Human Rights Watch Says, ‘Indonesia’s Hijab Push Traumatises Its Schoolgirls’
New
Age Islam News Bureau
18
March 2021
•
Tunisia Court Frees Prominent Women's Activist, Rania Amdouni
•
Shaima Dallali, First Muslim Woman to Chair London University Student Union
•
Pakistan Embassy in Seoul Holds Conference for Pak-Korean Women Entrepreneurs
•
Afghan Women Have Equal Stakes in Peace: MoWA
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/human-rights-watch-says-indonesias/d/124571
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Human
Rights Watch Says, ‘Indonesia’s Hijab Push Traumatises Its Schoolgirls’
Ifa Hanifah Misbach, a psychologist and university
lecturer, reads a book in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 17, 2021. REUTERS/Yuddy
Cahya BudimanREUTERS
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March
18, 2021
JAKARTA:
Ifa Hanifah Misbach was 19 when her father died – and her family told her he
would not go to heaven because she refused to wear the hijab, a Muslim head
covering.
Misbach
now works as a psychologist in Bandung, West Java, where she has counselled
dozens of Indonesian girls who have been ostracised, bullied and threatened
with expulsion from school because they too declined to wear the veil.
“The
impact of religious pressures, especially to wear the Jilbab, when you’re
young, makes it feel like you have no breathing room,” Misbach said, using the
word for hijab more commonly used in Indonesia, in a report by Human Rights
Watch (HRW).
“I
wanted to run away.”
The
45-year-old’s experience is one of many shared by women and girls in the
world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, including cases of girls being expelled
from school.
Indonesia’s
ideology enshrines religious diversity and the country has significant
Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and other minorities, but religious conservatism and
growing intolerance of beliefs other than Islam has been rising over the past
two decades.
Women
and girls across the country can face “intense and constant” pressure to wear
the hijab, said HRW Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono, which the rights body
described as an assault on basic rights to freedom of religion, expression and
privacy.
“Wearing
a jilbab should be a choice, it should not be a mandatory regulation,” Harsono
told Reuters.
“There
is a growing belief all over Indonesia that if you are a Muslim woman and you
don’t wear the hijab you are less pious; you are morally less.”
HRW
identified more than 60 discriminatory local, provincial bylaws issued since
2001 to enforce female dress codes.
A
2014 national government regulation has been widely interpreted as requiring
all female Muslim students in the country of around 270 million people to wear
a Jilbab at school.
“Indonesian
state schools use a combination of psychological pressure, public humiliation,
and sanctions to persuade girls to wear the hijab,” said the report.
One
Muslim high schooler, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled being told at age
12 by two of her classmates that she should wear the hijab as “one strand of
hair that is shown is equal to one step closer towards hell”.
There
has been some pushback.
The
case of a Christian schoolgirl in West Sumatra who was forced to wear the hijab
sparked a national outcry last month, leading the education and religious
affairs ministry to issue a decree banning public schools from making religious
attire mandatory. Indonesia’s main rights body, Komnas HAM, said the decree
supported the right to religious choice, but it remains unclear how strictly it
will be enforced.
HRW
found the problems extended well beyond school, reporting cases of female civil
servants and lecturers who resigned from their jobs due to pressure to wear the
hijab, and others who were unable to access government services because they
chose not to veil.
The
education and religious affairs ministries did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on the report.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2021/03/18/hrw-says-indonesias-hijab-push-traumatises-its-schoolgirls/
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Tunisia
Court Frees Prominent Women's Activist, Rania Amdouni
March
18, 2021
A
Tunisian appeals court released on Wednesday a prominent women's rights
defender and LGBTI activist who had been jailed on charges of "insulting
police and abuse of morals", her lawyers said, in a case that raised
concerns about freedom of expression, reported Reuters.
Rania
Amdouni, 26, a member of the human rights group Damj, Tunisian Association for
Justice and Equality was arrested this month in Tunis, the country's capital.
Amdouni
had been involved in protests, calling for social and economic justice and
against police abuse.
"We
are happy that Rania was freed today by the appeal court, but our concerns
about freedoms continue, because for months Rania has been subjected to
harassment by some Facebook pages of police unions," the lawyer Yassin
Azzaza told Reuters.
Activists
said Amdouni had increasingly been targeted since February as she became a
visible part of the daily protests in the capital.
"Rania
Amdouni's arrest and prosecution sends a chilling message to activists who face
harassment that if they dare to come forward to report police abuse they risk
being turned from victim to accused," Emna Guellali, deputy director for
the MENA at Amnesty International, said on Tuesday.
Protesters
have been demonstrating in Tunisia since January 15, the day after the 10th
anniversary of the revolution, calling for social equality and access to jobs.
The
police arrested more than 1,600 people during the protests, and dozens of them
have complained of ill-treatment and torture. Tunisian authorities denied the
accusations and said the police performed well.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210318-tunisia-court-frees-prominent-womens-activist/
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Shaima
Dallali, First Muslim Woman to Chair London University Student Union
March
18, 2021
Shaima
Dallali, the first Arab Muslim to win the presidency of the City University of
London Students' Union, has stated that there is a real and justified concern
over the British government's attempts to suppress student activities in
support of the Palestinian cause.
This
came in response to reports on the British government's efforts to exert
continuous pressure on student unions in universities to adopt a new approach
to anti-Semitism, which will affect student activities in support of the
Palestinian cause.
Dallali
added in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher: "Students are already more
active and interactive regarding education and academic issues. They are
defending freedom of expression regarding these issues despite constant
pressures exerted by the government."
However,
she stressed that despite this, the students have a sense of awareness and can
resist government attempts to suppress their voices.
Supporting
the Palestinian cause
Dallali
has established an association to support the Palestinian cause and has
previously launched more than one campaign to raise awareness about Palestine.
Dallali
also discussed issues of concern to students, has voiced students' rights and
defended their demands, earning her the trust of both staff and students alike.
Both
Muslim and non-Muslim students voted for Dallali, who became the first veiled
Muslim woman to chair the students' union in the history of the university, in
an election that took place earlier this month, with the participation of
19,000 voters.
Confronting
Islamophobia
On
her plan to tackle the rising tide of Islamophobia in the west and the UK's
right-wing, Dallali expressed: "From my position at this university, I
will focus on being effective, and we need to be more involved in implementing
strategies that allow us to work with the student community and the local
community to reject racism in all its forms."
In
addition to Dallali, two other veiled Arab Muslim women have also won the
positions of vice-president. This team will lead the students' union for an
entire year after taking office in July.
Dallali,
26, was born to a Tunisian father and a Sudanese mother. She came to Britain in
2000, and studied at the City University of London, obtaining a master's degree
in Law.
She
hopes that her success will pave the way for other victories for Muslims and
all just causes.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210318-first-muslim-woman-to-chair-london-university-student-union-governments-attempts-to-suppress-pro-palestine-activities-is-concerning/
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Pakistan
Embassy in Seoul Holds Conference for Pak-Korean Women Entrepreneurs
March
18, 2021
SEOUL:
In celebration of Women’s Day, the Embassy of Pakistan in Seoul organised a
forum for women entrepreneurs of Pakistan and South Korea to explore avenues of
collaboration among women-led businesses of the country.
The
distinguished panel of speakers at the event consisted of Chairperson of the
Committee on Gender Equality and Family of the National Assembly, Choun Sook
Jung and Secretary Board of Investment, Fareena Mazhar. The two spoke about the
role of women leaders in promoting women empowerment in the business world and
workplace.
In
their presentations, CEO of PCL Inc Kim Soyoun and Co-founder of Amco IT system
Zarish Amjad briefed the participants on their respective journeys in
establishing their companies and their success in male-dominated sector.
CEO
of Earthman Fair Trade Company explained how their company was providing a
platform for farmers and artisans from developing countries including Pakistan
to sell their produce in the international market.
Pakistani
and Korean entrepreneurs discussed the economic opportunities created by women
and how business can facilitate and promote opportunities for women in
workplace including safe work environment, child care facilities and capacity
building.
They
also explored avenues of collaboration between women enterprenures of Pakistan
and the Republic of Korea.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/806232-pakistan-embassy-in-seoul-holds-conference-for-pak-korean-women-entrepreneurs
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Afghan
Women Have Equal Stakes in Peace: MoWA
18
Mar 2021
KABUL
(Pajhwok): Afghan women, making half of the country’s population, have equal
stakes in the peace process, says the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Women
reserved the right to share their views on any proposal, decision or action by
the parties involved in the peace drive, the ministry said.
It
reminded the government, Taliban, the US and the international community of
their duty to take into account the views of women in all their proposals,
decisions and actions
While
stressing their active participation in national processes, the ministry
collected views of women, including lawyers, politicians and civil society
activists.
The
Afghan Women’s Network, academia, journalists, entrepreneurs and minorities
also offered their views on the recent US peace proposal.
The
ministry said in a statement:
“Even
though there are some positive points in it, there are also ambiguities in the
proposal.”
It
added the vague suggestions would not help uphold the principles of good
governance, security and rule of law.
Contrarily,
the ministry noted, the proposal did not reflect realities of Afghan society
and the efforts made by the people and government over the last 20 years in
these areas.
“Therefore,
it (US proposal) may cause all (state) institutions the risk of collapsing,”
the ministry warned.
It
went on to point to the idea of a 50-50 share in government evoked completely
different and sometimes conflicting views.
If
implemented, the plan would pave the ground for a civil strife in the country,
according to the MoWA statement, which also outlined the strengths and
weaknesses of the suggestions.
https://pajhwok.com/2021/03/18/afghan-women-have-equal-stakes-in-peace-mowa/
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