Iranian Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi, Commends Women's Hijab Defiance From Prison
New
Age Islam News Bureau
21
April 2024
• Iranian Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi, Commends
Women's Hijab Defiance From Prison
• Iran’s Women Rowers Clinch Historic Paris Olympics
Berth
• Special Women’s Market In
Balkh Shut Down Due To Inability To Pay Rent
• Monisha Abraham To Become First Ever Female MD Of
BAT Bangladesh
• Top Iranian Sunni Cleric Condemns Iran's Hijab
Crackdown
• Deputy Minister of Virtue and Vice: Islamic Emirate
Defends Women's Rights
• 'War Against Women': Iran Ramps Up Crackdown As
Regional Tensions Rage
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-nobel-laureate-narges-hijab/d/132175
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Iranian Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi, Commends
Women's Hijab Defiance From Prison
Iranian Nobel Laureate
Narges Mohammadi
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21-04-2024
Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, in a message from prison sent to Iran International says the struggle
of Iranian women against forced hijab is “resistance against the government's
oppression.”
Mohammadi made the statement as she observed her 53rd
birthday in prison, marking the tenth time she has spent her birthday behind
bars.
“The struggle of Iranian women against compulsory
hijab is not merely a fight for the right to choose one’s dress; and the
government’s oppression of women is also not just an issue of its religious
ideology. Both Iranian women and the Islamic Republic regime recognize that
this issue represents the defeat of religious tyranny,” she said.
Mohammadi has been imprisoned multiple times for her
human rights activities and currently is serving a 6.5-year sentence. She was
last arrested in 2022 during nationwide anti-government protests triggered by
the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. She was arrested in September
2022 for “improper hijab” and died three days later from severe head injuries.
Mohammadi said in her statement that “Compulsory hijab
is a symbol of submission to illegitimate government authority, serving as a
tool for the regime to maintain its power and control. The broad scope of this
opposition has not only halted at the boundaries of women's rights but has also
challenged the power apparatus itself.”
The government launched a new campaign in the streets
to force women to wear hijab on April 14. Thousands of police officers and
plainclothes agent patrol the cities to arrest women who appear in public
without hijab. This has led to confrontations and violent arrests of mostly
young women.
“The resurgence of morality patrols, the presence of
law enforcement in uniforms, and the intensification of violence in public
spaces are all government attempts to instill fear. However, the resistance and
increased confrontations demonstrate the strength and power of the protesters,”
Mohammadi noted.
Some observers believe that the crackdown was timed to
coincide with heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, both as an
opportunity to crack down while the world is focused on the possibility of
large-scale conflict, and also to intimidate the population not to engage in
protests.
Mohammadi, who has increasingly become a more vocal
critics of the Islamic Republic, concluded her statement with praise for those
who defy compulsory hijab: “Civil disobedience and defiance of compulsory
hijab, especially by the younger generation of Iranian women, have brought them
into the forefront. Despite the heavy toll they have borne, their courageous
struggle against the government has left a significant mark. This fight, due to
the inability of oppressive forces to sustain long-term presence on the streets
and conversely, the potential for continued civil resistance by women, will
ultimately benefit the people.”
Source: Iranintl
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202404200950
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Iran’s Women Rowers Clinch Historic Paris Olympics Berth
Photo: Mehr News
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Apr 21, 2024
Mahsa Javer and Zeinab Norouzi competed with rivals
from Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia in the sporting event.
Iranian rowers finished in 7 minutes 4.78 seconds and
received a silver medal in the lightweight women’s double sculls.
Japan and Uzbekistan stood in first and third places
respectively.
The 2024 World Rowing Asian and Oceanian Olympic &
Paralympic Qualification Regatta was held in Chungju, South Korea from April
19-21.
Source: Mehr News
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/214170/Iran-s-women-rowers-clinch-historic-Paris-Olympics-berth
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Special Women’s Market In Balkh Shut Down Due To
Inability To Pay Rent
By Fidel Rahmati
April 21, 2024
According to sources, the market was temporarily
closed on Saturday, April 20th, due to the non-payment of shop rents and water.
The monthly rent for each shop is 2,700 Afghanis,
which has not been paid for the past two months.
The source further adds that the market authorities
have given a 10-day deadline for women shopkeepers to pay their rents,
otherwise their contracts will be terminated.
The Khadijah Al-Kubra and Rabia Balkhi markets in
Mazar city cater specifically to women, with approximately 200 shops currently
active in the Khadijah Al-Kubra market.
With the resurgence of de facto authorities, the
country is grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis. Restrictive policies
targeting women’s employment and mobility have only exacerbated the situation,
leading to widespread suffering and hardship.
These restrictions have plunged many families into
deeper poverty and vulnerability.
https://www.khaama.com/special-womens-market-in-balkh-shut-down-due-to-inability-to-pay-rent/
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Monisha Abraham To Become First Ever Female MD Of BAT
Bangladesh
21 Apr 2024
Monisha Abraham will replace Shehzad Munim as the
managing director of BAT Bangladesh, effective from 1 July 2024, stated a press
release. She will be the first female managing director to lead BAT Bangladesh
in the company’s history of 114 years.
Monisha brings with her almost 30 years of experience
in marketing and general management roles across multiple sectors, including
FMCG and tobacco.
Monisha has played the role of a non-executive
director among the BAT Bangladesh board of directors since March 2023. She will
be joining BAT Bangladesh from Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC), part of the
BAT Group, where she served as the managing director and chief executive
officer.
Throughout her career, she has held various pivotal
positions in transformational roles across multiple countries in Asia Pacific,
Africa, Middle East and Europe.
Monisha completed her MBA in marketing and finance
from the Birla Institute of Technology, India, and her B Com from Jyoti Nivas
College, India, before starting work in Abu Dhabi back in 1995.
Monisha shared her enthusiasm about the new role in a
message, “I feel honoured to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading
BAT Bangladesh, which has been operating in this region for over 114 years with
a rich legacy of success and impact. I am committed to driving BAT Bangladesh’s
growth journey, while upholding the values of the company with the highest
integrity.”
“Being one of the highest taxpayers in the country,
the company also holds a strong reputation as a growth partner to the nation in
its journey towards achieving the SDGs. I hope to use my experience and
expertise in leading the company towards achieving a better tomorrow for all,”
she added.
Monisha Abraham will succeed Shehzad Munim, who has
built a strong legacy at BAT Bangladesh with commendable business results and
visionary leadership.
Shehzad Munim joined BAT Bangladesh in 1997 as a
territory officer and holds the distinction of becoming the first Bangladeshi
managing director of the company in 2013.
As a steadfast leader, Shehzad has not only inspired
people within the organisation but also set a unique example for others in the
country’s corporate sector to dream and aspire for.
Monisha will assume her role as the managing director
of BAT Bangladesh from 1 July 2024. With her wealth of knowledge and
experience, her leadership will support accelerating the organisation’s
performance and its role as the nation’s growth partner.
Source: En.Prothomalo
https://en.prothomalo.com/corporate/jk8f4ifjwu
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Deputy Minister of Virtue and Vice: Islamic Emirate
Defends Women's Rights
21-04-2024
However, some religious scholars told TOLOnews that
alongside other rights, women should also be granted the right to work and
education.
The Ministry of Virtue and Vice said that women's
rights in the country were previously violated; however, now all their rights
are secured.
Sayed Ali Sadiqullah, deputy of the Ministry of Virtue
and Vice, said that since the Islamic Emirate regained control of the country,
90 to 95 percent of immoral acts have been prevented.
The deputy of the ministry cited the banning of Bad
Dadan (“giving away a daughter,” which typically involves settling a dispute
between families or tribes by marrying off a girl from one family to a man from
the other.), which is now prohibited, as an example of past violations of
women's rights in the country.
The Deputy Minister of Virtue and Vice added,
"The Islamic Emirate has faced many responsibilities in defending the
rights of the oppressed and still has the will and determination to stand with
the oppressed. In society, women are an oppressed class, and the Islamic
Emirate defends their rights. Over time, we will not see immoral acts in the
country, but now we see that 90 to 95 percent of immoral acts have been
prevented, and reforms have been made in society."
However, some religious scholars told TOLOnews that
alongside other rights, women should also be granted the right to work and
education.
Abdul Rahman Abed, a religious scholar, said: "In
Islam, men and women have the right to life, education, maintenance, and honor,
and they are equal in these rights; therefore, all rights for women in the
country should be granted."
Officials at the Ministry of Virtue and Vice speak of
securing the rights of women and girls while it has been more than two and a
half years since schools were closed to girls above the sixth grade.
Source: Tolo News
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188396
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'War against women': Iran ramps up crackdown as
regional tensions rage
Apr 21, 2024
PARIS: Executions of convicts, arrests of dissidents
and a resurgence in patrols enforcing the obligatory wearing of hijabs: Iran is
stepping up repression at home as tensions flare with its arch-foe Israel,
activists say.
Iranians in the Islamic republic have endured
increased repression since nationwide protests were sparked from September 2022
by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for
allegedly flouting the mandatory dress rules for women.
But the crackdown has entered a new phase as fears of
a regional conflict surge, with Israel launching an apparent strike on Iran on
Friday.
Activists have reported that the dreaded white vans of
the "morality police" have returned to city squares across Iran,
picking up women deemed to have violated the rule of obligatory hijab in force
since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"The Islamic Republic has turned the streets into
a battlefield against women and youth," 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
and jailed rights activist Narges Mohammadi wrote in a message from Tehran's
Evin prison and published by her supporters on social media.
In one video filmed close to the Tajrish metro station
in northern Tehran, a woman collapses on the ground after being apprehended by
the police, telling bystanders who then seek to revive her that her phone was
confiscated.
Another includes what appears to be the sound of
police using electric shock against women who had been rounded up and put into
a van.
"Amid increasing dissent at home and
international attention focused on regional tensions, the Islamic republic is
grabbing the opportunity to intensify its campaign of repression against
dissent," said the director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights
in Iran, Hadi Ghaemi.
"Without a firm international response, the
Islamic Republic will be emboldened to intensify its violence against women and
its egregious violations of human rights," said Ghaemi.
Hundreds were killed, according to rights groups, and
thousands arrested, according to the United Nations, in the crackdown on the
2022 protests that represented one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic
republic.
Among those arrested in recent days was Aida
Shahkarami, the sister of NikaShahkarami, 16, who died during the 2022
crackdown, her mother Nasrin wrote on social media.
Dina Ghalibaf, a journalist and student at Tehran's
Shahid Beheshti University, was arrested after accusing security forces on
social media of putting her in handcuffs and sexually assaulting her during a
previous arrest at a metro station, according to the Norway-based Hengaw rights
group.
Executions, which activists say are used by Tehran as
a means to instil fear into society, have also continued apace, with at least
110 people executed this year alone according to the Norway-based Iran Human
Rights (IHR) group.
Among those executed in recent days were a married
couple, EsmailHassaniani, 29, and his wife MarjanHajizadeh, 19, who were
sentenced to death for drug-related charges in a joint case and hanged in
Zanjan central prison on 11 April, according to IHR.
"The regime will without any doubt use this
opportunity to tighten the grip inside the country," said IHR director
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.
"They still haven't managed to take the control
that they had before September 2022. They may have the opportunity to do so
now, if all the international attention goes to the escalating tension with
Israel."
Source: Times Of India
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-nobel-laureate-narges-hijab/d/132175