Iranian Female Athlete, Baran Arjmand, Appears To Seek Asylum In Denmark
New Age Islam News Bureau
30 November 2024
· Iranian Female Athlete, BaranArjmand, Appears To Seek Asylum In Denmark
· Mashal Yousafzai, a PTI leader, Denotified As KP CM's Special Assistant
· Hiking Group For Muslim Women Breaks Barriers As Hundreds Flock To The Outdoors
· UN Official Says Afghan Women Face Relentless Erosion Of Rights
· Iran Calls For Expulsion Of Israel From UN Commission On Status Of Women
· Freedom Oppression: Women’s Struggle and Movement from France to Iran
· Shots Fired At Bushra Bibi's Vehicle During Islamabad Protest, Claims Spox
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-female-athlete-asylum-denmark/d/133879
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Iranian Female Athlete, BaranArjmand, Appears To Seek Asylum In Denmark
NOVEMBER 30, 2024
Baran Arjmand, a member Iran's table tennis national youth team
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A teenage table tennis player has eluded her team in Denmark and refused to return to Iran, a sport federation said and Iranian media reported, in another likely case of athletes seeking refuge abroad.
"Baran Arjmand, a 15-year-old member of Iran's youth national team who participated in the World Championships in Sweden, left the delegation after the competition concluded," the Iranian Table Tennis Federation said Friday.
"This young athlete, without notifying or coordinating with the federation, introduced herself to police in Copenhagen while the team was returning to Iran," the statement added, without describing her potential motivations.
Many Iranian athletes have sought refuge while abroad in international sporting competitions in recent years.
Forty percent of the 36 athletes selected for the 2024 Refugee Olympic Team hailed from Iran.
The considerable presence of Iranian refugees on the team followed a surge in the emigration of athletes, artists, and skilled workers from Iran, driven by increasing economic pressure and anti-government sentiment.
Despite having received her boarding pass for her flight home, Arjmand refused to return to Iran, a report by the Tasnim News agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
Arjmand asked for the Danish police's help to prevent her return to Iran, it added. Neither Arjmand nor her family has issued a statement regarding her decision.
Many Iranian athletes who remain abroad have cited political pressures, social restrictions, or personal reasons for their actions. In January 2023, Iranian alpine skier Atefeh Ahmadi applied for asylum in Germany after traveling to Europe for training.
In December 2021, Shaghayegh Bapiri, a member of the Iranian women’s handball team, refused to return to Iran after a tournament in Spain, citing the country’s mandatory hijab rules and other restrictions she faced.
Similarly, in 2019, judoka Saeid Mollaei sought asylum in Germany after alleging pressure from Iranian authorities to withdraw from competitions to avoid facing Israeli opponents.
Source: iranintl.com
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202411296615
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Mashal Yousafzai, a PTI leader, Denotified As KP CM's Special Assistant
By Rasool Dawar
November 30, 2024
Mashal Azam Yousafzai, the spokesperson of PTI founder Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi. — APP/File
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PESHAWAR: Mashal Azam Yousafzai, a PTI leader and special assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, has been dismissed from her post following a controversial TV interview.
The Chief Minister's Secretariat issued an official notification regarding her dismissal.
Following the protest debacle on November 27, the former ruling party faced intense internal turmoil that saw leaders like Salman Akram Raja and Sahibzada Hamid Raza leave their party positions.
The protest, aimed at securing party founder Imran Khan's release who has been behind bars for more than a year, is currently under scrutiny over its decision to reach D-Chowk in Islamabad instead of proceeding to Sangjani.
Bushra and Gandapur are facing strong criticism for their decision to move the protest towards D-Chowk.
Confirming the development to Geo News, Yousafzai said that she was removed from her role owing to remarks she made during an interview with Geo News.
It should be mentioned here that Yousafzai also serves as the spokesperson for PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi.
Speaking on the Geo News programme Naya Pakistan on Friday, Mashal reiterated that Bushra had been instructed by the PTI founder to proceed to D-Chowk during the Islamabad protest which the PTI described as "do-or-die" for them.
"When told to move (to the D-Chowk) by the PTI founder, how could she refuse?" she argued.
Bushra did not want to return from D-Chowk, her spokesperson said, claiming, "But, Bushra's vehicle came under severe attack, with reports of firing and chemical splashes which blurred its windshield.
Consequently, the PTI founder's wife had to switch her vehicle, Yousafzai said, adding: "I was separated from her amidst the chaos during this time."
Her statement contradicted Islamabad's police chief's statement regarding the use of live ammunition by law enforcers during the operation.
Bushra's spokesperson said that she was not certain what exactly happened after Bushra changed her vehicle as she got separated from the former first lady.
Expressing surprise at how PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and KP CM’s aide Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif managed to meet Imran at Adiala Jail, she claimed that Bushra received an "indirect message" regarding PTI founder's purported message to stage a sit-in at Sangjani.
Yousafzai claimed that Bushra wanted to confirm about Imran's directives regarding Sangjani directly from him.
Source: thenews.com.pk
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1256628-mashal-yousafzai-denotified-as-kp-cms-special-assistant
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HIKING GROUP FOR MUSLIM WOMEN BREAKS BARRIERS AS HUNDREDS FLOCK TO THE OUTDOORS
Nov 29, 2024
Nasrieen Habib, pictured October 28, 2024, is the founder of Hiking Hijabies. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
When Nasrieen Habib launched a hiking group for Muslim women in 2022, she didn’t know if anyone would show up.
Nine women responded to her initial social media post. “And we have never stopped since,” Nasrieen said.
In the two years since, Hiking Hijabie — and an offshoot for families, Hiking Ummah — have grown into a local force, drawing more than 870 participants for outdoors activities including hikes, camping, kayaking and even snow-tubing.
“Our rule is ‘rain or shine, we are hiking,’” Nasrieen said.
The energetic Minneapolis mom of two has launched an umbrella organization, Amanah Recreational Projects, to channel multiple social and outdoors ventures for Muslims, including Hiking Hijabie, Hiking Ummah, EcoJariyah, and Chai and Chat.
She said her goal is to create a safe space for Muslim families and the whole community to spend time outdoors.
Nasrieen said adapting to cold weather can be challenging or even overwhelming for many newcomers, especially those from warmer regions like Somalia.
“Many Somali families don’t go out during the winter season, so my goal is to educate people that being outdoors in the winter time is not that bad once you are used to it,” Nasrieen said. “Winter activities are actually pretty fun; that is why I encourage people to come outdoors.
“I want to make sure my community feels safe and comfortable in their environment, where they can engage in physical activities and enjoy the outdoors.”
The idea of women hiking by themselves is also unusual in the Somali community, so the group is pushing new boundaries.
SURVIVING THE LONG WINTERS
Nasrieen, 38, spent her early years in Somalia and Uganda, then grew up in the subtropical temps of Houston, Texas.
So she was not prepared for the polar blast when her family moved to Minnesota in January 2009. The giant snow piles, frigid temps and icy sidewalks made simple activities, like stepping outside and getting enough sunlight impossible.
She fled back to Texas but returned to Minnesota a few years later, when she was diagnosed with seasonal depression. That was a turning point for her.
Instead of medication, she decided to look for other ways to treat her condition by going outside and engaging in sports activities.
“When my condition was diagnosed, I decided to take vitamin D, seek therapy, and go outside and get whatever little sun was available,” she said.
But first she had to dress for the weather. She said she was self-conscious about her style, and snow boots were not something that could be found in Nasrieen’s shoe rack. “That’s why my toes were always cold,” she said.
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Nasrieen now has Hiking Hijabie groups all over the Twin Cities. And members have taken trips to destinations as far away as Glacier National Park, Mount Rainier and the Grand Canyon.
The women who participate in Hiking Hijabie and Hiking Ummah, say the hikes and other activities offer a chance to enjoy the outdoors and to connect with other like-minded people.
Malika Dahir moved to Minnesota with her family in 2015 from Memphis, Tennessee, and said it was challenging to find a community she could relate to.
“The pandemic was especially difficult for me, and when I found Hiking Hijabie on Instagram, I immediately reached out to them,” Malika said.
“I definitely missed my small friend-group in Memphis, but here in Minneapolis, my family came to a big Somali community that feels like home,” Malika said.
She said her family has participated in many outdoor activities, including hiking, snow-tubing, kayaking, snowshoeing and more.
“These activities help families build core memories,” she said
Dilek Hanedar also found it challenging to connect with others when she moved to the U.S. from Germany with her family in 2014.
She joined the Hiking Hijabie and Hiking Ummah, and she is now a leader and an active participant in the group.
She said Muslim communities in the U.S. are either immigrants themselves or children of immigrants, and getting adequate information on important issues such as finances and property ownership have always been a challenge.
“That’s why coming together as a community, learning from each other, and choosing a healthy lifestyle are important for our survival,” she said.
FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY
Nasrieen left Somalia as a toddler for Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. At age 12, she was admitted to the United States as a refugee.
“I don’t know much about how we got to the refugee camp. The only thing I remember is my family walking and being very thirsty, and then we drank water from the rain,” she recalls.
Nasrieen said even at this moment, there are children who are going through the same experience, and that’s why she wants to use this opportunity and the privilege to make a difference in her community both at home and in the diaspora.
She launched EcoJariyah to sell sportswear for Muslim women. The name combines eco, for the environment and jariyah, which means charitable work. She said 15% of the profit from everything she sells goes to the American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa.
She and the volunteers at Amanah Recreational Projects are currently discussing how to help the environment, practice minimalism, and recycle things that they do not need.
“Islam tells us to care for each other and the environment; that’s why we not only participate in a healthy lifestyle but also care for the environment,” she said.
With the Twin Cities Hiking Hijabie community thriving, Nasrieen said she hopes to start hiking groups in other states, such as Washington, Texas, and Ohio, where large Muslim communities are already present.
“Most of our Muslim families don’t go out or participate in any sports activities. Someday, if we get the support we need, I want to create a place where we have all the amenities that our families need,” she said.
Source: wisconsinmuslimjournal.org
https://wisconsinmuslimjournal.org/https-sahanjournal-com-arts-culture-muslim-hiking-groups-minnesota-women-somali-owned/
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UN official says Afghan women face relentless Erosion of rights
By Siyar Sirat
Nov 30, 2024
GENEVA — Afghan women are facing an unrelenting erosion of their fundamental rights under Taliban rule, Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Friday in a video message marking the 16-day campaign to end violence against women.
Mr. Türk condemned the Taliban’s policies as a “brazen affront to half the population” and described the restrictions on women as “self-inflicted harm on a national scale.” He urged the Taliban to immediately reverse their discriminatory measures.
“Afghan women and girls are being stripped of their basic rights — freedom of movement, expression, education, and work,” he said. “Over the past three years, they have endured egregious human rights violations that have effectively excluded them from public life and social participation.”
Women confined to ‘virtual prisons’
The high commissioner highlighted how Taliban decrees have severely curtailed women’s freedom and their ability to engage peacefully in society.
“These policies have deprived women and girls of public life and confined them to virtual prisons within their homes,” he said.
Mr. Türk warned that these measures not only violate women’s rights but also jeopardize the future of Afghanistan as a whole. The systematic suppression of half the population, he said, will have devastating consequences for future generations and the country’s prospects for peace and sustainable development.
“This is not only a tragedy for Afghan women but a national calamity,” he added.
Call for action
The United Nations and human rights organizations have repeatedly urged the Taliban to lift their bans on women’s education and employment and to allow them to participate fully in Afghan society. Despite international pressure, the Taliban’s policies remain unchanged, leaving millions of women trapped in a cycle of oppression and exclusion.
Mr. Türk’s remarks come as global attention turns to the plight of Afghan women during the international campaign to combat gender-based violence, underscoring the urgency of addressing the human rights crisis unfolding in Afghanistan.
Source: amu.tv
https://amu.tv/140422/
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Iran calls for expulsion of Israel from UN Commission on Status of Women
By IFP Editorial Staff
November 30, 2024
The secretary of Iran's Human Rights Headquarters has called for the expulsion of Israel from the United Nations Commission on Status of Women in separate letters to four high-ranking UN officials, emphasizing the need for accountability for Israel's crimes in Gaza and Lebanon.
Kazem Gharibabadi made the plea on Friday in letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN Economic and Social Council Bob Rae, Chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women Abdulaziz al-Wasel, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
Gharibabadi highlighted that Israel, which has turned Gaza into a killing field for civilians, especially women and children, undermines the credibility of international institutions and their ability to address crises and human threats effectively.
He pointed to statistics showing the extent of Israel’s brutal crimes against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon, questioning how any rational and conscientious person could accept Israel’s membership in an international body dedicated to women’s rights.
Gharibabadi noted the systematic destruction of Gaza’s educational system and the targeted killing of academics, teachers, and students.
He also urged the UN Economic and Social Council members to demonstrate their commitment to the UN Charter and human rights by preventing Israel’s continued membership in the Commission on the Status of Women, arguing that Israel should never be allowed to rejoin any human rights bodies, given its crimes against women and children.
Source: ifpnews.com
https://ifpnews.com/iran-expulsion-israel-un-commission-status-women/
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Freedom Oppression: Women’s Struggle and Movement from France to Iran
NOVEMBER 30, 2024
Freedom is a word with many meanings. Since the era of global decolonization, various movements fighting for freedom have spread worldwide. Moreover, after WW II, fear of tragedies such as massacres, genocide, and disease outbreaks invited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR has brought well significant progress to the social development of world society. Fighting for human rights and freedom is by creating a social movement. According to Britannica, social movement is defined as “a loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society’s structure or values”[1].
Most societal structures around the world have gender inequality cultures. Patriarchal culture in the structure of society requires women to fight for equal rights. Known as the Feminist Movement. “Feminism-, is a belief in the political, economic, and cultural equality of women. It is typically separated into three waves: first-wave feminism, dealing with property rights and the right to vote; second-wave feminism, focusing on equality and anti-discrimination, and third-wave feminism, which started in the 1990s as a backlash to the second wave’s perceived privileging of white, straight women”[2]. Generally, feminism is seen as a movement to put an end to every type of sexism, sexist exploitation, and also oppression, to achieve well gender equality in law and practice.
In front of International Law, Feminism-, the women’s movement is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a nutshell, feminism tries to be born free and equal in dignity and rights. As human as the Article 1, women’s rights are human rights. Furthermore, women also have the same rights as men as regulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “The ICCPR keeps three principles; Non-discrimination, which is all rights apply to all people regardless of sex, race, skin color, religion, language, ethnicity, etc; men and women are equal; Immediate Effect, which is States must comply and respect all rights of individuals without exception immediately right after they choose to ratify ICCPR; State Responsibility, which is respect to all civil and political rights is the responsibility of ratifying States”[3].
Although there are UDHR and ICCPR as the fundamental principles. Women’s social movements keep going because oppression against women’s rights continues in several states, such as the liberalist France and the conservative Iran.
France has been through many shapes of states, from the First French Empire to the Fifth French Republic. Its history is long, complex, and full of struggles for liberation. Laïcité or Secularism, is a principle adhered to by the French state. This principle separates religious matters and their influence from public institutions. In the name of Secularism, the French Government has banned the use of various religious attributes in public spaces, such as schools. The government tries to regulate the country, especially in public spaces, by the principles they understand. Creating a space that is not influenced by any religion or belief.
In March 2004, after months of debate, the French parliament voted through a ban on headscarves in schools, outlawing “symbols or clothing that conspicuously demonstrate a pupil’s religious affiliation” [4]. Then in 2010, it banned the niqab, the Islamic full-face veil, in public places such as streets, parks, public transport, and administrative buildings. Of course, there are different views in responding to this ban. This ‘hijab ban’, perhaps for some feminist activists, is considered progress in terms of providing emancipation for Muslim women. However, for Muslim women, this is an oppression of freedom of expression. Violating expression of wearing clothes according to individual beliefs and personal choices. Also violated the UDHR and ICCPR rules.
Ban of religious attributes, especially the hijab/niqab or head covering, gave rise to a resistance movement that protested the regulation to ban it. The hashtag ‘#HandsOffMyHijab’ or ‘#PasToucheAMonHijab’ has become one of the symbolic slogans of resistance to restrictions on the freedom to wear the hijab in France. According to a Reuters report, “the amendment to an ‘anti-separatism’ bill designed to strengthen France’s secular values and which applies to girls under 18 has drawn outrage and prompted an online protest under the hashtag #HandsOffMyHijab that went viral beyond French borders”[5]. Protests against the regulation were also carried out with other actions, such as the women’s football club. “These women are part of the activist group ‘The Hijabeuses’, a collective of female football players fighting for the right to wear a hijab in official matches, which is banned in France” [6]. Women’s movements to protest its regulation faced discrimination by the secular French Government. The situation makes it difficult for women, especially Muslims in France, to obtain their rights.
Different from France’s condition, women in Iran face a situation that is similar but not the same. Mainly, the difference is women in Iran are forced to wear hijab by the Government’s rule. Known as the Islamic Republic of Iran. This country has made regulations requiring women to wear the hijab, by force which was implemented after the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. To enforce Sharia law, Ayatollah Khomeini decreed that all women were required to wear the hijab at work. As for women who do not wear a headscarf, he classifies them as “naked” women. Of course, this regulation has received a lot of criticism from feminist activists, especially from the West.
The Iranian government does not provide the slightest space for women to get relief from wearing the hijab. By the year 2022, a young woman named Masha Amini was arrested by Iranian authorities for violating the mandatory hijab rules. According to the Al-Jazeera report, “She was coming out of a metro station in Tehran with family members when she was arrested by morality police for alleged non-compliance with the country’s mandatory hijab rules that have been in place since shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution”[7]. Detained and repressed by the moral police ended in her death.
The case of Masha Amini prompted deeper awareness of women’s rights to freedom. Many women have taken to the streets to protest against regulations forcing the use of the hijab across the nation-wide. The demonstrators also raised the slogan ‘Women, Life, Freedom’. Protest facing challenges from the government. Iranian authorities submitted a draft law and later passed it, making hijab regulations even stricter. The struggle of the women’s movement in Iran is increasingly extreme, not with violence, but with other symbolic actions against this imposition. “A woman at an Iranian university stripped down to her underwear in an apparent act of protest after university security forces reportedly violently stopped her for not wearing a headscarf”[8]. Later, Iranian authorities have arrested the woman.
Perhaps, Muslim women in France believe that Iran is a better place where they can practice their belief to wear hijab without government restraint. Women in Iran may believe differently that France is a better place because there are no forced hijab rules that restrict their freedom. At the same time, both of these raise ambiguities ‘is it permissible for the state to regulate the religious beliefs of its citizens? Is this justified?’. Referring to the ICCPR, article 18 “ Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching”[9]. This means that both France and Iran are violations of women’s rights.
Women should be given freedom over their bodies, to choose what clothes they want to wear, without restrictions and coercion. This freedom must be respected as well as human rights. No culture, be it the secularist culture of France or the conservative culture of Iran, is allowed to restrict the freedom of individuals, especially women.
Source: moderndiplomacy.eu
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2024/11/30/freedom-oppression-womens-struggle-and-movement-from-france-to-iran/
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Shots fired at Bushra Bibi's vehicle during Islamabad protest, claims spox
By Web Desk
November 29, 2024
A spokesperson for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, Mashal Yousafzai, claimed on Friday that shots were fired and a chemical-like substance was thrown on the former first lady's vehicle during the police crackdown to disperse the party’s “final call” protest in Islamabad.
The protest, aimed at securing Khan's release who has been behind bars for more than a year, is currently under scrutiny by the former ruling party over its decision to reach D-Chowk in Islamabad as opposed to holding a rally at Sangjani.
Bushra and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur are facing strong criticism for their decision to push forward with the protest at D-Chowk.
Speaking on Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan", Yousafzai narrated the tense situation at the protest venue following a police crackdown and Bushra’s firm stance not to leave the PTI protesters.
She claimed: "Shots were fired straight at Bushra's vehicle and a chemical-like substance was thrown on the windscreen of the bulletproof vehicle which blurred everything."
Her statement came after Islamabad's police chief's denial regarding the use of live ammunition by law enforcers during the operation.
Yousafzai went on the say that the PTI founder's wife could not travel in the same vehicle, therefore, people with her asked her to change the vehicle and assured her that she would be taken back to the sit-in venue.
Bushra's spokesperson added that she was not certain what exactly happened after Bushra changed her vehicle as she got separated from the former first lady due to a stampede.
Expressing surprise at how PTI chief Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and KP CM’s aide Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif managed to meet Khan at Adiala Jail, she claimed that Bushra received an "indirect message" regarding Khan's purported message to stage a sit-in at Sangjani.
Yousafzai claimed that Bushra wanted to confirm about Sangjani directly from Khan which was not impossible as there is a landline number available at the Adiala Jail.
To a question, she confirmed that no one held a meeting with Bushra after she returned from the protest and she met her after two days. Bushra Bibi has neither attended any meeting nor held any meeting with anyone, Yousafzai added.
Prior to this statement, Yousafzai said that the party founder would be the one to carry out accountability for the demonstration — that failed to achieve its objective of securing his release.
"She [Bushra] reached the D-Chowk as per Khan's directions [whereas] party leadership wasn't there [...] whatever happened Khan sahib will hold [people] accountable," said Mashal Yousafzai in a post on X.
The Imran Khan-founded party's much-hyped protest in Islamabad, which started on November 24, was "postponed" abruptly in the wee hours of Wednesday, November 27, with nearly 1,000 supporters being arrested by authorities.
The aftershocks of the protest have not only led to calls for an internal inquiry but have also led to the party's secretary general Salman Akram Raja and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza's resignation — with the latter quitting from the PTI's political and core committees.
Apart from the internal turmoil, the former ruling party now also faces external challenges including a ban as well as governor's rule in the KP.
Source: thenews.com.pk
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1256380-shots-fired-at-bushra-bibis-vehicle-during-islamabad-protest-claims-spox
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-female-athlete-asylum-denmark/d/133879