
In 2017,
a Muslim woman in Long Beach, California won an $85,000 lawsuit after police
forcibly removed her hijab. This year, a woman in Tennessee won a $100,000
federal lawsuit in a similar case. Another case in Dallas County, Texas is
still pending, after three women filed suit for being ordered to remove their
hijab earlier this year by jail staff.
While
situations vary with some facilities lacking any directives on the hijab, at
MCSO, it appears the agency’s policies weren’t followed.
“[If] an
incarceree is telling you, ‘hey, this is my religious requirement, I cannot
take this off in front of you,’ then you should have gone to your superior, you
should have checked the manual,” Beydoun says. “The government definitely has
an obligation to ensure that their officers are properly trained and that their
officers are subject to some kind of punishment.”
MCSO
says “the circumstance will be addressed with the booking deputies that were
involved to ensure they understand MCSO policy.”
Most
booking photos are taken for the purpose of identification. However, given that
the hijab is worn in public, removing it for a booking photo may not be
effective.
“If you
really want an accurate picture of what the incarceree looks like, you've got
to have the hijab on,” Beydoun says.
For
Abuelhawa, the whole experience was violating and humiliating.
After
her booking photo, she was walked through the facility by multiple male
officers where she saw the other arrestees from the protest sitting in an open
room rather than a cell.
The
others were released a few hours before Abuelhawa, while she spent more time in
a solitary cell. When she was later given a meal, she says it included a
sandwich with pork, which added insult to injury.
For
Abuelhawa, the disturbing question is whether her treatment was intentional.
“I felt
I was pretty cooperative,” Abuelhawa says. “Everything I said when I got to the
booking phase was what my religious freedoms are…. It does make me wonder, why
specifically me?”
Abuelhawa
faces one charge of second-degree disorderly conduct, for linking arms with
other protesters in the street and failing to disperse after police commands.
She is due back in court July 11.
Source: portlandmercury.com
https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2024/07/04/47287263/muslim-woman-forced-to-remove-hijab-in-multnomah-county-jail
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Fatima
Payman, Afghan-Origin Australian Labour Senator Resigns After Criticism for Her
Support of Palestine
July 4,
2024
Australian
media reports that Fatima Payman, an Afghan-origin senator from the Labour
Party in Australia, has officially resigned from the party approximately one
month after facing criticism for her support of Palestine.
According
to reports, Senator Fatima Payman announced during a press conference today,
Wednesday, July 4th, that she has left the Australian Labor Party with a “heavy
heart but a clear conscience.”
This
controversial senator diverged from her party’s stance in May this year by
publicly supporting the recognition of Palestine and accusing Israel of war
crimes in Gaza.
Her
actions angered the authorities of the ruling Labor Party, leading to the
suspension of her membership. Reports indicate that she has taken no steps to
rescind this suspension in the past month.
According
to The Guardian, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese conducted a secret
ballot after suspending Fatima Payman’s membership, officially confirming her
expulsion from the Labor Party of Australia.
In
response to the secret ballot, Fatima Payman stated, “I have been expelled
[from the party]; these actions lead me to believe that some members are trying
to intimidate me into resigning from the Senate.”
The
situation underscores internal party tensions and raises questions about
handling dissenting voices within Australian political parties.
Despite
the controversy, Fatima Payman remains committed to her stance on international
issues, including her advocacy for Palestinian rights, amidst ongoing debate
and scrutiny within the Australian political landscape.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/fatima-payman-an-afghan-origin-senator-officially-resigns-from-the-australian-labor-party/
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‘Nothing
Compensates for The Stolen Years’: The Afghan Women Rebuilding Shattered Dreams
in Iran
Thu 4
Jul 2024
Relief
set in the moment Hasina crossed the border into Iran. For two years, the
Taliban barred the 24-year-old medical student from continuing her studies.
Now, as part of a growing exodus of Afghan women who desperately want an
education, Hasina is pursuing her degree in Tehran.
“I was
terrified the Taliban would prevent me from leaving,” she says. Last year, they
stopped 100 female Afghan students boarding a flight to take up places at
university in the United Arab Emirates where they had won scholarships.
As a
precaution, Hasina – whose full name has not been given to protect her identity
– left Afghanistan with a tourist visa for Iran. She was accompanied by her
father, they posed as a family going on a visit, but he returned home alone. Now,
Hasina is enrolled at the Iran University of Medical Sciences in the capital,
studying to become a surgeon.
It has
been more than 1,000 days since the all-male Taliban government shut the door
on girls’ education beyond the age of 12 after their August 2021 government
takeover. Neighbouring Iran – which had previously denounced the Taliban’s ban
on girls’ education – has opened it.
More
than 40,000 Afghan students – most of them women – are now studying at
university in Iran, according to the country’s deputy science minister for
international affairs, Vahid Haddadi-Asl. More than 600,000 Afghan children are
also enrolled in schools across the country, the Norwegian Refugee Council
says, explaining that they can enrol in Iranian public schools regardless of
their legal status because of a 2015 government decree.
“Since
the Taliban came to power, the number of Afghan students has increased,” Iran’s
ambassador to Germany, Mahmoud Farazandeh, tells the Guardian. “The issue of
education, especially of women, is of great importance. The doors of Iranian
universities are open to Afghan women and girls who have been deprived of
education,” he says.
Accurate
figures on the number of Afghans living in Iran are hard to come by – many
cross through unofficial border points, complicating documentation. Estimates
suggest that about a million Afghans have fled to Iran since the Taliban
takeover. Many Afghan families left to ensure their children went to school. At
least 1.5 million girls in Afghanistan are still barred from education.
With a
shared language and many cultural similarities, Iran has become a last resort
for many Afghan women determined to finish their studies. According to the
World Bank, Iran’s female literacy rate sits at 85%, while Afghanistan’s
reaches roughly 23% – despite heavy investment in the education sector during
the 20 years of the US-led invasion.
Studying
at a private university in Iran is not cheap, Hasina explains, saying she pays
$4,500 (£3,550) annually – a discounted rate. Her family scrambles to raise the
funds, but is determined to support her education.
“I miss
my family and my home and I hope that one day I can go back; I hope the
oppression women across our country face will end. Still, nothing can
compensate for the years the Taliban has stolen from Afghan girls and women,
including from me,” says Hasina, adding that she is surprised to see how
different things are in Iran. “There are women everywhere here: professors,
doctors, employees. It amazes me.”
Heather
Barr, a director at Human Rights Watch, says there are no signs of any positive
developments regarding education or women’s rights in Afghanistan. “The Taliban
are intensifying their crackdown, sending the message that women shouldn’t be
educated – and that extends to education outside Afghanistan as well,” she
says, adding that the Taliban’s ban has been “denounced by the Muslim
community, including Afghanistan’s neighbours Iran and Pakistan”, two countries
where many Afghan women now study.
Many
Iranians have voiced concerns over growing numbers of Afghans entering the
country, with Afghans repeatedly reporting discriminatory and derogatory
behaviour towards them.
There
have also been reports of pushbacks at the border. Still, Iran could benefit
from the influx, as its population growth rate had dropped to 0.7% in 2022,
down from 2.3% in 2015. Afghan students who have been accepted into
universities additionally invest in the Iranian economy and could contribute to
the workforce in the future.
Farzaneh,
23, arrived in Tehran four months ago, accompanied by her brother. She is
continuing her journalism studies at AllamehTabataba’i University, hoping to
one day return home to “cover Afghanistan”. She pays about €800 (£680) a year;
funded by part-time jobs. Tuition fees in Kabul, where she previously studied,
were lower, but when the Taliban took over Farzaneh was dismissed from classes.
For two years she struggled to find a way to continue her studies – this year
she was finally accepted into university in Tehran.
“Most
women just want to leave Afghanistan now to rebuild their destroyed dreams
elsewhere. This is so painful to me. If the situation for women continues like
it has, I don’t have hope,” Farzaheh says. “I’m studying to make my family – my
father – proud, but I miss my friends and my home. I remember those days when
we smiled and were happy together. These days are gone.”
Source: theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/04/afghan-women-iran-taliban-afghanistan-education
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Saudi women
clinch victory at Asian Lacrosse Games in Uzbekistan
July 04,
2024
SAMARKAND,
Uzbekistan: Saudi Arabia’s women’s lacrosse team on Thursday clinched the title
at the Asian Lacrosse Games in Samarkand, Uzbekistan to mark a successful debut
in the competition.
The team
had to navigate a challenging group stage that featured the host nation and
India.
The
round-robin format saw the Saudi women notch up emphatic victories to finish
top of the pool, which secured them direct passage to the final, where they
beat India again to win the title.
Saudi
Lacrosse Federatopn president Yazeed Al-Rasheed said the triumph was testament
to the hard work and dedication of the players, coaches and support staff.
He said
he hoped the win would inspire a new generation of athletes and encourage
greater participation in lacrosse throughout the Kingdom.
He also
thanked Saudi Arabia’s leadership, including Sports Minister and President of
the Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal and
vice president at the committee Prince Fahad bin Jalawi, for backing lacrosse
and the wider sporting sector.
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2543656/sport
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iran-woman-labour-sharifeh-mohammadi/d/132639