‘I Hope This Is My Last Marriage’: Malaysian Great-Grandmother, Rokiah Samat, Marries 28-Year-Old Man
New Age
Islam News Bureau
14 June 2023
• ‘I Hope This Is My Last Marriage’: Malaysian
Great-Grandmother, Rokiah Samat, Marries 28-Year-Old Man
• Iran's Art University Temporarily Bans 40
Female Students Over Dress Code Violations
• Sharia Marriages Undermine Women's Rights in UK
• Muslim Girls Fence - The Movement That's
Slicing Up Stereotypes
• Saudi Artist And Photographer Nabila
Abuljadayel Supports Syrian Refugees Through Art At Zaatari Camp
• Palestinian Woman Gives Birth To Quadruplets
Using Sperm Smuggled From Her Imprisoned Husband
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/malaysian-rokiah-samat-marriage/d/129992
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‘I Hope This Is My Last Marriage’: Malaysian Great-Grandmother, Rokiah Samat, Marries 28-Year-Old Man
Housewife Madam Rokiah, 62, tied the knot with Mr Mohammad Amin Jundail,
28, after knowing him for about a year. PHOTO: ROKIAH BINTI SAMAT/TIKTOK
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14-06-23
Age is
certainly just a number for Malaysian great-grandmother Rokiah Samat who
married a man 34 years her junior in 2022.
Housewife
Madam Rokiah, 62, decided to tie the knot with Mr Mohammad Amin Jundail, 28, after
knowing him for about a year.
“Even
though he is much younger, I am confident that my husband will be able to take
care of me until the end of my life, and I hope this is my last marriage,”
Malay daily Harian Metro quoted Madam Rokiah as saying.
A TikTok
video of their unconventional union went viral, racking up 2.4 million views
after it was posted four days ago.
Mr Amin,
who is a masseur and sells beauty products, said he first messaged Madam Rokiah
on October 2021 after coming across her TikTok account.
He had
initially wanted to be just friends with her but, over time, he realised that
he had feelings for Madam Rokiah, who has 10 children, 22 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
So he
decided to travel from his hometown of Semporna in eastern Sabah to meet her.
Madam Rokiah lives in the PasirPuteh district of the east coast state of
Kelantan.
“I
arrived in Peninsula Malaysia on December 2021 but I got a job as a masseur in
Johor. A month later, I finally met her on my birthday, which was on Jan 10
last year, at her house,” Mr Amin told Malay portal mStar Online.
They got
engaged on June 6, 2022, and tied the knot three months later, on Sept 9.
Madam
Rokiah said she decided to accept Mr Amin as her life partner, as they are
compatible and he gets along with her children.
“I do
not like to live with my children, I am more comfortable living on my own. But
at the same time, I need a life partner, and that is why I remarried.
“After
all, this is God’s provision. For me, what is more important is not the age but
getting an honest and sincere husband,” she said.
Madam
Rokiah had been married twice before.
Her
first marriage was in 1977 and lasted for 40 years before the couple went their
separate ways six years ago.
Her
second marriage was to a Myanmar national in 2018 and lasted only two years.
“I had
to get a divorce. I couldn’t cope with a long-distance relationship with my
former husband, who was then working in China,” she said.
Despite
their vast age difference, Mr Amin and Madam Rokiah were thankful that their
families accepted their union, with Mr Amin saying that God had destined him to
marry Madam Rokiah.
They
also share the same hobbies, as they both enjoy fishing and gardening.
“She
completes me. I am thankful I have a wife who is caring and perfect in my eyes
in every way. My wife is also a good cook, I love her fishhead curry,” said Mr
Amin.
After
viewing their TikTok video where the couple shared their birth dates and the
dates they met and got married, netizens sent their best wishes, with many
commenting on the vast age gap.
“This is
like a mother and child or even grandchild... Whatever, it is a match from
Allah, congratulations,” said a commenter with the handle umi.
Some
commenters also shared the age gap between them and their partners.
“If it
is fated, then it is meant to be... I am 51 while my husband is 36, 15-year
gap,” said a commenter named Simahalim.
Source: straitstimes.com
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/i-hope-this-is-my-last-marriage-malaysian-great-grandmother-marries-man-34-years-her-junior
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Iran's
Art University Temporarily Bans 40 Female Students Over Dress Code Violations
University students protest without the mandatory hijab in Tehran. (file
photo)
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June 13,
2023
Officials
at Iran's Art University have temporarily barred 40 female students from
attending classes for their alleged "failure to fully observe" the
Islamic dress code as the government continues to increase pressure on campuses
after unrest over the death of a young woman while in police custody for
allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.
The
Student Guild Councils reported on June 12 that the university's security has
conditionally suspended the students saying that if they appear at the
university without a Maghna'eh -- a black cloth covering their head, forehead,
chin, and chest -- their suspensions will take full effect.
Such a
move, the Councils said, was done "through a completely illegal
process."
The Art
University has made several attempts to make the Maghna'eh mandatory for
students over the past decade, but the move has been met with resistance from
students. The resentment over the policy has grown after months of unrest --
led by students and women around Iran -- sparked by the death in September of
Mahsa Amini while in police custody over a headscarf violation.
Several
students and professors already have been barred or suspended from the school
recently for supporting protests over the 22-year-old Amini's death in Tehran.
The
government has tried to quell the unrest through a brutal crackdown that has
seen hundreds die and thousands more detained.
As part
of the crackdown, authorities have been ramping up patrols and enforcement of
dress codes on school campuses nationwide.
Female
students at Shahid Beheshti University recently were warned that if they
violate the mandatory head covering rules, the school will "erase"
their courses, meaning they will not get credit for the year's work.
Student
activists at the university have also reported "harassment and
threats" of female students for not wearing a Maghna'eh.
Independent
student organizations, along with 200 students from the Faculty of Social
Sciences at Tehran University, protested last week in a letter against the
"denial of the right to education and banning" of protesting
students.
They
referred to the "creation of fear and beatings in the university environment,
banning and arresting by security institutions outside the university" as
some of the tools of the university to suppress and silence the unquenchable
voice of students.
Universities
and students have long been at the forefront of the struggle for greater social
and political freedoms in Iran. In 1999, students protested the closure of a
reformist daily, prompting a brutal raid on the dorms of Tehran University that
left one student dead.
Over the
years, the authorities have arrested student activists and leaders, sentencing
them to prison and banning them from studying.
The
activist HRANA news agency says at least 700 university students have been
arrested during the recent unrest.
Many
have faced sentences such as imprisonment, flogging, and dozens of students
have been expelled from universities or suspended from their studies, as
security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
Source: rferl.org
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-art-university-bans-students-dress-code/32457652.html
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Sharia
Marriages Undermine Women's Rights in UK
14-06-23
According
to the 2021 United Kingdom census, the Muslim population in England and Wales
has seen a significant increase in recent years, with Muslims accounting for
3.8 million of the population, up from 1.5 million in 2001. This increase has
had an undeniable impact on the status of women in the UK, as it has throughout
Europe, with women's rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali writing in her 2021 book,
Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights, that "In
countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and others with
considerable numbers of Muslim immigrants, we have seen a rejection of women's
freedoms" by Muslim men and even children.
In the
UK, this rejection of women's rights has manifested itself in a growing number
of unregistered marriages among the Muslim population. These marriages, which
are enforced by Sharia councils staffed by Muslim imams, deny Muslim women the
rights non-Muslim women enjoy in the UK. Women in unregistered marriages are
vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by their husbands and are unable to get
redress in Sharia councils, which force women to give up their dowry in
exchange for a divorce.
Speaking
at a counter-Islamist meeting that took place in Salzburg in late 2022,
Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the House of Lords and founder of Equal and
Free, a British non-profit that advocates for women in unregistered marriages,
recounted the dire circumstances of women in these marriages, some of whom are left
penniless and denied access to their children after they leave their husbands.
At the conference, she recounted testimony from women who had been raped and
financially exploited by their husbands. One woman told the baroness that she
was never given the papers to show she had married her husband. "My
husband was already married. I am now struggling to prove my marriage to him. I
have witnesses but it is a difficult route to prove my husband's
misconduct."
In
response to the crisis, independent reviews were launched in 2016 and completed
in 2018 by Britain's Home Office to examine the application of Sharia Law in
England and Wales. The review was initiated in response to claims that Sharia
councils were discriminating against women and contributing to a lack of social
and political integration within the UK. Critics argued that the observance of
Sharia Law keeps Muslims marginalized and dislocated from British civic life.
The report highlighted a number of "bad practices" on the part of
Sharia councils that discriminate against women. For example, the report states
that in some instances, woman are encouraged to make "excessive financial
concessions" to their husbands in order to secure a divorce.
Aina
Khan OBE, a London-based solicitor specializing in international and Islamic
family law, has also been at the forefront of efforts to address the issue of
unregistered marriages, or "nikah-only" unions, among young Muslims.
Khan's "Register Our Marriage" campaign, established in 2014, advocates
for the civil registration of religious marriages among Muslims. In 2017, Khan
told The Guardian that "in the last five years, the proportion of people
under 40 having nikah-only marriages is as high as 80%." The Guardian
reported that one of the consequences of nikah-only marriages is that husbands
can instantly divorce their wives by texting the word "talak" to
their wives, even "even by phone or social media." Khan has
encountered numerous cases where women have been dispossessed of their inheritance,
assets, or even abandoned by their husbands.
To
address these issues, calls have been made to expand the Marriage Act of 1949
to include the civil registration of religious marriages from all faiths.
Currently, only Church of England, Jewish, and Quaker marriages are automatically
recognized, while Islamic marriages are not. Evidence suggests that many
mosques in the UK fail to register religious marriages under civil law, even
when authorized to do so.
"The
Government must act urgently to ensure that rights of Muslim women are upheld,
as so many are suffering in ways that would make our suffragettes turn in their
graves," Cox said.
Source: meforum.org
https://www.meforum.org/64505/sharia-marriages-undermine-women-rights-in-uk
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Muslim
Girls Fence - The Movement That's Slicing Up Stereotypes
14-06-23
When you
think of fencing, what comes to mind? Probably not Muslim girls.
Across
London, in community centres and secondary schools, Muslim women and girls pick
up a foil, and get ready to spar. "We're breaking stereotypes because
fencing is a white male dominated posh sport," says 12-year-old Zaynab
from Redbridge. "Muslim girls can do whatever we want to do, we're sporty,
we're confident, we’re strong, we can be whatever we want to be."
Muslim
Girls Fence is a collaboration between Maslaha — a charity that takes a
creative approach to tackling social issues affecting Muslim communities — and
British Fencing. We run in schools and communities at a grassroots level,
focusing on facilitating a space for girls and women to verbally, creatively
and physically challenge assumptions and narratives relating to their gender,
racial, religious and other identities. "You might think a fencer wouldn't
look like me, but I am a fencer," says 14-year-old Latifa from Tower
Hamlets. "When I'm fencing I feel powerful, I feel strong, I feel
sisterhood and I feel free."
A
uniquely accommodating sport
Not only
is fencing a great sport for Muslim women and girls to physically disrupt
stereotypes and narratives cast over our bodies — that we are weak, lacking
agency — it is a very accessible sport for Muslim women. US 2016 Olympic
medalist in fencing, Ibtihaj Muhammad — widely known for being the first Black
American Muslim woman to wear a hijab while competing at the Olympic Games —
has described fencing as "uniquely accommodating". With fencing, says
Muhammad, she could wear the same kit as everyone else. For the first time she
truly felt like part of the team.
At
Muslim Girls Fence, once you put on your kit, all that matters is the energy and
joy you bring to the session. It's a safe space for people to come as they are,
without having to worry about being accepted, celebrated or conforming to the
stereotype of an athlete. Fencing attracts those who may not be typically
involved in sports — and combined with the focus on creativity and political
discussion at Muslim Girls Fence, the appeal is only heightened. "The
social aspect has helped me increase my confidence, self-esteem and build
friendships and community," says Sara from the Redbridge community
sessions. "It's good for my health and wellbeing, as well as learning a
new skill with my daughter. It gives us time to build our relationship and have
fun."
"Young
Muslim women are seen as having no aspirations, we can't have dreams, it's
horrible"
Fencing
in and of itself is a powerful art form. We take advantage of this and focus on
the power of embodiment, building confidence, resilience and the
self-determination that comes with picking up a sword and lunging forward to
take up space. "I love saying to people I’m a fencer," says
12-year-old Zaynab, "People don’t expect me to say that because I'm a
girl. I feel when I've got the sword in my hand I'm strong."
Alongside
fencing in the weekly sessions, creative tools such as collaging, drawing, photography,
reflective activities and poetry are used to facilitate self-expression and
therefore begin the process of equipping young Muslim girls to tell their own
stories without having to internalise tropes associated with them in wider
media and political rhetoric. In our creative sessions we explore body image,
racism, sexism, Islamophobia.
Such a
space is rarely afforded in a climate of the cost of living crisis, cuts to
social, therapeutic and youth services and Islamophobia in media and politics.
Speaking
of which. The government's counter-terrorism policy Prevent duty aims to root
out extremism before it happens. It legally requires public sector workers,
doctors, teachers and social care workers to work in what is sinisterly
described as "the pre-criminal space." And again, it is Muslims who
have been disproportionately targeted. Prevent has been widely condemned by
stakeholders both within and outside the UK including leading civil liberties
groups, politicians, community groups, lawyers. In reality we've seen the
impact of Prevent — such as young Muslim women and girls censoring themselves
and parents avoiding having conversations about politics or religion at home in
case their child says something at school that could be misconstrued. We have had
participants discuss feeling trapped into a single identity by other people's
expectations and language, such as 'terrorist' and 'oppressed'. One young
person said: "young Muslim women are seen as having no aspirations, we
can't have dreams, it's horrible. I've got dreams and I know I can do anything
I want."
Moreover,
we have heard multiple pupils and students say they deliberately avoid mental
health services because they do not think they would understand the experiences
of Muslim young people. One participant said, "I do think Islamophobia has
affected young people's mental health. I think that this is something that is
rising sadly, some people don’t feel they are safe, or that they’ll be listened
to or understood, which kind of makes it worse." When policy-makers see
only one aspect of people’s identity, they can make far-reaching errors that
prevent their objectives from being realised and can directly impact young
people's wellbeing and sense of self. We are now seeing a generation of young
Muslims who are afraid to express themselves authentically. This is why Muslim
Girls Fence is so important. It goes beyond the usual sexist tropes that 'girls
don't play sport', but much more insidious and criminalising rhetoric too.
"We
have coaches who are currently doing their A-Levels, and coaches who have
grandchildren"
We are
working to change public imagination, seeking to influence and shape public
debates and media narratives about Muslim communities. We've done this through
being part of incredible events such as Eid in the Square and Southbank
Centre's Women of the World Festival where we have performed fencing, poetry,
showcased our art work, and ran art and self-portrait photography exhibitions
across the country. We have also shown our film Nobody's Metaphor at the Tate
and at film festivals; it follows the journey of four teenage girls from west
London who embark on the Muslim Girls Fence project. As the film unfolds, the
initially reluctant girls find new means to express themselves and speak back to
people's expectations of them.
When the
initiative first began in east London, 25 students learned how to use their
swords for two-hour lessons over the course of 16 weeks. Now we have weekly
on-going sessions in community centres and secondary schools across the UK in
London, Doncaster, Bradford and Birmingham. After the 10-week school fencing
sessions, many of the young women and girls continue fencing and join the
community sessions, in intergenerational grassroots community fencing. Many
become fencing coaches. We have coaches who are currently doing their A-Levels,
coaches who are professional fencers, coaches who have grandchildren, and
coaches who are activists and organisers in their communities.
"There
aren't that many projects aimed at Muslim girls, not many specifically for
Muslim girls," says 14-year-old Aisha, from Tower Hamlets, "It's
really nice to be able to explore what that means to me and say I feel proud to
be a Muslim girl!"
Source: londonist.com
https://londonist.com/london/features/muslim-girls-fence
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Saudi
artist and photographer Nabila Abuljadayel supports Syrian refugees through art
at Zaatari Camp
June 13,
2023
JEDDAH:
A Saudi artist and photographer has volunteered with the King Salman
Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to support refugees through art in the
Zaatari Camp in Jordan.
Nabila
Abuljadayel, who specializes in portraying royal families through the medium of
silk, decided to use her skills for humanitarian purposes.
Sharing
her volunteer experience at the camp with Arab News, Abuljadayel said:
“Teaching art inspired a hope in me to give a creative outlet and bring people
together through the universal language of art, while documenting, through my
lens, the great efforts held by KSrelief and the stories of many faces at the
camp. Their strength and perseverance inspire me every day.”
She
taught art courses to students of different ages based on their level of skill
and knowledge.
Abuljadayel
created a coloring book specifically for Syrian refugees that included
culturally relevant elements such as a girl wearing her hijab and a boy sitting
on his praying mat reading the Qur’an.
She also
taught them the basics of drawing and trained them to draw the Grand Mosque of
Makkah.
Some of the
students tried to recreate her artwork “WaIsjodWaIqtareb” (Prostrate and Draw
Near) in their own way.
The
painting captures a moment of stillness and contemplation as a cleaner kneels
in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque, the only worshipper at the normally
bustling holy site.
“One
student, named Ibrahim, showed up early on the last day, very excited to give
me a farewell gift of a very beautiful drawing of the Grand Mosque of Makkah on
a piece of cardboard since he didn’t have a canvas to draw on,” she said.
“It was
inspiring to see how he quickly learned and progressed, working with what
resources were available to him. When you get to know the people of Zaatari
Camp, you see that glimmer of hope in their eyes, despite what they went
through while making the best out of their circumstances.”
She was
touched by the positive attitude of the students who expressed excitement for
the coloring activities and even asked her to give them additional coloring
books for their siblings to enjoy at home.
Abuljadayel
believes that among many other challenges, these refugees face, one often
overlooked aspect is the need for emotional and psychological healing.
Therefore, art helps refugees in their journey toward recovery and
self-expression.
“KSrelief
provides art lessons to help refugees cope with trauma, build personal growth,
and develop skills that can help them secure employment opportunities in the
future.”
KSrelief
provides a sense of community to the refugees in the camp, offering various
options such as medical, psychological, social, artistic, and educational
programs that provide an opportunity for expression and healing, which
contributes to the improvement of their living conditions.
The
supervisor general of KSrelief, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, presented Abuljadayel’s
artwork “Salman the Humanitarian” to King Salman at the opening ceremony of the
Saudi humanitarian aid platform launched by the King as part of the Riyadh
International Humanitarian Forum in 2018.
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2321106/saudi-arabia
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Palestinian
woman gives birth to quadruplets using sperm smuggled from her imprisoned
husband
June 13,
2023
A
Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip today revealed that she has given birth
to quadruplets she conceived through sperm smuggled from her husband, who has
been held in Israeli prisons for 15 years.
Thirty-three-year-old
Rasmiyya, wife of Ahmed Shamali, said
she gave birth on 3 May at Al-Makassed Hospital in occupied East
Jerusalem.
Shamali
said: "The birth was dangerous and early, at the end of the seventh month
of pregnancy, the hospital was forced to place them in incubators for more than
37 days."
She
returned to the Gaza Strip on Sunday through the Beit Hanoun-Erez crossing, she
added.
Ahmed 's
mother, Najah, said: "This is the third time we have tried implanting
embryos fertilised through smuggled sperm since Ahmed's arrest in 2008, thanks
be to God this time it was a success."
"The
success of the process was a moment of
great joy, the impact of this on us and on Ahmed cannot be described."
The
family sent pictures of the four newborns to Ahmed so that he could see his
children, who have been named Najah, Abdel Rahim, Rakan and Rayan.
Ahmed is
due to be released in three years, his mum explained, adding that he had two
children before being arrested in 2008 near the eastern borders of Gaza City.
He is
serving 18 years on charges of belonging to the Fatah movement, according to
the family.
The
Palestinian Prisoners Club said seven children were born through smuggled sperm
in 2022.
Source: middleeastmonitor.com
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230613-palestinian-woman-gives-birth-to-quadruplets-using-sperm-smuggled-from-her-imprisoned-husband/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/malaysian-rokiah-samat-marriage/d/129992