The Kerala Story: The Controversial Movie About '32,000' Women Being Converted and Forced To Join Islamic State
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 November 2022
• Homira Rezai, a Female Afghan Refugee in UK, Contributes
To the Development of a Drug to Save Pregnant Mothers with Pre-Eclampsia
• Female Afghan Journalist, Anisa Shaheed, Wins
International Knight Award
• Iran-Born Female Wrestling Champion Melika Balali,
Based In Scotland, Threatened By Regime in Tehran
• Latifa Bint Mohammed Attends Graduation Ceremony of
HCT Female Students In Dubai
• Turkish-Origin Female Police Officer Files Lawsuit
over Sexual Harassment At Workplace In Germany
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/kerala-story-islamic-state/d/128388
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The Kerala Story: The controversial movie about
'32,000' women being converted and forced to join Islamic State
The Kerala Story has
landed in a controversy since its teaser was released. Image Courtesy: YouTube
thumbnail
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November 11, 2022
From calls for a ban to FIR against the movie,
filmmaker Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story has stirred up a hornet’s nest. The
teaser of the movie claims that as many as 32,000 women from Kerala were
“converted” to Islam and forced to join the terror organisation Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The teaser has evoked sharp reactions, with many
rubbishing the figure, calling out the movie for spreading “misinformation”,
and saying that it aims to “defame” the southern state.
What does the teaser of The Kerala Story portray? How
has the controversy snowballed into a political row? Is the 32,000 figure
claimed by the movie correct? How have the makers responded to the row? We take
a closer look.
The Kerala Story teaser
In the one-minute-19-second long teaser, a burkha-clad
woman, played by Bollywood actor Adah Sharma, says her name was Shalini
Unnikrishnan and she wanted to serve humanity by becoming a nurse.
“Now I am Fatima Ba, an ISIS terrorist in Afghanistan
jail,” she says, adding that there are “32,000 girls like me who have been
converted and buried in the deserts of Syria and Yemen”.
“A deadly game is being played to convert normal girls
into dreaded terrorists in Kerala and that too in the open,” she further adds.
The Kerala Story teaser triggers row
The movie, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, has been
making headlines since the teaser was released.
Congress member and Leader of Opposition in Kerala
Assembly VD Satheesan has called for a ban on the movie. He said it is a “clear
case of misinformation” and the movie is trying to “tarnish the image of
Kerala”.
“I have seen that teaser. It’s a clear case of
misinformation. There is nothing like that happening in Kerala. This is to
tarnish the image of Kerala in front of other states. This is spreading hatred,
so it should be banned. In normal scenarios, we are against banning films, but
these types of misinformation will lead to communal issues,” he was quoted as
saying by India Today.
“There is no record with state police. If there is
anything with central intelligence, they have to bring the public. These are
the records, these are the list of women, these are the addresses of the women
who joined IS, they were recruited from Kerala,” the Congress leader added.
On Wednesday (9 November), Rajya Sabha member and CPM
leader John Brittas wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, asking him to take
action against the makers of The Kerala Story as it “severely threatens
harmony, secularism and national unity apart from defaming Kerala.”
“The teaser claims to be depicting the story of 32,000
women from Kerala who are radicalised to join ISIS terrorist group, which is
absolutely rubbish and fallacious,” he wrote.
Expressing concern, he said the teaser “may topple
down the public tranquillity and the secular fabric of the Nation and intended
to defame Kerala.”
“Such dissemination of grossly false information may
lead to inconceivable repercussions and unrest in society and the same will
amount to defaming the state as well,” Brittas warned.
Journalist seeks inquiry, DGP orders FIR
On 4 November, Tamil Nadu-based journalist
Arvindakshan BR shot off a letter to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan,
Central Board of Film Certification, state film certification and others
seeking a ban on the film.
Further, he also sent a complaint to the Union information
and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur to ascertain the veracity of the
content.
“Some cases may have happened but 32,000 is an
unbelievable number,” the journalist told BBC.
Slamming the movie he said it is “against the unity
and sovereignty of India and tarnishes the credibility of all intelligence
agencies of India”.
On Tuesday, Kerala director general of police (DGP)
Anil Kant directed Thiruvananthapuram police commissioner Sparjan Kumar to file
a case against the movie.
His order was based on the basis of the journalist’s
complaint sent to the Kerala chief minister who in turn forwarded it to the
DGP.
A senior police officer told Hindustan Times that a
case was registered under Sections 153 A &B (promoting disharmony and
enmity between different groups based on the ground of faith) and other
sections of the Indian penal code (IPC).
BJP questions FIR
Talking about the case against the film, BJP’s
national head of information and technology Amit Malviya asked who are those
who do not want the “truth” revealed.
He wrote on Twitter, “The Kerala Story movie’s teaser
has run into rough weather with powerful forces trying to scuttle the movie. A
formal complaint has been filed with Kerala police to check the veracity of the
claims made in the trailer. Who are these people who don’t want the truth to
come out?”
Kerala BJP vice president KS Radhakrishnan told news
agency ANI that registering an FIR against the makers of The Kerala Story is
“idiotic”.
“The question that arises is whether the film is a work
of art or a historical document. If you think it is a work of art, then freedom
should be given to the artist to express his experience in an aesthetic
manner,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Hitting out at the Kerala Police over the FIR, Radhakrishnan
added, “There are cases of women who have been deported to Syria and have been
recruited to IS. These are the facts. So the action of the DGP to file an FIR
against the teaser is absolutely ‘idiotic’. We cannot say anything more than
that”.
The saffron party leader also suggested the state DGP
and Chief Minister launch a judicial inquiry regarding the “number of women who
have been deported from Kerala to Syria and recruited to IS to ascertain the
exact number”.
As per BBC, slamming the state government for filing a
case against the makers of the film, BJP’s K Surendran said the chief minister
“should have the guts to act against the IS recruiters in Kerala”.
Is the 32,000 figure correct?
Sudipto Sen told fact-checking news website Alt News
over the phone that he has documents to back the claims made in the teaser.
“This figure (32,000) is not mine. It was a piece of
news in The Times of India… one thing I can tell you is that Oommen Chandy, the
(then) chief minister of Kerala, had placed this number in the state assembly.
So this is not my number, I have got all the documents with me,” he was quoted
as saying by Alt News.
However, the fact-checking site said it “could not
find any report by any media outlet which said that 32,000 women from Kerala
had joined ISIS”.
As per India Today report published in September 2012,
the then Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy informed the state legislature
that “2,667 young women were converted to Islam in the state since 2006”. He
did not reveal an annual figure.
Moreover, the report does not mention anything about
women joining ISIS.
A group of 21 people from Kerala had left India in
2016 in batches to join an affiliate of the Islamic State jihadist militant
group, reports BBC.
After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021,
Indian officers had said four women from Kerala who had joined the Islamic
State were lodged in jail there.
“One needs to check the records but our estimate is
that there are not more than 10-15 women who have got converted and left to
join the IS from Kerala since 2016,” a police official told the BBC.
Citing the United States Department of State’s Country
Reports on Terrorism 2020, Alt News reported that there were “66 known
Indian-origin fighters affiliated with ISIS as of November 2020”.
What did the director say?
After Alt News shared India Today article with Sen and
asked him about the Times of India story, he told the fact-checking website,
“Let the intolerance reach a crescendo. I’ll share my data after the film is
released. Why should I defeat the cause of my film?”
Source: Firstpost
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Homira Rezai, a Female Afghan Refugee in UK,
Contributes To the Development of a Drug to Save Pregnant Mothers with
Pre-Eclampsia
Homira Rezai
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November 11, 2022
A female Afghan refugee who lives and studies in the
United Kingdom, has contributed to the development of a drug pill to save
pregnant mothers with pre-eclampsia which takes the lives of hundreds of
thousands mothers and newborn babies every year.
Homira Rezai, a female Afghan refugee who fled
Afghanistan when she was only 13, has worked with a team of medical scientists
and researchers to develop an anti preeclampsia drug to help pregnant mothers.
My PhD was on a drug to prevent preeclampsia and now
my job is to continue this journey to save mothers and babies from this
disease, Homira Rezai tweeted with the link of the news story published by The
Guardian.
Seven years working on this drug to prevent pregnant
women from developing preeclampsia, in this paper, I showed that this drug
(dubbed MZe786) was able to prevent preeclampsia in disease models, Homira has
said.
According to Homira, it will take few more years for
the researchers at the clinical stage to ensure the drug is safe and effective.
Scientists at MirZyme Therapeutics, a
biopharmaceutical company, believe they have developed a drug that when given
to women from 20 weeks of pregnancy could stop them developing the condition,
The Guardian reported.
According to Guardian, pre-eclampsia endangers the
lives of thousands of expectant mothers and their babies in the UK each year,
and has no therapeutic options. Globally, it affects between 2% and 8% of
pregnancies and kills up to half a million babies and 100,000 women a year.
Source: Khaama Press
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Female Afghan Journalist, Anisa Shaheed, Wins
International Knight Award
November 11, 2022
Female Afghan journalist who fled Afghanistan
following the fall of the US-backed republic administration in 2021, has been
recognized as a knight award winner by International Center for Journalists.
Anisa Shaheed is also the Knight International
Journalism award winner who has been picked by the ICFJ for the ‘Tribute to
Journalists 2022’ award, the award was given to her in a ceremony in Washington
DC on Thursday.
“I dedicate this award to all of the fallen
journalists who gave their lives for Afghanistan”, said Anisa Shaheed.
Anisa Shaheed is one of the bravest female Journalists
of Afghanistan who has been able to report about corruption, human rights
violation, war and conflicts in Afghanistan putting her life at risk.
Anisa used to work for Tolo News, one of the largest
TV channels in Afghanistan with the most number local and international audience.
Journalism and Freedom of Press in Afghanistan had its
brightest times in the last 20 years of democracy era, literally it was way
better than the majority of other countries situated in South and Central Asia.
Dozens of media outlets have been closed since the
fall of Afghanistan’s republic administration. Limitations on freedom of
expression and economic crisis in the country have contributed to the closure
of the media companies in Afghanistan.
There are still a number of media outlets struggling
to survive in Afghanistan despite economic challenges.
Maryam Rayed, democracy activist and women’s
empowerment expert in Washington DC tells Khaama Press that while women
journalists still shine brightly outside Afghanistan, they face systematic
discrimination inside the country and are resisting a regime that does
everything to erase them from the media landscape anytime soon.
Journalists are writing the first rough draft of
history – and I believe women’s elimination from the media is an attempt to
erase their narratives and presence from history, she said.
It is absolutely essential that the international
community at large and journalist protection agencies act immediately to
advocate for women’s meaningful presence in Afghanistan media and push for
agendas that empower and support women’s journalism in the country, said
Maryam.
Source: Khaama Press
https://www.khaama.com/female-afghan-journalist-wins-icfj-tribute-to-journalists-award-89796/
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Iran-Born Female Wrestling Champion Melika Balali,
Based In Scotland, Threatened By Regime In Tehran
November 11, 2022
LONDON: An Iranian-born wrestler based in Scotland
says she has received threats from the regime in Tehran for protesting wearing
the hijab.
Melika Balali, 22, left her home country in November
2021 and won a gold medal at the British Wrestling Championships in Manchester
in June representing Scotland, where she held up a sign that read “stop forcing
hijab, I have the right to be a wrestler” on the winners’ podium.
She said she had since lost contact with her family,
and the regime had used social media to attack her, forcing her to require
police protection.
“They’ve tried to find where I’m living and who I’m
practising with,” she told the BBC. “But thanks to police in Scotland ... I
live safely, I train in a safe area — I have all kinds of security.
“The first time I wore a singlet in Manchester, my
family stopped talking to me. They think they are ashamed of me.
“But I’m happy because I decided to be this kind of
person. These threats make me stronger. When I receive threats from the
government of Iran I just think my way is right — if I were wrong, why would
they threaten me?”
Mandatory wearing of the hijab for women in Iran has
become an explosive issue after protests erupted nationwide in September
following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality
police after she was arrested and beaten for wearing one incorrectly.
Balali said she had been made to wear the hijab by her
parents from a young age, and was not allowed to pursue wrestling as a career
despite it being a tradition among the men in her family.
In 2018, the Iranian Wrestling Federation created a
women’s team but required contestants to wear body suits covering their hair,
torso and thighs.
“It’s not just the dress code,” Balali said of her
decision to leave Iran to pursue her career. “You see the dress covering the
face, the head scarf, but it’s not just the clothes. You mentally cover your
mind.
“But when I’m here and wearing a singlet I feel free.
Not because I’m free to do wrestling, because I’m not wearing three layers of
clothes — but because I’m free to think, free to build something that is for
me.”
Balali, now living in Edinburgh, said being threatened
was “terrifying” but it had not stopped her continuing to protest in solidarity
with women in Iran.
As well as the sign in Manchester, she recently shaved
her head at a protest in Glasgow — a reference to the protests many Iranian
women are engaging in back home.
“Their strength increases my energy, my potential to
go for my next gold medal,” she said. “It’s not only about the gold, it’s about
what I’m talking about. I’m using that platform to talk — if that platform is
big my voice will be louder. The strength comes from my homeland.
“I lived in Iran for 18 years, but I didn’t have any
life. I didn’t feel anything. When I abandoned Iran I came to Scotland and
started thinking here — with this thinking I’m alive.”
Police Scotland told the BBC that it was aware of
online threats made in July. “Enquiries were carried out and a safety plan is
in place,” it said.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2197831/middle-east
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Latifa bint Mohammed attends graduation ceremony of
HCT female students in Dubai
November 11, 2022
Dubai: Two hundred and fourty five female students of
Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai (HCT) graduated in a ceremony attended
by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai
Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of the Dubai Council.
The ceremony was also attended by Hala Badri, Director
General of Dubai Culture, members of HCT’s Board of Trustees, various
dignitaries and senior officials, the institution’s teaching and administrative
staff, and parents of the graduates.
Sheikha Latifa congratulated the graduates on their
academic success in various disciplines and highlighted the importance of
employing their knowledge and skills to support the nation’s development.
She expressed her appreciation to the UAE’s leaders
for their unwavering commitment to empowering Emirati women and providing them
opportunities to excel in all fields.
“Women in the UAE continue to prove their merit in all
spheres of life. Right from its foundation, our nation’s leaders placed the
highest emphasis on celebrating the accomplishments of Emirati women who have
demonstrated excellence and leadership in their chosen fields. Each student
graduating from the UAE’s educational institutions is a partner in the
country’s development journey and a contributor to the nation’s decision-making
process. The talent, competencies and determination of the UAE’s youth are
vital to the country’s ability to realise its aspirations,” Sheikha Latifa
added.
She thanked the HCT and its staff for their efforts to
prepare highly-qualified graduates who are equipped with the knowledge and
skills required to succeed in the future.
Hala Badri said that guided by the vision and
directives of the leadership, the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai has
developed a strong reputation for excellence and quality in applied education.
She congratulated the graduates and wished them success in their careers.
The graduating class of 2022 consisted of 3,344
students of which 245 were part of the ceremony. The graduates expressed their
appreciation to the UAE leadership for their constant support and encouragement.
They also thanked the HCT’s administrative and faculty members and pledged to
serve their country and contribute to its progress.
Sheikha Latifa accompanied by Hala Badri and Dr Kazim
Ayoub, HCT-Dubai Executive Director presented the graduates with their
certificates.
Source: Gulf News
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Turkish-origin female police officer files lawsuit
over sexual harassment at workplace in Germany
Mesut Zeyrek
11.11.2022
FRANKFURT, Germany
A German police woman of Turkish descent has filed a
case in court over alleged sexual harassment and mobbing in the workplace.
S.B., 32, who did not want to reveal her full name,
told Anadolu Agency that the harassment started in March 2021 when she started
working as a police officer in the city of Bad Homburg.
"I wanted to become a policewoman because I
thought I could serve the community in this way," she said, adding that
she was the only woman of foreign descent in the local police department.
With the passage of time, I also experienced mobbing
or group bullying which took its toll on my health, she added.
Her colleagues "openly expressed antisemitic or
Islamophobic views,” she said.
“Even though I tried to hide my feelings in the
initial months, I couldn’t take it anymore,” she said.
She eventually filed a case in the Frankfurt Labor
Court with the "primary intention" of drawing attention to
institutional racism.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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