Naila Becomes First Pakistani Woman To Summit World’s 10th Tallest Mountain
New Age Islam News Bureau
18 April 2023
• Naila Becomes First Pakistani Woman To Summit World’s
10th Tallest Mountain
• Blackburn Woman Urges Everyone To Get Into Spirit Of
Eid
• Finding Peace in Pausing: Muslim Women Share Their
Best Practices
• Injustice In Inheritance: Muslim Women's Struggle for
Property Rights Under Sharia Law
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/naila-pakistani-woman-summit-world-mountain/d/129595
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Naila becomes
first Pakistani woman to summit world’s 10th tallest mountain
April 18, 2023
Naila Kiani,
the first Pakistani woman to scale 10th tallest mountain. —Twitter /
Fazianlakhani
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ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s Naila Kiani has become the first woman from the country to summit
the 8,091m high Annapurna I in Nepal.
Kiani, mother
of two and a banker in Dubai, reached on top of the world’s 10th highest
mountain on Monday morning between 6:30 am to 7:00 am She scaled Annapurna I
along with Pakistani mountaineer Shahroz Kashif. The six-member team included
two Pakistanis and India’s Arjun Vajpayee.
Kiani’s summit
was announced by her expedition organisers Seven Summit Treks. She has also
become the first Pakistani woman to scale four peaks of over 8,000m. Naila had
earlier summited K2, G1 and G2.
Naila is also
aiming to scale Mt Everest, the world’s highest mountain and 8516m high Lhotse,
the fourth tallest mountain in her current visit to Nepal. In a separate
statement, Alpine Club of Pakistan secretary KarrarHaidri said Shehroze has
become the youngest mountaineer in the world to summit eleven peaks above 8000
meters. He said it is heartening to see Pakistani climbers setting new records
in mountaineering.
Source: thenews.com.pk
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Blackburn woman
urges everyone to get into spirit of Eid
By Shuiab Khan
Reporter and
columnist
Aisha Seedat
has launched a campaign which encourages everyone to get into the spirit of
Eid. (Image: AI)
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A Blackburn
woman has launched a campaign which encourages everyone to get into the spirit
of Eid.
#ItsOurEidToo
was the idea of 24 year-old Aisha Seedat, and she worked with charity One Voice
Blackburn to make it happen.
Aisha Seedat, a
former Pleckgate High School student, has been a part of the charity since the
age of 15.
#ItsOurEidToo
celebrates the first Eid of the Islamic calendar with members of the Blackburn
with Darwen community. The campaign encourages members of the non-Muslim
community to wish an Eid Mubarak to the local residents by proclaiming
#ItsOurEidToo, to send 'a very strong message on community cohesion' in the town.
Aisha said:
"Lots of my non-Muslim friends have always wanted to get involved with the
Eid festivities. And I personally love the vibe at Christmas time. Let’s face
it we sometimes need any excuse for a celebration. It’s been really touching
that so many influential people in the town have got involved. I hope we can
make it even bigger and better next year.”
Eid ul Fitr
follows the Holy Month of Ramadan, where Muslims forgo food and water between
sunrise and sunset. Participants took part in a photoshoot where they held a
gift-wrapped present bearing the name of the brand #ItsOurEidToo. They provided
a message to residents of Blackburn with Darwen on the celebration of Eid.
Phil Boulding
from Secret Santa works closely with One Voice on a range of community cohesion
projects.
He said:
"I’m really pleased to participate in the Eid celebrations, just like our
Muslim friends do with Christmas. Another example of that there is more that
connects us than separates us."
Sam Morris,
Vicky Shepherd, Denise Park and Philip Boulding who are backing the campaign
Vicky Shepherd,
Chief Executive of Age UK Blackburn with Darwen, works with people from across
the community.
She said: “Age
UK Blackburn with Darwen is pleased to be involved with and support the
#ItsOurEidToo project.
"We know
that Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr are very important times for our Muslim colleagues
and service users and for the wider community and it is important to recognise
and support this.
"Personally,
I find it lovely to hear all about the family celebrations that happen for Eid
and what a difference this makes to people.”
Chief Executive
of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Denise Park said: “Celebrating our
differences is really important. We have really diverse communities here so
it’s great to have the opportunity to join in with many different festivals and
events.
“Inside the
council we are fully committed to represent the communities we serve and it’s a
great place to work if you want to make a difference to people’s lives.”
One Voice
Blackburn also runs I’m a Muslim and I Love the Festive Period, and I am Not A
Muslim and I Will Fast for One Day projects.
Source: lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/23459541.blackburn-woman-urges-everyone-get-spirit-eid/
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Finding Peace
in Pausing: Muslim Women Share Their Best Practices
BY SAFIA
LAMRANI
18TH APRIL,
2023
Personally, I
have struggled with implementing everyday ways to pause. With a finite source
of willpower, finding stillness often gets left to the bottom of the priority
list. Instead, focus is given to sticking to a fitness regime, managing
freelance work, deadlines, and day-to-day adult life.
Nowadays,
taking time for ourselves, pausing, and finding peace can be tricky to do
without the crippling feeling of guilt that we aren’t being productive enough.
This is down to many factors, differing for each individual. So, if more pauses
are needed, how can we create those? If we are so focused on achieving the next
goal and not stopping to take in the present moment, how can we truly be aware
of our intentions, check in with ourselves, and make sure we are advocating for
a barakah filled lifestyle?
According to a
study by ciphr, one out of fourteen adults feel stressed every single day (1).
Women are also shown to experience stress more frequently than men, feeling
stressed on average ten days a month, whereas men average seven. So, with so
many women feeling stressed; finding habitual ways of increasing peace and
implementing pauses feels essential. Not everyone can make that spa weekend
retreat happen, or indeed want that, and therefore everyday practices are invaluable.
One of the
fundamental teachings in Islam is peace, surely this extends to an inner peace
too? Stress manifests differently in everyone, just as the causations differ.
There is no one size fits all cure.
I reached out
to various Muslim women from many walks of life, to see what their advice was,
and what myriad of peaceful practices I could try. I discovered several methods
of finding peace and hope that there are elements to inspire and motivate
others.
First, I spoke
with Amina, a young Physiotherapist working fulltime in the NHS,
“As many are
aware, working in the NHS in its current climate comes with many challenges and
pressures which means it’s even more vital to find avenues in which we can
regulate and calm ourselves outside of work.”
Amina’s first
step is to have ‘an outlet’ to express this: whether this is talking to her
partner, friends, journaling or catering to her creative side with painting
classes. Having an awareness of our stresses and finding a way to let them out,
rather than ignoring them, is important. Amina also shared the importance of
her deen in grounding her:
“My faith has
always been a constant anchor throughout life’s challenges and having that
relationship with God and referring to the Qur’an and Sunnah is a very key part
of how I find my peace.”
An Ayah which
comes to mind is:
“O you who have
believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the
patient.” (Qur’an 2:153)
Being patient
and reminding ourselves that Allah is with us certainly provides comfort and
alleviates some of the stresses that can make us feel alone. SherineChalhie, an
Actress, Writer, Voice Artist, and Life & Creative Coach, shared a similar
sentiment.
“I have a
ritualistic practice of connecting with my creator through five daily contact
prayers. Whatever I’m busy doing during the day, this gives me the stillness
and calmness to get out of my head and feed my soul.”
Sherine also
advised routine as being important:
“I also have a
solid morning routine. As soon as I wake up I thank God for being alive and
having another day on earth to live my best life. I burn some incense,
preferably paolosanto sticks, while I make my coffee. I gotta start my day
right with some caffeine. Don’t need it, but I love it. Then a gratitude list
to God, 3 pages of journalling or a brain dump, 5 or 10 minute meditation,
workout 4 times a week, reading and vibrating to be in a highly energetic and
abundant state. I also try not to touch my phone for the first hour of my day.
I want to be present, not reactive. This is my favorite part of the day because
I get to connect with myself.”
These
recommendations certainly inspired me to want to start my day more present – I
find that practicing gratitude is a great way to do this and taking a moment to
really thank God, Alhamdulillah. I started listing reasons to be grateful each
morning and it has allowed me to start my day with clearer intentions and in a
place of stillness and peace. My next hope was to find moments to check in
throughout the day to come back to this place.
Content &
Marketing Manager and new mum to a 7 month old, Zeina Ramadan, shared with me
some of her methods for checking in throughout the day. Her simple and yet
effective methods struck home for me:
“When it comes
to finding stillness, my practices are very basic and lack creativity; I simply
clean the house. In the first few weeks of being a mom I cleaned the house
intensively; it’s a simple yet effective coping mechanism that runs in my
family. Instead of resisting it, I have embraced it and gradually incorporated
other healthy practices.”
There is a
large amount of science behind this methodology, that your external space
reflects your inner state. A clean and tidy home leads to positive emotions
such as a sense of calm and well-being. I tried tidying my desk after reading
Zeina’s words and the lack of clutter certainly helped me feel more orderly. I
didn’t quite desire to tackle the kitchen though. Finding pause and peace
embodies itself differently for everyone – whilst for some the idea of cleaning
feels like another task, for others it provides a much-needed breath and sense
of control. Zeina’s second recommendation furthers the idea of movement being
peaceful, rather than just sitting still:
“As I became
more active and mobile, I started to take advantage of London’s amazing green
spaces and make it a point to go for a walk every day, even on days where I
don’t feel like it.”
London is full
of green spaces (2), my favorite being Alexandra Palace with its views of
London’s skyscrapers. Walking without the intention to get somewhere, but just
strolling and taking in the surroundings, helps clear my head. I find that an
increase in physical activity and blood flow helps reach greater mental calm.
Needing
physical activity to feel mentally at peace is not a unique notion. Maslaha are
a UK-based charity working to tackle the conditions that create inequalities
for Muslim and marginalized communities. They partnered with British Fencing to
create Muslim Girls Fence (MGF): a program that aims to facilitate spaces for
Muslim girls and women, as well as improving their physical health, mental
health and overall wellbeing.
This continued
to shine a light on the many differing ways to find peace, as well as
increasing my awareness of communities out there. It also reminded me that my
moments of peace and calm didn’t always have to be alone.
I spoke with
Sahra, head of delivery at Maslaha, who shared with me a beautiful insight:
“I try to live
by Omid Safi’s teaching when I find myself being swept up in the chaos of daily
life – to remember that ‘we are human beings, not human doings’. Allow yourself
to embrace the moments of stillness and bouts of boredom that life has to
offer. Let rest be your escapism.”
This resonated.
We can have autonomy over the chaos of daily life, and choose to take a step
outside of it. I never valued feeling bored, and now I find that I can enjoy
it.
As someone who
enjoys sport, I was keen to learn more about MGF and how that could be an
opportunity to destress and find peace. One of their fencers, Niha, shared:
“Whilst I
haven’t been able to spend as much time fencing as I would like, the few times
I have been not only proved how easy it often is to cultivate feelings of
sisterhood simply by creating space for it, but also how pivotal this can be
for your mental and physical health. Knowing I have the option to join when I
am able to, and no pressure to fence when I can’t, has helped to reinforce this
as a safe space for me.”
Being in an
environment that allows engagement at your own pace removes the pressure that
group activities can sometimes come with.
Pressure is
unfortunately unavoidable in most lives. The more intense this becomes, the
more crucial it is to find inner peace. Houda, Actress and mother of four
embodies this and provides an inspiring outlook:
“I tend to find
peace in the most chaotic times in my life, like the eye of the storm, the more
out of control my life gets the more Zen I become. If I can’t control something
then there is no point worrying about it”
Houda also
recommended a book she considered to be life changing, ‘The Power Of Now’ by
Eckhart Tolle, which after seeing how Houda manages to balance so much and
still find moments of calm, I am keen to read.
I plan to
implement the different practices kindly shared with me by these women, seeing
how so many different methods can lead to a shared sense of peace certainly
felt encouraging.
The final
method I want to share is one I have been using frequently due to its
simplicity and accessibility. This comes from Sara, a public sector consultant:
“When feeling
stressed or busy with work, it’s very simple but I love to just look up. I am
very fortunate that my desk is placed right in front of a window, and it’s a
big enough window to see a big portion of the sky. Whenever I look up and see
the clouds, or the blue sky, or even when it’s a really windy day and all I see
is a white sky, it just gives me a lot of peace and reminds me that I’m not
just confined to my screen, or my desk, or office. I am reminded that I am part
of such a bigger world out there. That gives me a lot of peace.”
This sentiment
ties together so many of the pieces of advice I learnt – that we are part of
something so much bigger and from time to time should remind ourselves of that.
There are so many different ways of finding peace and stillness, and each
individual may lean towards different approaches on different days. The one
commonality between all of these is thanking God, practicing closeness to our
faith. This all starts with taking a moment to breathe.
Source: amaliah.com
https://www.amaliah.com/post/66463/finding-peace-pausing-muslim-women-share-best-practices
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Injustice In
Inheritance: Muslim Women's Struggle for Property Rights Under Sharia Law
Shahina K. K
The 68 year old
Ayishumma lives in agony for being enmeshed in crippling debt. After the sudden
demise of her husband, Hamsakkoya in 2018, Ayishumma has been struggling to
make both ends meet by selling snacks in the village. She wanted to dispose the
unfinished house and 8 cents of land -the sole estate left by her husband- to
settle the bank loan and debts availed from friends and neighbours amounting to
13 lakhs. Ayishumma is heartbroken to know that neither she nor her daughters
have full entitlement over the property for her being a Muslim. The Sharia law
does not give her complete right over her husband’s property.
According to
the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) Application Act 1937, if a man/woman dies
leaving behind only daughters, a share of his properties shall go to his/her
brothers and sisters depending upon the number of daughters. If it is only one
daughter, her share is half and if there are two or more daughters, their share
will be two third. Ayishumma was completely clueless about the law. She came to
know about it when she went to the village office to get the legal heirship
certificate for proceeding to the sale of the property. She went to the
brothers and sisters of her late husband Hamsakkoya and pleaded them to
relinquish their rights and to make the property free for sale. They refused.
“I was shocked
to know that my daughters and I could not handle the property as we wish. Is it
what that Islam says? Do Allah and Prophet do such an injustice to women? I
don’t believe. These all are man-made laws” Ayishumma said to Outlook.
Women belonging
to all religions had faced discrimination under respective personal laws with
regard to marriage, divorce, matrimonial rights, inheritance etc. The
amendments from time to time had addressed such discrimination in Hindu and
Christian laws, but the discrimination faced by the Muslim women remained
untouched since independence.
If the
successor of a deceased person is a male, he does not have to share the
inherited property with the brothers or sisters of the deceased person. If the
successor is a female, she has to share the property with the siblings of the
deceased. If a person dies leaving only daughters as his heirs, they are thrown
into the mercy of uncles and aunts who may or may not let them enjoy their ancestral
property.
According to
those who fight against the gender discrimination within the Sharia law, this
provision is nothing but a clear violation of Article 14 and 15 of the
Constitution that provides equality before law irrespective of caste, class, race
and gender.
“There are
hundreds of women who suffer from this provision under Muslim Law. There are
cases in which the uncles and aunts claim right over the property of their
deceased brother if the latter had survived only with daughters. In effect, the
wife of the deceased person and their daughters are caught up in legal tangle
and the property becomes no use for them," V P Suhara, the President of
NISA - a forum for Muslim women’s rights based in Kerala told Outlook. V P
Suhara is one the among the petitioners who filed an appeal in the Supreme
Court against the 2015 Kerala High Court verdict which dismissed the plea to
remove the discrimination meted out to Muslim women in matters regarding
inheritance and succession.
If Ayishumma is
suffering from debt, there are women belonging to the upper strata of the
society who have been deprived of enjoying their ancestral property as they
wish. See the case of 26 year old Rubiya hailing from Muvattupzha in Kerala.
Rubiya’s father succumbed to Covid in 2020. He is survived by the only daughter
Rubiya and she had to go through the agony of litigation filed by her uncle and
son just after six months of his demise claiming rights over the property left
by Rubiya’s father.
Rubiya’s
father, who was a business man, owned shopping complexes and other buildings in
Muvattupzha worth around Rs 20 crore. The house where Rubiya lives was
registered in her name when her father was alive. His brother claims right over
all other properties except the house as the Muslim law gives entitlement to
him over the property of his deceased brother. “Islam gives this right for
uncles and aunts under the perception that they have the responsibility to take
care of the female children, but in my case none of them has ever helped us even
when my father was alive” says Rubiya.
Her first
marriage was broken and she got married to another person after the demise of
her father. “My father’s siblings were not interested in me getting married
again. Their only intention was to get a share in the property. My father knew
it and he was worried that they would only do harm to me instead of helping me”
says Rubiya. Unfortunately, he passed away without entrusting a will and his
only daughter is pushed into a long legal battle for her succession rights.
The siblings of
a man or woman who has only daughters, having entitlement over his property is
a powerful instrument strengthening patriarchy in a family. Sajna’s story is a
typical illustration of the same. There are people who are not greedy, but they
enjoy asserting the male domination. Sajna has two sisters and no brothers. Her
father Mehruf has two brothers. Everything was smooth and fine until the demise
of Mehruf. His brothers got along well with them, and the family as a whole had
a strong sense of unity.
Sajna’s father
Mehruf passed away in 2013 and things turned upside down. “After his demise I
went to the village office to get the legal heirship certificate. Then only I
realised that my two uncles also have entitlement over the property. I talked
to the younger brother of my father and asked him to sign a settlement document
to shift the ownership of the property to us. Initially he agreed to do it, but
slowly he changed his mind. The elder brother (of Sajna’s late father) also
refused to go for a settlement. They keep saying that they do not want a penny
from our property. But they would not sign the document” says Sajna.
The reason
cited by the brothers of her father was strange. "It is Allah’s decision,
hence we don’t want to change it, that’s what they say” Sajna told Outlook.
"This is nothing but an assertion of the right of men over the women in
the family. They do not want to give a free hand upon the property to
women," says Sajna.
A house on
seven cents of land, situated on the side of the National Highway in Kozhikode
town, is the property that Sajna's father left behind. Considering the current
market price, this would value up to one crore. If one of the siblings of a
deceased person is not alive, his entitlement over the property is transferred
to his son. As far as the aggrieved women are concerned, the situation becomes
more complicated as the time passes by. It is quite uncertain for Sajna and her
two sisters how long they have to wait for enjoying the assets left to them by
their father.
The Muslim
women in India undergo discrimination on many levels with regard to inheritance
and succession. Under Sharia Law, the estate of a Muslim is not being divided
equally among the male and female children. A Muslim woman is entitled only to
the half of the share of what her brother gets with regard to the inherited
property. In the case of a childless couple, the man is entitled to half the
share of the property of his wife if she passes away when he is alive. On the
contrary, the wife gets only one-fourth of the estate of her husband in the
similar circumstances.
If a Muslim who
has only one daughter dies, half of his estate goes to his father. On the
contrary, only one-sixth of the property goes to his father if the deceased
person has a son instead of daughter.
Women are not
the only category of people who suffer discrimination with regard to
inheritance and succession under Sharia law. The children of a predeceased son
are completely deprived of succession right of the estate of their deceased
grandfather. In other words, if a person dies while his father is alive, the
spouse and children of the deceased person have no right over the estate of
their grandfather.
Interestingly,
the law is not the same for Shiya Muslims. If a Shiya Muslim dies leaving only
daughters, they get the full entitlement to his/her estate. They don’t have to
share it with paternal/maternal uncles or aunts. Hence, the Muslim Personal Law
Sharia Application Act of 1937 being practised in India is patently
discriminatory not only between Muslim men and women but also between Shiyas
and Sunnis.
One approach to
get rid of this legal menace in the personal law is to reregister the marriage
under the Special Marriage Act of 1954. Many Muslim couples in Kerala have
chosen this course of action, but many of them prefer to keep it a secret out
of concern for the reaction of the community leaders. Dr Sheena Shukkoor, the
director of the legal studies programme at Kannur University, and advocate
Shukkoor, a lawyer and actor, chose to do it in public as a gesture of support
to the Muslim women who are discriminated.
The couple who
have three daughters got ‘remarried’ on March 8, the International Women’s day.
"I don’t want my daughters to go and knock the doors of my siblings and
wait for their mercy. They need not compromise their dignity for getting the
legitimate right over their property," advocate Shukkoor told Outlook.
As far as the
Muslim women are concerned, this has been a long and tiring legal battle. A
writ petition was filed in the Kerala High Court in 2008 by a couple of
organisations such as QuaranSunnath Society and NISA- the Progressive Muslim Women’s
Forum along with a set of individuals who are aggrieved by the Sharia Law. The
petition was dismissed by the High Court in 2015 holding the view that an
amendment to the Personal Law is the mandate of the Legislature.
A Special Leave
Petition against the High Court Judgment was filed in the Supreme Court in
2016. On the notice issued by the Supreme Court on the matter, the All India
Muslim Personal Law Board and other respondents filed counter affidavits which
the court would start hearing in May 2023.
Source: outlookindia.com
https://www.outlookindia.com/national/injustice-in-inheritance-muslim-women-s-struggle-for-property-rights-under-sharia-law-news-279213
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/naila-pakistani-woman-summit-world-mountain/d/129595