New
Age Islam News Bureau
24
November 2020
• Pakistani Actress Mahira Khan, Makes It To 'BBC 100 Most Inspiring Women'
•
Two Saudis Among 6 Exceptional Female Scientists From GCC Recognized
•
Maternity Leave UAE: Private Sector Women Get Five Extra Days
•
Saudi Arabia’s Hadaf To Train 1,200 Women In Beauty Business
•
‘Muslim Women Are Everything’ Turns the Page on Stereotypes
•
Interfaith Couples Uneasy As 'Love Jihad' Storm Rages, Gathers Force
•
Shamima Begum Still A National Security Threat, UK Supreme Court Told
•
Saudi Ladies International Confirmed For 2021 After Hugely Inspiring Debut
Tournament
•
Sheikha Bodour Becomes First Arab Woman To Be Appointed President Of International
Publishers Association
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/love-jihad-don-t-go/d/123562
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Love And Jihad Don't Go Together: MP and Actor Nusrat Jahan
Nov
24, 2020
Photo
tweeted by @ians_india
----
Trinamool
Congress MP from Basirhat and actor Nusrat Jahan slammed the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) for using religion as a political tool to consolidate their support
base ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections due next year.
She
also spoke about ‘love-jihad’ dubbing it two separate things that have no
correlation. The Trinamool parliamentarian said that "love" and
"jihad" are two different things that do not go hand-in-hand. She
said it is a matter of personal choice who wants to be with whom.
"Love
is very personal. Love and jihad don’t go hand-in-hand. Just before polls,
people come up with topics like this. It is a personal choice who you want to
be with. Be in love and start falling in love with each other. Don’t make
religion a political tool," Jahan said in reply to a question during a
media interaction here.
The
Bengali actor-turned-politician is married to businessman Nikhil Jain.
Earlier,
Jahan had participated in the festivities of Durga Puja for which she came
under severe attacks by radical Islamists for committing a ‘sin’ and bringing
disrepute to Islam.
The
issue was that the actress was seen playing the dhaak, folding hands before
Goddess Durga and dancing to the beats of dhak (improvised drums) in
celebration of Bengali’s biggest festival Durga Puja this year.
https://www.dnaindia.com/india/news-love-and-jihad-don-t-go-together-trinamool-mp-actor-nusrat-jahan-2858161
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Pakistani
Actress Mahira Khan, Makes It To 'BBC 100 Most Inspiring Women'
November
24, 2020
Mahira
Khan
-----
BBC
has released the list of its 100 most influential women of 2020 and Pakistani
celebrity Mahira Khan is a part of it. "In a year of incredible change, it
is only fitting that we acknowledge the female leaders who have helped us
weather the storm," stated the outlet while releasing the names.
As
for the reason why Khan was shortlisted, the network acknowledged that she
"speaks up about the causes and issues that matter to encourage
change."
"Khan
is no ordinary actor – she is outspoken against sexual violence, refuses to
endorse skin-lightening creams and supports the fight against racism,"
claimed the outlet. It went on to relay the Bin Roye star's determination to
"tackle social issues in her native Pakistan by changing the narrative in
films and on TV."
Furthermore,
BBC reinstated how Khan is a national Goodwill Ambassador for the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who is "raising awareness about
the plight of Afghan refugees in Pakistan."
"She’s
been a firm favourite with audiences ever since starting out as an MTV video
jockey (VJ) in 2006. Khan is also a devoted mother to her 11-year-old
son," it concluded.
Earlier,
as the UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan, Khan shared a video message
featuring celebs from around the world to voice the plight of refugees
everywhere. "We're proud to speak up for refugees everywhere," she
said. "We all have a part to play in helping somebody else., including me.
What will yours be?"
"Every
action counts, every voice counts," she wrote in the caption for the
share.
Hollywood
celebs such as Reluctant Fundamentalist star Riz Ahmed, Cate Blanchett, Ben
Stiller and Benedict Cumberbatch also spoke up for the cause in the same video
as Khan's.
Prior
to this, on World Refugee Day, in a bid to bring global awareness to the plight
of refugees around the world, Khan voiced her narrative by tweeting about
Pakistan's role in hosting millions of Afghan refugees. "They've been
denied a home, but we haven't denied them hope," Mahira tweeted.
"Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees over several years
and continues to do so, we have given them a home within our motherland,"
she continued.
"When
the refugees of Makkah were welcomed by the Ansar of Medina with an open heart,
the tradition of brotherhood and solidarity came alive," the Raees star
remarked in a follow up video. "To this day, the nation has kept these
traditions alive."
Have
something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2273390/mahira-khan-makes-it-to-bbc-100-most-inspiring-women
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Two
Saudis Among 6 Exceptional Female Scientists From GCC Recognized
November
23, 2020
The
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East Regional Young Talents Program
is based on the belief that the world needs science, and science needs women.
----
DUBAI
— Two Saudi women scientists Dr. Lama AlAbdi, in the Post-doctorate Researchers
category, and Asrar Damdam, in the PhD Students category, were among the six
female scientists recognized in a Middle East Regional Young Talents Program.
For
the seventh consecutive year, L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East
Regional Young Talents Program, in partnership with Khalifa University of
Science and Technology, continues to recognize Arab female scientists from the
GCC for their revolutionary researches in the fields of Life sciences, Physical
sciences, Mathematics and Computer science.
The
regional program is part of L’Oréal-UNESCO’s global initiative that has
recognized over 3,400 phenomenal researchers since its inception 22 years ago.
This
year, the program awarded six winners in the Post-doctorate Researchers and PhD
Students categories where Dr. Lama AlAbdi (KSA), Dr. Isra Marei (Qatar), and
Dr. Maryam Tariq Khaleel Alhashmi (UAE) each received EUR20,000 in the
Post-doctorate Researchers category. Asrar Damdam (KSA), Dana Zaher (UAE), and
Mina Al Ani (UAE) each received EUR8,000 in the PhD Students category.
For
the second year in a row, the program has received the endorsement of Sarah
Bint Yousef Al Amiri, minister of state for advanced technology.
“The
pandemic has turned 2020 into a transformational year in various aspects of
society, and the recognition of women in fields of science is as vital as ever
in the drive to remove gender biases across the industry.
“I
am immensely proud to endorse the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle
East Regional Young Talents Program and celebrate the extraordinary
contributions of these six women”, said Al Amiri.
“The
increase in representation of women in science over the past decade is a
testament to the changing perspectives of society and remarkable progress for
the Arab community. I wish the talents of 2020 success as they work towards
answering some of the most challenging scientific problems of the world,” Al
Amiri added.
Remi
Chadapaux, L’Oréal Middle East managing director, said: “The seventh edition of
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East Regional Young Talents Program
is a special year for us. While we celebrate these exceptional women and their
breakthrough research, recent events have also brought to light the need for a
diversified approach to modern day solutions.
“Today,
we continue this legacy as the most highly regarded initiative in the region in
an effort to support a group of women with outstanding dedication to improve
the lives of people within our communities.”
According
to UNESCO, 34-57 percent of STEM graduates in Arab countries are women — a
figure much higher than that seen in universities across the US or Europe. In
the Middle East, women account for almost 50% or more of the total STEM student
population.
In
Saudi Arabia, 38% of the graduates in STEM were women; however, only 17% of the
labor force were women. In the UAE, 61% of university students are female,
whereas Oman has 71% and Bahrain 55%.
These
numbers would lead to the belief that there is no shortage of female
representation in STEM professions today. But for various reasons, these
degrees are not being put to paid use across the region.
An
increase in female participation will significantly narrow the gender gap and
enhance women empowerment and overall economic growth. L’Oréal has been one of
the first companies to create a globally recognized initiative to support and
encourage female STEM graduates on such a large scale, one of the select few in
the Middle East that has created a significant platform for women to thrive.
Dr.
Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, executive vice-president, Khalifa University of Science
and Technology, added: “Spearheading towards Vision 2021 and Agenda 2030, the
UAE has progressed immensely by creating an array of opportunities to support
women empowerment, and Khalifa University continues to play a key role through
its contribution in this area.
“With
the recent pandemic worldwide, it is more important than ever that educational
institutions especially universities, the scientific community and society at
large encourage more women to bring their unique perspectives to the field.
“We
are honored to partner with L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East
Regional Young Talents Program for the second consecutive year and would like
to congratulate the 2020 winners for their outstanding achievements and look
forward to their future achievements.”
Professor
Mouïn Hamzé, president of Program’s Jury, said: “In the ‘COVID’ era, we must
continue to empower our greatest minds amidst new and evolving challenges. The
times call for renewed partnerships, global collaboration, ethics and open
science. Arab women play an instrumental role in the development of science
research, innovation and sustainable improvements in our region.
“This
program is an ode to their success and the advancements we have made in
bridging gender gaps and building a network, regional and global, of esteemed Laureates
who can actively and professionally respond to new challenges in quality of
life, healthy environments and social stability.”
About
the 2020 Winners:
Post-doctorate
Researchers category
•
Dr. Lama AlAbdi (KSA): For her research on chromatin and regulation of gene,
vision loss project
•
Dr. Isra Marei (Qatar): For her research towards the development of 3D vascular
drug screening platforms based on endothelial progenitor cells
•
Dr. Maryam Tariq Khaleel Alhashmi (UAE): For her research on engineered
catalytic materials for the sustainable production of chemicals
PHD
Students category
•
Asrar Damdam (KSA): For her research on the design and fabrication of a heart
assistive device — the heart sleeve
•
Dana Zaher (UAE): For her research on the role of metabolic reprogramming in
the sensitivity of breast cancer to Chemo and immunotherapy
•
Mina Al Ani (UAE): For her research on new therapeutic modality for mice with
experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) using Herceptin (trastuzumab)
In
addition to the regional talents, two laureates from L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women
in Science International Awards, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier and Professor
Jennifer A. Doudna, received in October this year the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for the development of a revolutionary method of genome editing.
This
brings to five, the number of Laureates that have received this distinction,
after Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1995), Ada
Yonath (Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009), Elizabeth H. Blackburn (Nobel Prize
for Medicine in 2009). Since the creation of the Nobel Prize in 1901, a total
of 621 scientists have been awarded for their work in Physics, Chemistry or
Medicine, including only 22 women. The last time a Nobel Prize was awarded to a
woman in these fields was in 1964. — SG
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/600634
--------
Maternity
Leave UAE: Private sector women get five extra days
November
23, 2020
Tabitha
Barda
An
amendment to the UAE labour law granting male employees five days’ of paid
paternity leave following the birth of their baby applies to women too, it is
now confirmed.
The
new parental leave period of five working days is valid from the day of the
baby’s birth until he or she reaches six months old, and it can be claimed by
both fathers and mothers. This extra five days can be used in addition to the
already-established maternity leave allowance for women.
Parental
leave in UAE
First
announced on 30 August 2020, the amendment to the regulation of labour
relations made the UAE the first Arab country to introduce paid paternity leave
for fathers.
Although
there was originally some uncertainty as to whether this parental leave would
also apply to mothers, it is now confirmed that both men and women are able to
claim it.
Since
the UAE’s maternity-leave allowance for private-sector employees is already 45
calendar days, this in effect gives new mums in the UAE an extra five days of
maternal leave, taking the overall parental leave allowance for women working
in the private sector up to 50 days.
According
to the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), “a federal
decree-law amending some provisions of the regulation on labour relations was
approved, under which male and female private sector employees are given a paid
parental leave for five working days to look after their babies, effective from
the baby’s date of birth until he is 6sixmonths old.
“The
federal decree grants a unique advantage to private-sector employees of both
sexes to bolster their family role during the period of caring for their
babies. Granting a leave for the father under the new legislation is regarded
as a significant development in the UAE labour market and underscores the
baby’s need to be looked after by both parents after this job has been assumed
by the working mother only.
“The
decree benefits a broad base of private sector employees who represent a large
proportion of UAE residents. This will promote the UAE’s position, which is
based on humanitarian considerations and will greatly support the UAE’s efforts
in the field of Emiratisation, as it will render the private sector more
attractive to the highly qualified national staff, who will be more motivated
to join it.
The
difference between maternity leave and parental leave for women in the UAE
We
spoke to Anna Marshall, senior associate, and her colleagues in the employment
department at Al Tamimi & Company, about the difference between maternity
leave and parental leave for women in the UAE:
Who
does the new parental leave entitlement apply to?
"The
new parental leave entitlement applies to both male and female employees
working in the private sector in the UAE, apart from those working in the Dubai
International Financial Centre or the Abu Dhabi Global Market (which are
separate free zones with their own employment laws and regulations)."
What
is the difference between parental leave and maternity leave?
"The
new parental leave benefit is available for both male and female employees,
whereas the statutory maternity leave entitlement is only available for female
employees," says Marshall.
The
parental leave entitlement is also 5 working days, whereas the maternity leave
allowance is 45 calendar days. Calendar days means that regular weekend days and
any public holidays are included as part of your allowance.
Can
a woman add parental leave on to her maternity leave so that she would
effectively have 45 calendar days, plus 5 extra days? Could this be viewed as
an extended maternity leave?
"Yes,
subject to agreement between the employee and their employer, this type of
arrangement would be acceptable," says Marshall.
Do
you need to have worked at a company for a certain length of time in order to
be granted the parental leave?
"There
are no specific pre-requisites for the new parental leave entitlement, however
it can only be availed up until the baby reaches six months of age.
"This
is a positive development and gives due recognition to the importance of both
men and women having paid time off to care for and spend time with their
newborn babies."
Are
fathers (or mothers) required to submit any ‘proof’ in order to be able to
receive their parental leave?
"There
is no specific legal requirement for the employee to provide these types of
documents in order to prove their eligibility, however it is likely that
employers will implement their own internal protocols or requirements in order
for an employee to avail of the benefit."
Can
the parental leave be taken as separate days or must it be taken all at once?
This
is not specifically addressed in the Decree, and ultimately the employee would
need to seek their employer’s approval for their proposed parental leave dates,
regardless of whether they will be taken consecutively or otherwise.
Can
the parental leave be taken in addition to the 100 sick days of unpaid leave
that may be taken, if necessary, by a new mother in the UAE?
Yes,
the new parental leave benefit is separate (and in addition) to the unpaid sick
leave days which a female employee may be entitled to under the UAE Labour Law.
Who
is the parental leave decree applicable to right now?
This
is not specifically addressed in the Decree however our understanding is that
the parental leave can be utilized by a male or female employee until their
baby is 6 months old, even if their baby was born prior to the Decree coming
into effect on 25 September 2020. For example, if a baby was born on 1 July
2020, the mother and father would still have until 31 December 2020 to utilize
the parental leave. The Decree itself does not state that the parental leave
only applies in relation to babies who are born after the Decree came into
effect.
Read
8 Things you may not have realised about your maternity leave allowance in the
UAE.
https://gulfnews.com/parenting/pregnancy-baby/maternity-leave-uae-private-sector-women-get-five-extra-days-1.1606127616448
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Saudi
Arabia’s Hadaf To Train 1,200 Women In Beauty Business
November
16, 2020
RIYADH:
The Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) launched a program to train 1,200
female jobseekers in the beauty business and to employ them in private sector
enterprises in the field upon completion of the training program.
The
program targets the following five professions: General sales specialist,
makeup sales specialist, skincare sales specialist, exhibition supervisor, and
cosmetics and hair. Hadaf called on jobseekers to register in the program by
clicking the following link, https://bit.ly/3ikUsN6, no later than next
Thursday.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1763641/saudi-arabia
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‘Muslim
Women Are Everything’ Turns the Page on Stereotypes
By
Francesca Donner
Nov.
23, 2020
“I
have wanted to write this book since I was 14, the year I finally understood
Muslim women are everything.”
—
Dr. Seema Yasmin, author of “Muslim Women Are Everything”
Tahani
Amer, an astronaut who grew up in the suburbs of Cairo, endured a string of
rejections before she finally secured a job with NASA’s Aeronautical Research
program.
Marah
Zahalka, Noor Daoud and Mona Ennab — members of the Speed Sisters, an
all-female car racing team based in the Palestinian territories — defy
expectations with every race they win.
Gisele
Marie Rocha is the unexpected face, in a niqab and burqa, behind Eden Seed, a
thrash metal band in Brazil.
These
women are validation of the premise behind Dr. Seema Yasmin’s new book — that
Muslim women can be anything. The book, “Muslim Women Are Everything,” was
released earlier this year.
More
than 40 profiles of Muslim women — illustrated by Fahmida Azim — aim to tear
down the tiresome tropes of what Muslim women are: what they look like, what
they wear and what they do or don’t do. Page after page dares the reader to say
these women cannot, or should not.
As
for Dr. Yasmin: She is a Cambridge-trained medical doctor, a specialist in
epidemiology, a journalist and the director of the Stanford Health
Communication Initiative. She teaches at Stanford and is a visiting professor
at U.C.L.A.
She
didn’t get there easily.
She
was born in Britain to a teenage mother, who was stuck in an arranged marriage.
When Dr. Yasmin was just 5, her mother left the family to pursue her own
education. As Dr. Yasmin tells it, “My mum was like: ‘I’m going to leave
everything I know behind. I’m going to find a way to university so that you can
have an education.’”
What
followed for Dr. Yasmin was a childhood shuttling between worlds — the
university where her mother was studying and her family’s conservative Indian
Muslim community in the British Midlands.
This
book was born out of a “frustration that the narratives about Muslim women were
so one-sided, so narrow, so unimaginative,” she said.
Dr.
Yasmin sat down with In Her Words to talk about her work and what she means
when she says, “Muslim women are everything.”
Our
conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How
did you get the idea for this book?
It
all started as a very angry tweet. I was just absolutely fed up that even when
Ibtihaj Muhammad, the American fencer, won a medal at the Olympics, the way
that she and other Muslim women were celebrated was like, “Oh my God, look at
that woman, she’s an athlete, and she’s a Muslim.”
And
I was like: Wait, are you really trying to celebrate us by making it sound like
we can’t do anything?
There
was an editor who saw the tweet and said: This would make for a great essay —
will you write an essay? And I said, no. Instead, I ended up writing this kind
of prose poem. It was called “Yes, Muslim Women Do Things,” and it featured
Muslim women doing amazing things like digging salad out from between their teeth
and taking a nap. My point was that some of us do open-heart surgery; some of
us go scuba diving; some of us are too lazy to do the dishes.
I
think it really hit a nerve. A lot of people hated it. But some publishers were
like, this would look great as a book.
The
proposal started off about fictional women doing esoteric things and then it
became about real-life Muslim women who are troubling all the definitions and
messing up all the boundaries of what it means to be a woman and what it means
to be Muslim.
There’s
this perverse surprise among some people that Muslim women can drive or be
funny or write or, well, do anything. What explains it?
I
think it’s misogyny combined with Islamophobia. When you have a dominant
culture that is male and white, it allows very little space for the rest of us
to be our full selves. That’s how I came up with the title. I didn’t want there
to be one idea of a Muslim woman. There are some Muslim women in this book who
would probably disagree with the views of some of the other Muslim women in
this book. And that’s great. We need to have that disagreement.
Nevertheless,
many people still have a narrow vision of what a Muslim woman is …
Right.
The stereotype is a meek South Asian woman who had an arranged marriage and
wears a hijab and has lots of children.
Plus,
in the U.K. and the U.S., the perception of Muslim women often excludes Black
women.
How
do you view your work against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter?
I
don’t want to take away from the B.L.M. movement’s call for the rights of Black
people, but Black Muslims do account for a fifth of all U.S. Muslims, so those
struggles are certainly connected.
It
was really important to me that the true breadth of the Muslim experience be
included in the book. But I’ve not been shocked when people have asked me on
Twitter if the book features any Black Muslim women, the expectation being that
there won’t be any. The bar is so low when it comes to inclusion.
In
your book, you write about the comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh and how, after one of
her shows, some fans came up to her and said, “You must be one of the good
Muslims.” It was so disheartening to read this.
I
don’t know what Zahra said in the moment, and I’m sure that she’s had many of
those moments, but I look at how she’s taken on the comedy industry, and how
the industry excludes a lot of people. To me she’s been othered and
marginalized, and now she’s saying she’s going to create a new model that’s way
more inclusive and that brings in all voices and perspectives. I feel like that’s
actually her response to that moment and to all those moments.
You
have made the point that the outside world — whether it’s male clerics or
Western politicians — can’t help weighing in on Muslim women’s choice to cover.
Why do you think that is?
Because
they don’t believe our bodies are ours. They police our bodies. I used to wear
a hijab when I was younger. I was very devout. And then at some point I decided
that wasn’t going to be the way that I presented myself to the world. But that
was my decision.
I
think that men want to be the ones dictating how women present themselves. For
some men in some countries, that might mean you must be covered. And then for
others it’s like, “Oh no, we think that’s frightening,” or “That must mean
you’re oppressed.” But you can be a feminist, you can have agency and you can
choose to wear niqab and burqa, like Gisele Marie Rocha, a guitarist in Brazil.
She has very clearly articulated why and how she chooses to cover, and how it’s
a personal choice.
What
hope do you have that things will change?
Things
are so bad in the world right now that we have to imagine a better future.
Without hope, I think I would just give up and believe that whatever narrow
definition exists is all we’ve got. And I refuse to accept that.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/us/muslim-women-are-everything-book-seema-yasmin.html
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Interfaith
Couples Uneasy As 'Love Jihad' Storm Rages, Gathers Force
24th
November 2020
NEW
DELHI: Crisscrossing lines of religion as they navigated love, societal
approval and marriage, interfaith couples have never had it easy but the many
hurdles on their road to 'happily ever after' are now increasingly edged with
unease and the oxymoronic stamp of 'love jihad'.
Their
challenges increase as the chorus gets louder with politicians and others
speaking out and several states declaring their intention to come out with a
law against 'love jihad', a term coined by a section of Hindu groups for Muslim
men allegedly forcing women to convert in the guise of love and marriage, said
several couples.
The
societal scanner on their relationships has perhaps never been so intense with
every incident, whether of crime or an advertisement or a film, impacting on
their day to day lives, said a cross-section of men and women in interfaith
relationships and marriages.
"The
term 'love jihad' itself is a farce. How can one bring jihad into a
relationship? How can one be restricted on the grounds of religion in marital
things? We hope the apex court looks into a law if passed, and strikes it
down," said Delhi-based Sheena Shahulhameed, who is married to a Hindu
man.
On
Sunday, the BJP termed 'love jihad' a serious problem and backed the decision
of its governments in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh to enact laws
against it.
"Many
mothers and sisters have suffered its bad consequences. This is a state matter
and state governments should enact law against it," BJP general secretary
Arun Singh said.
The
same day, debate over Mira Nair's "A Suitable Boy" escalated with
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra saying state police had been asked
to examine a scene of two protagonists, a Hindu girl and Muslim boy, kissing
with a temple in the backdrop.
And
once more, there was heated debate on 'love jihad', with '#BoycottNetflix' even
trending on Twitter.
The
following day, on Monday, an FIR was registered in Madhya Pradesh on Monday
against two Netflix executives for allegedly hurting religious sentiments
through the series.
It
was a gathering storm.
Last
month, the term reared its head when jewellery brand Tanishq was forced to pull
down an ad showing a Muslim mother-in-law organising a baby shower for her
Hindu daughter-in-law.
A
few days later, a Hindu girl was shot dead by her Muslim classmate in Faridabad
and her family claimed 'love jihad'.
"The
Tanishq case was not a big one. It was done simply to create fear in the
society. Any 'love jihad' law, however, is against the fundamental rights
enshrined in our Constitution," Shahulhameed said.
The
term 'love jihad' is increasingly being associated with dangerous outcomes,
added author and columnist Natasha Badhwar, who is married to a Muslim man.
"When
I first heard the term 'love jihad', I laughed at the absurdity of the
conspiracy theory. When (Yogi) Adityanath became chief minister of Uttar
Pradesh, we heard more and more about this from people in power and realised we
could no longer dismiss this as a laughing matter."
"People's
lives were under threat and it had become urgent to frame a response that
countered this communal narrative of hate. I refuse to succumb to the fear and
control that the rightwing wants to exercise on minorities and women by
stigmatising and criminalising relationships between communities and across
caste boundaries," she said.
The
term 'love jihad' first drew attention in 2009 after Catholic groups and Hindu
groups in Kerala and Karnataka, respectively, reportedly said women from their
communities were being forcefully converted to Islam.
But
it became part of popular discourse ahead of by-elections in Uttar Pradesh in
2014 when the state's ruling BJP took up the issue in a big way, deepening
communal faultlines.
According
to sociologist Parul Bhandari, "any eruptions, disruptions in society are
emblematic of its state of being".
"The
fact that there was such a furore over the Tanishq ad clearly reveals that
certain groups are increasingly disapproving of inter-religious unions,"
said the associate professor of Sociology at the O P Jindal University.
Many
have taken upon themselves the responsibility to break out of set norms for
people of different communities.
Like
Waled Aadnan, who is dating a Hindu woman.
For
him, religion is a determining factor when it comes to relationships but not in
a way one would expect.
"Religion
was important to me when the relationship started. I believe it is our
responsibility to look outside our bubble of class, caste, linguistic group and
religion in our choice of partners to build a world that can talk to each other
more. That's definitely a conscious decision."
"Everyone
can't just happen to fall in love only with people with similar surnames,"
Aadnan said.
To
him, the recent controversies over the Tanishq ad and 'The Suitable Boy' are
"soft battlegrounds for everyone to outrage or support", and there
are bigger and more important battles to fight.
"There
are actual people in prison for love, people being murdered for love and if
anything, that's where all the support should be channelled," he said.
A
law on 'love jihad' will only aggravate the challenges in his view.
"India's
marriage laws for interfaith couples have anyway been restrictive. The Special
Marriage Act has in-built patriarchal checks to make inter-caste and interfaith
marriages difficult. Any 'love jihad' law will just continue on the same
path," he said.
Enacted
in 1954, the Special Marriage Act was legislated to govern marriages that could
not or were not performed according to religious norms.
The
validity of some provisions of the law were challenged in September this year
by a plea, claiming they violated a couple's fundamental right to marry and
privacy.
The
discourse around a potential 'love jihad' law has also rattled interfaith
couples where neither partner is a Muslim.
Annu
Matthew, who is married to a Hindu and relocated from Delhi to her hometown in
Kerala a few years back, said she had always felt 'on the edge' while she was
in the capital.
"It
has crossed my mind at least once that I am in an interfaith marriage and thank
goodness I married a Hindu man. There is this sense of relief that if I ever
get pulled up for my religion I can at least say I am married to a Hindu. I
know it is a wrong thought but deep down I feel a little bit safer," she
said.
Sharing
successful love stories across religions can be a starting point to normalise
interfaith relationships, said Bhandari.
"One
way to combat the anger and anxiety (and desire to dominate) by one group is to
remind the society of the merits of peaceful coexistence and secularism."
"In
the context of interfaith unions, this would imply bringing focus to those
stories where the couples have lived happily ever after with each other,
without allowing their religious differences to be a thorny issue in their
marriage," she said.
"The
India Love Project", an online platform, does just that.
Founded
by journalists Priya Ramani, Samar Halarnkar and Niloufer Venkatraman, the
platform tells stories of 'love and marriage outside the shackles of faith,
caste, ethnicity and gender.'
On
Monday, Halarnkar said on Twitter that the project requires counsellors and lawyers
to advice couples and they are "getting more and more appeals for
help".
As
the issue gathers momentum, plans seem to be firming up.
The
BJP government in MP, for instance, said it plans to introduce a Dharma
Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) bill in the next Assembly session.
The
bill will propose rigorous imprisonment for the period of five years for luring
a person through fraud and forcing marriage by religious conversion, state
minister Mishra said.
Several
states, including Arunachal Pradesh,
Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and
Uttarakhand, already have in place "anti-conversion laws" that
regulate religious conversion.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/nov/24/interfaith-couples-uneasy-as-love-jihad-storm-rages-gathers-force-2227441.html
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Shamima
Begum Still A National Security Threat, UK Supreme Court Told
23
Nov 2020
Shamima
Begum, who left Britain as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State in Syria, remains
a serious threat to national security and should be deprived of her UK
citizenship, the supreme court has been told.
Extracts
of MI5 assessments of the dangers posed by the return of those who joined Isis
were read out on Monday at the start of a two-day hearing challenging the
decision to revoke Begum’s citizenship and refuse her leave to enter the UK.
Sir
James Eadie QC, for the Home Office, told the court the assessments gauged that
Begum presented a serious threat “justifying the removal of her British
citizenship and … the placing of serious impediments in the way of her return
to the UK.”
Eadie
said: “She is assessed to pose a real and current threat to national security.
She is aligned with [Isis]. During the four years she has spent in Islamic
State territory she had undergone radicalisation and ‘desensitisation to
violence’.”
Excerpts
of MI5 assessments of those who lived under the so-called caliphate said they
were exposed to “desensitising acts of brutality” as well as instruction in
using firearms.
Women
and children non-combatants “regularly carried weapons and received some level
of military training”, the reports said. The return of anyone who had spent so
much time being indoctrinated in Syria represented an increased risk they would
“inspire and encourage” others to carry out attacks in the UK, the court heard.
In
a 2019 interview with the Times, the court was told, Begum said she had seen
severed heads dumped in rubbish bins and wondered “what had these men done to
Muslim women”.
Eadie
said that making it difficult to return was part of the intention to reduce the
public’s exposure to a “national security threat”. Begum, he said, remained
with Isis “until the very end, she didn’t regret going and she wanted the
caliphate to be victorious”.
Begum,
now 21, is challenging both the decision to deprive her of citizenship and the
decision to refuse her leave to enter the UK. Supporters point to the fact she
was a child when she was targeted and groomed by jihadist groups; they say the
UK government failed to protect her and prevent her leaving the country.
Lord
Pannick QC, representing Begum, told the court: “Ms Begum cannot play any
meaningful part in her appeal [while she is in Syria].” Granting her leave to
enter the UK is the only, effective way of letting her participate, he added.
“[That]
is the only means to ensure procedural fairness in the unusual circumstances
that arise in this case ... Parliament cannot have envisaged that in
circumstances where she cannot take part in any meaningful appeal the appeal
should proceed.
“It’s
difficult to conceive of any case where the court has said [someone] cannot
have a fair trial but we will go on with it anyway.”
In
February, a unanimous judgment by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
(Siac) found Begumhad not been improperly deprived of her citizenship. The
ruling accepted that conditions in al-Roj camp, where she is being held in
Syria, amounted to, at least, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, but
deemed that her human rights were not protected under UK law.
The
tribunal concluded the decision to strip Begum of her citizenship did not make
her stateless because she was entitled to, or in effect held, Bangladeshi
citizenship. Begum was born in the UK and grew up in east London.
In
June, the court of appeal partially overturned the decision.
In
February 2015, aged 15, Begum left her home with two other teenagers and
travelled to Syria to join Isis.
Begum
claims she married the Dutch Isis fighter Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving
in Isis territory. The couple had three children, two of whom died of disease
or malnutrition during Isis’s last stand at Baghuz. The third died in al-Hawl
camp.
Civil
rights organisations and the UN rapporteur on counter-terrorism have intervened
in the case.
Begum
is one of an estimated two dozen Isis Britons or former Britons held by the
Syrian Kurds in camps in north-east Syria, 15 women and nine men according to
research by the Egmont Institute – plus a further 35 children who may be
British citizens because of the background of their parents.
Two
other women, known only as C3 and C4, also began an appeal on Monday at Siac
against decisions by the home secretary, Priti Patel, to deprive them of their
British nationality last year.
Both
women were born in the UK, and both had parents who were born in what is now
Bangladesh before moving to the UK. C4, who is 28, has three young children,
one of whom was born in the UK before she left for Syria in 2015. C3 is 30 and
travelled to Syria in July 2014.
The
Home Office says the women had their citizenship removed on national security
grounds and denies making them stateless.
That
is contested by lawyers for the two women, who also say Patel took away their
British citizenship without notifying either women or their families – and that
they only became aware of what had happened when they asked the Foreign Office
for help in repatriating them.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/23/shamima-begum-still-national-security-threat-supreme-court
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Saudi
Ladies International confirmed for 2021 after hugely inspiring debut tournament
November
24, 2020
JEDDAH:
The Saudi Ladies International is confirmed to return on November 10 to 13,
2021 after a debut event that broke new ground for women’s sport both in Saudi
Arabia and around the world.
Held
over the last two weekends, the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by
PIF, and its sister event, the Saudi Ladies Team International, attracted no
less than 108 of the best golfers on the planet to the Kingdom to compete for a
share of $1.5 million prize money – the Ladies European Tour’s third biggest
purse of the season.
Despite
being played without spectators due to COVID-19 restrictions, the impact of the
‘women’s week of golf’ was felt worldwide, with the event broadcast to more
than 60 countries and almost 350 million households.
In
Saudi Arabia, the tournaments were the first ever all-women’s professional
sporting events to be beamed on national television, a factor that directly led
to more than 1,000 Saudi women and girls registering to learn golf as part of
the Golf Saudi’s Ladies First Club free golf initiative, launched on the first
day of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF.
Both
events also drew praise across the board from competing players, whose
tournament performances were reported from Australia to Swaziland, to a global
audience of close to a billion people, bringing unprecedented attention to the
women’s game.
“This
has been an historic time for Saudi Arabia and women’s golf, and we could not
be prouder. Congratulations to Emily Pedersen, there were some great
performances, in tough conditions,” Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of Golf Saudi
and the Saudi Golf Federation, said in a statement.
“Both
tournaments have been a great success and in terms of the Saudi Ladies Team International,
I am confident this won’t be the last we hear of exciting team formats in the
professional game. We are committed to building the game of golf in Saudi
Arabia and to creating opportunities for women in the sport.”
The
one name on everyone’s lips across both tournaments was Denmark’s Emily
Kristine Pedersen, who ended up taking home all three of the week’s available
titles after winning the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF in
a playoff against England’s major-winning Georgia Hall, and then triumphing in
both the individual and team categories of the Saudi Ladies Team International.
She
said: “It’s been such a fantastic experience to be here in Saudi Arabia. I have
loved the course, the weather is good here, the people are nice, and it’s been
a great ten days.”
Scotland’s
Alison Muirhead echoed that view, saying: “I’ve loved every minute of my time
in Saudi, it’s been fantastic. The people here have been great. We’ve really
been looked after, and I’ve really enjoyed being here.”
The
tournaments were Saudi Arabia’s first international-scale sporting events since
the COVID-19 outbreak, and required vast amounts of planning and on-site
regulation to ensure all participants and event staff could operate safely
within a bio-secure environment for the duration of the tournaments, held at
Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1767611/sport
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Sheikha
Bodour Becomes First Arab Woman To Be Appointed President Of International Publishers
Association
November
23, 2020
Sharjah:
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi has become the first woman in the Arab
world to be appointed President of the International Publishers Association
(IPA) since the founding of the organisation in 1896. The announcement was made
at the virtual IPA General Assembly Congress (GAC).
With
her appointment as IPA President, Sheikha Bodour becomes the second woman
globally to occupy the position after Ana Maria Cabanellas of Argentina who had
served as Vice President and President of the Association from 2004–8. She will
be assuming the position officially in January 2021.
For
the past two years, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi has been serving as the Vice
President of IPA following her election to the position at the 2018 IPA General
Assembly.
The
appointment of Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi to one of the most significant and
influential positions in the book industry, marks the culmination of her
years-long efforts in developing the publishing industry and boosting the
prospects of publishers in the UAE, across the GCC, and in the wider Arab
region. Her relentless efforts in launching several regional and international
initiatives has enabled the regional and global publishing sectors enhance the
quality of their output and service delivery, and turned the spotlight on the
need to offer emerging markets with the tools and resources they need to
realise their full potential.
Professional
achievements
Throughout
her career, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s numerous professional achievements have
had a remarkable impact on UAE’s cultural offerings. The IPA President-elect
founded the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) in 2009, which gained full
membership of IPA in 2012.
Sheikha
Bodour’s continuous efforts in boosting Sharjah’s onward journey of cultural
development by enhancing its publishing landscape played a vital role in the
selection of Sharjah as the UNESCO World Book Capital 2019, whose Advisory
Committee she headed.
Sheikha
Bodour Al Qasimi has made impressive strides in supporting children’s and young
adults’ rights to access highly innovative content that meet their aspirations
and spark their creativity to improve their future. She founded the Kalimat
Group (KG) in 2007, which is today the regional frontrunner in the field of
Arabic children’s publishing. Under the umbrella of the Kalimat Foundation for
Children’s Empowerment, she launched several initiatives to fulfil the goal of
providing books to refugees and children affected by conflicts and wars
worldwide. She is also the Founder and Patron of the UAE Board on Books for
Young People (UAEBBY), UAE’s national section of the International Board on
Books for Young People (IBBY).
Sheikha
Bodour Al Qasimi has taken forward her vision of supporting the book industry
at the international level with the founding of ‘PublisHer’, a platform that
seeks to build a global women-led community of publishers, as well as enhance
diversity and inclusion in the international publishing sector. She spearheaded
the efforts to organise the IPA Regional Conferences in Lagos, Nairobi and
Amman.
IPA
is one of the world's most prestigious federations of national and regional
publishers' associations. Through its members, IPA represents thousands of
individual publishers worldwide. Founded in 1896 in Paris, IPA is based in
Geneva, Switzerland, with members comprising of more than 83 organisations from
69 countries around the world.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/sheikha-bodour-becomes-first-arab-woman-to-be-appointed-president-of-international-publishers-association-1.1606156410764
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