Iranian Anchor, Sahar Imami, Emerges Hero After Israeli Strikes, Her Gesture Goes Viral
New Age Islam News Bureau
17 June 2025
· Iranian Anchor, Sahar Imami, Emerges Hero After Israeli Strikes, Her Gesture Goes Viral
· Nearly Eight Out Of 10 Young Afghan Women Are Excluded From Education, Jobs, And Training
· Afghan Women Fear They Have Fallen Off West’s Radar Amid Global Conflicts, Aid Cuts
· UN Rights Chief: Women Removed From Public Life In Afghanistan
· Barbaric Islamist Regime - Beating a Woman Whose Hijab Is Not Worn In a Specific Way !?!
· Church Admits Failure Over Sisters' 'Sadistic' Abuse
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-anchor-israeli-strikes-emerges/d/135898
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Iranian Anchor, Sahar Imami, Emerges Hero After Israeli Strikes, Her Gesture Goes Viral
Jun 17, 2025
Sahar Imami, one of the most prominent anchors with the Iranian state television, is being praised widely on social media for returning to broadcast immediately after an Israeli strike on the studio last evening. Dramatic footage showed yesterday the organisation's building on fire in Tehran as Israeli attacks grew amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Imami was midway through the bulletin when an Israeli missile hit the compound of the Iranian TV studio. She had to get up and leave as the studio shook in the impact of the missile strike, showed visuals. She, however, returned and resumed her live broadcast shortly after.
Social media posts from regime supporters lauded Imami's strength and courage, and her image was shared alongside senior leaders of the Shia-Iranian axis.
"She is the face of Iranian women's courage," read one of the posts. With her image alongside Nasrallah, another was captioned: "You cannot destroy an idea by killing."
Going viral is her gesture of pointing her finger while targeting Israel on television, just before the strike filled the studio with smoke. Her gesture has found her place in online posters alongside Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, making similar gestures.
Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Zahra Behramzadeh Azar, also praised Imami in a post, calling her a symbol of Iranian women's courage and stating that she has become "the voice of all Iranian citizens in the face of aggression."
Who is Sahar Imami?
Sahar Imami is one of Iran's most famous news anchors. Trained in food engineering, she entered the media field with an anchoring role in 2010. Soon, she gained national prominence by presenting on Iran's official news channel.
She is married and has a child.
Following Monday's events, Arabic-language media praised her "calm demeanor and confident presence". Their coverage also noted her "simplicity and avoidance of heavy makeup."
Condemnation of the Attack
The attack on the Iranian State TV broadcasting headquarters sparked widespread condemnation from pro-Iran voices online.
Hezbollah condemned it as a "Zionist crime", calling it a "heinous attack targeting Iran's broadcasting center". They labelled it "systematic terrorism" aimed at "suppressing opposition, erasing truth, and ending the Iranian people's revolution."
The Iranian broadcaster issued a statement saying: "The Zionist entity brutally bombed the state media headquarters in Tehran. The enemy seeks to silence the great Iranian people's voice by targeting the news channel."
The attack "reflects the impact of Iran's national media on Israeli media. This attack has not broken, and will not break, the resolve of Iran's journalists," said the head of Iran's broadcasting authority.
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iranian-anchor-sahar-imani-emerges-hero-after-israeli-strikes-her-gesture-goes-viral-8688514
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Nearly eight out of 10 young Afghan women are excluded from education, jobs, and training
17 June 2025
UN Women supported village based milk collection point, where women can sell milk locally. Dara-i-Noor district, Jalalabad province, Afghanistan. 2025. Photo: UN Women/Sayed Habib Bidell
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“Afghanistan’s greatest resource is its women and girls,” said UN Women Executive Director SimaBahous. “Their potential continues to be untapped, yet they persevere. Afghan women are supporting each other, running businesses, delivering humanitarian aid and speaking out against injustice. Their courage and leadership are reshaping their communities, even in the face of immense restrictions. We must stand with them in their pursuit of a country that reflects their rights and the aspirations of all Afghans.”
According to UN Women’s report, developed with financial support from the European Union, 78 per cent of young Afghan women are not in education, employment or training – nearly four times the rate for Afghan men. The secondary school completion rate for girls will soon collapse to zero, following bans on secondary and tertiary education – including in medical education – for girls and women.
Afghanistan still has one of the largest workforce gender gaps in the world, with only 24 per cent of women participating in the labour force, compared to 89 per cent of men. Women are more likely to work at home and in lower-paid, insecure jobs. Women also take on a greater share of unpaid domestic work: 74 per cent of women spent significant time doing household chores, compared to only 3 per cent of men.
The financial divide is equally stark, with men nearly three times more likely than women to own a bank account or use mobile money services, according to the new Index.
While general restrictions remain for women working, there are limited exemptions, and the report shows that Afghan women are still joining the workforce in record numbers, driven by protracted economic and humanitarian crises. According to the report, by 2022, the number of unemployed women actively seeking work had quadrupled compared to before the takeover, while the number of employed women had doubled.
No women hold positions in the de facto Cabinet or in local offices, a setback that impacts the ability of women to shape policies and laws affecting their lives. Despite being all but erased from public and political life, Afghan women still continue to push for inclusive governance and find ways to raise their concerns with authorities, at the national and subnational level.
This Index will help measure the evolution of gender equality in Afghanistan and will inform the work of national and international stakeholders to address the ongoing women’s rights crisis. UN Women continues its work on the ground to ensure the priorities and needs of Afghan women and girls remain at the forefront of global response and they are able to live in dignity and contribute to the nation’s development.
Source: unwomen.org
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2025/06/nearly-eight-out-of-10-young-afghan-women-are-excluded-from-education-jobs-and-training
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Afghan Women Fear They Have Fallen Off West’s Radar Amid Global Conflicts, Aid Cuts
June 17, 2025
By Farangis Najibullah
Since the Taliban returned to power almost four years ago, few women have been able to keep their jobs amid an increasing array of restrictions on women’s freedoms. Ameena is one of them.
Now, Ameena, and the few others like her who haven’t lost their careers to the Taliban’s restrictive measures, fear another blow: that ongoing global conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East, and shifting international priorities -- the United States and many European countries are cutting aid as foreign policies shift -- are exacerbating the dire situation for women's rights in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
“The Taliban is getting away with their crackdown on us because it knows that Afghanistan is not a priority for the international community anymore,” Ameena said.
Ameena, whose name has been changed over security concerns, says her work at a private media outlet has been vital for her “survival both financially and mentally.”
Her salary of around 12,000 Afghanis ($170) a month doesn’t just help put food on the table for her parents and family.
“Being able to work is much more than just money to me: it gives meaning to my life -- I feel that I’m doing something with my life. I would literally lose my mind if I was confined to the four walls of my home like most women in my country today,” Ameena, 25, told RFE/RL.
But Ameena fears that the “rope is tightening further” around women’s lives in Afghanistan, especially outside of Kabul, as the Taliban-led government continues to roll back the rights they enjoyed during the two decades of the Western-backed government before it collapsed in August 2021.
Despite making promises to form an inclusive government, adhere to basic human rights norms, and prevent Afghan territory from becoming a safe haven for transnational extremist groups, the Taliban have failed to deliver.
The hard-line Islamist regime has systematically denied Afghan women and girls access to education, employment, and freedom of movement, and prevents them from holding prominent roles in government or society.
The UN has condemned the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women as "gender apartheid," highlighting their systematic erasure from public life and severe punishments for resistance.
In a new report last month, the United Nations office in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented ongoing, widespread discrimination against women as the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice implements strict morality laws ratified by Supreme Spiritual Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada in 2024.
ICC Arrest Warrants
The Taliban’s morality laws bar women from speaking or showing their faces in public, going to amusement parks, and travelling or eating out without a male guardian, among other restrictions.
Women’s gyms and beauty salons have been closed across the country.
Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Akhunzada and the chief justice of the Taliban’s Supreme Court, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of persecuting females.
The Taliban administration has dismissed the arrest warrants as well as the UN condemnation of its restrictive policies on women’s rights.
While the primary driver of women's rights violations in Afghanistan is the Taliban's repressive policies, global conflicts and shifting international priorities are starting to compound the challenges faced by Afghan women.
Keeping Spotlight On Women’s Rights
The recent decision by the Trump administration to make deep cuts to its aid program, USAID, is one such shift.
According to the advocacy group OneAid, the move will cost Afghanistan more than $500 million in aid that won't reach the country.
“It feels like Afghanistan and its issues, including its women’s rights are forgotten by the West,” says RahilaYousofi, an independent Afghan journalist, who recently left Kabul for neighboring Pakistan.
“Afghanistan is being pushed further aside from the radar by new conflicts, like Iran and Gaza. Western countries also focus more on their own domestic matters, obviously,” Yousofi told RFE/RL in a phone interview.
With the world’s attention wandering, many Afghan women’s rights activists are doubling down in an effort to keep their cause in the international spotlight.
Fawzia Koofi, a former lawmaker and the founder of the Women for Afghanistan group, is one of those activists working with United Nations, the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, and human rights groups to document what they call the “ongoing gross violations” of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Koofi warns Western governments not to abandon Afghanistan and its women, saying that “doing so would be a mistake they might regret.”
'Leverage' Over The Taliban
Despite the crippling poverty that has overwhelmed Afghanistan, the Taliban administration has rejected Western demands to attach conditions to receiving aid such as upholding women’s and ethnic minorities rights.
Instead, the hard-line government in Kabul has turned to countries such as China, Russia, and Central Asian states that pay less attention to Afghanistan’s human rights records. They have established trade, economic, and political ties with the Taliban-led government, which has not been officially recognized by any country in the world.
“The West still has great leverage over the Taliban,” says Yousofi. “The Taliban is desperate to get international recognition. The West should not give the Taliban government legitimacy if it continues to ignore the grievances of the people of Afghanistan.”
Source: rferl.org
https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-women-global-conflicts-aid-cuts-rights/33445224.html
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UN rights chief: Women removed from Public Life in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
June 16, 2025
The UN Human Rights Chief warned that women in Afghanistan have been systematically removed from public life, facing severe restrictions and discrimination.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned about the deteriorating condition of Afghan women during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Speaking on Monday, June 16, Türk stated that women and girls in Afghanistan have been “erased from public life” under the current authorities, raising global concern.
He further emphasized that LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities also face grave threats in Afghanistan, calling for greater international attention to their protection and rights.
Türk also expressed concern over shrinking international support, noting that some countries have reduced humanitarian funding for Afghan women at a time of growing vulnerability.
Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, presented his latest report focusing on access to justice and protections for Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule.
Bennett reiterated that the situation for Afghan women has worsened and urged the creation of a new, independent accountability mechanism to address ongoing human rights abuses.
The UN officials’ remarks come amid continued global alarm over systematic gender apartheid in Afghanistan, where women face bans on education, work, and free movement.
With little accountability in place, human rights experts argue that without strong international mechanisms and consistent pressure, the situation is likely to deteriorate further for women in Afghanistan.
Source: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/un-rights-chief-women-removed-from-public-life-in-afghanistan/
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Barbaric Islamist Regime - Beating a Woman Whose Hijab Is Not Worn In a Specific Way !?!
SIBY JEYYA
17/06/2025
A disturbing scene unfolded on the streets of Iran as members of the so-called morality police were seen violently beating and dragging a woman whose hijab did not conform to the state-imposed dress code. Despite wearing a hijab, the authorities deemed it “improper” because it did not meet the rigid standards dictated by the Islamic Republic. Such incidents are far from isolated—they are daily reminders of the regime’s oppressive grip on personal freedom, particularly targeting women who dare to assert bodily autonomy in even the most modest ways. The brutality reflects not just the enforcement of a dress code, but a deeply ingrained system of control rooted in patriarchal and authoritarian ideology.
Under Iran’s theocratic rule, the hijab has become less a religious garment and more a political symbol of submission to the regime. The law does not merely mandate wearing it—it dictates how tightly it must be wrapped, what colours are acceptable, and how much hair or neck can be shown. women who fail to comply, even slightly, face public humiliation, beatings, arrest, or worse. This obsessive enforcement has fueled widespread resentment, especially among young women who see the hijab laws as a tool of state violence rather than spiritual observance. The fact that state agents are willing to assault women in broad daylight for a loose scarf shows just how far the regime is willing to go to maintain symbolic dominance. Online TV streaming services
This brutal enforcement reveals the desperation of a regime that has lost the hearts and minds of its people. It clings to symbols like the hijab not out of religious reverence but to maintain control and project fear. But the growing public defiance, from women removing their hijabs to mass protests led by ordinary citizens, signals that iran is reaching a tipping point. The scenes of state violence may be horrifying, but they are also galvanizing a movement that is no longer afraid to say openly: this barbaric, Islamist regime must go. The Iranian people—especially its brave women—are demanding a future defined not by coercion, but by freedom, dignity, and self-determination.
Source: indiaherald.com
https://www.indiaherald.com/Breaking/Read/994827533/Barbaric-Islamist-Regime-Beating-a-Woman-Whose-Hijab-Is-Not-Worn-In-a-Specific-Way-
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Church Admits Failure Over Sisters' 'Sadistic' Abuse
17 JUN 2025
Martin Lindsay
The Church of England has apologised to three sisters who say they were "fobbed off" after reporting historical child sex abuse claims.
Jenny, Wendy and Christina Read said they were "frequently" abused as young children by their father, a female church warden and a male curate in night-time "sadistic rituals" at a north-east England church.
An independent review commissioned by the Church found the institution's failure to take action "compounded" the women's trauma, while Cleveland Police "missed opportunities" to investigate for which the force apologised.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury when two of the reports were made, said he regretted how he handled the allegations.
The sisters, who have waived their right to anonymity, said they reported the abuse three times to the Church and police years later but inadequate action was taken.
The Church, which never investigated, acknowledged its response "fell short of today's standards".
Meanwhile the police agreed they missed opportunities in their investigations, but said they would reinvestigate if new evidence came to light.
The women's father died in 1996, while church warden and family friend Mary Wairing died in 2015. The BBC is not naming the curate or the sisters' father for legal reasons.
Wendy said she was raped by her father and the curate and then forced "to watch when they did the same thing to my sisters".
Jenny said her memories were of violence while Christina recalled being subjected to physical, emotional and spiritual abuse by Ms Wairing.
All three sisters have been diagnosed with several mental health conditions linked to childhood sexual abuse.
They have also shown the BBC hundreds of documents detailing their correspondence with the Church of England since the early 1990s and said their attempt to get evidence of what action the Church took had been a "horrendous" experience.
'Dismissed and trivialised'
The sisters reported the allegations to three Bishops in the Church of England – in 1993, 2003 and 2005.
The curate and Ms Wairing still had active roles in the Church at the time of those disclosures.
In 1993 Wendy had sought the informal advice of the then-Bishop of Monmouth Rowan Williams, who she knew from university.
She said he told her he had spoken to the relevant bishop "to support Wendy's approach and urge him to respond".
Dr Williams told the BBC he also took steps to confirm the identity of the curate at the time.
In 2003, a year after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams was formally informed in writing of the allegations when Wendy reported the claim to the Bishop of Whitby Robert Ladds.
Wendy said Bishop Ladds left her feeling "dismissed and trivialised" when he "questioned the reliability of childhood memories".
Bishop Ladds recommended at the time she contact the police, but she felt she had "been there and done that" after a criminal investigation 10 years earlier brought no charges.
"It felt like he wanted nothing to do with it," Wendy said.
Bishop Ladds said the Church of England had responded on his behalf, he had cooperated fully throughout and he would be making no further comment.
Dr Williams told the BBC that Church structures made it difficult for him to take action.
"At the time this would have meant in practice that a local bishop would normally assess, with professional advice, whether action should be taken and of what kind," he said.
"There are some difficulties in overruling such a locally based process.
"I could not as Archbishop simply have suspended a priest in another diocese on my own authority."
After learning Bishop Ladds was not going to investigate, Dr Williams said he "could and should" have pressed the local archbishop to take it up, adding: "I very much regret that I did not follow up in this way."
He said he "may have misjudged what needed to be done".
Wendy said the Church's failure to commission a formal investigation was "really disappointing and frustrating".
The sisters reported their allegations to the Church again in 2005, but Dr Williams said he was not aware of that report.
'Church truly sorry'
An independent report commissioned by the Church – known as a Learning Lessons Review (LLR) – concluded the sisters "had been subjected to abuse based on the consistency of their testimonies, the graphic and detailed re-telling of their abuse, and therapy required".
It concluded the "initial disclosures were poorly handled" and the response from the institution in 1993 and 2003 "compounded the harm" for the sisters.
Jenny was shocked to learn the Church had no record of two of the sisters' reports being made.
"There's fobbing off," she said, adding: "It feels deliberate. I don't think they want to give me answers.
"They're either incompetent or they're covering up."
Jenny also accused the Church of "a lack of transparency" and being "secretive".
The Church of England said it "strongly" denies suggestions of a cover up.
A spokesman said it was "truly sorry" for the response the sisters received when they made their initial reports.
The Church said its "response to survivors who come forward today is very different" and it "would always seek" to put them at the centre of its response.
The relevant Diocese said it had "worked closely" with the sisters since 2020 and ensured they received "ongoing therapeutic, specialist and financial support".
The Church said the case was reviewed by its national child protection lead in 2003, but admitted the pastoral care initially provided "fell short of today's standards".
It said it was "committed to listening to survivors and the individual needs of the sisters".
The Church's interim leader, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, had met the sisters and offered a "formal apology", the spokesman said.
'Police apologise unreservedly'
The LLR concluded the police response meant "opportunities have been missed" and the force's initial investigation appeared "to lack thoroughness".
The force has also apologised to the sisters.
Their father was arrested in 1992 when they first reported the abuse but neither the curate nor Ms Wairing were interviewed.
Another complaint was made to police in 2003 but there was no investigation.
In 2020, Cleveland Police investigated the allegations again and the curate was arrested but released due to insufficient evidence.
Christina said the fact Ms Wairing was never formally investigated by the force was the "the biggest offending misconduct".
Cleveland Police Assistant Chief Constable Richard Baker said the force "acknowledges it missed opportunities" in 1993 and 2003, adding: "For this, I apologise unreservedly."
He said he was "satisfied" with the force's 2020 investigation and pledged to investigate any new evidence.
A Church document showed the institution did not investigate following advice from Cleveland Police in 2003, the same year the force now admits it missed opportunities.
"It's incomprehensible that the Church takes direction from the police," said Wendy, who was "speechless and "enraged" by the development.
The Church of England said, "in 2003 the accepted practice was to follow the advice of statutory services".
Jenny thinks "the whole institution [of the Church] is in danger" and nothing less than "a profound reformation" will "solve the problems they've got themselves into".
The Church admits it "must build future foundations" to ensure it's "as safe as it can be".
Christina is demanding a change in attitude from Church leaders.
"Too often I've heard 'that was in the past, you need to forget about it'," she said, adding: "That's somebody who doesn't understand the impact of trauma.
"You can't just forget about it."
Source: bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2d5w0x6g7zo
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-anchor-israeli-strikes-emerges/d/135898