Naila Kiani Becomes First Pakistani Woman To Summit 11 8,000m Peaks
New
Age Islam News Bureau
05
May 2024
•
Naila Kiani Becomes First Pakistani Woman To Summit 11 8,000m Peaks
•
First Arab Christian Woman, Maroun, To Lead Israel’s University Of Haifa
• Margo Marsden A “Russian Mother Married To British
Father … Living Blissfully In Saudi Arabia”
• Big Brother Presenter Davina Mccall Visibly
Irritated As She Hits Back At Relentless ‘Abuse’ Over Her Weight
• Tory Bosses ‘Lost The Plot’ In London By Picking
Susan Hall
•
Afghanistan’s Only Female Diplomat, Zakia Wardak, Resigns In India After Gold
Smuggling Allegations
•
How “Woman Resistance Freedom” Strikes Fear In The Ranks Of Iran’s Regime
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/naila-kiani-pakistani-summit/d/132262
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Naila Kiani Becomes First Pakistani Woman To Summit
11 8,000m Peaks
Naila Kiani — Alpine Club of Pakistan Facebook
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Jamil Nagri
May 5, 2024
Mountaineer Naila Kiani on Sunday became the first
Pakistani woman to summit 11 8,000m peaks in the world, according to the Alpine
Club of Pakistan (ACP).
“Naila [Kiani] summits Makalu, becoming the first
woman in Pakistan’s history to summit 11 x 8,000-metre peaks,” the ACP wrote in
a post on Facebook today.
“She now holds the record as the fastest Pakistani —
both male and female — to have summited 11 of the 8,000-metre peaks,
accomplished in under three years,” said the statement, which quoted ACP
Secretary KarrarHaidri.
“This remarkable feat also makes her the first
Pakistani woman to have summited this incredibly difficult mountain,” Haidri
further highlighted.
The ACP secretary noted that “after a challenging
climb through the night, Naila has achieved another historic milestone by
successfully summiting Makalu” at approximately 9:35am Nepal time (8:50am
Pakistan time).
“Naila is grateful for all the prayers and wishes,
and she gives special thanks to everyone,” the statement said. “She also thanks
Sherpa Gelgen Dai from Imagine Nepal, who has supported Naila every step of the
way, making this achievement possible,” Haidri added.
In April last year, she became the first Pakistani
woman to climb Nepal’s Annapurna peak, the world’s 10th-highest peak standing
8,091m tall. The next month, she went on to summit Mount Everest, the world’s
highest mountain, becoming the second Pakistani woman to do so.
In July, Kiani and Samina Baig attained the feat of
becoming the first Pakistani women to climb the world’s ninth-highest peak, the
8,125m-tall Nanga Parbat. The same month, she became the first Pakistani woman
to summit Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain at 8,051m.
Months later, Kiani and Sirbaz Khan became the first
Pakistani duo to summit the 8,201m-tall Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest peak
in China’s Tibet.
“I am sharing my achievements to show that no matter
who you are … you can accomplish your dreams”, Kiani said in a video posted on
ACP’s Facebook account days ago.
Emphasising that education was the key to her
getting to where she is now, she also called on the prime minister and chief
ministers to focus on girls’ education in Pakistan.
Source: Dawn
https://www.dawn.com/news/1831634/naila-kiani-becomes-first-pakistani-woman-to-summit-11-8000m-peaks
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First Arab Christian Woman, Maroun, To Lead Israel’s
University Of Haifa
Professor Mouna Maroun is
the first Arab to be elected as the rector of an Israeli university, the
University of Haifa.
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By Marinella Bandini
May 4, 2024
The University of Haifa is located on Mount Carmel,
about six miles from the small village of Isfiya, where Maroun was born. Her
grandparents arrived here from Lebanon in the early 20th century. Her parents
are semi-literate because there were no schools for them at that time, but, she
recounted, “they believed that only through higher education could their four
daughters [succeed] to be integrated in Israeli society. That’s why they
encouraged us to continue our studies.”
Maroun has embraced that belief as well. “My
childhood was around being very active in the church and studying, knowing that
only through studying I could have succeeded in Israel.”
Regarding this prestigious position in academia, she
said: “I have always believed that the emancipation of the Arab minority in
Israel is through higher education. I don’t believe in politics; I do believe
in higher education.”
When Maroun arrived at the university, she didn’t
know a word of Hebrew — Arabs and Jews have a separate education system — and
she barely spoke English. At 54 years old, she is now a renowned neuroscientist
and expert in post-traumatic stress disorder. She has been a faculty member of
the university for more than 20 years and has served as chairwoman of the
Department of Neurobiology and as a member of the academic senate, among other
positions. She will officially assume her four-year role as rector beginning
this October.
When asked about the key to her success, Maroun
said: “I think the lack of expectations from me to succeed was the secret of my
success.”
“No one expected me to succeed — being an Arab in
Israel, a Christian, and on top of all of this, being a woman,” she added. “I
could do what I believed in, I had a dream and I followed this dream without
pressure — only my family encouraged me to continue in this pathway.”
One of the first challenges she will face is
integrating the faculties of medicine and engineering into the university —
historically mainly composed of arts and humanities. The second aim is to rank
as one of the top research universities, both in Israel and also
internationally.
The University of Haifa is one of the most diverse
and inclusive universities in Israel: 45% of the 17,000 students come from the
Arab society and 50% of all the students are first-generation students
receiving a higher education.
“I work on post-traumatic stress disorder,” she
explained. “I usually ask my audience if they remember where they were on 9/11,
but unfortunately I’m [now] going to ask where they were on Oct. 7. It was a
trauma for everyone, and everyone will remember where she or he [was] at that
moment. We are terrified as Israelis, as human beings, regarding what happened
on Oct. 7 and at the same time we are also terrified about what’s going on in
Gaza, where thousands of innocent children have been killed.”
“The administration of the universities in the
States should have a moral and ethical statement saying that they cannot deny
what happened on Oct. 7 as well as what’s going on in Gaza, and they should
take actions in order to promote [the] peace process without having a side,
because academia cannot take a side in this conflict,” she said. “Academia
worldwide should be a bridge for peace, for negotiation, and for interaction
and not to be biased because this is very different from what science is.”
She went on to say that “academia means the freedom
of speech, the freedom of action, the freedom of collaboration, the freedom to
grow and to research, and the freedom of knowledge. I think you cannot really
put ‘academia’ and ‘boycotting’ in the same sentence.”
“In order to overcome this trauma we need time, we
need rehabilitation, and we need reconciliation between the two sides,” she
said. “I do believe that with time, we can reconcile and start to establish
bridges of empathy, of understanding, and of containing the emotions of each
other. After all we are neighbors, we are living side by side, and I believe
and I pray that it’s about time that kids from both sides will grow up to have
dreams and maybe fulfill these dreams through higher education.”
Source: catholic world report
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Margo Marsden A “Russian Mother Married To British
Father … Living Blissfully In Saudi Arabia”
RAHAF JAMBI
May 04, 2024
RIYADH: Margo Marsden relocated to Saudi Arabia two
years ago when her husband — a British oil and gas engineer — accepted a job in
the Kingdom. Since her arrival, she has been documenting her experience of life
in Saudi Arabia on social media. Her TikTok profile states she is a “Russian
mother married to British father … living blissfully in Saudi Arabia.”
“True to our expectations, we’ve found immense
satisfaction living in Saudi Arabia. We consider it the best decision we’ve
made for our family, and have no regrets.” Marsden, a professional stylist,
told Arab News. “Living here is incredibly invigorating; one can palpably sense
the positive transformations taking place in the country, aligned with the
ambitious Vision 2030 plan. In my view, Saudi Arabia stands as the premier
destination for living in 2024.”
Marsden was born and raised in Kazakhstan before
moving to Russia with her parents when she was 14 years old. She lived in
several countries before relocating to Saudi Arabia, including Malaysia, Singapore,
Italy, Turkiye, Lebanon, Thailand, the UK, and Norway.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2504716/saudi-arabia
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Big Brother Presenter Davina Mccall Visibly
Irritated As She Hits Back At Relentless ‘Abuse’ Over Her Weight
Sabrina Barr
May 5, 2024
Davina McCall has expressed her deep frustration
after being targeted with ‘abuse’ about her weight, emphasising how ‘furious’
she feels about the torrent of cruel remarks.
In a video shared on her Instagram profile, the
former Big Brother presenter outlined how people might share derogatory
comments online, but then face ‘no consequences’.
The 56-year-old, who is widely known for her passion
for fitness as well as her TV work, also stressed how clear it is from the
content that she posts online that she’s ‘not unhealthy’.
Her video began: ‘Hi. I just thought I’d quickly do
a post about the kind of, I guess it is like… abuse really, that I’m getting
about my weight, really frustrating.
‘I feel like people post these things and then they
have no consequences because they can post whatever they like and be cruel, and
I just have to kind of take it.’
‘I’m 57 this year, and I’m happy with the way that I
look. And I feel absolutely f**king great. So I just thought I’d post that
there.’
The Masked Singer UK judge pointed out to her
followers on Instagram that she ‘can’t really do much’ about her neck and face,
unless she decided to ‘fill it with filler’.
‘I don’t know what to do about my neck… my neck is
my neck, and maybe the light was bad or something. But all you have to do is
look at the rest of my posts on my page and see that I’m not unhealthy,’ she
added.
‘But this was horrible. So I’m parking that there.
And I’m just saying maybe think before you post something. Wouldn’t it be nicer
to say something positive? And if you can’t say anything positive, don’t
bother.’
‘You are truly amazing and beautiful. As a woman it
feels like sometimes you can’t win. Too big too small!! Why don’t they comment
about all the great work you’ve done and doing. How you’ve been an advocate for
women’s health, voices and more!!’
Source: Metro.Co.Uk
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Tory Bosses ‘Lost The Plot’ In London By Picking
Susan Hall
By Richard Vaughan
May 5, 2024
The sight of Sadiq Khan seeing off his Tory rival to
secure a third term as Mayor of London was greeted with little surprise from
Conservative quarters.
Susan Hall, the party’s surprise choice to challenge
Labour for one of the biggest political positions in the country, had struggled
throughout the election to make an impact, while her campaign style – often
described as Trumpian – was doomed to fail among a largely young, liberal
electorate.
During the long gap between polls closing on
Thursday evening and the announcement of the election’s result on Saturday
afternoon, wild rumours suggested she was running Mr Khan close and could even
win – but in the end that proved a mirage as she picked up just 33 per cent of
the vote, 11 points behind the incumbent. She failed to make major progress in
the Tory-backing outer London suburbs while going backwards in more central
areas.
“The really bad news would have been if she won,” a
member of Boris Johnson’s City Hall team told i. “She has never run anything,
let alone a city the size of London.”
Even before the defeat, marking up a hat-trick for
the Conservatives in the capital, figures within the party were scratching
their heads as to how ie ended up fielding such a weak candidate for such a
plum role once again.
Since Boris Johnson left City Hall in 2016, Sadiq
Khan has seen off Tory peer and environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, London Assembly
Member Shaun Bailey and most recently Ms Hall, whom insiders say ended up
securing the candidacy by accident.
While some Tories insist Lord Goldsmith was a good
candidate, the fact that he allowed himself to head up a viciously toxic
campaign that prompted his own sister to publicly state that she did not
recognise him suggests that he was not the best person for the job.
Insiders said the recently elevated Lord Bailey
looked good on paper, and despite a weak campaign only lost the mayoralty by
around 100,000 votes, which suggested to some that the job to run one of the
world’s biggest cities was winnable for the Conservatives.
But after a risible campaign led by Ms Hall, figures
inside the party have once again been left to question why the Tories have
struggled to find a viable candidate to challenge Mr Khan.
“It’s hugely frustrating,” the Johnson ally said.
“If the party had got its act together, there could have been a scenario where
the Tories could have pushed Labour close in London, and with other results
that could have piled pressure on [Sir Keir] Starmer and possibly changed
people’s outlook for the general election.
“Instead, one of the most successful political
forces in history completely lost the plot and took its eye off the ball
allowing Susan Hall to become the candidate.”
Blame for Hall’s selection as candidate has been
laid at the door of veteran Tory “fixer” Dougie Smith, whom it is claimed
blocked other viable candidates in order to position Daniel Korski as No 10’s
preferred option to the party membership. But after MrKorski was forced to drop
out of the race having been accused of groping TV producer Daisy Goodwin back
in 2013, the Tory candidacy landed in Ms Hall’s lap.
Another Tory, who was closely involved in the
Conservative mayoral race, told i that too many within the party refuse to
accept the demographic changes taking place in the country, particularly in
London, which led to them allowing Hall to run.
“The problem is the Conservative party don’t want to
accept or acknowledge the changes that this country is going through,” the
insider said. “The median age in London is 35, while around 35 per cent of
people living in London were not born in the UK. If you don’t get London then
it’s very unlikely you will get the rest of the country in 10 to 15 years’
time. This is the kind of existential threat facing the party.”
With the Conservatives predicted to lose the
forthcoming general election, the suggestion is that candidates of a higher
calibre may emerge once the party is in opposition and the prospect of running
the capital could appeal to former Cabinet ministers.
One Tory said that existing politicians were the
most likely to step forward, adding: “The Conservative brand is so toxic now,
the head of a museum or a CEO of a major corporation are very unlikely to want
to associate themselves with it.”
Conservative pollster Lord Hayward agreed that the
Tories stood more of a chance of winning London when they are in opposition,
and suggested that the prospect of London being currently unwinnable was a
factor in putting off better potential candidates.
“I’m not convinced that London is that winnable for
the Tories,” he said. “In fact, it has been moving against them for about the
last five years. When the Tories are in power the London mayoralty tends to be
out of reach for the party. So any candidates are going to have to be prepared
for a protracted campaign – it’s a big ask.
He added: “It could become a more attractive option
for if Labour are in government and the Tories are in opposition. Even then you
will have to be a very big personality, such as a Boris Johnson or a Ken
Livingston.”
Lord Hayward suggested that because the chances of
the Tories winning in London were slim, it meant lesser known, local government
politicians were putting their names forward to boost their profiles.
The Conservative peer also warned that a more recent
phenomenon was leading to a lower quality of politician putting themselves
forward, saying: “There is the wider issue of who would want to enter politics.
I think we will see fewer and fewer people who will be willing to put
themselves and their families through it. This will have serious consequences
for our democracy.”
Source: Inews.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Afghanistan’s Only Female Diplomat, Zakia Wardak,
Resigns In India After Gold Smuggling Allegations
AP
May 04, 2024
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s diplomat in India, who was
appointed before the Taliban seized power in 2021 and said she was the only
woman in the country’s diplomatic service, has resigned after reports emerged
of her being detained for allegedly smuggling gold.
Zakia Wardak, the Afghan consul-general for Mumbai,
announced her resignation on her official account on the social media platform
X on Saturday after Indian media reported last week that she was briefly
detained at the city’s airport on allegations of smuggling 25 bricks of gold,
each weighing 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), from Dubai.
In a statement, Wardak made no mention of her
reported detention or gold smuggling allegations but said, “I am deeply sorry
that as the only woman present in Afghanistan’s diplomatic apparatus, instead
of receiving constructive support to maintain this position, I faced waves of
organized attacks aimed at destroying me.”
“Over the past year, I have encountered numerous
personal attacks and defamation not only directed toward myself but also toward
her close family and extended relatives,” she added.
Wardak said the attacks have “severely impacted my
ability to effectively operate in my role and have demonstrated the challenges
faced by women in Afghan society.”
The Taliban Foreign Ministry did not immediately return
calls for comment on Wardak’s resignation. It wasn’t immediately possible to
confirm whether she was the country’s only female diplomat.
She was appointed consul-general of Afghanistan in
Mumbai during the former government and was the first Afghan female diplomat to
collaborate with the Taliban.
The Taliban — who took over Afghanistan in 2021
during the final weeks of US and NATO withdrawal from the country — have barred
women from most areas of public life and stopped girls from going to school
beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed despite initial
promises of a more moderate rule.
They are also restricting women’s access to work,
travel and health care if they are unmarried or don’t have a male guardian, and
arresting those who don’t comply with the Taliban’s interpretation of hijab, or
Islamic headscarf.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2504531/world
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How “Woman Resistance Freedom” strikes fear in the
ranks of Iran’s regime
By Mahmoud Hakamian
May 4, 2024
In the afternoon of April 25, a short video spread
widely among people on social networks. The scene that unfolded in the capital,
Tehran:
Three large banners, several meters in size,
displaying highly prohibited images and a dangerous and vivid slogan, were hung
over the bridge, in front of the eyes of the people of Tehran. Two images of
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of resistance
of Iran (NCRI (, were displayed, with the following writings underneath:
“Iranian society deserves freedom, democracy, and gender equality” and
underneath the second image: “The downfall of this regime is definite,
inevitable, and irrevocable.”
The next morning, Ahmad-Reza Radan, the head of the
State Security Forces, participated in a gathering organized by the regime’s
forces in Qom to support the compulsory hijab policy.
When Radan spoke, he betrayed his fear. He said,
“People should know that the 32 bodies were responsible for implementing hijab
and chastity measures. If they had fulfilled their obligations, we wouldn’t
have witnessed such scenes on the streets today. Now, they don’t act, and some
of them even demand their rights!”
Radan tried to convince the crowd that he is not
alone in his efforts. “I swear, Chief Justice [GholamhosseinMohseni] Eje’I” and
Regime president Ebrahim Raisi are also behind it, “while no president does
such things!” The highest authorities of the regime are also behind the
crackdown under the pretext of the hijab. This demonstrates that this
repressive plan is an urgent necessity for the regime’s integrity, and they aim
to advance it at the highest levels of the ruling regime in Iran.
Radan, to motivate the IRGC Basij forces, said, “I
assure you that I will establish my credibility in promoting this very plan and
will not retreat from it!”
Later, Radan lamented the regime’s failure in its
suppressive projects and said, “Our daughters have become the target of the
enemy’s attack, so they can be obedient soldiers and instruments of their
agenda.”
Radan, who once threatened to break the necks of
regime opponents to intimidate society, has now reached a point where he whines
about the “enemy’s attack.” It raises the question of what has transpired to
bring about this change in his rhetoric and portrayal of the situation.
It seems that Radan and other regime leaders, who
are facing public hatred and social backlash in their pursuit of the repressive
compulsory hijab plan, resort to their usual approach of force and suppression.
However, now they are confronted with the raised banner of “Woman, Resistance,
Freedom” and the force of the uprising.
This is just one example of the power of an
organized resistance movement that, thanks to its decades of struggle and deep
roots in the society, is able to overcome the obstacles laid by the likes of
Radan and his savage forces. These activities are led by the brave youths of
this country who have sworn to overthrow this regime.
These are members of Resistance Units, who continue
their anti-regime activities across the country despite the regime’s expanding
repressive measures.
With their slogan of “Woman, Resistance, Freedom”
and their operations, the Resistance Units exposed weakness that the regime
tries to hide behind its apparatus of repression.
Source: English.Mojahedin
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/naila-kiani-pakistani-summit/d/132262