Owning Images Of Muslim Women Without Their Hijab Should Be A Criminal Offence Treated As Child Sex Abuse Material, Labour MPs Propose
New Age Islam News Bureau
6 March 2025
· Owning Images Of Muslim Women Without Their Hijab Should Be A Criminal OffenceTreated As Child Sex Abuse Material, Labour MPs Propose
· Iranian President Hits Out At Hijab Law After Hardliners Hamstring Agenda
· French Headscarf Bans Aim To Erase Muslim Women From Public Spaces, Group Says
· Situation of Afghan Women to be Discussed at UNSC Meeting
· "Ready To Pay Price": Iranian Male Singer Flogged 74 Times For Hijab Removal Song
· Tehran Hosts Iran-China Talks On Promoting Women’s Scientific Co-Op
· Farah Vice and Virtue Office Achieves Milestones in Women’s Rights
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-women-hijab-child-labour/d/134799
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Owning Images Of Muslim Women Without Their Hijab Should Be A Criminal OffenceTreated As Child Sex Abuse Material, Labour MPs Propose
05/03/2025
By James Saunders
Possessing images of Muslim women without their hijabs should be made a criminal offence, a group of Labour MPs has said.
The Commons' Women and Equalities Committee said pictures of a Muslim woman without a religious headscarf taken without her consent should be considered "non-consensual intimate images" - and treated as harshly as child sex abuse material.
At the moment, the committee says, English law defines an "intimate" image as one which shows its subject fully or partially nude, engaging in a sexual act or going to the toilet.
But now, the Labour-led group has claimed that "abuse can also include material that is considered 'culturally intimate' for the victim, such as a Muslim woman being pictured without her hijab".
"The Government should expand the legal definition to include such images," it said. "Non-consensual intimate image abuse is not always limited to sexually explicit content.
"For example, in some cultures, countries, or religions, sharing a photograph of someone without their religious clothing - or with their arm around another person - can be disastrous for the victim."
David Spencer, of the Policy Exchange think tank, said: "Tackling the problem of 'revenge porn' is clearly important - but expanding this to so-called 'culturally intimate' images risks extending the criminal law too far.
"The police cannot be expected to wade into so-called 'cultural' issues when officers are already struggling to deal with the volume of stabbings, sexual assaults and thefts that occur every day.
"The Government should be cautious about creating yet more criminal offences."
It comes as Angela Rayner is setting up a "council on Islamophobia" to draw up an official definition of the term - despite warnings that the word is so widely-drawn that it amounts to a de facto blasphemy law and blocks legitimate criticism of Islam.
The group will sit within Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), with ex-Tory Attorney General Dominic Grieve set to be appointed to lead it thanks to his history of working to combat "anti-Muslim hate".
The committee which proposed the hijab rule change comprises seven Labour MPs, one ex-Labour MP who now sits as an independent, two Lib Dems and one Conservative.
Committee chairwoman Sarah Owen said: "Non-consensual intimate image abuse is a deeply personal crime which can have life-changing and life-threatening consequences.
"We welcome the Government's proposals to make creating non-consensual intimate images an offence, but a legal gap remains.
"The Government should bring forward amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to make possession as well as the creation... an offence.
"This ensures non-consensual intimate images receives the same legal treatment as child sexual abuse material."
Source: gbnews.com
https://www.gbnews.com/politics/islam-images-muslim-women-hijab-criminal-offence-labour
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Iranian President Hits Out At Hijab Law After Hardliners Hamstring Agenda
March 05, 2025
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday he cannot implement a law that Iranians oppose, after hardliners largely thwarted his agenda by pushing out top aides and rejecting his overtures to Washington.
The remarks, quoted by the head of his office in a post on X, were the strongest yet against a dormant law to tighten Islamic morality restrictions on women.
"I cannot enforce the chastity and hijab law because it creates problems for people and I will not stand against the people," Pezeshkian said.
The soft-spoken, relatively moderate president had seldom spoken so directly against a key plank of rival hardliners' domestic agenda.
Tehran postponed implementing the controversial hijab law in December following a backlash from the public and the international community.
It was due to impose harsh penalties on women and girls who defy veiling requirements, including fines, prison terms, flogging and even the death penalty.
Last week, Pezeshkian's Economy Minister AbdolnaserHemmati was impeached by Parliament while Vice President for Strategic Affairs JavadZarif resigned under pressure.
The moves follow a decisive rejection by hardliners, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, of talks with the US the president hope could ease pressure on Iran's moribund economy - a key challenge to his administration.
Popular opposition to hijab enforcement exploded in September 2022 when a young woman named Mahsa Jina Amini died in morality police custody, sparking nationwide protests dubbed the Woman Life Freedom movement.
The unrest was quashed with deadly force and opposition to the theocracy festered, but hardliners still drafted the new hijab law in May 2023.
Source: iranintl.com
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202503052260
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French headscarf bans aim to erase Muslim women from public spaces, group says
05.03.2025
A French bill banning headscarves in sports is an attempt to erase Muslim women from public spaces, an organization for Muslim women's rights told Anadolu.
“In sports but more generally … in all spaces where visibly Muslim women can be seen, there is an attempt to make them disappear,” said Rani Belkhy, founder of Khlass Les Cliches.
Belkhy said that banning headscarves at all levels of sports restricts individual freedom while discouraging already underrepresented young Muslim women from participating.
“It’s no longer just about athletes representing the nation, which was the argument used, right? The idea was that they represent France, so they must be neutral. But now, it's even affecting amateurs,” she explained.
Belkhy said that France “ridiculed itself on the international stage” during the 2024 Olympics as the only country that banned Muslim women from wearing headscarves.
“What we have seen since the implementation of this law is that it has essentially been a witch hunt against female students who wish to wear a headscarf,” she said, underlining that they do not see people being excluded for wearing Christian crosses or Jewish yarmulkes (kippahs) either.
“It’s been a series of laws, one after another, each time making Muslim women’s bodies a subject of debate and restriction,” Belkhy said.
Last month, the French Senate backed a bill to extend the ban on religious symbols to all sports competitions in France. It still needs a majority of votes from the lower house to become law.
The proposed legislation also seeks to prohibit collective prayers in publicly funded sports facilities.
In 2022, another attempt to ban religious headwear in sports was rejected by the Senate.
Source: aa.com.tr
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/french-headscarf-bans-aim-to-erase-muslim-women-from-public-spaces-group-says/3500751
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Situation of Afghan Women to be Discussed at UNSC Meeting
Mar 06, 2025
The situation of women in Afghanistan will be one of the main topics of discussion at the United Nations meeting on March 10 in the Security Council.
Denmark will preside over this Security Council session, where, in addition to extending the UNAMA mission and presenting the quarterly report on Afghanistan, the situation of Afghan women will also be discussed.
The Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN, headed by Permanent Representative and Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen, stated: “We do want to have a special focus during the meeting on the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan we will also invite a ... society briefer and have a WPS stake out before that meeting again, we've all seen how the situation for women and girls has continued to deteriorate in the last six months.”
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has reaffirmed its commitment to the rights, participation, and empowerment of Afghan women and girls.
Stephanie Loose, Country Program Manager (UN-Habitat) for Afghanistan, stated ahead of March 8, International Women’s Day, that access to essential services such as education, healthcare, and drinking water has a significant impact on the lives of Afghan women and girls.
She added: "This year's theme for the International Women's Day is ‘for all women and girls: rights, equality and empowerment.’ UN-Habitat implements many programs in Afghanistan and has been doing so for decades. We believe a better home, a safer neighborhood and improved access to services like water, like education, like health services have a huge impact on women and girls in Afghanistan.”
This comes as Afghanistan's interim government has repeatedly stated that the rights of all citizens, including women, are more protected than before within the framework of Islamic rulings. However, the ongoing closure of schools and universities for girls remains a contentious issue, facing widespread criticism.
Source: tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-193327
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"Ready To Pay Price": Iranian Male Singer Flogged 74 Times For Hijab Removal Song
Mar 06, 2025
A prominent Iranian pop singer who made a song urging women to remove their headscarves said Wednesday that he was willing to pay "a price for freedom" after being flogged 74 times by the authorities as part of his sentence.
Mehdi Yarrahi, arrested in 2023, was released last year after being convicted for his song in support of the "Woman. Life. Freedom" protests that erupted in 2022 and rocked Iran's clerical leadership.
"Today, the final part of the verdict issued by the Revolutionary Court -- 74 lashes -- was fully and completely implemented at branch 4 of the office for enforcement of judgements of the Tehran moral security prosecutor," his lawyer Zahra Minouei wrote on X.
"The case was closed," she added.
In a defiant subsequent post, Yarrahi added: "The person who is not willing to pay a price for freedom, is not worthy of freedom."
Yarrahi was arrested in August 2023 for releasing what the authorities termed an "illegal song", namely the track "Roosarito" ("Your Headscarf" in Persian) and voiced support for women's right to remove the garment that must be worn in public in the Islamic republic.
The implementation of his sentence sparked uproar among supporters.
TaranehAlidoosti, an actor who was arrested during the protest movement after she posed without the headscarf, said on Instagram in response to the flogging: "Shame on backwardness, shame on torture, shame on violence, shame on anti-human laws, and shame and disgrace on our helplessness."
Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, on temporary release from a prison sentence, said in a statement the flogging was "retaliation" for Yarrahi's support of women in Iran.
"The lashes on Mehdi's body are a whip against the proud and resilient women of Iran and the thriving, powerful spirit of the "Woman. Life. Freedom." movement, she said.
Iran's sharia law provides for flogging sentences that are frequently handed out by judges, though far from always implemented.
Yarrahi's 2022 song "SoroodeZan" (Woman's Anthem) also became a protest anthem, especially at universities.
The death in custody on September 16, 2022 of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress rules for women, sparked months of protests that included calls for an end to Iran's Islamic regime.
The protests have now largely been quashed despite occasional outbursts after a crackdown that saw thousands detained, according to the United Nations, and hundreds shot dead by security forces, according to activists.
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iranian-singer-mehdi-yarrahi-flogged-74-times-for-hijab-removal-song-7858493
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Tehran hosts Iran-China talks on promoting women’s scientific co-op
March 5, 2025
Zahra Nazem-Bokaee, the president of Al-Zahra University, highlighted the potential of the two nations in fostering joint scientific collaborations and the scientific research capacities of women in the two countries.
For her part, LI Ying, the vice president of China Women’s University, expressed optimism that genius Iranian and Chinese women would play a stronger role in promoting peace and expanding societies.
During the meeting, KhadijehJoda, an advisor to the vice president for science and technology, proposed enhancing cooperation through the following three key initiatives.
1. Developing technology and innovation centers specifically for women in Iran and China in the fields of clean technologies, digital energy, and digital health.
2. Launching a joint program to share knowledge and implement scientific research cooperation by women technologists from the two countries. It includes launching joint research projects, holding visits, and specialized training courses.
3. Establishing a joint development and empowerment fund among women technologists of the two countries to support joint projects, including start-ups and innovative projects.
Iranian women making headway in technology
Having made great strides in manufacturing high-tech products and growing the knowledge-based economy, Iranian women are conveying to the world the message that they have the potential to shine in the field of technology, the same as in other fields.
They have managed to shine brilliantly in different global events, featuring Iranian women’s abilities to the world.
The percentage of female CEOs and chairpersons of the board of directors of knowledge-based companies has increased noticeably over the past three years.
The number of female managers has almost doubled, rising from 1,092 in the Iranian calendar year 1400 (2021-2022) to 2,250 by the end of the first nine months of the current Iranian year that started on March 20, 2024.
However, despite the rise in the presence of leading women in the technology and innovation sector in the country in recent decades, they have remained a significant minority, compared to men, in the research and scientific sectors, the private sector, as well as technological businesses.
According to Ahmad Fazelzadeh, the head of the Islamic World Science Citation (ISC) Institute, female scholars constitute 665 out of 4,818 most-cited researchers of the country, more than 13 percent of the total.
In the past Iranian calendar year (March 2023 – March 2024), women accounted for 12.75 percent of most-cited researchers.
With 29.57 percent share, the Ministry of Health has the highest number of the most-cited female researchers, IRNA quoted Fazelzadeh as saying.
Moreover, 375 female Iranian highly-cited researchers are among the top two percent of the world (one-year performance) in 13 subject areas of Clinical Medicine, Biomedicine, Chemistry, Engineering, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Strategic Technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology, etc.), Information Technology and Communication, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Public Health and Health Services, Biology, Statistics and Mathematics, Communication and Textual Research have obtained the necessary points.
Source: tehrantimes.com
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/510558/Tehran-hosts-Iran-China-talks-on-promoting-women-s-scientific
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Farah Vice and Virtue Office Achieves Milestones in Women’s Rights
2025-03-05
FARAH(BNA): The Vice and Virtue office in Farah Province has made significant strides in promoting women’s rights and preventing forced marriages.
According to Mawlavi Abdul Majid Samim, head of the Farah office, the agency has successfully resolved 225 legal issues concerning women in both the provincial center and surrounding districts this year.
In addition to these legal resolutions, the office has prevented 27 cases of forced marriage and restored 47 cases related to women’s inheritance rights and other legal matters to their rightful claimants.
MawlaviSamim emphasized the importance of community engagement, stating that the office conducts preaching sessions in mosques throughout Farah to raise awareness about the negative impacts of forced marriages and the practice of giving women as compensation, known as “bad.” These efforts aim to promote values of brotherhood and unity within the community.
Notably, under the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, there has been a marked decrease in the rate of forced marriages and other harmful practices, highlighting the positive impact of the Vice and Virtue office’s initiatives.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/farah-vice-and-virtue-office-achieves-milestones-in-womens-rights/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-women-hijab-child-labour/d/134799