Fatima Amiri, A Teenage Afghan Student, Survivor of Kaaj Suicide Attack Makes It to ‘BBC 100 Women 2022’
New
Age Islam News Bureau
07
December 2022
• Bella Hadid, US Palestinian Dutch Model, Wins Model
Of The Year Award In London
• Zionist Enemy Forces Arrest Three Girls From Nablus
Inside Al-Aqsa Mosque
• Iranian Sunni Cleric Says He Has Received Reports Of
Sexual Assaults On Female Prisoner
• Muslim Women Raise Black Flags, Protest In Hyderabad
On Babri Masjid Demolition Day
• Clerics Urged To Allow Women Get In Top Leadership
Positions In Dar Es Salaam Seminar
• Netflix Celebrates Iconic Arab Women Filmmakers At
RSIFF
• Nisa Homes Pens 1st Shelter For Muslim Women In
Hamilton, After Nine Shelters In Canada
• Pakistan President Seeks Explanation About
Restrictions On Women Praying At Faisal Mosque’s Main Hall
• IOC Warns Afghanistan Over Women’s Sports And
Olympics
• Gaza Conservatives Win Battle To Cancel Girls’
Football Match
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/fatima-amiri-kaaj-suicide-bbc-bella/d/128583
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Fatima Amiri, A Teenage Afghan Student, Survivor of
Kaaj Suicide Attack Makes It to ‘BBC 100 Women 2022’
Fatima Amiri, a teenage
Afghan student who survived the deadly suicide attack in the Kaaj education
center, and sustained severe injuries including the loss of an eye has become
one of the BBC 100 Women 2022 laureates.
----
By Saqalain Eqbal
December 6, 2022
Fatima Amiri, a teenage Afghan student who survived
the deadly suicide attack in the Kaaj education centre, and sustained severe
injuries including the loss of an eye has become one of the BBC 100 Women 2022
laureates.
As one of the most influential and inspirational women
in the world for 2022, Fatima Amiri, the survivor of the Kaaj suicide attack is
listed alongside global music singer Billie Eilish, actress Priyanka Chopra
Jonas, and Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska.
Three women from Afghanistan are among the 100 women
on this year’s list of prominent and influential women, which was released by
BBC international media on Tuesday, December 6, in a report.
The BBC’s list of 100 women 2022 includes Zahra Joya,
the founder of Rakhshana Media, Tamana Paryani, a women’s rights activist, and
Fatima Amiri, a student who lost an eye and an ear in the attack on the Kaaj
educational center.
Amiri took the Kankor national university entrance
exam despite having sustained severe injuries, passing with a score of 313 to
get admitted to Kabul University’s Faculty of Computer Science.
BBC reported that Fatima has said that losing her eye
and her injuries in the ear and jaw caused by the attack have only made her
“stronger” and “more determined.”
Another Afghan BBC 100 Women 2022 laureate is Zahra
Joya who founded the Rukhshana media, “Afghanistan’s only feminist news
agency,” and runs it in exile after being evacuated from the country.
“I believe in the soft power of words and we must
speak about injustices against women,” Joya told BBC.
Tamana Paryani, an Afghan activist and recipient of
the BBC 100 Women 2022 title, and her sisters were detained by armed men
outside of their home in Afghanistan after she staged a demonstration to demand
the right of Afghan women and girls to work and pursue an education.
Source: Khaama Press
https://www.khaama.com/survivor-of-kaaj-suicide-attack-makes-it-to-bbc-100-women-20224/
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Bella Hadid, US Palestinian Dutch Model, Wins Model Of
The Year Award In London
US Palestinian Dutch model Bella Hadid
------
December 06, 2022
DUBAI: Arab celebrities took to the red carpet and
global names showed off designs from the Middle East as US Palestinian Dutch
model Bella Hadid won the model of the year award during the Fashion Awards
2022 at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Monday night.
Lebanese influencer and entrepreneur Alice Abdel Aziz
hit the red carpet in a Fall/Winter 2022 ensemble by Philosophy di Lorenzo
Serafini, complete with delicate feathers on the shoulders.
British actress Saffron Hocking and British model
Munroe Bergdorf showed off glittering gowns by Lebanese Italian designer Tony
Ward. Hocking opted for a sparkling silver column gown, while Bergdorf upped
the ante in a larger-than-life royal blue gown emblazoned with silver
embellishments.
Hadid was not on hand to receive the prestigious
prize, but she did give an on-screen acceptance speech.
Meanwhile, Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli won the
designer of the year prize, which was presented to Piccioli by British actress
Florence Pugh who was dressed in a backless gown in Valentino’s signature red.
“To me fashion has a responsibility, I feel (I) have a
voice and I want to use my voice even for who doesn’t have a voice,” Piccioli
told Reuters on the red carpet before the awards.
Other winners included Yvon Chouinard, founder of
outerwear brand Patagonia, who received the outstanding achievement award.
In September, Chouinard said he was giving away the
apparel company to a trust that will use its profit to fight the climate
crisis. British brand Burberry won the metaverse world and gaming experience
award for its ventures into the virtual world.
The red carpet was as glamorous as the ceremony, with
stars from around the world putting their best foot forward. Dramatic trains
were championed by more than one famous face, with model Adut Akech opting for
a train-heavy look by designer Nensi Dojaka as Kristen McMenamy followed suit
in a Valentino number while British model Jourdan Dunn showed off a look by
Stephane Rolland. British supermodel Naomi Campbell wore a caped shimmering
gown by Valentino, complete with ruching on the bodice.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2211586/lifestyle
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Zionist enemy forces arrest three girls from Nablus
inside Al-Aqsa mosque
06/December/2022
OCCUPIED Al-Quds DECEMBER 06.2022 (Saba) - Three
Palestinian girls came from Nablus in the northern West Bank were arrested on
Tuesday evening by Zionist enemy forces from inside the holy Al-Aqsa mosque.
The news agency Palestine Today quoted about Al-Quds
sources as saying that the enemy forces arrested three girls from the holy
Al-Aqsa mosque: Shima Rawajeba, Ranad Jawhari and Hanin Dabus.
Zionist enemy forces continue their attacks on the
holy Al-Aqsa mosque and its stationers and arrest a large number of them, amid
continued incursions by settlers into his courtyards on a daily basis except
Friday and Saturday.
Source: Saba
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3214115.htm
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Iranian Sunni Cleric Says He Has Received Reports Of
Sexual Assaults On Female Prisoner
December 06, 2022
Iran’s top Sunni cleric, a vocal critic of the
government, says he has received reports of sexual assaults on female prisoners
in Iranian prisons.
Molavi Abdolhamid wrote on his Twitter account on
December 6 that the assaults on female prisoners were being committed with the
intention of humiliating, suppressing, and obtaining forced confessions from
them.
"If proven, the real corrupters on earth are the
perpetrators of these crimes," Abdolhamid added, and asked the judiciary
to punish these people severely.
"Corruption on Earth," is a common charge
often leveled by Iran’s judiciary in cases involving attempts to overthrow the
government.
Molavi Abdolhamid is regarded nationwide as a
spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni Muslim population, who are a minority among
the mainly Shi'ite population of Iran. He is the director of the main Sunni
seminary in Iran and has been under pressure for his comments against the
Islamic republic.
NN first published an investigative report last month
about the "sexual assault and rape" of some of the detainees from
recent protests while they were being held in Iran's prisons. Citing the
testimony of a number of released detainees or hospital sources, CNN said it
has confirmed that young women and teenage boys and girls have been raped in
prisons.
In response to the report, U.S. State Department
spokesman Ned Price condemned the Iranian authorities' use of sexual violence
as a tool for protest suppression.
Price said on November 23 that the United States “is
disgusted by the reports and eyewitness accounts of protesters, including
minors, being sexually assaulted while in the custody of law enforcement.”
Previously, in an open letter to Javaid Rehman, the UN
special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Narges Mohammadi, a human rights
activist imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison, called for a special
investigation into the assault of detained women.
Source: RFERL
https://www.rferl.org/a/32164558.html
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Muslim women raise black flags, protest in Hyderabad
on Babri Masjid demolition day
Abdul Basheer
Dec 6, 2022
On the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri
Masjid, Muslim women gathered in Hyderabad’s Saidabad area to protest. The
protesting women appealed to Muslims to shut down their businesses and raise
black flags at their residences. The incident took place on Monday, December 5.
The protesting women appealed to Muslims to raise
black flags as a sign of protest to mark the Babri Masjid demolition day. The
Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1999.
6th December will forever remain a Black Day for
Indian democracy. The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of
injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will
not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too
pic.twitter.com/6T4LRRDmYf — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 6, 2022
Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
(AIMIM) chief, Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter and said that December 6 will
always remain a black day for Indian democracy. He added that the desecration
and demolition of Babri Masjid was a symbol of injustice.
“6th December will forever remain a Black Day for
Indian democracy. The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of
injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will
not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too,”
said the AIMIM chief in his tweet.
Source: India Today
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Clerics Urged To Allow Women Get In Top Leadership
Positions in Dar es Salaam Seminar
December 07, 2022
Anna Sangai, Tanzania Gender Network Proramme (TGNP)’s
training and capacity building coordinator made the call in Dar es Salaam
recently when speaking at a two-day seminar that brought together 45 religious
leaders from Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Kigoma, Morogoro, Arusha, Tanga, Dodoma and
Coast regions.
She said that the seminar was aimed at discussing and
brainstorming proper ways on how they could democratically allow many women who
are leaders and agents of change their right to participate in various top
decision making positions Sangai mentioned some of the challenges that halt
women from participating in top decision making positions as gender based
violence that follows women and girls.
She says according to the human rights centre’s latest
report, around 30 women face gender based violence every day.
“The situation is very bad and the effect of this
gender based violence does not only affect the
victim but affects also the economy of the society and
the entire nation.”
She further noted that in reality gender based
violence undermines the economy from family level to the national level. The UN
Women of Statistics of 2016 show that gender based violence cost the According
to TGNP’s findings, there are hopes especially due to the political will of the
government under President Samia Suluhu Hassan who has dedicated to ensure
there is gender equality in leadership and decision-making at different levels.
One of the participants to that seminar Bishop Stanley
Kilima of the Zion Temple Selebration Centre in Arusha said that God does not
deny a woman to be a leader in the church positions.
He says according to Holy Bible, afterwards I will
pour out my Spirit on everyone; your sons and daughters will proclaim my
message; your old people will have dreams and your young people will see
visions-Joel 2:28.
National chairperson of the Muslim Women Tanzania
Mainland under Bakwata, Hajat Shamim Khan said that God is for all people and
not for men alone.
“There is no religion that hinders a woman to become
or participate in leadership. Those are laymen excuses,” she said.
She further noted that religious laws and policies
that deny a woman to participate on top leadership in their religious
denominations need to be reviewed, amended and translated into simpler language
so as to accommodate them.
Shehe Abdi Hamis, a madrasa teacher at Ubungo Kisiwani
said that in order for a Muslim woman to become a leader she needs to be
educative and clean.
One of the facilitators to that seminar Shakila Mayumana
has urged religious leaders to use their positions to rebuke and change systems
that hinder women from obtaining to high positions in their denominations.
“Religious leaders stand on your positions. Allow
women with leadership qualities to hold top positions in your denominations.”
There are many inequalities based on gender, class,
age, ethnicity, location (rural/urban) across all spheres of life, that is
social, religion, economic, political, and legal, which mostly affect women and
youth.
Women population is at 51.3 per cent and women are the
main contributors to the country’s economy. Women account for 52 per cent of
the working age population (15 years and over), but labour force participation
rate is higher among males (89.4 pc) than among females (84.2 pc).
Tanzania Gender Network Programme (TGNP) is a feminist
organisation established on the belief that gender equality, equity, empowered
women, and social justice are crucial and attainable.
TGNP’s ideology and philosophy are built on Transformative
Feminism that challenges patriarchy and neo-liberalism and recognizes the
intersection between gender, class, race/ ethnic, and national/global power
relations, including age, corporate globalisation, rural-urban,
elite-illiterate,
disability, and other exclusionary social relations.
Source: IPP Media
https://www.ippmedia.com/en/features/clerics-urged-allow-women-get-%C2%A0top-leadership-positions
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Netflix celebrates iconic Arab women filmmakers at
RSIFF
NADA HAMEED
December 06, 2022
JEDDAH: Global video streaming giant Netflix recently
released a specially curated collection of 21 Arab films in 2022 by women
filmmakers spanning various genres, including documentaries, drama, and
romance, as part of a dedicated collection titled “Because She Created.”
During the first six days of the Red Sea International
Film Festival, Netflix hosted a creative space at Red Sea Souk to celebrate the
pioneering spirit of four iconic women filmmakers from the Arab world,
including Hana Al-Omair from Saudi Arabia, Hend Sabri and Kaouther Ben Hania
from Tunisia, and Jordan’s Tima Shomali.
The space aims to amplify women filmmakers’ voices to
an international audience of esteemed industry professionals and future
generations of female storytellers throughout the “Because She Created”
platform so that more stories from the Arab world can be loved globally.
Al-Omair and Shomali showed up on the fifth day of the
RSIFF for media junkets.
Al-Omair told Arab News that she likes to add a female
element to her working crew because it adds balance.
“I personally think that in front and behind of the
camera, the more female characters, the better, because it is always about the
stories by nature, which are always revolving around untold female stories.”
Al-Omair is an award-winning director and the woman
behind the first Saudi thriller drama series on Netflix, “Whispers.”
She said that “Whispers” reflects on-the-ground
women’s empowerment through screen.
“There are so many women working in a different field
that we haven’t heard of on the screen,” she said: adding: “Netflix was the
perfect platform for displaying my series as it helped to narrate the story of
Saudi women in an unusual way.
“I am so happy with the new change that the Saudi film
industry is experiencing, especially with more females behind cameras and
on-screen, and actresses. All this would support more content and female
stories to rise.”
Netflix has a special collection of Saudi content. For
women filmmakers, it started with “Wadjda,” the work of iconic Saudi film
director Haifaa Al-Mansour.
Shomali is director of “AlRawabi School for Girls,” a
first-of-its-kind young adult series in the Arab region.
The six-episode series tells the story of a bullied
high school girl who gathers together a group of outcasts to plot the perfect
revenge on their tormentors.
Shomali is also a producer and scriptwriter. She told
Arab News: “I am so happy to take part in this initiative that supports young
Arab filmmakers, which is something I personally advocate for as it represents
my work in terms of women empowering women in the industry.”
She added: “I feel like it is my responsibility to
support female emerging talents in filmmaking because I did not have an easy
journey, and a lot of people on the way gave me an opportunity to rise, and now
I am interested to give back an opportunity for those young females passionate
about the film industry.”
Netflix launched the “Because She Created” platform
last year as a virtual panel talk hosting Arab women filmmakers discussing the
evolving role of women in the industry.
Nuha El-Tayeb, director of Netflix content
acquisitions in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey was also present at
this year’s event.
She told Arab News: “What’s important for us is
bringing Arabic stories from our region targeting the local market and at the
same time for them to have that option to travel across the world … one and
foremost is our support for female filmmakers, whether they are in front of the
screen or behind the screen.”
The Netflix collection aims to give more people the
chance to see their lives reflected on screen and entice new audiences to
discover the work of women storytellers from the Arab world.
El-Tayeb added: “Yes, we want to support women. We
want to bring these amazing movies to one place where people can watch it and
enjoy the movies, and it’s a start to many more coming down the line with what
we have created now.”
The collection celebrates the creativity of the Arab
world’s greatest women storytellers, including the works of brilliant directors
from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia,
Sudan, Syria and Tunisia.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2211736/entertainment
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Nisa Homes Pens 1st Shelter For Muslim Women In
Hamilton, After Nine Shelters In Canada
Aura Carreño Rosas
Dec 06, 2022
For the first time in the Hamilton area, Muslim women
in need of shelter services now have an option specifically for them.
Nisa Homes, an organization with nine other shelters
across Canada, has opened its 10th shelter, this one in Hamilton. An official
launch takes place Tuesday afternoon at city hall, on the National Day of
Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Yasmine Youssef, program director at Nisa Homes, told
CBC Hamilton that shelters like this are needed because of a demand for beds
and for spaces for marginalized people to feel safe.
"There's a lot of fear and stigma, because of
racism, because of Islamophobia, because of anti-Asian hate. You're seeing a
lot of people afraid to reach out because they don't know how they're going to
be received," she said.
The shelter, which has already begun to take in
families, caters to Muslim women but is open to all women. However, its
capacity is limited to 16 people.
Nisa Homes says 63 of every 100 women that come to the
organization's shelters face domestic violence. Youssef said many are also
women of colour who may not speak English and don't have immigration status.
"There's so many barriers immigrants specifically
face that need to be addressed.... But there's nothing that supports women that
are immigrants who are also fleeing domestic violence," she said.
She said clients tell her that culturally appropriate
support can be hard to access.
"They tell us, 'Yeah, I did try to reach out for
help, and when I was speaking to [other service providers], they told me the
problem is that [I'm] Muslim, [I] have to leave Islam, and then everything will
be OK.'"
Youssef has been with Nisa Homes since its launch in
2015, when only one shelter was set up in Mississauga.
The organization now has shelters across the country,
including in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.
Culturally specific services
Sabreina Dahab, Ward 2 trustee on the
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, said she was "really, really
excited" and emotional about the opening of this shelter.
Dahab said in recent years, she has worked with and
supported Muslim women by connecting them with resources and translation
services.
"It felt really lonely and isolating to be doing
this without an agency to support or without like a network. [Now] I can
respond to this more systemically [instead of] one person in the community who
is trying to do this by themselves," she said.
Dahab added that spaces like this are vital for
providing culturally specific services for Muslim women, saying she's heard of
women who are not "even given access to halal meat" at other
shelters.
"All of these things are essential for not only
escaping and leaving the necessity of violence situations, but to be able to be
well supported in this city."
Lack of data
Youssef said although she knows from experience that
there is a need for culturally specific shelters, the demographics are
under-researched.
"At the moment, shelters and transitional homes
don't track anything outside of whether you speak French or English. And
whether you're Indigenous or not. They don't track racial data. They don't
track religious data, none of that stuff is required," she said.
Youssef said some reasons might be systemic racism and
the strain shelters face just to function.
"Our shelter system is the same as it was what in
the '60s and '70s.... But our population, our community, our society looks so
different now than it did in the '60s and '70s," she said.
"It [would be] easier to advocate for something
and to get changes passed when you have numbers to back up what you're
saying."
'They're not alone'
Youssef said the ultimate goal is to help these women
heal.
"We make sure we use [our services] to make them
feel more comfortable ... to make them feel like this can actually work and
they can get back on their feet. They're not alone.... They can survive on
their own without their abuser," she said.
"We get so many clients — more often than not —
telling us 'the only reason I decided to reach out to you was because I knew
you understood where I'm coming from, you look like me, you speak like
me,'" she said.
Source: CBC
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/muslim-women-shelter-in-hamilton-1.6675048
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Pakistan President Seeks Explanation About
Restrictions On Women Praying At Faisal Mosque’s Main Hall
December 7, 2022
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has sought
explanations from authorities concerned about restrictions on women from
offering prayers and visiting the main hall of Faisal Mosque.
The president said that he believed that women should
be allowed to pray in an enclosure in the main hall and visit the main hall to
appreciate the architectural beauty of this magnificent mosque.
“This is my opinion which is based upon observation
throughout the world, including the Harmain Sharifain,” he said according to a
statement issued by Presidency on Tuesday.
President Alvi said women in modest Islamic dress with
covered hair were allowed in mosques all over the world to offer their prayers.
But, he said, restrictions had been imposed on women for offering prayers and
visiting the main hall of Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, which had a religious and
touristic value.
He said that there was no enclosure for women in the
main hall, and elderly and unwell women were constrained to climb stairs to
approach the enclosure on the first floor due to the absence of an elevator. He
expressed concern as to how women would be able to offer their prayers while
faced with these restrictions.
Dr Alvi gave these remarks while taking note of a
special report published in Dawn on September 14 wherein restrictions on women
to offer their prayers, poor cleanliness conditions and maintenance, and
beggary at the historic mosque were highlighted.
The CDA in his report submitted to the President
Secretariat stated that it had initiated actions to ensure cleanliness and to
carry out the maintenance and rid the area of beggars whereas after the
construction of the mosque as a policy of Dawah Academy, International Islamic
University Islamabad (IIUI), only one gallery was reserved for women and there
was no permission for women to enter the main hall. The president has desired
that the administrator of Faisal Mosque may discuss and brief on these issues,
the statement said.
A source in the presidency said two departments of the
CDA and Dawah Academy of the IIUI were involved in the affairs of Faisal Mosque.
The president had sought an explanation over the restriction on women for using
the main hall. The source said after getting reports, the president could ask
the concerned authorities to remove the restriction.
Source: Dawn
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IOC warns Afghanistan over women’s sports and Olympics
December 07, 2022
LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee on
Tuesday warned that it could stop working with Afghanistan ahead of the next
Olympics in 2024 if women are not allowed to play sports under Taliban rule.
The IOC said its support for Afghanistan’s National
Olympic Committee will depend on conditions including women being allowed to
play sports with “safe and inclusive access” and to take part in sports
administration. Afghanistan’s teams for international events must include
female athletes who live in the country and not only those based abroad.
The IOC board said it “expressed its serious concern
and strongly condemned the latest restrictions imposed by the Afghan authorities
on women and young girls in Afghanistan, which prevent them from practicing
sport in the country.”
Afghanistan’s participation and “the representation,
or not, of the country” in the next Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 “will
depend on the progress made in relation to the fundamental issue of safe access
to sport for women and young girls in the country,” the IOC said.
It was not immediately clear how soon the IOC might
implement the measures.
The IOC said it will continue direct support for
individual athletes from Afghanistan who aim to compete at the Olympics.
Afghanistan had a team of four men and one woman at
the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Human Rights Watch called on the IOC on Monday to
suspend Afghanistan from taking part in sports events immediately and to halt
its funding. The IOC suspended the Afghanistan NOC in 1999 during the previous
period of Taliban rule.
Also at the IOC executive board meeting Tuesday, a
long-running standoff between the IOC and the International Boxing Association
continued. The IOC said the boxing body had not achieved the “drastic change of
culture” that the IOC had demanded.
The IOC has long criticized how IBA is run, its
finances and a history of disputes over refereeing and judging Olympic fights.
The IOC suspended the IBA, then known as AIBA, in 2019
and excluded its officials from running the boxing tournament at the Tokyo
Olympics last year. The IOC is already planning to stage the qualifying
competitions for boxing in Paris in 2024 without the IBA. The dispute means
boxing is not yet on the program for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, though
it could be added at a later date, with or without the IBA in charge.
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2212066/sport
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Gaza conservatives win battle to cancel girls’
football match
HAZEM BALOUSHA
December 06, 2022
GAZA CITY: Religious conservatives have forced the
cancelation of a football match for young girls in the Gaza Strip, describing
it as an attempt to “replace the hijab with shorts.”
The pressure led to the cancelation of the match for
girls aged nine to 12 from the Rafah Services Club and the Rafah Youth Club,
which was scheduled for Thursday. Scholars and clerics criticized the match,
calling it a “moral disgrace.”
Hani Abu Kush, a board member of the Rafah Services
Club, said it wanted to hold the match as part of a sporting project.
“This is a project that started several months ago and
included training for girls aged nine to 12. The match was like a graduation
ceremony at the end, but the media uproar made it a big event,” he told Arab
News.
He said that the club currently did not have any
girls’ teams and all that was being done for girls was with external funding.
Abu Kush said he understood that holding matches for
girls would be objectionable as “we are a conservative society, but this was a
match for young children who are not professional soccer players, and there was
no reason for all this fuss.”
Majdi Al-Maghrabi, one of the hard-liners in Rafah,
wrote on his Facebook page: “We were informed that this match was canceled at
the request of the governor of Rafah.”
He added that “we all hope that these women’s teams
will be dissolved”, and accused Fatah member Jibril Rajoub of running a
“sabotage project for women’s sports in the Gaza Strip, which aspires to lead
our girls to replace the hijab with shorts.”
While his comment drew support, others objected by
saying “these are just children.”
Palestinian sports in general suffer from a lack of
funding and interest, according to those in charge of the clubs in Gaza, and
there is not enough funding for the existing men’s teams.
“The current lack of funding and the financial
suffering of the clubs in the Gaza Strip prevent them from developing the
capabilities of the existing teams, and prevent them from forming women’s teams
in the Gaza Strip,” Abu Kush said.
There are no permanent women’s football teams in Gaza
unlike in the West Bank, and women from Gaza are not part of the Palestinian
national team.
Alaa Al-Amour, a female football coach, told Arab
News: “There is a clear lack of interest (from officials) in Gaza for women’s
sports. There is no funding, and clubs in the Gaza Strip are not interested in
women’s teams. The federation also does not show sufficient interest in
supporting women’s teams.
“All the activities that happen for women in Gaza are
part of initiatives of civil institutions or projects that are funded by
international and external parties only.”
Al-Amour was a coach with a girls’ football team that
traveled to Norway recently, and after the end of the funding, training for
that team was stopped.
Female players, whether in training or matches, wear
modest kits that do not violate the customs and traditions of the Gaza Strip,
and the age groups involved do not exceed 17 years, said Al-Amour.
“We face many obstacles, the most important of which
is funding, as well as community pressures that sometimes do not allow girls to
play football. In addition to that, Israeli obstacles prevent communication
between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
“The last time the team I trained participated in a
West Bank match without my participation as a coach.”
Source: Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2211796/middle-east
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