Muslim Mahila Foundation Members: Fundamentalists Should Shun Hate and Play Holi With Gulal
New Age Islam News Bureau
17 March 2022
• Female Qazi Solemnizes Nikah of Dr Zakir Husain’s
Great Grandson
• Hijab Row: BJP Leader Brands Petitioner-Muslim Girls
as Anti-Nationals, Members Of A Terrorist Organisation
• Protect Muslim Girls’ Right to Education, Demand
Karnataka Civil Society Groups
• In Indonesia, Hopes Rising For Long-Awaited Sexual
Violence Bill
• Unprecedented Migration of Female Nurses from Iran
• Women Are '1st Defence Line' In Facing Climate
Change - Egypt's Minister of Environment
• Swedish Embassy in Cairo Celebrates Women’s Day with
Successful Female Role Models
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Muslim Mahila Foundation Members: Fundamentalists Should Shun Hate and Play Holi With Gulal
Muslim women celebrating
Holi festival with gulal and rose petals
-----
Mar 17, 2022
VARANASI: “Yogi Ayi Gayine Ab Darr Kahe Ka, Fiza Mein
Udawa Gulal Ab Darr Kahe Ka” (Yogi has come, why fear now? Throw gulal in the
air, why fear now). This was the song that rented the air as Muslim women
celebrated the festival of colours at Lamahi village on Wednesday.
Ahead of the Holi festival, two women associated with
the Muslim Mahila Foundation played ‘gulal ki Holi (Holi with dry colour) and
applied colour on the picture of Lord Ram. Showering colours and rose petals,
Muslim women sang self-composed Holi songs on the beat of dhol in praise of
Hindu deities — Lord Vishwanath, Lord Krishna, and Lord Ram. Presenting a
beautiful blend of communal harmony, they threw colours on each other and
enjoyed the festival.
“We are one by blood, lineage, culture, ancestors, and
country. We cannot leave Indian culture. The colour of Holi is in our blood. It
is our cultural right to play Holi. Fundamentalists try to keep Muslims
isolated, but we are one and have an emotional connection with our culture,”
said MMF president Nazneen Ansari. Najma Parveen said the fundamentalists
should shun hate and play Holi with Gulal.
"Leftists, who degrade the Sanatan culture, raise
the slogan of ‘Save Water’ as soon as Holi arrives and advise not to offer milk
on Shivratri. Their motive is neither to save water nor milk but to demean
India by terming the traditions of Sanatan culture as irrelevant," she
said.
Source: Times Of India
--------
Female Qazi Solemnizes Nikah of Dr Zakir Husain’s
Great Grandson
Photo: Friday Times, Pakistan
-----
March 17, 2022
Breaking with tradition, a female Qazi solemnized the
Nikah for the great grandson of former Indian president Dr Zakir Hussain and
the daughter of senior Indian journalist Qurban Ali.
Dr Syeda Saiyadain Hameed, a former member of the
county’s planning commission, performed the ceremony between Gibran Rehan
Rahman and Ursila Ali.
“The terms set forth in the nikahnama were prepared
under the auspices of Muslim Women’s Forum – an organisation of which the
groom’s great-grandmother, Begum Saeeda Khurshid, was a founding president.”
Dr. Hameed shared, adding “I almost have tears in my eyes […] this is a very
moving moment.”
Following with the family’s involvement with the
women’s group, the bride came up with the idea to have the marriage solemnized
by a female qazi, which the groom had the agreed to.
“There was no concept of a female qazi in the Indian
Islamic society so we want to make a new beginning and when we talk about
equality then why not a female qazi,” the father of the bride said.
A video of the female qazi performing the ceremony
went viral on social media.
While the wedding between two heirs of the country’s
political elite may be breaking moulds, Muslims in southern India face
increasingly restrictive measures, most recently, a ban on hijab in classrooms
in Karnataka.
On Tuesday, the High Court of Karnataka, India upheld
the ban on hijab in classrooms across the southern Indian state, ruling that
the hijab is not an ‘essential religious practice’ in Islam. The verdict set a
possible precedent for restricting religious garb for minorities across the
country.
Source: The Friday Times
--------
Hijab Row: BJP Leader Brands Petitioner-Muslim Girls
as Anti-Nationals, Members Of A Terrorist Organisation
March 16, 2022
Udupi: Senior BJP leader and vice-president of Udupi
Government Pre-University College Development Committee Yashpal Suvarna has
called the girls who approached the Karnataka High Court demanding
hijab-wearing on the college campus as anti-nationals who were members of a
terrorist organisation.
The court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by
the girls seeking permission to wear hijab (scarf) along with their uniform on
campus.
Rejecting their contention that hijab was an essential
religious practice, the court upheld the government circular banning hijab and
saffron scarves, and the need for a uniform.
"The girls have proved once again that they are
not students but members of a terrorist organisation. By giving statement
against the High Court verdict they are disregarding the learned judges. Their
media statement amounts to contempt of court," Suvarna, the national
general secretary of the BJP OBC Morcha, told reporters here.
"What should we expect from them for the country
when these students call the verdict given by learned judges as politically
motivated and against the law? They have only proved that they are
anti-nationals," Suvarna said.
Stating that the girls have decided to move the Apex
Court, he said the High Court order would be restricted to the State but the
order given by the Supreme Court would be applicable to everyone throughout the
country.
"We are confident that the Supreme Court will
deliver a verdict that will be good for the entire country," the BJP
leader said.
Alleging that the girls were showing disregard for the
Constitution, Suvarna suspected the involvement of some organisations which
instigate them to give such statements.
With the girls insisting on hijab, Hindu students
started coming to the college wearing saffron scarves.
The issue then spread to other parts of Karnataka
leading to communal tension in the educational institutions. The government was
forced to announce holiday for a week from 10 February to 16 February.
Source: Firstpost
--------
Protect Muslim Girls’ Right To Education, Demand
Karnataka Civil Society Groups
MARCH 16, 2022
Members of Bahutva Karnataka, a forum of civil society
groups, has demanded protection of the right to education of Muslim girls and
women students. Students should be permitted to write their exams wearing hijab
and false cases against Muslim students should be withdrawn, the forum
demanded.
In a press conference held following the High Court’s
order in the hijab case, the forum members said students who have been missing
classes and exams must be immediately permitted to attend classes and write
their examinations. All efforts must be made to ensure that not a single
student loses an academic year, they said.
“The court order is likely to have a deep and wide
impact on the right to education of Muslim women, thus likely denying them
transformational opportunities for advancement in order to lead productive
lives with autonomy and dignity. The
order will compromise the right to autonomy and choice of Muslim girl students,
who will be forced to choose between their right to faith and the right to
education resulting in the violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed
under the Constitution,” they added.
The forum hoped that the Supreme Court will step in to
ensure the protection of their fundamental rights. “The ruling and opposition
parties must immediately discuss this issue in the Karnataka Legislature and
evolve suitable means to ensure the right to education of students of all
communities, including Muslim girls,” they said. “FIRs must be registered
against any person who intimidates or harasses Muslim students or their
families,” they said.
Source: The Hindu
--------
In Indonesia, hopes rising for long-awaited sexual
violence bill
By Stanley Widianto
March 17, 2022
JAKARTA, March 17 (Reuters) - Two years ago in
Indonesia, sexual harassment victim Baiq Nuril Maknun received a presidential
amnesty, and she is now hoping parliament passes a new law on sexual violence,
a decade after activists first proposed legislation.
"Hopefully it can happen," Nuril told
Reuters from the island of Lombok.
Now 43 years old, the observant Muslim woman still
appears reticent broaching such weighty matters, and she hasn't joined
activists campaigning for change. But her meekly spoken words carry the weight
of personal experience.
"It's important, given that perpetrators are
still out there, so that victims can speak up."
Nuril became a cause celebre when the Supreme Court
jailed her for six months and fined her $36,000 for circulating recordings of
lewd telephone calls received from her boss, a school principal.
Moved by the injustice of the case, President Joko
Widodo granted Nuril amnesty, gaining plaudits from women's rights groups,
though they believed the outcome would do little to tackle the increasing
blight of sexual harassment in Indonesia.
In January, Widodo told his government to expedite new
legislation, which seeks to make it easier to build cases and secure
convictions, and lawmakers resumed deliberations on a draft bill this week.
They have been talking about it since 2016, with its
progress stalled by several political parties, the most vocal of which had a
conservative, Islamic pedigree.
This time, however, the government's point man for the
bill is optimistic that it could be passed as early as next month.
"The urgency is that it has to be passed. There
are so many cases that have not been handled proportionally," Edward Omar
Sharif Hiariej, the deputy justice minister, told Reuters.
Sexual violence complaints have been rising in the
world's most populous Muslim-majority country, where sexual abuse is often
regarded as a private matter, not a legal one.
Prosecuting sex crimes has been complicated by the
absence of a dedicated legal framework, while victims' concerns of being shamed
during questioning have deterred many from speaking up, according to activists.
Edward said there were 6,000 sexual abuse cases that
had been filed since 2018, only 300 of which were settled in court.
The National Commission on Violence Against Women
(Komnas Perempuan) and civil society groups first proposed the idea of
legislation in 2012 and a bill was submitted to the house four years later.
It said it received about 4,500 complaints of sexual
violence from January to October last year, twice the amount reported in 2020.
Willy Aditya, deputy chairman of parliament's
legislative body, cited Nuril's ordeal on Monday as he told a seminar that the
number of cases of sexual crimes under investigation were only "the tip of
the iceberg".
WATERED-DOWN VERSION
The latest draft of the bill, seen by Reuters,
prescribes prison terms for offenders and compels them to pay restitution to
their victims. It also requires local authorities be trained to handle sexual
violence cases and provide victim counselling.
But civil society groups say the bill is limited in
scope, with only five sex crimes included.
Under the initial proposals, the legislation would
have covered sexual slavery, sexual harassment and exploitation, forced
marriage, forced prostitution, forced contraception and abortion, and more,
while also offering a clearer definition of what constitutes rape.
Lawmakers say those were omitted from the latest draft
because they are included in revisions of other legislation still being
deliberated. The government wants sexual slavery and forced marriage to be
included, but parliament will decide.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), a conservative,
Islamic opposition party, says the bill does not regulate against extramarital
sex. It has recommended a ban on sexual relations based on "deviant"
sexual orientation.
Kurniasih Mufidayati, a PKS lawmaker and part of
parliament's legislative body, said it was unlikely the bill could be passed by
April, as legislators would be preoccupied with other laws.
Women's rights activists urged the government against
submitting to footdragging by conservatives any longer.
"It should have been the state's responsibility
to help women and victims of sexual abuse a long time ago," said Tunggal
Pawestri, an activist consulted on the bill by parliament.
Source: Reuters
--------
Unprecedented migration of female nurses from Iran
February 16, 2022
Women have the most significant share in unemployment
figures
Unprecedented migration of female nurses from Iran;
women have the most significant share in unemployment figures.
State media in Iran report an unprecedented migration
of female nurses. “Women have the largest share in unemployment figures and are
a potential migration population in Iran,” according to Iran’s Migration
Observatory (The state-run Armanmeli Daily – January 25, 2022).
Many female nurses have canceled their contracts due
to excessive pressure, being away from their children and families, and the
stresses caused by those conditions.
Female nurses are more willing to emigrate
Various factors affect the migration of female nurses.
Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Deputy Director of the
House of Nurses, said, “The number of nurses’ migration has probably increased
by 200 to 300 percent compared to the past. Conditions are bad in our country,
and nurses do not have job security” (The state-run Armanmeli Daily – January
25, 2022).
The Iranian regime refuses to hire nurses formally as
a means of avoiding paying their full salaries. Most of Iran’s nurses are
employed on temporary, 89-day contracts in which nurses’ monthly salaries are
much lower than the minimum official salary. The nurses are deprived of
benefits, regular pay, and insurance. Moreover, they do not have job security.
Even the meager wages are not paid regularly.
Dr. Armin Zareian, Chairman of the Board of Directors
of the Nursing Organization in Tehran, explained that one of the main reasons
for nurses’ migration was “the lack of timely and accurate compensation for
fighting the Coronavirus, lack of retention of the appropriate level of human
resources, and failure to recruit 89-day contract nurses.”
Lower wages, longer working hours
Many nurses receive less than 5 million Tomans ($189)
in salary. If nurses’ minimum wage is set (at best) at 5 million Tomans, it
amounts to a 10-fold difference compared to the global labor market salary –
which averages $2,000 per month. It should be noted that nurses’ average
working hours in Iran are sometimes at least twice those of nurses in other
countries worldwide. Low salaries and excruciating working hours are contributing
factors for nurses’ migration.
The clerical regime has made many promises to nurses.
However, it has failed to deliver. Nurses have received no rewards in return
for their round-the-clock services. Their deferrals are not paid on time. Their
monthly wages are not regulated by law. For example, even if a nurse’s salary
is 800,000 Tomans ($30) per month, they might receive only 50,000 to 100,000
Tomans ($1-3) a month.
In countries like the United States, nurses receive a
$4,000 monthly salary for 7 hours of service per day. In Iran, however, a nurse
is paid about $120 for 10 to 12 hours of work, which can also last up to 20
hours a day (The state-run Armanmeli Daily – October 14, 2020).
Lack of job opportunities for female nurses
Lack of job opportunities and the catastrophic
economic situation in Iran are additional reasons for the migration of female
nurses. According to polls, nurses within the 30-45 age group are more likely
to emigrate.
Arab countries in the Persian Gulf are the first
destination for the Iranian nurse, specialist, and semi-specialist workforce.
Many of Iran’s neighboring countries that are facing skilled labor shortages
offer opportunities that attract semi-skilled and skilled workers from Iran.
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, Iran faced severe
shortages of doctors, nurses, and medical staff, and its situation was far
below international standards. Given the rise of the sixth wave and the
recurring crises in hospitals, the shortage of nurses and the increase in
migration is naturally an irreparable loss for medical staff and Coronavirus
patients.
Standards do not exist in Iran
After the Coronavirus outbreak in Iran, the per capita
number of nurses to hospital beds was very low, presenting a concerning
situation compared to global averages. However, despite nurses’ dire and
disgraceful situation, the clerical regime makes no efforts to recruit new
staff.
The world standard is four nurses per hospital bed. In
countries with worse indicators than Iran, there are more than three nurses per
bed or for every 1,000 persons. Iran, however, does not reach “half the minimum
international standards and half of the people’s minimum care” (The state-run
Armanmeli Daily – January 25, 2022).
Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Deputy Director of the
House of Nurses, estimates the national average to be 0.9 percent. The tragedy
is that, according to reports, in some provinces and counties, as many as 25
patients are managed by just one nurse. The Deputy for Development and Resource
Management of the Nursing Organization announced the news (The state-run
Khorasan Daily – September 16, 2021).
As a result of the regime’s inaction, the nursing and
paramedical community lost 140 staff during the pandemic. According to these
statistics, Iran tops the list of nurses dying from the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mohammad Mirza Beigi, the Head of Iran’s Nursing Organization, announced that
the latest figure of nurses infected with Coronavirus is 136,000 (The state-run
Jahanesanat Daily – September 11, 2021).
Given these factors, as well as the more than half a
million deaths due to COVID-19, one can fully understand why Iranian nurses and
doctors feel they have no choice but emigrate amid the Coronavirus crisis.
Source: NCR
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2022/02/16/migration-of-female-nurses-from-iran/
--------
Women Are '1st Defence Line' In Facing Climate Change
- Egypt's Minister of Environment
17 Mar 2022
CAIRO - 17 March 2022: Environment Minister Yasmine
Fouad confirmed women are the "first defense line" in combating
impacts of climate change.
Women are always searching for solutions to problems
of climate change phenomenon, including ways to reach clean, potable water,
better education, health, waste management, in addition to their role in
creating wide, social networks supporting national agenda of climate action,
added Fouad.
Fouad was speaking at the high-level session, held on
the sidelines of the 66th round of the Commission on the Status of Women as
part of celebrations of the International Women's Day and Egyptian Women's Day
Thursday.
The minister spoke about the role Egyptian women play
in pushing forward environment action and facing the bad impacts of climate
change.
President of the National Council for Women (NCW) Maya
Morsi was present.
Morsi, in turn, reiterated the role of women in
supporting the State to face repercussions of climate change.
This year, CSW66, the UN’s largest annual gathering on
gender equality and women’s empowerment, is held under the theme,
"Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in
the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction
policies and program."
Source: Egypt Today
--------
Swedish Embassy in Cairo celebrates Women’s Day with
successful female role models
Nehal Samir
17 Mar 2022
The Swedish Embassy in Cairo partnered with
Entreprenelle and hosted a panel discussion followed by a reception at Swedish
Ambassador Håkan Emsgård’s residence to celebrate International and Egyptian
Women’s Day.
The event was attended by representatives of the
Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, National Council of Childhood
and Motherhood, and the National Council of Women, in addition to some of
Egypt’s top female gender activists and entrepreneurs.
The reception began with opening speeches from the
Emsgård and Founder of Entreprenelle Rania Ayman. The reception focused on the
success stories of women in Egypt and Sweden through a panel discussion aiming
to highlight positive, thriving, and influential women in different posts and
positions.
“Gender Equality is a global challenge which requires
cooperation between countries. It is a top priority for the Swedish government,
just as it is for the Egyptian government,” said Emsgård.
“March is truly a month for Egyptian women. While the
world celebrates International Women’s Day on 8 March, Egyptian Women’s Day
falls on 16 March; and today, we partnered with Entreprenelle to celebrate
women and listen to their success stories and the challenges they face on their
journey.”
“It takes a village to achieve women empowerment, and
no one can do it alone. That’s why we believe in partnership,” said Ayman.
Source: Daily News Egypt
https://dailynewsegypt.com/2022/03/17/776322/
--------