89% Muslim Women Cover Their Heads Outside Home – But So Do 86% Sikhs And 59% Hindus: Pew Research Centre
New Age Islam News Bureau
19 February 2022
• Female Students Film Assault, Removing Hijab Of
Muslim Girl In New Zealand School
• Women In Northwest Syria Take On Physically
Demanding Jobs
• Karnataka: Students In Hijab Demanding College Entry
Booked For Unlawful Assembly And Disobeying An Order Promulgated By A Public
Servant
• Hijab row likely to hit education of Muslim women,
experts fear
• Chandini, The Guest Lecturer Of English Quits Job
Over Alleged Bar On Her Hijab
• Asli Ozbay, A
Turkish Woman Takes Solo Africa Tour On Motorcycle As Part Of A Documentary
Project "Africa Through The Eyes Of A Woman"
• SC Declines Urgent Listing Of Plea By Sulli Deals
App Accused
• ‘Elephant In The Room’: Jordanian Women And Equal
Rights
• Gulf Envoys Stress Women’s Rights In Meeting With
Taliban FM
• Turkey voices concern over disappearance of Afghan
woman activists
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-sikh-hindu-women-pew/d/126406
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89% Muslim Women Cover Their Heads Outside Home – But
So Do 86% Sikhs And 59% Hindus: Pew Research Centre
Image For Representation. Photo By Shailendra
Bhojak/Pti
-----
FEBRUARY 17, 2022
The hijab row in Karnataka has become a topic of a lot
of debate – on women’s rights, feminism, uniform civil code, secularism,
Islamophobia and more. Even as the issue continues to polarise opinions, the
Karnataka High Court is hearing the case to ascertain wearing the hijab is
essential to Islam and thus, protected under Article 25 of the Constitution,
which guarantees freedom to practise religion, after some Muslim girl students
approached the court against their PU colleges banning the hijab. However, in a
country like India where religion is as intrinsic to personal as well as public
life, how practical is it to consider banning clothing that is considered a
part of faith?
As per Washington-based Pew Research Centre, 89%
Indian Muslim women cover their heads outside their home. “About one-in-four
Muslim women in the South (23%) say they wear a hijab, compared with single-digit
percentages elsewhere in the country,” the report said. However, Muslim women
are not the only group who dress differently in public – 86% Sikh women, 59%
Hindu women and 21% Christian women respondents also said that they covered
their heads outside their home.
The study titled Religion in India: Tolerance and
Segregation surveyed 29,999 Indian adults between 2019 and 2020 before the
COVID-19 pandemic, and found that at 23%, south India had the most Indian
Muslim women respondents who wore a hijab outside their homes. Meanwhile,
wearing the burqa was the most common practice in west India (67%), followed by
north (61%) and south (59%) regions of the country.
The study, the findings of which were released in June
2021, also noted that most Indians “consider religion very important in their
life” – 84% Hindus and 91% Muslims held this view. For other religions too, a
minimum of 76% respondents echoed this belief. Not just the hijab, there are
many markers that people wear as religious practice. For instance, 18% Hindus
(mostly Brahmins) wore a janeu (a sacred thread around their upper torso),
while 53% Hindu men wore the tilak; 69% Sikhs wore a turban; and 51% of all
people surveyed (including 51% Hindus and 50% Muslims) across religions said
that that they generally wore “a religious pendant, such as an amulet, cross,
image or symbol of god.” The study notes, “In general, Indians with higher
religious observance are more likely to follow these practices related to
clothing and appearance.”
It is in this context that we must see advocate
Ravivarma Kumar’s argument in the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, February
16, against the hijab being banned. The petitioners argued against the
Karnataka government’s order, and alleged that Muslim students are being
singled out, even though many others wear religious symbols as part of their
attire, including turbans by Sikhs and bangles by Hindus. “Why are only hijabs
chosen for this hostile discrimination? Is this not because of their religion?
Why pick out these Muslim students? A dupatta is not banned, a bangle-wearer is
not sent out, a Christian girl wearing a cross is not sent out, why only these
girls? This is a violation of Article 15,” senior advocate Ravivarma Kumar
said.
Other Indian courts, in the past, have held varied
opinions on what constitutes essential practice in a religion. In this video in
TNM’s Let Me Explain series, Anna Isaac recaps four cases where Muslim students
had challenged the hijab bans. In two separate cases before the Kerala High
Court, the hijab was deemed an essential part of practising Islam in one, but
not in the other, where the court upheld a private institution’s right to
govern itself over individual rights. While the first pertained to the hijab
being allowed in the CBSE’s dress code for the All India Pre-Medical Test in
2016, the second pertained to a petition by a Muslim man whose two daughters
studied in a Christian school.
“But advocates Sanjay Hegde and Devadatt Kamat, who
are representing the Muslim girls, have argued in court that this Kerala High
Court order cannot be considered a precedent. And this is because in the Kerala
case it was a private minority institution and not a government one. Minority
institutions in India enjoy certain rights under Article 30 of the
Constitution,” Anna states in the video.
While some argue that the hijab is an oppressive,
patriarchal garment, and that batting for it to be allowed is against the
feminist cause, there are problems with this line of thought. It is also known
that most religions traditionally preach more subservient roles for women,
placing conditions on their freedom. In an ideal world, every girl and woman
would have the right to choose if she wants to wear a hijab, or perhaps the
practice would not exist. However, the world around us is far from ideal –
regressive ideas of community honour are often placed on the shoulders of the
woman. Muslim women already have the least freedom of movement (32%) compared
to women in other religious groups as per the National Family Health Survey-4
(2015-16), measured by the freedom women have to go alone to the market, a
health facility, and places outside the village or community. So, it is not
difficult to imagine that banning the hijab, seen as an affront to the Muslim
identity, could potentially lead to hesitancy or unwillingness among families
to send girls out of homes and to schools, marginalising them further.
Sowmya Rajendran articulates this further in an
earlier piece for TNM: “Irrespective of their personal view on the hijab, what
must Muslim women do in such a situation? Bow to the diktat or assert their
identity? It is not an enviable position to be in, and as a multicultural
society, it is to our shame and failure that they are in such a place. There is
yet another argument that the ban, even if it is due to religious hate, is a
win against patriarchy. But how can we see it that way when we know that there
won’t be similar bans on the innumerable patriarchal practices that exist in
other religions, including Hinduism? How can we expect Muslim women to
selectively rejoice when their entire community is being alienated on an
everyday basis? How can we celebrate it as a feminist win when it strips women
of their agency?
Source: The News Minute
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Female Students Film Assault, Removing Hijab Of Muslim
Girl In New Zealand School
A Muslim woman in Kolkata
joins a candlelight protest against the ban on wearing hijabs at schools in
Karnataka, India. Photograph: Rahul Sadhukhan/Pacific Press/Rex/Shutterstock
----
19 February 2022
A 17-year-old female Muslim student has been assaulted
and her hijab torn off by fellow students in a New Zealand high school with
their teacher looking on amid persisting Islamophobia in the UK-affiliated
Oceanic island nation.
The student, identified as Hoda al-Jamaa suffered a
concussion on Wednesday when her hijab – an Islamic headdress of diverse sorts
commonly worn by female Muslims worldwide -- was ripped off by three girls at
the Otago Girls’ High School in the city of Duncedin after being punched in the
face at the presence of a teacher, UK-based Middle East Eye reported Friday.
"Two of the girls held me and one hit me and
after I fell on the ground, she ... was still hitting my face and my body. I
was waiting for the teacher to help me," Jamaa said in an interview with
the local, state-owned Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
The victim further added that the girls took off her
hijab and filmed her, and that the video had now been shared with boys and
other girls in the school. She also noted that the perpetrators attempted to do
the same to two of her Muslim friends at the school.
"My hijab... is my culture and my religion,” the
young student then underlined. “My hijab is everything for me and I love my
hijab and those other girls love their hijabs."
Jamaa also noted that the incident was not the first
violent attack she had experienced and that she frequently had the fingers
pulled at her and called a terrorist by fellow students.
According to the report, the school released a lengthy
statement saying it had "no tolerance for unkind comments, racism,
bullying or any other form of discrimination." It did not, however,
explain how the teacher cited in Jamaa’s comments did not interfere to prevent
the violent assault and filming of the incident, as well as sharing it with
others.
Local police asserted that they had identified the
female assailants involved in the brutal assault and had launched an
“investigation” into the hate crime. There was no word, however, about
detention of the perpetrators.
"This altercation has caused significant disquiet
and distress for the girls, their families, and the wider Muslim
community," police were further quoted as saying in local press
reports.
"Violence or threatening behavior including any
involving hate, hostility, or prejudice regarding race, faith, sexual
orientation, gender identity, disability, or age is not acceptable,"
police authorities also claimed as they commonly do following similar hate
crimes.
The hate crime came nearly two years after the March
15, 2019 massacre of Muslim worshippers at two mosques in the city of
Christchurch in New Zealand, when an Australian gunman opened fire on
worshippers at Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center while broadcasting
live on Facebook.
The latest anti-Muslim incident in New Zealand – a
British Commonwealth nation – has also sparked local and international media
attention, with a petition calling for justice in case, which has so far
received nearly 60,000 signatures in two days.
Several social media users shared the hashtag
#JusticeforHoda to highlight the hate crime and censure persisting Islamophobia
in the country.
Source: Press TV
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Women in northwest Syria take on physically demanding
jobs
Jalal Suleiman
February 15, 2022 —
Years of war in Syria have left behind many widowed
women who have been forced to become the breadwinners and enter the labor
market despite not having educational or professional qualifications. Others
whose husbands were injured or forcibly disappeared found themselves forced to
work in difficult professions in exchange for a modest financial return that
would secure their families’ basic needs of food and medicine amid poverty,
lack of job opportunities, displacement and loss of the breadwinner.
“I did not expect that the harsh conditions would one
day push me to engage in a profession reserved for men,” Karima al-Sheikh, 31,
said as she mixed sand and cement to make bricks in a camp on the outskirts of
al-Dana city in the northern countryside of Idlib.
“Since our displacement from the village of Kafr
Nabudah in Hama countryside in 2019, I have been staying with my six children
in this makeshift camp, which lacks all of life's requirements,” Sheikh told
Al-Monitor.
She said her husband was arrested at a Syrian
government checkpoint four years ago while he was headed to Damascus, and she
still knows nothing about his fate.
“The high cost of living and the lack of humanitarian
aid prompted me to search for a job to support my children. When I gave up on
finding a job, I asked my brother, who owns a cement block workshop, to work
for him there so that my children and I would not burden anyone,” she said.
Sheikh found the job exhausting. It caused her neck
and back pain, but “poverty and seeing deprivation in the eyes of [my] children
were tougher and harsher,” she added.
Sheikh explained how it works: “Every morning I go
with two of my children, ages 9 and 11, to the workshop, and we start preparing
the cement and sand blend by adding water to it, then we mix it well. I then
pour a specific amount into the brick mold made of iron and press hard so that
it takes the shape of the mold. I carry the block and put it under the sun to
dry and spray it with water at intervals to gain strength and hardness.” She
noted that she also loads bricks in transport vehicles.
“I receive 30 Turkish liras daily ($2.21), and the
wage increases or decreases depending on production. The amount is hardly
enough for us to secure the necessary living requirements,” she added.
Ilham al-Hassan, 32, who lives in a camp in Deir
Hassan north of Idlib, was forced to work in a profession that is even
difficult for men. She has to carry a shovel and break blocks of solid rock
then turn them into smaller stones that can be used in construction.
“My husband is sick and unable to work. I break stones
to earn a living and to support our three children,” she told Al-Monitor.
Hassan finds it very difficult to carry out her duties
toward her children, and she sometimes has to take them with her despite her
fear of their being injured by stone splinters.
Kawthar Haj Ibrahim, 27, works in an agricultural
workshop with 15 other women to help her elderly father who is incapable of
providing for her family of nine. Her job includes farming, harvesting, and
loading and unloading bags of vegetables and fertilizers.
“We grow and pick vegetables and prune and clean
agricultural lands from weeds. Sometimes we have to work in dangerous areas and
lands close to the areas under the control of the Syrian regime. We are exposed
to the dangers of bullets, mines and continuous bombardment,” Ibrahim told
Al-Monitor.
She falls silent before adding, “We are afraid of the
sounds of bombing and the possibility of death or injury, but we had to accept
this dangerous and exhausting work out of need.”
She said that landowners prefer to employ women
because of their low wages. For her part, she receives 25 Turkish liras ($2)
per day for her work. She said the wage is very low and not commensurate with
the effort and long working hours, but she has to soldier on out of need and
lack of job opportunities.
Muhammad al-Saeed, a 35-year-old doctor from Idlib
city, spoke to Al-Monitor about the dangers of hard work on women’s health.
“Poverty and financial need push women to work in these professions, [as most]
women have a weaker body build that is not commensurate with difficult
[physical] jobs.”
He noted that work stress affects women biologically
because women’s bones are smaller than men’s and their muscle mass is less than
that of men. As a result, their bodies cannot tolerate physically laborious
work.
Salam al-Kayyal, 34, a social worker from Idlib city,
talked about the reasons that push women to pursue arduous professions that
were reserved for men: “Due to the war in Syria, the subsequent killing, displacement,
arrest and emigration of young people, in addition to divorce cases and many
families’ loss of their breadwinners, not to mention the difficult living
conditions, many women were deprived of their breadwinners, and the
responsibility of taking care of their children and providing for them fell on
their shoulders.”
Kayyal told Al-Monitor that hundreds of camps housing
thousands of displaced people in northern Syria do not receive any humanitarian
aid. This worsened their economic and humanitarian conditions and forced women
to take on dangerous work in exchange for a small financial return that secures
the minimum requirements for living.
Women in Idlib who do not have educational
qualifications or capital are forced to work in difficult professions despite
the risks they face in the workplace, in addition to the unfair wages weighed
against the long working hours.
Kayyal pointed out that the employment of women in
Idlib, especially the displaced, is not optional but is rather a reality
imposed by the harshness of life, the high prices and the tough living
circumstances. Therefore, many women prefer hard work over need and bitterness.
At least it secures the family expenses through personal effort, she noted.
Kayyal added that as women take on these difficult
jobs, their children, personal lives and health suffer. This shows in the
psychological effects on women who were up against a great responsibility that
they were not accustomed to bearing before.
She called on local councils and civil society organizations
to provide support and assistance to all female breadwinners and protect their
rights by offering them financial aid, training and rehabilitation, building
their capacities and honing their skills. This would help them break free from
poverty and need and would shield them from exploitation in the job markets,
she added.
According to the statistics of the Syria Humanitarian
Response group, widows without a breadwinner in northwest Syria amounted to
47,771 until Dec. 30, 2021. Poverty reached record levels and exceeded 90%,
while prices of foodstuffs increased by 400% in northwest Syria, according to
the humanitarian group.
Source: Al Monitor
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/02/women-northwest-syria-take-physically-demanding-jobs
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Karnataka: Students In Hijab Demanding College Entry
Booked For Unlawful Assembly And Disobeying An Order Promulgated By A Public
Servant
by Kiran Parashar
February 19, 2022
A GROUP of students who were demanding that they be
allowed to enter their college wearing hijab in Karnataka’s Tumakuru have been
charged with unlawful assembly and disobeying an order promulgated by a public
servant.
The case against 10-15 “unknown” girl students was
registered after a complaint was filed by the principal of Empress Government
Pre-University College in Tumakuru, around 70 km from Bengaluru.
On Thursday, the police stopped the students from
entering the college and told that they would be allowed entry only if they
removed their hijab. Some of the students, however, demanded answers from
college authorities about why they were not being allowed inside.
According to the principal’s complaint, 10-15 students
wearing hijab demanded entry into the college, and “disrupted” routine
activities of the college.
The police had imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC
Section 144 within 200 metres of the college campus as a preventive measure.
Tumakuru SP Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad was unavailable for comments.
Meanwhile, the Mahatma Gandhi MemorialCollege in
Udupi, which had witnessed slogan-shouting between separate groups of students
over the hijab row, reopened on Friday after remaining closed for 10 days. The
college was reopened amid tight police security as practical examinations were
scheduled for pre-university students, authorities said. Students wearing head
scarfs and hijab were not allowed inside the campus.
Similar incidents of students in hijab being denied entry
to colleges were reported in Kodagu, Chitradurga, Bengaluru and other parts.
The opposition Congress hit out at the Sangh Parivar.
Addressing the media along with party’s state unit president D K Shivakumar,
former chief minister Siddaramaiah said,“The percentage of Muslim girls
attending schools and colleges was very low earlier, but many are showing
interest in education recently. The Sangha Parivar is conspiring to deny
education to Muslim girls by raking up the issue.”
The Karnataka Assembly was adjourned till Monday after
Congress leaders continued their demand for resignation of state minister K S
Eshwarappa over his statement on the national flag. The Congress MLAs decided
to stay in the House till Monday morning, saying they will continue their protest
till Eshwarappa is sacked. Eshwarappa had said saffron flag may become national
flag in the future but Tricolour should be respected by everyone as it is the
national flag now.
Source: Indian Express
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Hijab row likely to hit education of Muslim women,
experts fear
K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj
FEBRUARY 18, 2022
Many students have vowed not to enter classrooms
without their hijabs
Young women wearing religious headscarves tearfully
pleading to be allowed entry into schools and colleges with many vowing not to
remove their hijabs has raised concerns on the impact this will have on their
education.
While the case is in the High Court of Karnataka,
several writers and activists from the Muslim community and education experts
have expressed fear that the standoff may likely hit the recent progress made
on the front of educating Muslim girls. Many students have vowed not to enter
classrooms without their hijabs.
Senior political scientist Muzaffar Assadi said the
hijab controversy had become a site of contest between religion and education,
community and the system. “Muslim girls are increasingly opting for higher
education. But with these developments, there may be a setback with girls
withdrawing from secular modern education,” he said.
Development educationist Niranjanaradhya V.P. feared
that the “uncalled for” hijab row threatens to undo whatever little progress
has been made on the front since the Sachar Committee Report of 2006, brought
out the alarming state of education of Muslims in general and girls in
particular. “The ongoing hijab issue created by communal forces creates a kind
of fear, anxiety and insecurity for Muslim girl children by deeply affecting
their psychosocial status in a disturbed social environment. It leads to the
discontinuation of education on the one side and mental depression and
deprivation of enabling social peer groups on the other side making their life
more miserable and vulnerable. Parents may also put pressure on these girls to
discontinue their education,” he said.
Sharada Gopal of Jagruta Mahila Okkoota recounted how
Akka Mahadevi Women’s University had a higher enrollment rate of Muslim girls
even in postgraduate courses, precisely because it is a women’s university.
“For some educated liberal women, wearing the hijab may be a matter of choice,
but to others it is imposed by their traditional families who may not send them
to schools and colleges if the government forces them to remove hijab,” she
feared.
There have been several voices from within the Muslim
community trying to strive for primacy to education than cultural practices. “I
am not against the hijab, but education must take precedence for the community.
After all, the first revelation of the Holy Quran says “Iqra” which means
“read”. The community is forced to navigate a very tricky terrain where the
community is being targeted, but the community should not get into further
ghettoisation but instead give primacy to education,” Prof. Assadi said.
Senior writer Banu Mushtaq who condemned the hijab row
as the handiwork of “fundamentalist forces on either side that have been using
Muslim girls as pawns”, however said she was confident that though the issue
may hit Muslim girl education temporarily, they would bounce back and continue
their education. “The social movement of the community today is largely towards
education, especially among girls as they have realised it is only through
education that they can become independent. They may be forced to withdraw from
government run institutions banning hijab, which is sad. But I am confident
that they will continue their education in minority institutions, through
online courses or distance education,” she said.
Source: The Hindu
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Chandini, The Guest Lecturer Of English Quits Job Over
Alleged Bar On Her Hijab
K.M. Rakesh
19.02.22
A guest lecturer has quit her job at a college in
Karnataka after being allegedly asked to remove her hijab to comply with a
court directive, the first time the row over the religious clothing has singed
a teacher after thousands of students have been turned away from educational
institutions.
Chandini, the guest lecturer of English at Jain
Pre-University College at Tumkur city in southern Karnataka, said she had been
wearing the hijab to the institution for three years, and being told to remove
it had hurt her self-respect.
She put in her papers on Wednesday and said in a video
message: “I have been working as a guest lecturer at Jain PU College for the
last three years. I never faced any issues these three years and I have been
working very comfortably.
“But yesterday (Tuesday) morning, my principal told me
that he has orders not to allow any religious clothing such as the hijab in the
classrooms. That affected my self-respect, especially since I have been working
wearing the hijab for three years. So I have resigned on my own because I am
not okay working without the hijab.”
The college did not make an official statement on the
matter but an employee who declined to be named said no one had asked Chandni
to remove the hijab.
The Karnataka government had on Thursday directed
students of schools managed by the minority welfare department not to wear
religious clothing like the hijab. This is apart from the schools and
pre-university colleges that have Classes XI and XII — and have prescribe uniforms — that are
already barred from allowing students to wear religious clothing, in keeping
with an interim order of Karnataka High Court that is hearing a batch of
petitions seeking the right to wear the hijab.
Although the court had made it clear that the order
applied only to those institutions that prescribed uniforms, degree colleges
have also not been allowing students wearing the hijab to enter, sparking more
protests.
Police booked 15 students, without naming any of them,
for allegedly violating prohibitory orders outside Empress College in Tumkur,
based on a complaint lodged by the principal. This is the first case in which
students demanding that they be allowed to wear the hijab to educational
institutions have been booked.
Home minister Araga Jnanendra had recently cautioned
that the government would not go soft on the matter and all those who violate
rules would have to face action.
However, a college in Bijapur was on Friday forced to
allow a student who was earlier denied entry for wearing vermilion on his
forehead. Bajrang Dal activists stormed the Government Pre-University College
in Indi and shouted slogans against the college authorities, who then allowed
him to attend classes.
The Bajrang Dal activists have demanded suspension of
the principal “for not recognising a Hindu tradition”.
Protests continued at several colleges across the
state for the third day after they were reopened on Wednesday following a break
when protests against the hijab turned violent.
The hearing of the petitions filed by several students
seeking their right to wear the hijab continued for the sixth day on Friday. A
three-judge bench of Karnataka High Court has been hearing the petitions from
2.30pm every day.
The Karnataka government on Friday contended before
the court that the hijab was not an essential religious practice of Islam and
preventing its use did not violate Article 25 of the Constitution, which
guarantees religious freedom.
Source: Telegraph India
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/karnataka-guest-lecturer-quits-over-hijab/cid/1852543
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Asli Ozbay, A
Turkish Woman Takes Solo Africa Tour On Motorcycle As Part Of A Documentary
Project "Africa Through The Eyes Of A Woman"
Murat Özgür Güvendik
19.02.2022
A Turkish woman and academician who previously
traveled tens of thousands of kilometers on her motorcycle in Europe and Asia,
is now touring Africa as part of a documentary project: "Africa through
the eyes of a woman."
Asli Ozbay, who has traveled soli to countries in East
Africa to the southern tip of the continent on her motorcycle, began her
journey in Kenya in June and now has the countries on the southern Atlantic
coast of Africa on her age.
While Ozbay shares her experiences regularly on social
media as she has done previously. She plans to make a documentary that will
show Africa through the eyes of a Turkish woman with visuals she shot in the
process.
Ozbay, who is also an academician with the faculty of
sports sciences at Turkiye’s Istanbul Gedik University, also wants to
contribute to strengthening academic ties between Africa and Turkiye with the
trip.
‘Each route feels like a different journey that brings
me together with myself’
Ozbay told the Anadolu Agency about her experiences on
a motorcycle to the depths of the African continent where "not everyone
goes."
She previously experienced riding a motorcycle on
several routes from the deserts of Morocco to the Himalayan Mountains.
"Each route feels like a different journey that
brings me together with myself,” she said.
She had hesitations about security issues before
starting his trip. "I thought it would be dangerous, but on the contrary,
the trip to Africa has been one of the safest and most comfortable trips I have
ever felt -- like I’m home," she said.
Contrary to what she expected, she said she was having
economic difficulties and the African route was one of the most expensive she
has ever seen.
Ozbay said the average cost of accommodation in some
countries, such as Botswana, can be 1,000 Turkish Lira ($73,35) per night and
she advised those who are planning to visit the continent to bring tents to
take advantage of affordable and safe camping areas.
She has visited Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana,
Mozambique and South Africa on her motorcycle, and her next route is Namibia
and Angola.
Perception of time in Africa
She said she has good memories of each country.
"Tanzania has been the most impressive country I have visited in Africa so
far."
Emphasizing that the African people have always
approached her positively, Ozbay stressed that Africans have changed the way
she perceived life.
And her perception of time in Africa is different from
the rest of the world.
"Things can go a little slow here,” she said.
“We decided to go to the market place together with
the receptionist of the place where I stayed in Botswana once. I was going to
pay for the road.
“The receptionist said: 'It's too close, it'll take
five minutes, let's walk.' Our walk took about 1.5 hours.”
No regrets
Although it is difficult because of broken roads in
some parts of Africa, she said she was able to overcome the difficulties thanks
to the helpfulness of African people.
"For example, once a pregnant African woman
carrying her other baby on her back came to help me and tried to push the
350-kilogram (772-pound) engine. It was very impressive for me,” she said.
Ozbay advised those wanting to travel in Africa on a
motorcycle that they receive safe driving training from a professional
instructor, noting that safety is not a major danger in most countries.
She said the look she found in the eyes of an African
person greatly affected her.
"I think that the most beautiful continent that
can be seen in the world, the most beautiful countries are in Africa,” she
said.
“If you come here, you will definitely not regret
it," she added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkish-woman-takes-solo-africa-tour-on-motorcycle/2506928
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SC declines urgent listing of plea by Sulli Deals app
accused
FEBRUARY 19, 2022
The Supreme Court on Friday, February 18 declined to
entertain a plea seeking urgent listing of petitions seeking clubbing of
various FIRs across the country in connection with offences related to the app
'Sulli Deal of the day' in which scores of Muslim women were put on "sale".
Advocate Sahil Bhaliak mentioned the plea before a
bench, headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, submitting that multiple FIRs have
been filed against his client and sought urgent listing of the plea. "It
is covered by T T Anthony's judgment," he said. At this, the Chief Justice
said: "If you have committed a crime. You'll have to face it. Covered or
uncovered will be decided at the date of hearing."
The plea by accused Aumkareshwar Thakur, filed on
January 24, prayed for clubbing of various FIRs filed throughout the country
with respect to offences relating to the app. The petitioner is accused in
three FIRs registered in New Delhi, Noida, and Mumbai.
The app had created a major uproar last year for
targeting Muslim women and uploading their images without their consent. The
'Bulli Bai' case appears to be a clone of the 'Sulli Deals' app.
The plea said: "The relief sought in the present
writ petition is in terms of the judgment passed by this court in T.T. Antony
vs. State of Kerala for quashing of all the same or similar FIRs except the
first one and that a single investigation may be proceeded with. In the
alternative, the petitioner prays for clubbing of all the subsequent FIRs with
the first FIR, registered at PS Special Cell, Delhi."
The plea submitted that the successive registration of
FIRs in Delhi, UP and Maharashtra is beyond the purview of Section 154 and 156
of CrPC and is a case which exhibits abuse of statutory power of investigation
by different investigating agencies.
The first FIR was registered on July 7, 2021, by the
Special Cell of the Delhi Police under Section 354-A (3) of the IPC inter alia
alleging that Github, which is a hosting platform, has created portal namely
'Sulli Deal of the day' on their platform and that they have uploaded hundreds
of pictures of women on their platform without their consent.
"The petitioner was interrogated by the IO in
connection with FIR registered at PS Sector 23 Noida, UP while he was in the
custody of the Delhi police in connection with FIR No 1. The Noida police have
failed to provide a copy of the FIR. After the subsequent grant of judicial
custody, the petitioner was taken into custody by Mumbai police and is
currently in their custody," added the plea.
According to Delhi Police, Neeraj Bishnoi who was
arrested in connection with portal 'Bulli Bai', disclosed petitioner's name and
alleged he was behind the creation of the portal 'Sulli Deal of the day'.
Thakur was apprehended from his residence in Indore on January 8 this year.
Police have claimed Thakur joined a group on Twitter
by the name of Tradmahasabha in January 2020 using the handle @gangescion and
the members had discussed about trolling Muslim women. He had developed the
application on Github.
Source: The News Minute
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/sc-declines-urgent-listing-plea-sulli-deals-app-accused-161150
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‘Elephant in the room’: Jordanian women and equal
rights
By Hanna Davis
18 Feb 2022
Amman, Jordan – A political feud in parliament erupted
into a fistfight during a discussion to add “Jordanian women” to a
constitutional clause on equal rights.
The new amendment, which passed with 94 votes of 120 parliamentarians
present last month, changed the title of the constitution’s second chapter to
“Rights and duties of Jordanian men and Jordanian women”, adding the feminine
pronoun for Jordanians, “al-urduniat”.
Some activists argue the amendment is useless; only an
escape route to avoid the real legal changes the constitution needs to properly
support women.
“It’s running away from the elephant in the room,”
said Salma Nims, the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW)
secretary-general, referring to continuously neglected demands to add “sex” to
Article 6 of the constitution, which now only bans discrimination based on
“race, language, and religion”.
Nims added the recent amendment is not legally
binding, given the title of a constitutional chapter “has no legal effect”.
Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa
Maaytah said in Jordan’s state media that adding “Jordanian women” came in
“honour and respect to women”.
Nims questioned Maaytah’s reasoning, responding,
“What? I am not asking you to honour me by using a term. It is not about
honouring women, this is a constitution, you use it for legal purposes.”
Others fear the amendment will have long-term legal
repercussions, specifically impacting Jordan’s family affairs laws – based on
Islamic legal teachings and the nationality law – fearing the expansion of
eligibility for Jordanian citizenship.
“The addition of ‘Jordanian women’ is dangerous in the
long run for society, and for the family,” said former lawmaker and member of
the Islamic Action Front (IAF) Hayat al-Musami.
While it is now unclear if the amendment’s effects
will be far-reaching or trivial, the discussions it has aroused reveal the
intense politicisation of women, the deep divisions in the women’s movement,
and the conflicts that arise when women’s rights are brought to the table in
Jordan.
Women’s rights are “now linked with anti-Islam and
anti-national identity”, Oraib Rantawi, director of Al Quds Centre for
Political Studies, told Al Jazeera.
“The more politicisation of this concept – the more it
is linked to Islam and national-identity –
the more difficult the women’s mission in the country will be.”
Equity or equality?
Jordan’s constitution delegates all issues involving
the Personal Status Law of Muslims to specific courts, which handle
family-related cases based on interpretations of Islamic, or Sharia, law.
The Sharia courts do not treat women as equals before
the law, writes Jordanian activist Rana Husseini in her recent book, Years of
Struggle — The Women’s Movement In Jordan.
However, some see the treatment of women in Sharia
courts not as “inequality” but as “equity”.
“We want to keep the social status law as is, based on
Sharia. What we call for even more than equality is the idea of equity,” Dima
Tahboub, former MP and spokeswoman for the IAF, told Al Jazeera.
Tahboub noted her party’s concern that the addition of
“Jordanian women” will lead to international calls for “total and absolute
equality”, which contradicts with the “positive discrimination” towards women
in Islamic laws and the constitution.
“The idea about equity is that you give a person in a
certain social or economic status the best option so he/she can perform his
role in society in the best way,” Tahboub said. She referenced the quota system
for women in Jordan’s election law and the inheritance law “where in certain
cases women can take more shares than men”.
Sauda Salem, a lawyer with 37 years of practice in
Jordan’s courts, noted the ways in which Islamic laws “distinguish” women.
For instance, according to Salem, the laws give women
the right of alimony “regardless of how rich or poor the man is, it says it is
the man’s responsibility to provide for women”. If the man fails to provide the
alimony after separation, the responsibility goes to the woman’s father, noted
Salem.
Al-Musami said: “We believe these differences are good
for the family, for the community. They are good for women and good for the
community of Arab people.”
‘NGO-isation’
The women’s movement in Jordan is often “demonised” as
part of a Western agenda, which has instigated divisions and stalled progress,
said Nims.
“We have a problem with NGO-isation, which is
something that happens all over the world,” she told Al Jazeera.
Since the kingdom’s ratification of the United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) in 1992, it has faced pushback predominately from conservatives who
claim the convention violates Sharia law and enforces a Western agenda.
“There is an international agenda based on CEDAW,
which means complete equality between men and women … In the future, they want
there to be no differences between genders in any law,” al-Musami said. “What
they are asking for will make our families unstable.”
However, Nims criticised the IAF’s role in
perpetuating gender discrimination found in Jordan’s laws. “What is the best way to delegitimise these
demands? It is by saying that they are Westernised frameworks.”
Rana Husseini, a senior journalist with more than 25
years advocating for women’s rights in Jordan and the region, told Al Jazeera,
“Whatever you do, whatever you work on, they will tell you that you are a
Western agent.”
Husseini also commented on the division within
Jordan’s women’s movement: “The women’s movement is not united. I feel that
there is competition, everyone wants to be the person, the individual to make
the change.”
‘A special case’
There are fears among the amendment’s conservative
critics that it will expand citizenship eligibility and shift the kingdom’s
demographic balance towards Palestinians. This will require Jordan to become
the “alternative homeland”, barring thousands of refugees from returning to
their ancestral homes in occupied Palestine.
The kingdom’s nationality law stipulates that
Jordanian women married to non-Jordanian men are not allowed to pass their
citizenship to their children.
Despite the lack of access to public services and
labour market restrictions thousands face without nationality, the discourse to
amend the law is morphed with the Palestinian struggle. Debates over changes to
the nationality law are frequently fuelled by fears the decision will “feed
into the right-wing Israeli plans of finding a substitute homeland for
Palestinians in Jordan”, Husseini noted in her book.
“I’m with women giving the nationality to the
children, but Jordan is a special case given the topic of Palestinians and the
right of return,” lawyer and legal expert Sauda Salem told Al Jazeera. “Even
though a lot of Western countries do this, it doesn’t mean we should expect
Jordan to do the same.”
She added with the addition of “Jordanian women”, the
woman is now “equal to the man, including in the nationality”. “The most
important thing about adding this word is the fact that the former law might be
deleted,” Salem stated, referring to the line that states nationality is passed
only to the sons of Jordanian men.
During the contentious debate over the recent
amendment, legislators added a clause that now requires two-thirds of
parliament to change the nationality law, noted lawyer and member of the Jordan
Bar Association Nour Imam.
Nims highlighted the “increasingly nationalistic
bigotry” in Jordan. “The hate speech, towards Jordanians of Palestinian origin,
is scary,” she said, attributing it to the refusals to amend the nationality
law.
“I find this humiliating to Palestinians themselves,”
Nims said. “To accuse a Palestinian that he or she is ready to give up their
right of return by simply gaining another nationality.”
“If you are so worried about the Palestinian cause, why
don’t you have a problem with men marrying Palestinian women and giving them
the nationality? It’s OK if it’s a woman they bring to Jordan?”
‘Just to divert attention’
The women’s rights movement in Jordan is frequently
found at the pinnacle of contentious debate. Jordanians now find themselves
living amid unprecedented unemployment, without a healthy political outlet for
their frustration – leaving women too often as the scapegoat.
“When you look around as a man and you do not feel
that your masculinity is being expressed through your ability to have a job, to
make decisions about the politics of the country, or to voice your opinion, the
only place left to practice your power is inside the household,” said Nims.
“’Let them get busy worrying about control over
women,’ they say,” she added.
Rana Husseini said the controversy over the recent
constitutional amendment was “a play just to divert attention from other
things”.
Nims also noted how some activists believe the
amendment was staged. “Everyone was busy with the changes that have no impact
at all, while the changes that do have impact did not have enough discussion or
analysis.”
Dema Matruk Aloun, a women’s rights activist and
professor of private law at Hashemite University, said the amendment was simply
to “beautify the picture” – lacking real legal benefits for women.
She noted the deeply ingrained social attitudes
towards women that need to be addressed.
“Men are afraid of strong women. In Jordan … it’s a
fact that men want to be one step higher than women. The change must start from
the society itself, people themselves,” Aloun told Al Jazeera.
The recent amendment, she said, “is like a fire
destroyed an important part of your home and you just put a big, nice couch in
the centre of the room … You are not seeing the destroyed debris around you,
you do not smell it”.
“Smell it.”
Source: Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/18/elephant-in-the-room-jordanian-womens-struggle-for-rights
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Gulf envoys stress women’s rights in meeting with
Taliban FM
14 Feb 2022
Ambassadors from Gulf states have underscored the need
to guarantee Afghan women’s rights to work and study as they met with their
Taliban counterpart in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Meeting on Monday with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir
Khan Muttaqi, diplomats from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
stressed the necessity of a national reconciliation plan that “respects basic
freedoms and rights, including women’s right to work and education”, read a
statement from the bloc.
The Taliban tweeted pictures of the smiling foreign
minister entering Monday’s meeting with representatives from Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But diplomats said no
promises were made by Afghan officials inside.
The Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in
August of last year and toppled a Western-backed government, is urgently
seeking to unfreeze billions of dollars of assets abroad and get sanctions
lifted as it struggles to cope with a dire humanitarian crisis.
Late January, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres said that more than half of all Afghans face “extreme levels of
hunger” with “some families selling their babies to purchase food”.
But Western powers have linked the release of
humanitarian aid to the improvements of human rights, especially the ones of
women.
While the Taliban promised a softer version of the
harsh rule that characterised its first stint in power from 1996 to 2001,
provincial authorities have imposed several restrictions on women, issuing
regular guidelines on how they should live.
The new authorities have effectively barred women from
working in several government sectors and most girls’ secondary schools remain
shut. However, the Taliban has pledged that girls of all ages will be returning
to schools by March.
The Taliban has also issued an order that women cannot
travel between cities and towns unless accompanied by a close male relative.
The group has posted posters in many shops across Kabul and in other cities
encouraging women to wear the all-covering burqa, though it has clarified that
the dress code is not mandatory.
No country has yet recognised the Taliban government
and the latest talks came only days after United States President Joe Biden
said that $7bn held in US banks would be split between a fund to aid
Afghanistan and to compensate victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the
US.
European governments and international financial
institutions are also holding back billions in aid.
During Monday’s meeting, the GCC diplomats also raised
fears that “terrorist groups may be able to launch attacks from Afghanistan’s
territory against other countries”.
They insisted that the country must not be exploited
to fuel the illegal drugs trade.
Muttaqi, who is to hold a key meeting with European
nations and other international representatives on Wednesday, made no comment
after the meeting.
Source: Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/14/gulf-diplomats-urge-taliban-to-respect-womens-rights
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Turkey voices concern over disappearance of Afghan
woman activists
FEB 09, 2022
Turkey expressed concern Wednesday over recently
reported disappearances of Afghan woman activists.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in a phone call with
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan’s interim Taliban
government, said that Turkey is concerned about reportings of disappearances
while he also reiterated that the education of girls is vital.
Çavuşoğlu said that a well-attended administration is
necessary for stability and peace in Afghanistan. The two further discussed the
reopening of Maarif schools in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan between 1996
and 2001, they became notorious for human rights abuses, with women mostly
confined to their homes.
Now back in government and despite promising softer
rule, they are cracking down on women's freedoms once again.
There is enforced segregation in most workplaces,
leading many employers to fire women staff, and women are barred from key
public sector jobs.
Haunted by memories of the last Taliban regime, some
Afghan women are too frightened to venture out or are pressured by their
families to remain at home.
Interim Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah
Mujahid denied any women being held but said authorities had the right "to
arrest and detain dissidents or those who break the law" after the
government banned unsanctioned protests soon after coming to power.
The United Nations and Human Rights Watch are among
those calling on the Taliban to investigate disappearances.
The U.N. human rights office called on Tuesday to
release four women activists and their relatives in Afghanistan who were
detained or abducted last month after protests over women's rights since the
Taliban seized control.
Muttaqi and Çavuşoğlu also discussed the latest
situation in operating Afghanistan’s airports by a Turkey-Qatar joint company.
After the Taliban seized control of the country,
Turkey offered technical and security assistance to operationalize Kabul Hamid
Karzai International Airport. Keeping the airport open after foreign forces
handed over control is vital to keeping Afghanistan connected with the world
and maintaining an uninterrupted supply of aid for distribution.
Turkey and Qatar aim to run the airports in Kabul,
Mazar-I Sharif, Kandahar and Herat.
Source: Daily Sabah
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-sikh-hindu-women-pew/d/126406