Mumbai’s Hijab-Clad Woman, Shaheen Akhtar, Named ‘Officiating Referee’ For Karate in Asian Games
New Age
Islam News Bureau
26 September 2023
·
Mumbai’s Hijab-Clad Woman,
Shaheen Akhtar, Named ‘Officiating Referee’ For Karate in Asian Games
·
Legendary Actor Waheeda Rehman to
Receive Esteemed Dadasaheb Phalke Award
·
Why Iran Won't Budge on
Mandatory Hijab Laws — According to The President's Wife
·
Four Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Female Workers Rearrested After Release
·
France's Top Court Rejects
Appeal Against Ban On Abaya In Schools
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hijab-shaheen-akhtar-referee-karate/d/130762
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Mumbai’s Hijab-Clad Woman, Shaheen
Akhtar, Named ‘Officiating Referee’ For Karate in Asian Games
Photo
Siyasat Daily
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September 25, 2023
The hijab-clad Karate maestro Shaheen
Akhtar, 52, barely looks what she is — a 4-time National Champion in Karate,
chopping her way surgically in all top events worldwide, is now appointed the
first and only woman ‘Officiating Referee’ at the ongoing 19th Hangzhou 2022
Asian Games in China.
Packing up her bags to serve as the
International Technical Official or Officiating Referee, Shaheen is a smiling
but simple granny whose daughter Sana Hava and son Ayaan Ansari are also
National Champions in Karate.
She learned her first Karate kicks,
stances, punches, blocks and chops aged 13 while a schoolgirl at the Christ
Church School, Byculla, excelled while studying for her B.Com degree from H.R.
College, Churchgate and loved it enough to make it a full-fledged professional
career as a ‘karateka’.
Over four decades since, she has punched
her way from Youth League to Premier League to South Asian Championships to
Asian Championships to Commonwealth Championships to World Championship events
globally, earning medals and honours for her discipline and laurels for the
nation, both as a participant and as a referee.
“In Hangzhou, I shall be the Officiating
Referee for all events of Karate at the men’s and women’s events scheduled
between October 5-7, with top champions participating from 42 Asian countries…
It’s a very crucial responsibility,” said Shaheen softly, in a chat with IANS.
Discussing her upcoming challenges as
Officiating Referee, Shaheen said that “handling pressure” will be the most
critical part of her assignment — when over two billion pairs of eyes from all
over Asia will scrutinise her every move and decision.
“All countries are coming there and
vying for the medals… Besides the top-class champions from all countries in the
ring, there will be top games experts from different countries, sports
officials, VIPs, judges and viewers in the stadium and at their homes… Any
wrong decision on my part can lead to havoc right inside the stadium,” Shaheen
added.
Inside the ring, when the medal-hungry
champions from different competing nations would be lunging at each other, the
experience will be another trial even for Shaheen, herself an established and
acclaimed figure in the sport.
“My job will be to control these rivals
in the ring, command them to obey and adhere to the rules of the games, if they
falter then there are levels of warnings, penalties, etc. to rein them in… And
all under the watchful eyes of many,” Shaheen smiled.
Only on rare occasions, the moderator
‘Kansa’ (Match Supervisor) intervenes and also equally rarely the ‘third
umpire’ or the video review supervisor, mainly while appealing for points is
resorted to, she explained patiently, without clenching her deadly fists or
flailing her arms.
In her new role, the former 4-time
National Champion, 6-time Maharashtra Champion, a 8th Degree Black-Belt holder,
Shaheen is also the highest and most qualified World Karate Federation and
Asian Karate Federation female Referee in the country and in South Asia.
Now, Shaheen is passing on the baton to
the gen-next through SAMA (Shaheen’s Academy of Martial Arts) affiliated to
Karate India Organisation, and striving to groom future
state-national-international champions and referees.
“I hope my long journey inspires the
younger generations to take up Karate as a serious and viable career option…
India has tremendous untapped potential and there could be many young champs
waiting in the wings to grab their moment of glory given the right
opportunity…I am always here to help anybody,” Shaheen declared.
Source: muslimmirror.com
https://muslimmirror.com/eng/asian-games-mumbais-hijab-clad-woman-named-officiating-referee-for-karate/
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Legendary Actor Waheeda Rehman to
Receive Esteemed Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Waheeda Rehman/ file picture
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PTI New Delhi. 26.09.23
Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will be
honoured with this year's Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest recognition in
the field of Indian cinema, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting
Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday.
Regarded one of India's finest actors,
Rehman is best known for films including "Pyaasa", "CID",
"Guide", "Kaagaz Ke Phool", "Khamoshi" and
"Trishul".
Thakur took to his official X account to
make the announcement.
"I feel an immense sense of
happiness and honour in announcing that Waheeda Rehman ji is being bestowed
with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award this year for
her stellar contribution to Indian Cinema," the minister wrote.
Rehman, 85, made her acting debut with
the 1955 Telugu films "RojuluMaraayi" and "Jayasimha". She
made her Hindi cinema debut with "CID", the 1956 film headlined by
Dev Anand.
In a career spanning over five decades,
the legendary actor has worked in more than 90 films across languages. She
received a National Film Award for her role as a clanswoman in "Reshma and
Shera" (1971). She is already the recipient of Padma Shri and Padma
Bhushan.
"At a time when the historic Nari
Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has been passed by Parliament, her being awarded with
this lifetime achievement award is a fitting tribute to one of the leading
ladies of Indian Cinema and one who has dedicated her life after films to
philanthropy and the greater good of society. I congratulate her and humbly pay
my regards to her rich body of work that is an intrinsic part of our film
history," Thakur further said in his post on the microblogging site.
Rehman was last seen in "Skater
Girl", a 2021 coming-of-age sports drama.
Source: telegraphindia.com
https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/legendary-actor-waheeda-rehman-to-receive-esteemed-dadasaheb-phalke-award/cid/1969080
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Why Iran won't budge on mandatory hijab
laws — according to the president's wife
September 25, 2023
Iran's government has put forth a new
spokesperson to defend its policies toward women: the president's wife.
Jamileh Alamolhoda accompanied her
husband to the annual meeting of the United Nations in New York. She took
questions from NPR as her country marked the one-year anniversary of nationwide
uprisings that were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died in
police custody for allegedly not wearing the compulsory headscarf correctly.
Alamolhoda's husband came to New York
last year as those protests swept across the country and famously canceled an
interview with CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour after she declined to cover her
hair. Now, a year later, his wife strove to make a different impression, though
she defended her government's policy.
"I am mostly representing women and
ladies whose voices have not been heard by Americans," she said. She
asserted that many Iranian women support the head coverings, and she defended a
crackdown on protests in which thousands of people were detained, hundreds
killed, and several executed for participating in the uprising, according to
human rights groups.
Alamolhoda—whose aides say is not called
the First Lady but simply the president's wife—spoke while wearing a chador, a
kind of black head-to-toe cape that she clutched so that it covered her hair.
She spoke softly at first, but became more animated as the conversation
progressed.
She is from Mashad, a conservative city
most noted for a vast Shia Muslim shrine. She has said that her husband
permitted her education. She holds advanced degrees and a professorship of a
university. And in arguing in favor of restrictions on women, she maintains she
is advocating for women—those who primarily support their husbands and
families.
"Traditional feminist movements do
not tend to be very helpful to them because their road map is quite different.
The traditional feminist movements are, in fact, based on a competition between
men and women," she said.
The president's wife represents both
Iran's education and its forms of conservatism. She insisted that Iranian women
who rebelled were following Western culture as expressed in Hollywood films or
social media, and were choosing "Americanization," which she defined
as the pursuit of financial independence "at the cost of everything
else." She advocated "Iranianization," which she described as a
more traditional focus on family.
Robin Wright, a specialist on Iran, says
many women in Iran do embrace conservative views. But over the past 40 years —
with the support of the government itself — Iranian women have grown almost
universally literate and far better educated than in the past. More educated
women have made more connections with the wider world, and some have demanded
the choice to dress and act differently.
They include 19-year-old Baran, an
Iranian who told NPR last month that she will never go back to wearing the
mandatory headscarf. "No. No way. I prefer to die," she said from
Tehran, adding that she would continue fighting for Mahsa Amini and
"everyone killed by Islamic Republic of Iran."
The dress code remains vital to the
government where clerics have held ultimate authority since a revolution in
1979. "If the majority of women took off their headscarves or rebelled
against the Islamic dress code, that would amount to the unraveling of the
revolution," Wright said.
Iran's government has tamped down most
protests. But anger and desperation persist
ON THE GROUND IN IRAN
Iran's government has tamped down most
protests. But anger and desperation persist
On the day we met Alamolhoda, Iran's parliament
voted for legislation increasing fines and prison terms for violating the dress
code.
Asked why the government felt threatened
by women who made a choice to see the world differently, she replied that it
would "negatively affect" the "health of the family unit,"
asserting that something like this had happened in the United States.
"Lack of humility in covering leads
to increased nakedness. And this causes family issues. It ends up in the
destruction of the family unit, it ends in divorces and such social
anomalies," Alamolhoda said.
Before the interview, NPR asked a number
of women in Iran what questions they would pose to the president's wife. One,
named Sara, asked what message Alamolhoda had for the mothers whose daughters
were killed in the protests of the past year.
"I feel their loss,"
Alamolhoda said, adding that men had also lost their lives "in defense of
public order" during the past year.
Some security were killed during the
protests.
The president's wife said they were
supporting "the dignity of women."
Source: npr.org
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/25/1201128942/jamileh-alamolhoda-interview-hijab-laws-mahsa-amini
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Four Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafFemale
Workers Rearrested After Release
September 26, 2023
LAHORE:Shortly after their release from
Kot Lakhpat Jail, four PTI female activists, who were allegedly involved in
creating a law-and-order disturbance and attacking Jinnah House following the
arrest of party Chairman Imran Khan on May 9, were rearrested outside the
prison. They were apprehended in connection with an FIR registered at Sarwar
Road Police Station.
The individuals taken into custody were
identified as Sanam Javed, Afshan Tariq, AshmiaShujah, and Shah Bano Gorchani.
They were transported in a prison van and subsequently transferred to a women's
police station. While en route, Sanam Javed exclaimed, "again
arrest," confirming her detention.
Earlier in the day, an anti-terrorism
court (ATC) in Lahore had issued their release orders after the accused had
provided their surety bonds. There was a significant police presence outside
Kot Lakhpat Jail during their release.
However, following their release,
sources suggested that the four female activists could face further arrests.
Meanwhile, the prosecution decided to
challenge in the high court bails granted to those allegedly involved in
attacking the Jinnah House. Consultation for the preparation of an application
in this regard was under way.
On Saturday, of the 63 accused persons,
an ATC granted post-arrest bail to nine and dismissed pleas of 39 allegedly
involved in creating a law and order situation on May 9.
Judge Arshad Javed granted bails to
Sanam Javed, Shah Bano Gorchani, AshmiaShujah, Rubina Jameel, Mubeen Qadri,
Syed Faisal Akhtar, Ali Hassan, Afshan Tariq, and Muhammad Qasim.
However, the ATC judge fixed next date
in pre-arrest bails of the 13 accused for further proceedings.
The prosecution had placed its arguments
that the accused were involved in creating law and order situation and that
there was substantial evidence of their involvement in the attack on Jinnah
House.
It requested the court to dismiss their
bail pleas.
However, the counsels for the accused
contended that the accused had been implicated in a forged case merely to
humiliate them despite the fact that they had nothing to do with this case.
They requested the court to grant them bail.
The ATC judge after hearing detailed
arguments, granted bails to nine and dismissed the post-arrest pleas of 39
accused, including Khadija Shah.
The Sarwar Road police had registered an
FIR against the accused over allegedly creating chaos and attacking Jinnah
House following the arrest of PTI chief.
Last week, a provision of sedition was
added to the challans of all the suspects, including the PTI chairman for his
alleged involvement in the May 9 mayhem.
SSP Investigation Lahore Dr Anoosh
Masood Chaudhry said Section 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the
Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) had been imposed in all the cases including the
primary one of the May 9 violence.
She added that the addition of the
sedition provision was a substantial move in the ongoing legal proceedings.
Police said that despite the absence of
the PTI chairman at the scene of the May 9 violent events, there was evidence
of Imran inciting his activists and planning a rebellion against the state.
According to the police, the provision
of sedition had been added after the prosecution objected to the challans.
Therefore, they added that all the
objections of the prosecution had been removed before submitting the challans.
The party finds itself in hot water
following the events of May 9, when in an unprecedented show of vandalism,
protesters allegedly belonging to the PTI, vandalised public and state
properties and even attacked the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and
Lahore’s Jinnah House, where the city’s corps commander was residing.
The attacks occurred hours after the
paramilitary Rangers arrested the PTI chief in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption
case – later retitled as National Crime Agency £190 million scandal – on the
orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), from the Islamabad High
Court premises.
The rioting was followed by a harsh
crackdown against the former ruling party leaders and activists.
The army termed the events of May 9 a
“dark chapter” and announced its intent to try the protesters under relevant
laws, including two military laws — the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets
Act.
The decision was backed by the National
Security Committee – the country’s top security panel.
It was approved by the federal cabinet
wherein it was decided that the protesters who ransacked and vandalised
military installations on May 9 would be tried under the Army Act and Official
Secrets Act.
Source: tribune.com.pk
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2437715/four-pti-female-workers-rearrested-after-release
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France's top court rejects appeal
against ban on abaya in schools
Anadolu Agency
September 25, 2023
LONDON:France’s highest court on Monday
ruled that the government ban on Muslim dress abaya is legal.
The Council of State said it had
rejected an appeal by three organizations against the government ban announced
last month on abaya – a loose-fitting and full-length robe – worn by some
Muslim students in schools.
Last week, the Sud Education Paris, La
Voix Lyceenne and Le Poing Leve Lycee unions in France filed an appeal against
the ban.
On Aug. 31, Vincent Brengarth, a lawyer
for the Muslim Rights Action (ADM), filed an appeal with the Council of State
to seek the suspension of the ban on the abaya which he said violates
"several fundamental freedoms."
On Sept. 7, the Council of State
rejected the ADM's appeal, saying: "This ban does not seriously violate
and is not manifestly illegal to the right to respect for private life, the
freedom of religion, the right to education."
The controversial move sparked a
backlash against the government, which has been criticized in recent years for
targeting Muslims with statements and policies, including raids on mosques and
charitable foundations, and an "anti-separatism" law that imposes
broad restrictions on the community.
Source: tribune.com.pk
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2437691/frances-top-court-rejects-appeal-against-ban-on-abaya-in-schools
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hijab-shaheen-akhtar-referee-karate/d/130762