NCW notice to Sadhvi Vibhanand Giri for making remarks against Muslim women
New Age Islam News Bureau
04 February 2022
• Philippine
Coast Guard allows female Muslim personnel to wear hijab
• UN
demands Taliban provide info on two more missing women activists
• UAE:
Why health experts are urging women to take the HPV vaccine before marriage
• Taiwan
Center in Turkey brings hope to Syrian women through knitting
• Scraping
a living: Salt offers women lifeline in Yemen
• 1,000
health violations recorded in wedding halls and women’s facilities
• First
all-female Apple Developer Academy opens in Middle East
• Nestlé
Pakistan recognised at OICCI Women Empowerment Awards
• Series
of online events showcasing female talent in arts launched
• KP
Women Civic Internship Programme: Ufone provides ‘Blaze’ to each participant
• Turkish
women’s rights activists urge authorities to take action against stalking
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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NCW
notice to Sadhvi Vibhanand Giri for making remarks against Muslim women
03rd
February 2022
Activists
of various left organizations shout slogans during a protest against hate
speech in New Delhi on Dec 29, 2021. (File Photo | AP)
-------------
NEW
DELHI: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued a notice to Sadhvi
Vibhanand Giri, seeking her explanation for allegedly making communal remarks
against Muslim women.
In
a tweet, the NCW said it has asked that the reply is given within 48 hours.
Giri,
reportedly in a video, was heard making communal remarks against Muslim women.
"NCW
has taken cognisance of the matter and sought explanation from Sadhvi Vibhanand
Giri on the remarks made in the video. The Commission has also asked to ensure
that the reply is given within 48 hours," the NCW tweeted.
Source:
New Indian Express
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Philippine
Coast Guard allows female Muslim personnel to wear hijab
February
03, 2022
Female
Muslim members of the Philippine Coast Guard don the hijab as part of their new
uniform. (PCG photo)
------------
MANILA:
The Philippine Coast Guard announced on Thursday it had approved a new dress
policy allowing the use of headscarves in uniform as it makes a bid for more
Muslim women to join the service.
Muslims
make up about 6 percent of the country’s 110 million citizens.
The
PCG currently has 1,850 Muslim personnel, 200 of whom are women.
“The
Philippine Coast Guard has approved the inclusion of hijab in the uniform of
female Muslim Coast Guard personnel,” the force said in a statement, adding
that the policy has been effective since last week.
“The
Muslim community in the PCG conveyed their sincere gratitude,” it said.
“Members of the said community hope that the inclusion of hijab in the official
PCG uniform will encourage more Muslim women to join the Coast Guard
workforce.”
The
service’s imam, Capt. Alicman S. Borowa, had proposed the inclusion of the
hijab in the force’s uniform last year, arguing it would help foster
inclusivity.
The
National Commission on Muslim Filipinos welcomed the development.
“GOOD
NEWS! The Philippine Coast Guard released a statement allowing Muslim women
under their office to wear their hijab as part of the official uniform,” the
commission said in a social media post on Thursday.
The
PCG is following in the footsteps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the
Philippine National Police, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology,
which have already allowed the use of headscarves as part of the official
uniform for their Muslim personnel.
In
2017, security forces deployed hijab-clad women soldiers, or “hijab troopers,”
in Marawi, to provide vital support to communities traumatized by the siege of
the city — a months-long armed conflict in northwest-central Mindanao between
Philippine security forces and militants affiliated with Daesh.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2017831/world
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UN
demands Taliban provide info on two more missing women activists
4
Feb 2022
AFP
file
-----------
The
United Nations has demanded the Taliban provide information on two more women
activists allegedly detained by the group this week - bringing the total number
missing in Afghanistan this year to four.
Since
their August return to power, the Taliban have cracked down on dissent by
forcefully dispersing women’s rallies, detaining critics and beating local
journalists covering protests.
The
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said late Thursday it
had sought “urgent information” on the reported detention of two more women
activists by the Taliban in the capital Kabul this week.
“UN
repeats its call for all ‘disappeared’ women activists & relatives to be
released,” it said on Twitter.
US
special envoy to Afghanistan Rina Amiri also called on the Taliban to respect
women’s rights.
“If
the Taliban seek legitimacy from the Afghan people & the world, they must
respect Afghans’ human rights - especially for women,” she said on Twitter.
UNAMA
did not reveal the names of the two women activists gone missing this week, but
another rights advocate told AFP that Zahra Mohammadi and Mursal Ayar had been
arrested by the Taliban.
“Zahra,
a dentist, used to work in a clinic. She has been arrested,” the activist said,
on condition of anonymity.
Ayar
was arrested on Wednesday after a male colleague asked for her address so he
could come to hand over her salary, the activist said.
“That’s
how she was trapped. The Taliban found her and arrested her,” she said.
She
said Ayar’s father had also been arrested, after mistakenly identifying
Mohammadi’s father as the man detained in an earlier interview.
The
latest detentions come less than a month after activists Tamana Zaryabi Paryani
and Parwana Ibrahimkhel went missing after participating in a Kabul protest.
The
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern for the two women
and four of their relatives, who all remain missing.
The
Taliban have denied any knowledge of their whereabouts and say they are
investigating the matter.
The
hardline Islamists have promised a softer version of the harsh rule that
characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.
But
the new regime has been swift to bar women from most government jobs and close
most girls’ secondary schools.
Source:
Khaleej Times
--------
UAE:
Why health experts are urging women to take the HPV vaccine before marriage
by
Ashwani Kumar
4
Feb 2022
Women,
especially prior to their marriage, have been recommended to take human
papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines to prevent the risk of cervical cancer.
According
to the recent data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), cervical cancer is
the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with an estimated 604,000
new cases and 342,000 deaths in 2020. The WHO noted that HPV is “mainly
transmitted through sexual contact and most people are infected with HPV
shortly after the onset of sexual activity”.
Abu
Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) said that cervical cancer can be prevented
and treated with high efficiency, and the most important tool is vaccination.
Seha urged women aged between 13 to 26 years and other women who haven’t been
vaccinated yet to take the HPV shot.
“Vaccination
and early screening can help eliminate cervical cancer and cure it. We
recommend getting the vaccination a few years before girls get married,” Seha
said.
To
encourage women, Seha shared a success story with Khaleej Times where a
28-year-old had failed to become pregnant after two years of marriage. She was
diagnosed with cervical cancer and successfully treated through high-quality
treatment and care.
In
this case, early diagnosis was a key factor, said Dr Shahd Faisal Al Ayla,
obstetrics and gynaecology specialist, Madinat Khalifa Healthcare Centre in
Khalifa City.
“The
patient first sought to undergo an examination to find out the reason for not
becoming pregnant. She had been married for two years. A pap smear examination
showed the presence of precancerous changes at the level of low-grade
intraepithelial cervical cells, which are caused by infection with HPV,” Dr
Shahd said.
The
patient was transferred to Corniche Fertility Centre at Corniche Hospital in
Abu Dhabi City, where the specialised medical team conducted more examinations.
In the light of the findings of the medical results, the patient was referred
to Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City for colposcopy. A biopsy was taken from the
cervix. A low-grade precancerous intraepithelial change of the cervix was
confirmed.
“The
patient was provided appropriate treatment. She witnessed a remarkable
improvement in her condition because of early detection of her precancerous
change in the cervix,” Dr Shahd added.
The
patient thanked the medical teams for their care and treatment plan that
improved her condition.
Seha
is encouraging women to undergo examinations for cervical cancer. To find out
more about the cervical cancer screening services offered by Seha, call 80050.
Source:
Khaleej Times
--------
Taiwan
Center in Turkey brings hope to Syrian women through knitting
02/04/2022
Feb.
4, Reyhanli (CNA) On a drizzly January morning, women line up at the offices of
the Taiwan-Reyhanli Centre for World Citizens (Taiwan Center) in southern
Turkey to collect wages from a knitting program that provides employment for
Syrian refugees.
Sometime
later, Noor Abdulbaki, from Idlib in northwestern Syria, steps out of the
office with a white envelope. Seeing her husband and two children -- a
7-year-old girl and a 6-month-old boy -- waiting on a scooter, she hastily put
the envelope into her purse and hopped on the scooter to return home.
The
envelope contained 3,760 Turkish liras (US$279.58) that Abdulbaki had earned
producing scarves and other items under the program organized by the Taiwan
Center in the Turkish city of Reyhanli.
Reyhanli,
a border municipality, has become the main gateway for Syrians from neighboring
Aleppo fleeing the ongoing civil war.
According
to the center, an influx of around 120,000 refugees since 2011 has caused the
population of Reyhanli to nearly double. With 90 percent of displaced persons
living without adequate shelter and nearly 40 percent lacking access to
employment or education, tensions between locals and Syrians in the city have
simmered.
This
has been exacerbated by an economic crisis currently engulfing Turkey, blamed
in most quarters on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's unorthodox approach to
monetary policy and repeated blocking of interest rate increases.
Syrians
and Turks alike have been affected. Unemployment sits around 11 percent and the
price of imported goods has skyrocketed after the Turkish lira sank 44 percent
against the U.S. dollar over the course of 2021.
Meanwhile,
the country's annual inflation rate rose to 36.08 percent in December last year
and the price of transportation and food also increased by 53.66 percent and
43.8 percent, respectively.
Amid
such pressures, Abdulbaki told CNA that the work she did through the center was
important for sustaining her family of four.
"The
money my husband earns cannot cover our expenses for an entire month,"
Abdulbaki said.
Her
husband had previously been forced to borrow money from friends on a monthly
basis to pay their bills until Abdulbaki began working.
In
the past month, Abdulbaki spent hours at home knitting with a crochet hook and
reels of cotton thread, straining work that she said had led to neck and
shoulder pain.
But
for Abulbaki, the toil has paid dividends. "Now with my salary, our family
is able to pay the rent, buy groceries and get stuff our children need."
Abdulbaki
said she could now save 200 liras every month for occasional expenditures, such
as buying things for their parents on Eid al-Adha, an Islamic festival during
which family, friends, and loved ones usually gather together and share meals
and gifts.
According
to Fatima Shakeer, who is responsible for quality assurance of the products
made by women at the center, the knitting program had provided enormous help to
Abdulbaki and other women striving to make ends meet.
Shakeer
said that women looking to earn, many of whom previously ended up working as
farmhands, now had an alternative thanks to the center training them to knit.
An
added benefit is that it is work that they can do at home while taking care of
their children, and women enrolled in the program each earn at least 1,000
liras per month, according to Shakeer.
She
added that without the program, many people lacked the money to buy food or
send their kids to school, especially when the cost of living has surged in
Turkey over the past year.
According
to Abdulbaki, the price of milk that her children drink every day has surged to
7.5 liras per liter from 3.25 liras, and a loaf of bread now costs 3.5 liras
instead of the previously 2 liras.
Moreover,
the price of rice has doubled to 8 liras per kilogram, and sugar now costs 9
liras per kilogram while the same amount previously cost only 4 liras, she
added.
"Everything
has become more expensive, and now we have to keep working and working so we
can pay the bills and rents," Abdulbaki said.
In
order to relieve the financial burden on Syrian refugees in Reyhanli, the
center is preparing to launch online sales via a fundraising platform in March,
the center's director Chiu Chen-yu (裘振宇) said.
The
special event in March aims to give exposure to 25 products produced by some
500 refugee women working at the center in a bid to bolster sales, according to
Chiu.
Chiu
said he hoped this would help provide a steady source of income and bring hope
to the women during a time of crisis.
Training
women to knit was the first program Chiu and his colleagues launched after the
construction of the center's 3,000-square-meter main building was completed
last October.
At
the moment, workers at the site are racing to decorate 52 prefabricated Nissen
hut-style buildings. The aim is to complete the work in March ahead of a July 8
inauguration, after which more activities will be rolled out.
In
the meantime, young children and adolescents gather at the square of the center
to play football as well as take part in the Arabic and English language
courses offered by the center.
The
center now bears a certain level of importance for the local community, with
once barren landscapes now covered in lush greenery thanks to the efforts of
Syrian gardener Emad Zuaa.
Speaking
about a courtyard at the center where the jasmine sprouts have sprung up
despite the subzero, wintry weather, Zuaa said he looked forward to seeing the
plants blossom in summer.
"I
hope more people will visit the center and they will enjoy the Syrian coffee we
prepare for them under the grapevine."
Source:
Focustaiwan
--------
Scraping
a living: Salt offers women lifeline in Yemen
February
03, 2022
Al-MUKALLA:
Scooping up handfuls of white crystals from coastal pools, a group of women in
Yemen harvest salt — a traditional industry proving to be a lifeline after
seven years of war.
Zakiya
Obeid is one among nearly 500 women who work in the industry in a village
overlooking the Gulf of Aden, on Yemen’s southern coast.
“We
cooperate and take shifts because it is a sisterhood and we know each others’
difficult circumstances,” said Obeid said.
Employment
is so scarce that the women work in rotation to allow more people to benefit.
She
said the women are divided into two groups, with each working for 15 days while
the others rest.
In
bare feet and mud-spattered abaya robes, the women dig basins at low tide and
return when the seawater has evaporated to dredge up the salt for packaging and
selling.
The
time-honored livelihood has been passed down from generation to generation.
It
is now a means of survival, providing many families with their only source of
income.
The
women earn about $100 per month for harvesting the salt and packing it in
plastic containers.
Since
the formation of the Al-Hassi Association for Sea Salt Production in 2020, the
women are able to transport the salt to be ground, packaged and sold across
Yemen.
“Before
then, we used to do the same work but could only sell the salt raw,” Obeid
said.
“But
that is no longer the case, with the association providing us with bags and
transport.”
The
head of the Al-Hassi Association, Khamis Bahtroush, said the women, who produce
between 20-30 tons of salt every three months, have come to rely on this
industry.
“Production
is lower in winter than in summer,” he said.
“Each
bag is sold for approximately 3,000 Yemeni rials ($12) ... but we are
struggling with inflation and do not have liquidity to give them raises.
“This
is their only source of income ... they have nothing else. No farms, no
livestock.”
The
UN Population Fund has said the loss of male breadwinners in the conflict has
added to the difficulties faced by women.
“The
pressure is even more severe where women or girls suddenly find themselves
responsible for providing for their families when they themselves have been
deprived of basic education or vocational training,” it said.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2017856/middle-east
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1,000
health violations recorded in wedding halls and women’s facilities
4
Feb 2022
KUWAIT
CITY, Feb 3: The concerned authorities continued their inspection tours to
implement health regulations in establishments, markets, shops and facilities,
reports Al-Qabas daily. The women’s teams in the Health Requirements Committee
recorded 1,000 violations in wedding halls and women’s facilities; such as
workers not wearing masks, failure to display warning posters, not providing
sterilizers and others.
The
daily’s staff accompanied the inspection team headed by Director of the
Technical Staff Department in the Advisory Committee for Supervising
Commodities and Determining Prices Faisal Al-Ansari during the inspection of a
commercial complex in the Capital recently. The team issued warnings to several
establishments for failure to comply with the health regulations.
Kuwait
on Thursday said 5,990 more people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past
24 hours, taking the country’s caseload to 564,735, health ministry data
showed. Some 5,101 more people recovered from the virus to up the number of
those to have overcome the disease to 507,174, according to ministry spokesman
Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, adding that the recovery to positive case ratio stands
at 89.8 percent. Two fatalities linked to the virus upped the country’s death
toll from the pandemic to 2,503, while 503 people are hospitalized with the
virus, 89 of whom need intensive care, he told KUNA.
Source:
Arab Times
--------
First
all-female Apple Developer Academy opens in Middle East
3
Feb 2022
Apple
welcomed its student for in-person learning to its first all female Apple
Developer Academy in Riyadh this week. The academy, which is Apple’s first
coding institution in the Middle East region is a partnership with the Saudi
Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones, represented by Tuwaiq
Academy, and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
The
academy will be dedicated to programmers and developers to build a foundation
for work and a career in an app economy, as well as support the country efforts
for women empowerment and the ongoing massive social reforms under Vision 2030.
Susan
Prescott, Apple’s Vice-President of Education and Enterprise Marketing, said:
“We are excited to welcome the first class of women to the Apple Developer
Academy facility at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. The App Store
ecosystem gives anyone with an idea the opportunity to design and build
incredible new apps that can change the world. At Apple we’re committed to
ensuring everyone has the tools and resources to thrive in the app economy and
be part of that transformation. Through the power of technology and innovation,
we are proud to be helping prepare these leaders for new career and
entrepreneurship opportunities.”
In
addition to the fundamentals of coding, young student and entrepreneurs will
learn design, marketing, project management, entrepreneurship and more with
trained mentors who are 70 per cent females. Female students come from all over
the Kingdom and beyond and are between 20 to 35 across different backgrounds
from IT, finance, art to law and medicine.
Lina
Alismail, one of the Academy students, said: “It’s my honour and pleasure to be
part of the Apple Developer Academy family. Our first day at the academy was
like a dream come true. I’m looking forward to the next days and I am grateful
for all the time, talents, expertise, support and opportunity the academy
already gave me and will give to me in the future.”
The
new Apple Developer Academy in Riyadh — launched in collaboration with Princess
Nourah University (PNU) and Tuwaiq Academy — will be the first Academy
specifically focused on female participants, designed to empower female
developers and create new job opportunities for women in the region.
The
academy is designed to provide the tools and training for aspiring
entrepreneurs, developers, and designers to find and create jobs in the
thriving iOS app economy. Academy graduates go on to start their own
businesses, create and sell apps on the App Store, and give back to their
communities. The academy — located inside Princess Nourah University Campus —
expects to eventually impact more than 600 women per year, and will offer both
a 30-day Foundations introductory course along with the 10-month Academy
programme.
Ohood
Mohamed Al Nayel, Apple Developer Academy Director, said: “We are thrilled to
open our doors and welcome the first cohort of students to see all that the
space has to offer. Like all Apple Developer Academies around the world, we
will focus on enabling and empowering our students to actively contribute and
benefit from the booming App Industry. Our goal is to become the region’s
premier center for female iOS developers while supporting them in becoming
active and effective entrepreneurs leading the digital transformation of the
kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” — business@khaleejtimes.com
Source:
Khaleej Times
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/first-all-female-apple-developer-academy-opens-in-middle-east
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Nestlé
Pakistan recognised at OICCI Women Empowerment Awards
February
04, 2022
KARACHI
- Nestlé Pakistan was recognised in the category of leadership & strategy
at the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women Empowerment
Awards 2021, held in Karachi.
The
acknowledgement reaffirms Nestlé Pakistan’s constant commitment towards
creating an inclusive culture, in a country where gender gap is staggering and
female representation in workforce is low.
In
light of receiving the award, Abdullah Jawaid, the diversity champion at Nestlé
Pakistan said, “Long-term prosperity is only possible when women are provided a
level playing field to achieve their potential and we have been working very
hard to implement these principles within our organization as well as outside.”
“Leaders
at all levels within the company lead diversity goals which form an integral
part of each functions’ detailed business plan. This not only shows Nestlé
Pakistan’s commitment and dedication to women empowerment, in line with UN SDGs
5 – Gender Equality, 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth and 10 – Reduced
Inequalities, but also motivates us to continue our mission further.”
Nestlé
Pakistan’s internal programs ‘Phir Se Ker Dikhao’ provides the right coaching
and experiential learning for women to connect back with their work life while
‘KeroAitmaad’ program, breaks stereotypes and encourage young female university
students by sharing stories of those that joined the workforce, instilling
hope, ambition and self-confidence. Externally, Nestlé Pakistan has been
playing its role in community engagement and enhancement through various
programs such as the Nestlé BISP Rural Women Sales Program, in partnership with
the EhsaasKifalat Program, which is providing livelihood opportunities
tobeneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). To date, more
than 1,500 BISP beneficiaries have graduated out of poverty by becoming rural
sales agents. The results of the awards were judged by an independent jury who
vetted the performance of the companies from different angles and awarded the
best performers overall and in different categories.
Source:
Nation Pakistan
https://nation.com.pk/04-Feb-2022/nestle-pakistan-recognised-at-oicci-women-empowerment-awards
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Series
of online events showcasing female talent in arts launched
February
02, 2022
The
Adab Festival Pakistan has collaborated with the Bradford Literature Festival
(BLF) and the British Council to spread and sustain the movement of literature
festivals across Pakistan by supporting and engaging with women to create,
organise and deliver literature festivals.
‘Producers
of the Future: From Keighley to Karachi’ is a groundbreaking international
collaboration between the BLF and the Adab Festival. The Adab Festival and the
BLF have created and developed a series of online events for the BLF’s winter
strand, ‘Words in the Winter’. Both platforms launched these events at a news
conference on Tuesday at a hotel in Karachi.
The
project tackled the under-representation of South Asian women in the talent
pipeline and positions of leadership in the British creative sector through a
digital exchange and development programme, bringing together South Asian women
from diverse communities in Bradford and across Pakistan.
The
British Council’s Digital Collaboration Fund, which supports organisations in
the UK and selected countries overseas to collaborate digitally on international
projects, backed this project.
Adab
Festival Director Ameena Saiyid said at the news conference that ‘From Keighley
to Karachi’ is of great benefit to Pakistani female talent in the creative
sector. She pointed out that women in the creative sector in Pakistan,
particularly in the rural areas, face enormous challenges such as gender
discrimination, segregation, exclusion from the public space, lack of
mainstreaming, exposure and empowerment, and an insistence on male
However,
she said, despite women treading a painful course, with every small victory
snatched, with great effort and courage, from the teeth of hardened male
prejudices, women are not discouraged and are moving ahead as pioneers while
smoothing the way for those waiting in the wings.
“This
project provided a wonderful opportunity for the brave, pioneering and
struggling women artists and writers of Pakistan,” she added. Ameena said that
in this project they have curated five online sessions after six months of
online training, which will be available on online platforms. The trainers were
from the UK, she added.
She
said that in 2010, she and Asif Farrukhi had started the Karachi Literature
Festival (KLF), which was an initiation of a literary movement in the country.
She also said that after the KLF’s launch, several literature festivals were
held in small and big cities of the country. This project by the Adab Festival
is a continuation of the movement for the promotion of literature, she added.
BLF
Director Syima Aslam said that highlighting the value and variety of careers in
the creative sector is a key priority for the BLF, and that it has been an
honour to lead this talent development project in partnership with the Adab
Festival.
“The
women who took part were recruited across the boundaries of class and
geography, and their training will enrich their own communities. We’re
incredibly proud of the work curated by this inspiring cohort, and the
marginalised conversations they have pulled into the mainstream.”
She
said that this innovative project has successfully highlighted not only the
impact of the arts in connecting communities but also the dynamic potential of
creative careers and the importance of developing a sustainable talent
pipeline.
The
co-produced digital sessions will be available on the websites of the BLF
(bradfordlitfest.co.uk/event/from-keighley-to-karachi) and the Adab Festival
(www.adabfest.com).
Source:
The News Pakistan
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KP
Women Civic Internship Programme: Ufone provides ‘Blaze’ to each participant
03
Feb, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani telecom company, Ufone 4G has provided its flagship Wifi internet
device; ‘Blaze’ to each participant of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Women Civic
Internship Program, to support their pursuit for personal and professional
growth and gratification.
The
first cohort of the Women Internship Program is a joint partnership between
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB), Code for Pakistan, The
World Bank, and the Swiss development agency, Helvetas, spanning 6-month active
training and professional engagement.
It
has been designed to help equip fresh graduates with technological skills,
practical job experience and prepare women graduates for exploring careers in
Engineering, IT, and Software Development.
Currently,
women from different regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are enrolled in the program,
during the course of which they will get an opportunity to work on
citizen-facing digital services to improve citizen engagement, automate
government processes, and create innovation in public service delivery. Besides
creating immense social value, the engagement will also enhance their own skill
set and help them emerge as better professionals by the end of the program.
“The
goals of the internship program align well with Ufone’s long term commitment of
enabling and empowering the society, particularly the underprivileged section
of society including the women from remote areas” spokesperson for PTCL
&Ufone said while commenting on the development. “Ufone has been leveraging
the power of the internet for growth and development at the individual as well
as societal levels. Over the years, we have actively fostered connectivity
across underserved and unserved regions and brought large swathes population
into the fold of digital inclusion. Our efforts are motivated by our conviction
that digitization can help unlock Pakistan’s full potential for equitable
economic growth and sustainability, for which we will continue to actively
strive and engage”, he further added.
Dr.
Ali Mahmud, Managing Director of KPITB, termed the initiative an important step
towards empowering women, commended the role of Code for Pakistan as long
standing partners and thanked Ufone for its support. He indicated that the
initiative will be scaled up in the future to create a bigger impact leading
towards a more equitable digital inclusion.
“We
are delighted to partner with Ufone 4G to deliver Blaze to women Interns from
the KP Women Civic Internship Program,” said AnamZakaria, Code for Pakistan’s
Head of Fellowships.
“Ufone’s
support will enable us to connect seamlessly with women from wherever they are,
paving career pathways, enhancing civic engagement and unleashing professional
development opportunities.
We
are excited about the partnership and, in collaboration with Ufone 4G and our
partners from the KPITB, The World Bank and Helvetas Swiss Inter-cooperation,
look forward to creating long-term impact for Women in Tech across Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.”
Ufone
‘Blaze’ is a handy plug-and-play 4G Wifi device that that enables users to
connect to the internet from their homes. Packaged with Ufone’s superior 4G
internet to cater to the needs of all user segments, the device offers the
industry’s biggest internet bundles at the most affordable prices. Considering
the need and dependence on quality internet in the program, Ufone ‘Blaze’ will
come in handy in keeping the participants connected to seamless internet with
blazing speeds at all times.
Source:
Brecorder
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Turkish
women’s rights activists urge authorities to take action against stalking
February
3, 2022
Women’s
rights activists in Turkey have urged authorities to amend the Turkish Penal
Code (TCK) to make stalking a punishable crime, the Duvar news website
reported.
Stalking
is currently not a crime according to the TCK; however, activists have argued
that it can have a detrimental effect on women and their safety. Adding that
women often feel unsafe, intimidated and threatened by stalkers, activists said
authorities should immediately provide women with protection in such cases.
Canan
Güllü from the Turkish Federation of Women’s Organizations (TKDF) said although
stalking affected women from all walks of life, perpetrators were often not
punished.
Güllü
explained that stalkers could be former partners who have developed an
obsession, or complete strangers who follow every move of the women they are
stalking. Moreover, there have been many cases where women have been killed or
badly injured by their stalkers.
“Personal
data protection laws in Turkey are not effective enough; therefore, stalkers
can easily obtain the telephone number and home address of the women with whom
they’re obsessed,” she said.
According
to Güllü the police have a responsibility to monitor how many people appeal for
their help with stalkers and to prepare official reports on the various methods
stalkers use to access their victims. “The police need to send these reports to
the Ministry of Justice. It is important that the ministry take these reports
into account when they are proposing amendments to the penal code,” said Güllü.
Pointing
out that cyber-stalking had also become a compelling problem in recent years,
Güllü said this should also be a punishable crime.
Activists
said the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) binding treaty to
prevent and combat violence against women, was instrumental in protecting women
against stalkers.
However,
Turkey withdrew from the convention on March 10, 2021, with a presidential
decree. “The convention was important for protecting women, but now we don’t
really have well-devised policies to do this. What happens when a woman is
confronted with a potentially dangerous man on her doorstep? The police don’t
detain him, and most of the time don’t even provide her with protection,” said
Güllü.
Lawyer
Rukiye Leyla Süren said in many cases the police do not take stalking
complaints seriously. She emphasized the importance of providing the police
with the necessary training to educate them about the potential risks posed by
stalkers to women’s safety.
Kardelen
Yarlı, an activist and lawyer, said stalking could appear very innocent.
“Sometimes the woman receives flowers or presents. Then the man approaches her,
asking if she would like a ride somewhere. Sometimes the woman starts receiving
telephone calls or messages on social media,” she said.
However,
Yarlı said these innocent-seeming acts can quickly spiral out of control and
result in violence or even murder.
According
to a recent study by the Ankara-based Hacettepe University Population Studies
Institute, approximately one-third of all Turkish women are victims of
stalking. Receiving constant telephone calls is the most common form of
stalking, followed by sending text messages and emails, and stalking through
social media and in person.
In
the past few weeks several prominent Turkish women have come forward and said
they have been victims of stalking. In one case, a man entered the home of a
famous Turkish singer with an axe. In another case, a woman was accosted in
front of her home.
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/ncw-sadhvi-vibhanand-giri-muslim-women/d/126300