Football Brings Hope to Iraqi Christian Girls in Ex-IS Town
New
Age Islam News Bureau
02
November 2021
• Women
Camel Riders ‘Deserve Their Own Championship Series’, Says First Female Race
Winner
• UAE
Women Officials among World's Most Influential People
• Women
Feel Safer In UAE than Any Other Country: Survey
• Afghanistan:
Women's Education in Limbo despite Taliban's Assurances
• Saudi
Tournaments Crucial for Women’s Golf Momentum, Says LET Chief
• US
Woman Convicted In Bali ‘Suitcase Murder’ To Be Deported
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iraqi-christian-girls-football/d/125698
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Football
Brings Hope To Iraqi Christian Girls In Ex-IS Town
1
Nov 2021
Coach
Joanne Yusef Chaba leads a training session
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Spurred
on by their coach, Christian girls kick the ball around a field in Iraq's
Bartalla, a former jihadist stronghold where football is helping them dream of
a better future.
In
2014, the Islamic State group seized control of the town in its sweep through
the northern province of Nineveh, before subjecting women and girls to a harsh
interpretation of Islam.
Four
years on from IS's defeat the roughly 1,500 families who returned have been
trying to restore a semblance of normality to Bartalla, about 12 kilometres
east of Mosul, once the jihadists' de facto capital in Iraq.
A
football academy opened its doors to girls six months ago equipped with
artificial turf, thanks to funding from Lara, an Iraqi Christian
non-governmental organisation.
"Here
we do everything to teach young girls the basics of football," said coach
Joanne Yusef Chaba.
The
coach, a 22-year-old physical education graduate, said her dream was "to
start a women's team that will compete in the future" in one of two
already established women's leagues in Iraq.
Dressed
in brightly coloured bibs, the girls do stretching exercises on the freshly
laid pitch before Yusef Chaba blows a whistle for the start of practice.
After
an exchange of passes, one of the players brings a ball under control before
dribbling the length of the 40-metre pitch and unleashing a shot that rattles
the post.
'Lack
of support'
"Being
here allows us to forget hard times," said Yusef Chaba, who fled to Arbil
with her family two hours before the jihadists arrived in her hometown.
"Today
when people see us, it raises their hopes and gives them confidence,"
added the recent graduate who is looking for a job. "Here we forget about
our daily worries."
About
50 girls aged between 10 and 15 are enrolled at the academy where they attend
two-hour training sessions twice a week.
Miral
Jamal was six years old when she fled Bartalla with her family to escape the
jihadists. Now aged 13, she is passionate about football.
"The
players here feel good," said the schoolgirl.
"Football
relieves us... there's nothing else to do in the city. I look forward to the
training sessions."
The
families' modest monthly contributions - between 5,000 and 10,000 Iraqi dinars
(€3 and €6) - go towards renting the field on land owned by a church.
For
other expenses, the four founders from local families dip into their own
pockets.
Hala
Thomas, who helped to launch the academy, recently travelled to Baghdad to meet
with government officials and seek funding.
She
received promises, but nothing concrete.
"We
don't have enough money to buy more balls, outfits or what we need for
training," said the 55-year-old, who opted to stay in her hometown rather
than join her sons in the Netherlands.
"Despite
the lack of support from sports institutions, we are hopeful that we can have a
women's football team," she added.
'Breath
of fresh air'
During
its three-year rule over nearly a third of Iraq, IS subjected hundreds of
thousands of women to its rigid interpretation of Islam, using beatings and
executions as punishments.
In
Mosul and its surrounding province, jihadists raped, kidnapped and enslaved
thousands of women and adolescent girls.
After
the IS onslaught in 2014, tens of thousands of Christians fled northern Nineveh
province, some escaping to nearby Iraqi Kurdistan and others going into exile.
That
only worsened an exodus since the US-led 2003 invasion, which has seen Iraq's
Christian minority shrink from more than 1.5 million to only around 400,000.
Across
the Nineveh plain, churches and monasteries destroyed and burned by the
jihadists have been restored.
But
the challenges of rebuilding remain daunting in the ravaged province.
"Football
is a breath of fresh air for any community," said neighbourhood leader
Bassem Metti.
"We
needed something that would encourage stability in our daily lives and that
would start to be tangible."
Source:
RTE News
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2021/1101/1257142-football-brings-hope-to-iraqi-girls-in-ex-is-town/
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Women
Camel Riders ‘Deserve Their Own Championship Series’, Says First Female Race
Winner
Participants
prepare to compete during the first Female Camel Racing Series C1 Championship
at Al Marmoom Camel Racing Track in Dubai. All photos by EPA
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Yvonne
Kerr
Nov
2, 2021
Kiwi
woman Sarah Collins made history last month by winning the first official camel
race for women in the UAE at Al Marmoom Racetrack in Dubai.
Collins
was one of eight female jockeys to pass Dubai Camel Racing Society’s licensing
assessment, which allows them to compete in the championship race – the first
of a flat-race series that will continue through to April next year. The
jockeys hail from New Zealand, Germany, Poland, Russia and Ireland.
“It’s
like riding a bullet,” says Collins, describing the race in which camels reach
speeds of up to 45 kilometres per hour over a 1,200-metre course. “It’s the
closest I’ve come to flying on land. I felt very honoured to cross that finish
line in first place.”
Collins
says the race was monumental as it proved to predominantly male jockeys, farm
owners, sponsors and trainers that women deserve their own championship race
series in the centuries-old Emirati sport. “For me, this was more important
than winning. Even now, when we are training, our male peers will stare and
[film] us because they have never seen women race camels before.
“The
pressure to prove ourselves outweighed any competitive angle and, more
importantly, we gained a level of respect that we hadn’t received before.”
Eight
female jockeys took part in the race. EPA
At
the start of the race, camels are tied to a bar with a canvas sheet in front of
them, Collins explains. “When the race is ready to start, there is no warning
or countdown. The race starter pushes a button, and the camels are
automatically unhooked from the bar as the canvas sheet is pulled over their
heads.
“This
is one of the most dangerous parts of the race because as soon as the canvas
lifts, the camels take off. Jockeys have to keep really low otherwise the bar
will knock you backwards.”
Collins
owes her victory to speed-training on camels at least three times every week. A
competitive horse rider in New Zealand, she moved to Dubai in 2018 to work as a
primary school teacher at the Australian International School in Sharjah.
Collins also competes monthly in the UAE’s Tough Mudder obstacle races and
regularly enjoys scuba diving, bouldering, and pole dancing in addition to
horse riding.
Her
camel racing journey began when she met Linda Krockenberger, a German who had
partnered with Emirati camel farm owner Obaid Bin Subaih Al Falasi to open the
Arabian Desert Camel Riding Centre to teach men, women and children how to
ride, handle and race camels.
Collins
joined the school in May. “I had always wanted to learn how to ride a camel
properly, to gallop on a camel, but I never dreamt I would make history by
winning the first-ever licensed female race.
“At
the start, I was put on a lead like everyone else for their first camel ride
and learnt how to trot. Two sessions later, I did my trot speed test where you
have to show you are able to keep your seat and control the camel at 20kph,
which is very difficult.
“After
passing that test, I was allowed my first gallop, which was possibly one of the
most exhilarating experiences of my life,” Collins says. “After that the
possibility of forming a racing series became stronger and with more women
showing an interest, it became a reality.”
In
July, Collins graduated to become a guide and instructor at the school and
helped train race camels for the first female championship series in the UAE.
Camel races are fun, raucous events as spectators and owners drive alongside
the racetrack, beeping their horns and banging the sides of their SUVs.
With
no plans for now to return to New Zealand, Collins describes living in the UAE
as “an amazing experience”, citing a great work-life balance. “The Emirates are
accepting of different cultures and, as a woman, I feel safer walking down the
street at night here than anywhere else in the world.”
Source:
The National News
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UAE
Women Officials among World's Most Influential People
1
Nov 2021
Photo:
Supplied
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Two
UAE government’s top officials have been listed among the world’s most
influential people navigating disruption.
The
World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Agile Governance has named
Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and
the Future, and Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for
Strategic Affairs, in the 2021 Agile 50 List.
Al
Roumi was recognised in the Public Figures category, together with five global
government leaders, including Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia, and
Mikhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation
of Ukraine.
While
AlHashimi was also selected in the Agile Enablers category, which included
government officials from several countries around the world, including Brazil,
Sweden and Shanghai.
In
2021, the Agile 50 List included nine categories, namely public figures, agile
enablers, collaborators, entrepreneurs and experimenters, futurists, governance
pioneers, government transformation, public health and Covid-19 response, and
technologists.
Finalists
in the Agile 50 List, announced jointly by the World Economic Forum’s Global
Future Council and Apolitical, the educational platform for government, were
selected based on 10 criteria. Primarily: embracing the future, focusing on
outcomes, experimenting and learning, being lean on business, connecting with
peers, being responsive, engaging locally and nationally, having a global
outlook, focusing on innovators, as well as putting citizens at the centre.
Al
Roumi was chosen among the world’s leading public figures for spearheading a
transformative vision to accelerate government development in the UAE, enhance
government performance, and embed future foresight and readiness in government.
She
further supported building agility to adapt to emerging trends, enhancing
competitiveness, and supporting effective government coordination. The
recognition also highlighted Her Excellency’s continuous efforts to spur
innovation, create a new generation of anticipatory government services, and
support future-readiness.
Huda
AlHashimi was selected in recognition of the significant role she undertakes in
various government fields, including driving innovation and agility in the
government through initiatives and projects launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid
Center for Government Innovation.
AlHashimi
achievements include supporting the initiatives that accelerate delivery and
finding solutions for the pressing challenges through leading the world’s first
Government Accelerators.
Source:
Khaleej Times
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/government/uae-women-officials-among-worlds-most-influential-people
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Women
feel safer in UAE than any other country: Survey
30
Oct 2021
Women
feel safer in UAE than any other country, according to the Women, Peace and
Security Index survey by Georgetown University.
While
UAE ranked 24th out of 170 countries surveyed in the index, the country ranked
first in terms of ‘community safety'.
A
total of 98.5 per cent of the women surveyed, aged 15 and above, said they feel
‘safe walking alone at night in the city or area where they live’.
Singapore
came in second at 96.9 per cent. The UAE also climbed to 24 from 43 in 2017.
This
is the third edition of the Index and is published by Georgetown University’s
Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and the Peace Research
Institute in Oslo.
The
survey provides valuable insights into patterns and progress on women’s status
and empowerment around the world.
UAE
is also one among 16 countries where the representation of women in parliament
increased by at least 10 per cent, according to the survey.
The
Emirates’ performance in the women in financial inclusion category has also
jumped from 66.3 per cent in 2017 to 76.4 per cent in 2021.
The
Index measures the percentage of women ages 15 and older who report having an
individual or joint account at a bank or other financial institution or who
report using a mobile money service in the past year.
Norway,
Finland, and Iceland lead the rankings, while Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen are
at the bottom. The range of scores has widened: this time, the top score is
three times better than of the worst performer, compared to two times better in
2017, said a press release issued by Georgetown University.
The
United States has dropped out of the top 20, to 21st place.
"Slowing
rates of progress for women can be traced to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has
widened gender gaps in paid employment and care burdens, and heightened risks
of intimate partner violence," said Dr Jeni Klugman, managing director of
GIWPS and lead author of the WPS Index.
This
year's WPS Index takes a deeper dive into two South Asian countries:
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Conditions are worst for women in the south-eastern
provinces of Afghanistan, where conflict has been protracted.
"Since
2017, Afghanistan's score has deteriorated 28 per cent on the WPS Index. The
return of the Taliban to power is unraveling the progress Afghan women have
made and worsening the situation for women around the country," said
Ambassador Melanne Verveer, executive director of GIWPS and former US
ambassador of Global Women's Issues.
“This
year's edition of the index systematically measures the situation of women
around the world. The massive challenges created by the pandemic mean that intersectional
analysis and policymaking are more important than ever as governments and
communities strive to build back better,” said Dr Klugman.
Source:
Khaleej Times
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/women-feel-safer-in-uae-than-any-other-country-survey
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Afghanistan:
Women's education in limbo despite Taliban's assurances
Nov
1, 2021
KABUL:
Afghanistan's takeover by the Taliban has been harsher for the women and girls
of the war-torn country despite the group's assurances to protect their rights.
Hollie
McKay, an author, writer on wars and foreign policy, writing in Deadline, a
US-based entertainment daily, said that the state of girls' education is in
oblivion. Ministry of Education is filled with the Taliban government's most
devout - as evidenced by their long beards and constant twisting of prayer
beads, without a single woman inside the bustling halls or walls.
It's
a searing reminder of the state of girls' education inside an Afghanistan in
limbo, with next to no input from the gender suffering most amid the Taliban
takeover, said McKay.
While
boys of all ages were ordered back to classrooms last month, girls' education
after the sixth grade - including some universities - has been indefinitely put
on hold by the Islamic Emirate.
While
private schools continue, the vast majority of Afghan girls and women who rely
on the public education system are relegated to the home until further notice.
"Amendments
will be made based on our new laws. Islamic scholars will make the
decisions," said Abdul Hakeim, chief of staff for the Minister of
Education.
"We
want an Islamic perspective, and this means separate classes and transport.
Once this is sorted out, girls can continue education for a lifetime."
"We
cannot teach our kids music and other things which are not part of our
society," Hakeim said, adding that the Taliban of 2021 will be far more
open-minded than the rule that started in the 1990s.
"Now,
we have advanced policies and strategies to catch up with the world. Back then,
we did not have access to the resources and no capacity for new buildings or
schools. Now we have much more power to make the changes."
McKay
said that she heard such justifications on multiple occasions.
Mawlawi
Noor Ahmad Saeed, Director of Information and Culture for Kandahar province
stressed that "the whole issue is about transport" and that it will
"take time" to make sure girls and women have entirely separate
transit and infrastructure facilities.
The
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Hafiz Habib, insisted that Islam allows
"full rights" to women's education. A leader inside the much-feared
Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Yousuf, echoed
that the new government won't deprive girls of the right to full and proper
schooling, reported Deadline.
McKay
also recounted her meeting with Imam Mawlawi Hayat Khan, who said that the
reason for separation - and why women should cover their whole face except for
the eyes - is so that men do not get "too tempted."
As
it stands in Afghanistan, most students do a half-day at regular school and
spend the other half intensifying their religious studies in a madrassa.
Meanwhile,
the official Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi assured that the stoppage is
only temporary.
With
each passing day, Afghanistan as a whole dips deeper into poverty. With
economic assets frozen and little diplomatic recognition from the outside
world, the UN estimates that 97 per cent of the 38 million will have plunged
into destitution by mid-2022 without urgent action from the outside world,
reported Deadline.
And
needless to say, it is almost always the women and girls who will suffer the
haunting repercussions, said McKay.
Source:
Times of India
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Saudi
tournaments crucial for women’s golf momentum, says LET chief
November
02, 2021
JEDDAH:
Women’s golf in Saudi Arabia needs to keep building on its massive momentum,
according to Ladies European Tour chief executive officer Alex Armas.
Armas
was speaking ahead of the return of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International
presented by Public Investment Fund from Nov. 4 to 7. The tournament made
history last year as the first professional women’s sport event to be staged in
Saudi Arabia.
The
individual event helped restart the LET season, which had come to a complete
halt during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, impacting its
professional players. The tournament returns to Royal Greens Golf & Country
Club in King Abdullah Economic City.
“The
reaction we got last year blew everyone’s mind,” said Armas.
“We
didn’t think we were going to get the interest we did from it being on live
terrestrial TV within Saudi and the coverage it received. It just made sense to
come back to do it again and to keep building on that and I think that is what
we will be doing going forward. Golf Saudi has big plans for the women’s game.
Although we’re only at the beginning, it’s been a fast trajectory.
“Last
year golf stopped. Our players weren’t competing. We managed to get some
momentum and we managed to have the first event in Jeddah with the Aramco Saudi
Ladies International and as we had the players there, we did the back-to-back
tournaments with the team event.
“We
made history and I think we didn’t know what to expect when we went the first
time, but now the players know, we know what the golf courses will be like, and
what the hospitality will be like — everyone is looking forward to being back.”
The
Aramco Team Series — Jeddah will follow from Nov. 10-12 at the same venue, for
a doubleheader of LET-sanctioned events alongside Golf Saudi.
The
success of the Aramco Team Series, which has taken place in London, Spain, and
the US, has put a spotlight on the challenges of international women’s sport
and addressing gender equality in golf.
Armas
added: “There is a challenge in women’s sport. We don’t get the coverage of the
men but there is a shift in that and the equality movement and the corporate
companies are realizing there is an imbalance. We need to showcase them and
their stories and incredible journeys. We still have a long way to go. People
don’t realize what good athletes these women are and if they don’t get to see
that they don’t understand that. They can compete. They are as good athletes as
the men.”
Armas
also referenced the importance of elite women’s sport being visible to inspire
active participation in growing sporting markets such as Saudi Arabia. Last
year’s events coincided with the launch of the Ladies First Club powered by
Aramco — a free-golfing initiative that saw 1,200 women and girls register to
learn the game over the tournament’s four days.
Armas
said: “I think it’s hugely important because across the globe, we need to get
the population more active and involved in sports.
“I
think the best way to do that is obviously through live sports on TV and for
people to be able to become inspired by these athletes and look up to them as
role models. Having so many sporting events of the quality that Saudi is
bringing to the Kingdom will be hugely important to growing participation in
various sports. The amount of people that signed up for the Ladies First Club
and the amount of positive feedback was immense.”
Tickets
for both tournaments at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah
Economic City are available now, free of charge.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1959566/sport
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US
woman convicted in Bali ‘suitcase murder’ to be deported
November
02, 2021
DENPASAR,
Indonesia: American Heather Mack, convicted as a pregnant teenager of helping
to kill her mother at an Indonesian luxury hotel, was to be deported Tuesday
along with her now six-year-old daughter, immigration officials said.
Mack,
25, was released from a Bali prison last week, nearly three years early for
good behavior, and was set to be flown to the United States later Tuesday.
“Yes,
it’s true. (She’s) got the ticket already,” Bali justice ministry spokesman I
Putu Surya Dharma told reporters when asked about Mack’s pending deportation.
In
a case dubbed the “suitcase murder,” Mack was handed a 10-year jail term in
2015 while her boyfriend Tommy Schaefer got 18 years for the murder of Chicago
socialite Sheila von Wiese Mack on the holiday island of Bali.
Schaefer
— the father of Mack’s child — beat the 62-year-old victim to death with a
fruit bowl during an argument at the five-star St. Regis resort.
The
couple then stuffed the woman’s body into a suitcase and tried to flee with it
in a taxi, but quickly abandoned the blood-soaked luggage.
Mack,
who was pregnant at the time of the crime, was found guilty on a lesser charge
of assisting in the murder.
Earlier,
Mack’s lawyer said that she did not want her daughter to be deported and
“hounded by the (US) media.”
Since
the pandemic began, Mack — now fluent in Indonesian and Balinese — had only
video contact with her daughter, a prison official said earlier.
The
2014 murder shook the usually sedate holiday island, with details of the grisly
killing emerging during the closely followed trial.
The
court heard how von Wiese Mack’s badly beaten body was discovered in the taxi
outside the ritzy hotel where she had been staying with her daughter and
Schaefer.
The
couple had fled to another part of Bali, where police arrested them.
Schaefer,
who remains in prison, confessed to the killing during his trial but claimed he
was defending himself during an argument with von Wiese Mack, who was unhappy
that her daughter was pregnant.
Prosecutors
alleged that Schaefer “blindly hit” von Wiese Mack with the fruit bowl in a fit
of rage after she hurled a racial slur at Schaefer, who is Black.
During
the attack, Mack hid in a bathroom but later helped Schaefer stuff the body
into a suitcase, the trial heard.
The
sentencing judge described the killing as “sadistic.”
Locals
and foreigners alike were horrified at the rare murder on Bali, a pocket of
Hinduism in Muslim-majority Indonesia famed for its palm-fringed beaches.
Source:
Arab News
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1959741/world
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