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Islam, Women and Feminism ( 27 Jul 2023, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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Two Muslim Girls Win Awards from UP CM For Jointly Topping The 2023 XII Board Exam at Maharishi Dayanand Inter College and Moradabad District Level

New Age Islam News Bureau

27 July 2023

Two Muslim Girls Win Awards from UP CM For Jointly Topping The 2023 XII Board Exam At Maharishi Dayanand Inter College And Moradabad District Level

Spain Grants Nationality To Self-Exiled Iran Chess Player Sara Khadem

MQM’s Rana Ansar First Woman Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly

Irish Singer and Activist Sinéad O'Connor Changed Her Name to Shuhada After Converting To Islam

AlUla Creates: Short Film Competition Launches To Support Saudi Women Directors

Amnesty Raises Concerns About Resurgence Of Iran’s Hijab Police

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:  https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-girls-up-cm-maharishi-dayanand-board/d/130311

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Two Muslim Girls Win Awards from UP CM For Jointly Topping The 2023 XII Board Exam At Maharishi Dayanand Inter College And Moradabad District Level

 

Two UP Muslim girls being awarded

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27 July 2023

New Age Islam News Bureau

Two students from Maharishi Dayanand Inter College, Afiya Parveen and Ganiya Akhtar, jointly topped the XII board exam in 2023 in this college and in the district of Moradabad. Each student obtained 96.6% of marks or 483/500. The following female student, Unnati Singh, achieved second position in this college and also at the district level with a score of 481, or 96.2%. Then, Alishma Parveen won the third position in the college and at the district level by attaining 476 or 95.2% of the marks. Thus, three of the top four girls in the entire district are Muslim. The next female student, Sumbul Siddiqui, earned 472 points, or 94.4% of the marks, and came in fourth in this college and fifth in the district.

Recently, a lavish celebration and awards ceremony were conducted in Lucknow to honour the students' outstanding accomplishments. On this occasion, Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, presented Afiya Parveen and Ganiya Akhtar with a laptop, a citation, and one lakh rupees in cash. District Magistrate Moradabad presented Unnati Chauhan, who placed seventh overall at the state level alone, with a tablet and a cheque for one lakh rupees. Alishma Parveen, Sumbul Siddiqui, Kartikeya Sehrawat, and Sanchi Vishnoi were also each given a laptop and a cheque for 21,000 rupees by the District Magistrate and the District School Inspector. Ajay Kumar Vishnoi, the head of the school, Mukesh Maheshwari, the principal, and others offered their congratulations to the boys and girls on their outstanding achievements. They encouraged the students and stressed the importance of diligence, dedication and hard work.

 

Two UP Muslim girls being awarded

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Maharishi Dayanand Inter College deserves congratulations and admiration for its remarkable efforts in elevating its students to the top performance. This college is certainly an example and a lesson for others to follow, especially for Muslim educational institutions, schools, and government-aided Madrasas. There are a lot more Madrasas in India than private Muslim schools, some of which are funded by the state. However, compared to other public schools, the educational offerings of these government-aided Madrasas are subpar.

Some sources claim that individuals who have no prior experience with education and the system in schools or Madrasas are running educational institutions with a religious identity in order to elicit financial support and donations from the Muslim community. They try to conserve as much money as they can while also hiring teachers for only 10,000 to 12,000 rupees a month in this pricey age. The greatest and most skilled teachers and trainers find it extremely difficult to support themselves with this drastically reduced wage, so the committee members look for teachers who make less money. This has a significant impact on the quality of instruction. Students that register in these institutions of higher learning do not succeed in achieving academic brilliance. The money raised from numerous sources is used for personal advantage rather than to improve the standard of education. One of the main causes of the Muslim community's educational lag is due to this.

Muslim students who want to pursue a top-notch education can now do so thanks to the various non-Muslim secular colleges. This explains why Muslims enrolling in schools like Maharishi Dayanand Inter College frequently perform well academically and are ranked among the top students in their states. Another advantage of this institution is that it organizes occasions to recognise and thank its students with presents and cash so that existing students can keep progressing and future students can be inspired to take the top spots. 

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Spain Grants Nationality to Self-Exiled Iran Chess Player Sara Khadem

 

Sara Khadem of Iran plays against Olga Girya of Russia [File: Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters]

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27 Jul 2023

Sara Khadem, the Iranian chess player who fled to Spain after competing in an international tournament without wearing a mandatory hijab in solidarity with the mass protests back home, has been granted Spanish nationality, according to a government minister.

“In response to the exceptional circumstances concerning Mrs Sarasadat Khadema lsharieh, I have just granted her Spanish nationality,” Justice Minister Pilar Llop was quoted in the country’s Official Journal of the State (BOE) as saying on Wednesday. He used Khadem’s full name.

A 26-year-old chess grandmaster, Khadem participated in a World Cup event in Kazakhstan in December 2022, without wearing the headscarf, which is compulsory for women in Iran.

As she explained in an interview with the AFP news agency in February, she did so in support of the protest movement that erupted in Iran following the death in police custody of MahsaAmini in September last year.

Amini, 22, had been arrested by Tehran morality police for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code for women.

A relative warned Khadem that she would be arrested if she returned to Iran.

She decided to travel to Spain in January with her husband, film director Ardeshir Ahmadi, and their 10-month-old son Sam.

They obtained residency in Spain through a “golden visa” scheme after investing at least 500,000 euros ($556,000) in property.

In January, she met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with whom she played a game of chess.

“How much I have learned today from a woman who inspires me,” Sanchez said on social media after hosting Khadem at his official residence, the Moncloa Palace.

“All my support to women athletes. Your example contributes to a better world,” he added.

Iranian female athletes are required to abide by the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women, mainly by covering their heads, when representing their country at international events.

She had said she started thinking of moving abroad after the birth of her son.

“I started to appreciate living in a place where Sam could go out in the streets and play without us being worried, and many things like that. Spain emerged as the best option, thinking of Sam,” she said.

Khadem is ranked 771st in the world, according to the International Chess Federation’s website, and 9th in Iran.

Source: aljazeera.com

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/27/spain-grants-nationality-to-self-exiled-iran-chess-player-sara-khadem

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MQM’s Rana Ansar First Woman Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly

July 27, 2023

The decision to replace Mr Sheikh with Ms Ansar appears to be a result of a tacit understanding between the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and opposition MQM-P to finalise with consensus the caretaker chief minister as the assembly is going to complete its five-year tenure next month.

PA secretary Umar Farooq notified the order of removal of Mr Sheikh and appointment of Ms Ansar as opposition leader in the assembly.

As many as 39 opposition members — 20 belonging to the MQM-P, 10 to the Grand Democratic Alliance and nine to the PTI — had moved a notice to the assembly secretariat for the removal of Mr Sheikh from the slot of the opposition leader saying that he had lost the confidence of majority of opposition members.

They also moved an application for the appointment of the MQM-P leader as the leader of the opposition.

The PTI members have not been attending the assembly sessions since May 9 and the seat of the leader of opposition has remained vacant since then.

The nine PTI members who signed the notice for removal of Mr Sheikh and the application for appointment of Ms Ansar were Karim Bakhsh Gabol, Bilal Ahmed, Mohammad Ali Aziz, Syed Abbas Jafri, Umar Ammari, Imran Ali Shah, Rabia Azfar, Sanjay Gungwani and SachanandLakhwani Sachal.

During the proceedings in the assembly, Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani informed the house that an application had been submitted by majority of opposition lawmakers for Ms Ansar’s appointment as the opposition leader.

Congratulating her in advance, the speaker said that he had instructed the assembly secretary to process the application according to the rules and regulations. “However, I congratulate Rana Ansar in advance that she has been elected as the first woman leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly,” Speaker Durrani remarked getting her seated on the opposition leader’s chair.

Separately, while talking to the media after the session, Rana Ansar thanked her party leadership as well as the GDA for nominating her for the slot.

She said that now the things would move ahead for formation of a caretaker government in the process.

“A name for caretaker chief minister would be decided by holding talks [with the incumbent chief minister],” she said, adding that a person who could run the caretaker government in a better way would be chosen.

Rana Ansar has been a member of the Sindh Assembly since August 2018.

She had been also previously elected on a reserved seat for women in 2013. Born on Aug 17, 1966 in Hyderabad, she did her master’s in Islamic Culture from the University of Sindh.

Concern over drug menace

Meanwhile, MQM-P lawmakers asked the provincial government to take effective steps to control the menace of drugs and worsening law and order situation in the city.

MPA Sadaqat Hussain said the district west had become a hub of illegal business of drugs and narcotics.

He alleged that illegal petrol shops were selling Iranian petrol openly in Orangi Town under the supervision of police.

The MQM-P member added that the area SHO had been suspended over complaints of drug business in the vicinity, but he was reinstated only after a day by the SSP West.

Responding to the call attention notice on behalf of the chief minister, who also holds home department portfolio, the parliamentary affairs minister said that the Iranian petrol was being smuggled earlier but now it was strictly prohibited.

He said that a high-level committee had also been formed to curb the drug menace.

Adeel Shahzad of the MQM-P in his call attention notice said that street crimes and sale of drugs were on the rise in the city particularly in district West and the law enforcers had failed to curb the same.

“The MQM-P lawmakers tried to approach the concerned SSP but he did not respond,” he added.

The MQM-P lawmaker said that there were four party MPAs in district West, but the SSP never attended their calls. “Nor is he ever available at his office,” he added.

Mukesh Kumar Chawla asked the MQM-P member to provide specific information to the provincial government regarding the sale of drugs, assuring that they would take strict action against it.

He said that he personally knew the SSP and he was a good police officer.

The minister said that a crackdown would be launched on drug mafia after Ashura.

Question Hour

Only one out of five starred questions was taken up during the Question Hour as most of the members who had forwarded written queries about the industries and commerce department were absent in the house.

The Speaker took exception to the absence of the members and said that the movers did not seem to be interested in getting answers to their questions.

Legislation

The house passed five government bills — The Sindh Medicolegal Bill, 2023; The Sindh Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Sindh Faculty of Paramedical and Allied Health Sciences Bill, 2023; The University of Mirpurkhas Bill, 2021; and The Sindh Higher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The Sindh Immunisation and Epidemic Control Bill, 2023 was also introduced in the house and sent to standing committee.

Later the house was adjourned to Aug 2.

Source: dawn.com

https://www.dawn.com/news/1766992/mqms-rana-ansar-becomes-first-woman-opposition-leader-in-sindh-assembly

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Irish Singer and Activist Sinéad O'Connor Changed Her Name to Shuhada After Converting To Islam

July 27, 2023

 Irish singer and activist Sinéad O'Connor, who has died at the age of 56 after years of mental health battles, converted to Islam in 2018.

O'Connor changed her name to Shuhada, but continued to perform under her birth name.

The Irish Grammy-winning singer, whose cause of death is not yet known, became world famous in 1990 with her heartrending cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U.

The singer's family has confirmed her death in a statement, saying: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.

"Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."

Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar paid tribute to her, saying her music "was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare".

In 1991, O’Connor was named artist of the year by Rolling Stone magazine on the back of the song’s success. She was presented with the inaugural award for Classic Irish Album at the RTÉ Choice Music Awards earlier this year.

O'Connor, as a teenager, was placed in Dublin's AnGrianan Training Centre, once one of the notorious Magdalene laundries, originally set up to incarcerate young girls deemed to be promiscuous.

One nun bought her a guitar and set her up with a music teacher - which led to the launch of O'Connor's musical career. She released her first critically acclaimed album The Lion And The Cobra in 1987, which entered the top 40 in the UK and US.

Her follow up I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, which included Nothing Compares 2 U, reached number one around the world including in the US and the UK. She released 10 studio albums between 1987 and 2014.

O'Connor was outspoken in her social and political views. In 1992, one of the most notable events of her career took place when the singer ripped up a portrait of Pope John Paul II on the US TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL), where she was the invited performer.

Following an acapella performance of Bob Marley's War, she looked at the camera and said "fight the real enemy", a protest against the Catholic Church. After her action, she was banned for life by broadcaster NBC and protests rose against her in the US, which saw copies of her records destroyed in New York's Times Square.

"I'm not sorry I did it. It was brilliant," she said in an interview with the New York Times in 2021.

The mother-of-four's son Shane, 17, took his life in January 2022 after escaping hospital while on suicide watch.

Writing on social media following his death, she said he had "decided to end his earthly struggle" and requested "no-one follows his example". The singer later cancelled all live performances for the rest of 2022 due to her "continuing grief" following the death of her son.

Source: thenews.com.pk

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1094649-sinead-oconnor-changed-her-name-to-shuhada-after-converting-to-islam

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AlUla Creates: Short Film Competition Launches To Support Saudi Women Directors

July 26, 2023

LONDON: Film AlUla, the film agency of The Royal Commission for AlUla, today announced that it has partnered with production company Vertigo Films and award-winning Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour to launch AlUla Creates short film competition.

The initiative, organized with the support of renowned director, producer, and actor Katie Holmes, aims to support and establish three Saudi women directors in the international marketplace.

“As we continue to develop our AlUla Creates initiative and secure more incredible mentors like the trailblazing Haifaa Al-Mansour, we are delighted to welcome Vertigo Films as a partner for the film phase of program,” Charlene Deleon-Jones, executive director at Film AlUla, said.

Deleon-Jones emphasized that the experience and knowledge that the new partners bring to the table will be “vital” in providing a platform for the next generation of Saudi women filmmakers.

AlUla Creates is a platform designed to create an ecosystem around film, arts and fashion by nurturing creativity and empowering Saudi Arabia’s future generations.

Following the second phase of the program, which championed the fashion aspect of the film industry, the filmmaking mentor program will aim to elevate and support rising female Saudi talent by equipping them with the right tools and guidance.

“Film AlUla Creates Program presents a genuine opportunity to amplify the voices and artistic talents of Saudi female filmmakers on the global stage,” commented Jane Moore, executive producer and CEO at Vertigo Films.

“By providing a platform for their unique perspectives and craft, we aim to develop their professional growth and nurture their creative identity.”

The competition is open to Saudi women directors of all experience levels and submissions will be evaluated by a panel of industry experts, including Al-Mansour, Holmes, and representatives from Vertigo Films and Film AlUla.

The three winning directors will receive three months of mentoring and training from Al-Mansour and Holmes, as well as production support from Vertigo Films and a $20,000 production grant to shoot the film in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of AlUla.

The selected filmmakers will also be invited to London to learn about the international marketplace, meeting with key sales, distribution, post and VFX companies, with each of the filmmakers also being supported through submissions to local and international film festivals.

Haifaa Al-Mansour expressed her honor at the opportunity to help young female talents enter the international stage, emphasizing how the Saudi film industry has come a long way in supporting a new generation of filmmakers

“When I first started making films the idea of working as a female Saudi director seemed outlandish,” she said. “But I knew that the world was curious to hear from us, to hear our side of the story, and that films from home would strike a chord with audiences around the world.”

Launched in March earlier this year, the program’s first phase included a partnership with the British Fashion Council, Saudi actor Mila Al-Zahrani, Kloss Films founder Alec Maxwell, and fashion icons Helena Christensen and Eva Herzigova as ambassadors to support the long-term mission of the platform.

The initiative comes under Film AlUla’s strategy to further the film sector in Saudi through homegrown talent, while also supporting the AlUla region’s socio-economic development.

Source: arabnews.com

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2344626/media

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Amnesty Raises Concerns About Resurgence Of Iran’s Hijab Police

In a recent report, Amnesty International has expressed concern over Iranian authorities' intensifying oppression of women and girls who defy compulsory hijab.

The human rights organization is calling for international communities to stand by Iranian women who choose not to wear headscarves in public and has published detailed analysis of police patrols enforcing the veiling and threatening legal action against those who defy it. They have said it signals a resurgence of Iran’s morality police. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, commented, “Morality policing in Iran is back. The authorities are not fooling anyone by removing the insignia of the ‘morality’ police from uniforms and patrol vans… while emboldening the enforcers of the Islamic Republic’s oppression.”

The report coincided with videos circulating on social media showing women being violently assaulted in Tehran and Rasht and security forces using teargas against people trying to help women escape arrests.

Callamard added, “Today’s crackdown is intensified by mass surveillance technologies capable of identifying unveiled women in their cars and pedestrian spaces.”

According to official announcements from Iran's Police Force spokesman, since April 15, 2023, more than a million women have received text messages warning that their vehicles could be confiscated after being caught on camera without their headscarves. Additionally, numerous women have been suspended or expelled from universities, denied access to banking services and public transport, and hundreds of businesses have been forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsory veiling.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for the abolition of compulsory hijab, the quashing of all convictions and sentences related to defying veiling laws, and the unconditional release of all detainees. Furthermore, the organization urges the international community to take strong action, including legal pathways, to hold Iranian officials accountable for the human rights violations perpetrated against women and girls.

Source: iranintl.com

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202307266929

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URL:  https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-girls-up-cm-maharishi-dayanand-board/d/130311

 

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