Muslim Women Can Participate in Prayers in Mosques: Telangana HC
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 Sep 2024
· Muslim Women Can Participate in Prayers in Mosques: Telangana HC
· Women Stage Small Demonstration in Kabul To Demand Rights
· Afghan Women Meet in Albania in ‘Act of Defiance’ Against Taliban Crackdown
· Africa observes Pan African Women’s Day
· Pakistan's Transgender Community Gets A Ride-Sharing Service For Safety
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-women-prayers-mosques-telangana/d/133183
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Muslim Women Can Participate in Prayers in Mosques: Telangana HC
Muslim women inside Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi (representative photo)(AP)
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Express News Service
Updated on:
12 Sep 2024
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed a writ appeal filed by the Muthawali Committee of Ibadath khana Hussaini challenging a prior court order allowing women of the Akbari sect to enter and take part in majlis (congregational prayers) inside the mosque.
The original ruling, which granted women access to the ibadath khana, had included interpretations of Quranic verses. In its orders on Wednesday, the high court expunged these specific religious interpretations, focusing solely on the legal aspects of the case.
The Anjumane Alavi Shia Imamia Athna Ashari Akhbari had earlier filed a writ petition against the Muthawali Committee, contesting its refusal to allow entry to women for prayer. The single-judge bench initially ruled in favour of allowing women to participate in prayers, following which the Muthawali Committee filed the writ appeal.
During the appeal, both parties conceded that Muslim women have an undisputed right to enter a mosque and participate in prayers. However, it was agreed that women are not permitted to lead prayers within the mosque.
Acknowledging this consensus, the bench upheld the right of women to pray but removed any interpretative religious elements from the previous judgment. The high court also directed the mosque authorities to make appropriate arrangements to accommodate women, including designating a separate space for them to conduct their prayer sessions.
Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court has directed the state government to implement guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and to train and sensitise police personnel on handling animal cruelty cases.
The court’s ruling came in response to a writ petition filed by the Akhil Bharat Krishi Go Seva Sangh, represented by Dr Shashikala Kopanati and three others, seeking enforcement of AWBI directives on animal welfare.
The petition called for the appointment of a nodal officer for animal welfare in Telangana, not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and for the police to be trained in dealing with cases of animal cruelty, in accordance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The petitioner argued that failure to implement these guidelines was a violation of both the Indian Constitution and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, stressing the need for the police to take cases of animal cruelty more seriously.
In response, the Government Pleader for Home informed the court that the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of law and order has already been appointed as the nodal officer for animal welfare in Telangana.
Acknowledging this, the court disposed of the writ petition, directing the state government to implement the AWBI circulars and to ensure that police officers are properly trained and sensitised on matters related to animal cruelty.
Source: newindianexpress.com
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2024/Sep/12/justice-league-muslim-women-can-pray-in-mosques-reiterates-telangana-hc
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Women Stage Small Demonstration In Kabul To Demand Rights
Afghan girls in Kabul (file photo)
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September 11, 2024
A small group of Afghan women took to the streets of Kabul on September 11 in a rare protest to demand their rights and call on the international community to denounce Taliban rule. More than 10 women participated in the demonstration, advocating for the restoration of basic freedoms that have been severely curtailed under the Taliban-led government since the group seized power three years ago. The protest was organized by the Afghan Women's History Transformation Movement. RuqiyaSa'i, head of the movement, said the women ended the protest after 30 minutes because of the possibility of a violent attack by the Taliban. The severe restrictions on women ban education beyond the sixth grade and bar them from working in many offices. To read the full story by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, click here.
Source: rferl.org
https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-women-taliban-demonstration/33116393.html
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Afghan Women Meet In Albania In ‘Act Of Defiance’ Against Taliban Crackdown
11 Sep 2024
More than 130 Afghan women have gathered in Albania at an All Afghan Women summit, in an attempt to develop a united voice representing the women and girls of Afghanistan in the fight against the ongoing assault on human rights by the Taliban.
Some women who attempted to reach the summit from inside Afghanistan were prevented from travelling, pulled off flights in Pakistan or stopped at borders. Other women have travelled from countries including Iran, Canada, the UK and the US where they are living as refugees.
The summit, which has been two years in the making, is being hosted by the Albanian government in Tirana after multiple other governments across the region refused, said the organisers.
FawziaKoofi, the women’s activist and former Afghan MP, whose organisation Women for Afghanistan arranged the summit, said: “In these three days, the women of Afghanistan from all backgrounds come together to unite their efforts on scenarios to change the current status quo at a time when women in Afghanistan say they are being completely erased from the public sphere.
“We aim to achieve consensus and strategise on how to make the Taliban accountable for the human rights violations they are perpetrating and how to improve the economic situation for women inside the country.”
The summit comes a few weeks after the Taliban published new “vice and virtue” laws that banned women’s voices being heard in public and made it mandatory for women to completely cover their bodies outside the home.
“Us being here together is an act of defiance. We will not be silenced,” said Seema Ghani, a former minister under the government of Hamid Karzai and now a women’s rights activist who has remained in Afghanistan to carry out humanitarian work. “Women and girls inside Afghanistan are living lives that are dominated by fear, every day. Just leaving the house is an ordeal.”
“The world is moving on but we are here, all of us together, to try to make sure that we are not forgotten. We are not all here to agree with each other, but we are here to talk, debate and hopefully end with a united voice,” said Ghani.
At the end of the three-day summit, the organisers hope to publish a set of demands or guidelines for the international community that sets out how Afghan women want to respond to the systematic attack on their rights and freedom by the Taliban.
In the three years since the Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan, women have been barred from most forms of paid employment, prevented from walking in public parks and shut out of the criminal justice system, and girls have been stopped from going to secondary school or university. The Taliban have also resumed the stoning of women for crimes such as adultery.
A campaign for the Taliban’s treatment of women to be recognised as “gender apartheid” and a crime against humanity under international law was launched last year in an attempt to hold the group to account.
Source: theguardian.com
https://www. /global-development/2024/sep/11/afghan-women-summit-taliban-albania
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Africa observes Pan African Women’s Day
September 12, 2024
31 July is Pan African Women’s Day and 2019 marked the 57th anniversary of the Pan-African Women’s Organization (PAWO), the Specialised Agency of the AU dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment
In his statement to commemorate the day, the AU Commission Chairperson Moussa FakiMahamat noted amongst other things the import of the day pointing out that Pan African Women’s Day is a day to celebrate and acknowledge the Foremothers of Africa who gallantly fought for the liberation and development of this continent. He also reiterated the important role of African women who continue to be the backbone of our economies as farmers, entrepreneurs, traders, scientists and leaders in many other sectors.
The Chairperson noted that one of his priorities remains the full implementation of the policy organs’ call to have gender parity in the workforce of the AU by 2025 and committee that he will continue to demand dignity and protection for all women and girls who have been forcibly displaced in Africa; remarking that it is the collective responsibility of Africans to hold themselves and their leaders accountable to deliver on the gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments.
Source: au.int
https://au.int/en/articles/africa-observes-pan-african-womens-day
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Pakistan's transgender community gets a ride-sharing service for safety
Sept. 11, 2024
By The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s transgender community has gotten its first ride-sharing service in the latest effort to protect trans people from discrimination and harassment, the business’ founder said on Wednesday.
The new ride-share was launched over the weekend in the country’s cultural capital of Lahore. It’s called SheDrives and will service only trans people and women, according to Ammaz Farooqi, the company’s chief executive.
For now, it will service only Lahore, but expansion is possible, Farooqi said.
There are an estimated 30,000 trans people in Lahore, and organizations working for their welfare estimate that across Pakistan, the transgender community numbers about 500,000 out of the total population of 240 million.
Trans people are considered outcasts by many, especially in conservative areas of Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim country. They are often sexually abused, assaulted and even murdered. They hesitate to enroll in regular schools to avoid discrimination, and when they travel on public buses or trains many are exposed to ridicule, hurtful jokes and other forms of harassment.
Pakistani women also face similar harassment when daring to travel alone in bus or train coaches with other, male passengers.
“A unique aspect of this app and ride service is that the drivers and passengers will be women and transgender persons,” Farooqi said.
Pink logos painted on the vehicles would allow women and trans people to recognize them.
Farooqi, who is not trans, said he feels optimistic the future will be more inclusive for everyone.
“I have taken a small step and we may expand this service to other cities,” he said.
Pakistan in 2022 established a hotline for trans people connected to police offices and the Ministry of Human Rights, and the year before, authorities opened the country’s first government-run school for transgender students in the central city of Multan.
The country’s parliament also drafted a transgender rights bill to allow trans people choose their gender identity for previously issued government documents, educational certificates and national identity cards.
But the proposed amendments have caused controversy, with hard-line clerics opposing them. Human rights experts say a lot is still to be done to ensure recognition of trans people on a social level.
Source: nbcnews.com
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/pakistans-transgender-community-gets-ride-sharing-service-safety-rcna170609
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/muslim-women-prayers-mosques-telangana/d/133183